Land Rover Defender's Headlight Chaos: Fix Needed

Hey there! I had a similar issue with my 2006 Land Rover Discovery 3 TDV6. The symptoms you're describing are exactly what I experienced last month, misaligned headlights and that annoying warning light. Took it to the garage and it turned out to be a faulty headlight leveling servomotor. The mechanic showed me that the servo had completely seized up, preventing the auto-leveling system from working properly. It wasn't a major repair in terms of complexity, but it definitely needed fixing as it's both a safety issue and can get you in trouble during vehicle inspection. The servo unit had to be replaced, wasn't worth trying to repair the old one. The whole job took about 2 hours including diagnostic time. These servomotors tend to fail on Land Rovers of our generation, so it's a known issue. Make sure whoever works on it is familiar with Land Rover electrical systems. Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing your experience! That's pretty much exactly what's happening with my Defender. Really helpful to know it was the servomotor in your case, makes total sense given the symptoms. Would you mind sharing how much you ended up paying for the fix? Also curious if everything's been working fine since the repair or if you've had any other headlight-related issues pop up?

Hey again! Happy to give you an update! Everything's been running perfectly since I got it fixed, no more headlight issues at all. The repair set me back 1040.00 €, mainly for the new servomotor and labor. Might sound a bit steep, but honestly, it was worth every penny for the peace of mind. Since fixing the faulty servomotor, the headlight range control is working exactly as it should. No more warning lights on the dash, and the auto-leveling is spot-on now. Such a relief not having to worry about blinding other drivers or having poor visibility anymore! My Discovery 3's been behaving perfectly in the headlight department ever since. Seriously, if your symptoms match what I had, I'd say go for it and get it sorted. The price might sting a bit, but it's definitely better than driving around with dodgy headlights. Plus, you know how these Land Rovers can be, better to fix things properly when they come up! Let me know if you need any other info!

Thanks so much for all the details! I actually just got back from the mechanic today and you were spot on, it was the servomotor! The repair cost was pretty similar to what you paid, around 980€. Slightly less than expected after seeing your quote, so I'm quite relieved. The mechanic I found was really great, showed me exactly what was wrong and explained everything while working on it. Such a different experience from my last mechanic! They had it fixed in about 2.5 hours, and now my headlights are working perfectly. No more warning lights, and the auto-leveling is working like a charm. Really appreciate you sharing your experience, it gave me the confidence to get it sorted straight away rather than putting it off. Amazing how something seemingly small like a servomotor can cause such annoying issues, isn't it? But hey, that's Land Rover life for you! Thanks again for all your help!