Owners have filed 983 complaints on the Jeep Gladiator, covering 2020–2026. The system named most often is Steering (329 reports). Worst years by volume: 2020, 2021, 2022; cleanest: 2026, 2025, 2024. 25 reports describe a crash, 30 a fire. On average the car was 2.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jeep Gladiator
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 983 Gladiator complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 329 Read
I parked at a business and went inside and within 5-10 minutes of being in the business my Gladiator caught fire on the front passenger side under the hood. I was ghosted by Jeep Wave and my only course of action was to go through State Farm. Jeep and State Farm both had fire investigators on the same day look at the…
Caught fire while driving
I was driving my Jeep Gladiator on [XXX] Shasta Co, CA, on a snowy mountain highway. I had my husband, two children and two dogs in the vehicle. Without warning the power steering went out. Within 20 seconds a steering wheel light appeared on the dash. Within approximately 20 more seconds, I was able to pull over into…
Electrical System 231 Read
The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and turning the engine off, approximately two hours later the contact discovered smoke and flames coming from the engine compartment of the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During…
Our 2022 Gladiator has 1,758 miles on it and no modifications. It was last driven about two weeks ago. It burned to the ground [XXX] while parked next to our house. The fire started in the engine compartment. There were no warnings of symptoms and our jeep app showed everything was normal when last driven. It was…
I had been driving for about an hour returning from a camping trip when my wife and I noticed a burning smell in the cab of the vehicle. About 5 seconds later smoke began filling the interior. I pulled over and got my family out of the vehicle, which includes my wife, two kids and a dog. I went to the front of the…
Power Train 135 Read
I was driving on the highway going 80mph in 6th gear and my wife smelled something then the gears started grinding I put it in neutral as I was slowing down I was trying to get to the exit which was about 1/4 mile away so I put the truck in 4th and thats when the transmission exploded sending fire and transmission…
Driving on interstate 70 with approx speed of 65. Caught on fire. Flames and lots of smoke coming from under jeep. Smoke entered cab. What I think is transmission fluid left trail on interstate. I have photo.*dt*jb*dt
I entered the highway and my power steering light came on. I then lost power steering. Immediately got off at the next exit and pulled into the gas station. As I exited my vehicle I observed smoke coming from the hood vents. The engine bay then became fully engulfed in flames and the fire department responded to…
Engine 43 Read
My 2022 Jeep GLADIATOR SPRT STARTED ON FIRE WHILE PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY,SAID VEHICLE HAD’nt been driven in 4days , the fire and police departments were dispatched to put out said fire . My jeep was a total lost . I have the police report in hand
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, there was an alarming amount of white smoke emanating from the engine compartment and permeating the interior of the vehicle, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway and evacuate the vehicle. Moments…
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Gladiator Overland. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, they would smell a burning odor coming from the clutch. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the vehicle caught on fire after being driven for a while. The…
Suspension 42 Read
The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and shifted aggressively. The vehicle would rev and jerked forward. The contact mentioned the failure occurred for several weeks. On a most recent occasion, the contact stated that while driving at an…
Under heavy breaking the rear wheels of my vehicle lifted off of the pavement. This loss of traction and shift in weight resulted in a head on collision with a vehicle in the opposite lane of traffic. After the accident I discover that the suspension for my vehicle was incorrect to the level that FCA released a TSB…
I am submitting this complaint due to an unresolved suspension-related safety concern and the manufacturer’s failure to provide an effective warranty repair despite multiple attempts. The vehicle has experienced a persistent vibration and abnormal noise that appears to be suspension-related and occurs during normal…
Fuel/propulsion System 25 Read
The contact owned a 2020 jeep gladiator. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, flames were coming from the bed of vehicle towards to the cab. The contact was able to pull over the vehicle and jump out. The contact stated the fire was extinguish by the fire department. A fire department report was filed which…
I own a 2025 Jeep Gladiator with approximately 48,000 miles. The vehicle was fully operational as of approximately 5:00 PM on Monday, April 27, but by 7:30 AM the following morning it had become inoperable due to a rodent chewing through the fuel line overnight. The vehicle required towing to a dealership, Beaman…
I was driving my 2025 jeep gladiator, on several occasions I tried to stop and my jeep didn't want to stop, the jeep wanted to keep accelerating (i was not using cruise control) . I stepped on the brake and it felt "squishy" but did stop the vehicle (it only feels this way when the uncontrolled acceleration is…
Visibility/wiper 25 Read
Brand new Jeep gladiator. 458 miles on it and the windshield glass cracked. No rock or external object hit it, simply faulty glass. I went to an online forum and found that windshields cracking on jeep’s is extremely common and Jeep refuses to warranty or do anything about it
On 10/29/2023 I was driving down the road and I turned on my windshield defrost and my windshield just starting cracking. The crack is about 8-9 inches long upon initial crack and it is continuing to spread
Defrost only works for the center portion of the windshield. No air comes from the right or left sides of the defrost vents. The leads to loss of visibility for the driver especially in adverse conditions
Service Brakes 21 Read
Emergency brake not working properly consistently, loosens, has been repaired, replaced, still fails, loosens. Have had 2 accidents related to this, leg was run over. Second time rolled into tree almost 12000 dollars in damage, issues just about since purchase, saw multiple dealers, issue continues
Brake pedel to close to gas pedel.. When the driver pushes on brake pedel he can push on the gas pedel.. The truck went forward very fast./. I brought the truck used
First incident was approaching a turn off into a shopping area, a car was stopped there waiting for traffic as I approached I applied the brakes and the brake pedal went to way down, I didn't have time to recycle brake pedal as it went so far down I was hitting gas pedal, thus causing me to collide. Second incident…
Gladiator 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Service Brakes | — | 1 | |
| 2025 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2024 | Electrical System | — | 3 | |
| 2023 | Air Bags, Unknown Or Other | — | 3 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 5 | 13 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 7 | 3 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 11 | 7 |
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 | 258 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.8 |
| Worst single series | 21 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.4 years |
A model average of 3.8 hides a worst series at 21. 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
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 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 Gladiator?
By complaint volume, 2020, 2021, 2022 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 Gladiator years are the cleanest?
2026, 2025, 2024 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jeep Gladiator have?
983 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2020–2026. Of those, 25 describe a crash and 30 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.
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