It has been reported that the 2020-2022 batch of Land Rover Defenders are having some issue with the windshield. Multiple owners have come with the complaint that the windshield in their car has shattered out of nowhere, without any significant impact. This has led the owners to questioning the “rugged off-roader tag” that the Defender wears. A group of frustrated owners have filed a lawsuit in the District Court of New Jersey, USA and several owners have raised complaints with regards to this in front of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Stephen Seiber, who is one of the plaintiffs, reportedly took delivery of his vehicle in September 2020, and in March 2022, the windshield of the vehicle cracked. Seiber contacted Land Rover for the replacement, but they replied by saying that the replacement windshields were not available. The dealer took over a month to replace Seiber’s windshield and to his bad luck the new windshield again cracked, and it cost him $2,100 for the replacement. In March this year, the third windshield also cracked, and it cost Seiber $2,471 for the replacement this time. Chris Robinson is another plaintiff who has changed five windshields in the past four years and is hugely hassled by this.
In the lawsuit, questions regarding the material the Land Rover uses to make its windshields have come to light and owners are accusing the luxury automotive giant of using deficient material in its windshields. Another issue that is highlighted in the lawsuit is that the automaker, despite knowing that there is an issue with its windshields and its customers are suffering because of this, has refused to repair the windshields under warranty or even replace them under warranty.
The shattering of the windshield in such a manner can be harmful for both, the driver and the pedestrians. If the glass gets shattered suddenly, the visibility of the driver will get hampered and this can lead to an accident, and when the glass shatters, the flying bits can injure the pedestrians and the people inside the vehicle.
However, the plaintiffs are seeking for compensation for the damages caused to them by this defect and along with the compensation, they are asking for the attorney’s fees and Court costs that they have had to pay so far. They are persistent on putting the matter before the jury for trial.
