Owners have filed 30 complaints on the Jeep Comanche, covering 1986–1992. The system named most often is Seat Belts (8 reports). Worst years by volume: 1990, 1989, 1988; cleanest: 1992, 1991, 1986. 6 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire. On average the car was 8.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jeep Comanche
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 30 Comanche complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Seat Belts 8 Read
Driver seat belt buckle fastens, then with any movement the buckle pops out
Driver's side seat belt buckle failure, unable to latch. Tt
Buckle on driver's seat belt does not remain in latch mechanism, causing seat belt to become inoperable. *ak
Service Brakes 5 Read
Brakes failed causing the vehicle to hit a telephone pole with it's rear quarter panel, the consumer received recall notice #747 but was refused repair, the consumer replaced the pads and rotor himself and is requesting reimbursement. Mr
Five accidents which could have been avoided if brakes worked properly. I have talked to several owners of this particular truck and all have had problems with the brakes. I have seen several wrecked trucks that are the same model
The brake pedal slowly goes down . The consumer also stated that the pump motor keeps running that and injection system throttle control sticks at idle. The dealer bled the master cylinder and everything seems fine. *scc
Vehicle Speed Control 3 Read
Vehicle started and excelerated and caused a lineup of crashes.update on throttle could have minimized or prevented, but hearing the problems others have had and considering not updating. First five years vehicles brakes and exhaust were sorry. Have replaced all with after-market stuff and all problems have stopped.…
The throttle position sensor is not functioning properly in my jeep. I found that tere are 3 service bullitens requireing the replacement of the same. There is also one recall indicating the part should be replaced. I called up jeep (chrysler) they said that the recall does not apply to my jeep. It was made during the…
The contact owns a 1989 jeep comanche. While driving at speeds of 55 mph, there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms up to 3,000. The contact placed the vehicle in neutral and the failure persisted. The contact shut off the engine and when restarting, the failure would intermittently persist. The contact inquired…
Power Train 3 Read
The master clutch cylinder hose leaked fluid on the exhaust manifold, causing the vehicle to catch fire
Rubber clutch hose failure. Hose is routed too close to exhaust. (3 inches) heat build up in exhaust system melts hose and causes a leak that under pressure squirts fluid onto the exhaust pipe causeing flash fires. I have retained the defective part if you require it for further investigation
4wd will not engage as needed
Engine And Engine Cooling 3 Read
Consumer was driving and jeep caught on fire , please describe
While driving the vehicle overheated due to a faulty water pump. *nlm
Vehicle continuously stalls, several repairs made and stalling still occurrs
Parking Brake 2 Read
The parking brake works only intermittently. The consumer parked vehicle, which has a manual transmission, and applied the parking brake yet the vehicle rolled forward and collided with another car
5spd wont hold truck&trailer on steep launch ramp.parking brake disengages.dealers don't know how to fix recurring problem.I've asked for hand brake but they say the can't convert from foot to hand brake. Had truck for 10 years and this is my main buyer's remorse. I'll never consider another vehicle with a foot…
Steering 2 Read
One tie rod broke, causing loss of control/accident. Tt
While trying to make a turn steering wheel will lock up and not turn. Had taken vehicle to shop, and found out that steering box was cracking
Structure 1 Read
Failure on the driver side door, the driver side door fell off due to a broken hinge
Comanche years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Parking Brake | 1 | — | |
| 1991 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | — | |
| 1990 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | — | |
| 1989 | Equipment | — | 2 | |
| 1988 | Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1987 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 28 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.1 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 8.9 years |
A model average of 1.1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Comanche?
By complaint volume, 1990, 1989, 1988 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Comanche years are the cleanest?
1992, 1991, 1986 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jeep Comanche have?
30 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1986–1992. Of those, 6 describe a crash and 3 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.