Owners have filed 2,102 complaints on the Jeep Renegade, covering 2015–2023. The system named most often is Electrical System (490 reports). Worst years by volume: 2017, 2015, 2018; cleanest: 2023, 2022, 2020. 76 reports describe a crash, 31 a fire. On average the car was 3.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jeep Renegade
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,102 Renegade complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 490 Read
Infotainment system is highly defective even after replacement. The screen goes black, shows white lines and you're left unable to use your backup camera! After doing research this problem stems all the way back to 2016 renegades with the same system
2019 renegade owner had software issues since day 1 - chronic issues are a distraction & unsafe & yes I crashed the car due to that distraction. Heated seats shut off for no reason. Remote services wouldn't work radio had to be replaced & now heated seats stay on but now my stop n go doesn't work at all. Car is in…
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that after his daughter had driven the vehicle, parked, and powered off, 7 hours later, the interior passenger side panel of the door was engulfed in flames, which had by that time blackened the glass. The driver's boyfriend witnessed the flames originating…
Engine 423 Read
The contact owned a 2017 jeep renegade. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed to her residence, there was an abnormal burning odor inside and outside the vehicle. The contact stated that there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact pulled into her driveway, unlatched and opened…
The contact owns a 2020 jeep renegade. The vehicle would suddenly stall at various speeds, however, the vehicle would restart. The check oil warning light illuminated. The contact stated that a few days after, while turning right at approximately 10 mph into the gas station the vehicle suddenly stalled again causing…
The contact owns a 2016 jeep renegade. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, there was gray smoke coming from under the hood and inside the vehicle from the vents while the temperature gage warning light illuminated. The contact mentioned that the vehicle stalled and was able to restart. The contact stated…
Power Train 394 Read
The vehicle was involved in a crash and no airbags deployed. The front right (passenger) side quarter panel, windshield bumper, headlight, marker light, and turn signal will all need replaced. With no safety restraint system, had the accident taken place at higher speeds, my passenger and myself could have been…
I purchased this car after owning two wrangler's, a cherokee and a patriot. I noticed right away that my transmission would lunge forward when coming to a stop and the transmission would shift harshly when slowing down in traffic then applying the gas to go, the car also hesitates to take off. I have had many scary…
My renegade has repeatedly stalled out while driving. Unfortunately this last time resulted in a minor accident. The jeep has less 16k miles on it. I have notified fca but until it is resolved I have no vehicle.*dt consumer stated he had a vehicle control issue while making a turn engine stalled and hit a guardrail.…
Fuel/propulsion System 93 Read
I was parking in my usual spot, slowly into the parking spot with my foot on the brake 5 mph, suddenly the Jeep accelerated and smashed into the wall of the building at full force. The Jeep bounced back so hard it jerked my head. The Jeep was leaking fluid, and the frame bent with body damaged. It had to be towed to…
Fuel line bundle - dealership said its corroded it’s only a 2021 with no prior damage
The fuel line was rubbing against another pipe between the engine and firewall, causing it to leak, spraying gas all over the engine including the exhaust. In my opinion if this hadn’t happened in traffic where you could smell it but on the interstate I hate to think what may have happened. I’ve looked on the jeep…
Steering 63 Read
The contact owned a 2021 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph around a curve, the steering wheel went straight, and she attempted to correct it. The lane departure warning with lane keep assist engaged and began to beep and took control of the vehicle. The vehicle fishtailed,…
Not running right
I was driving in right lane,40-45MPH, heard a very loud bang (not a tire), front end of jeep lifted UP, then began veering to the right heading off the road. I was unable to break or turn steering. Next thing, I woke up from being knocked out, hit a pole, 3 witnesses heard the bang as well - one witness told police,…
Air Bags 54 Read
The contact stated her parents owned a 2018 jeep renegade sport. The contact stated her parents were stopped at a red light, rear ended by another vehicle, the force of the impact sent the vehicle out into oncoming traffic where they were then hit on the driver's rear side by a ford f-150. The air bags did not deploy.…
On [XXX] my 2021 Jeep Renegade 4x4 VIN [XXX] was struck from the rear by another vehicle. My vehicle was stopped at a traffic light in Columbus, Ohio. My vehicles air bags did not deploy. The other vehicles air bags did deploy. The Sheriff Office did make mention of this during the traffic Report writing process.…
The contact owned a 2021 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 25 MPH when another vehicle crashed into the rear at an unknown high rate of speed. The passenger side bumper edge was damaged as well as the rear passenger side door. The contact vehicle was propelled 6 meters forward as a…
Vehicle Speed Control 49 Read
The accident happens within 7 days of purchasing the car , driving in a parking lot at 15mile/ hour , when I hit the breaks to stop this triggered the accelerator , and the car speed and went out of control , the more I tried to break the machine the more speed it took , crashing head /on against a tree . With such a…
The contact owned a 2020 jeep renegade. The contact stated while driving 15 mph and approaching a stop sign, when depressing the brake pedal but the vehicle accelerated forward. The contact stated she turned the steering wheel to the left to prevent crashing into metal object but drive into a field and crashed into a…
I was turning into my parking space slowly with the brake slightly depressed. As I pressed further on the brake the car accelerated suddenly. I pressed down hard on the brakes and the car didn't slow down and smacked the retaining wall. The dashboard lit up with the parking brake (did not press) and the car with the…
Service Brakes 40 Read
I was coming up to a red light with a car stopped ahead of me and trying to brake but my brakes did not effectively slow my car so I rear ended the car in front of me going about 10mph or 15mph and his car had zero damage but my car would not turn off (push to start was not working) and my engine burst into flames and…
The contact owns a 2022 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the failure started occurring while driving after purchasing and picking up the vehicle from the…
If you have my jeep renegade in drive and you open a door it activates the emergency brake. My husband was in a wreck in the lowes parking lot. He hadn’t shut his door right and so he opened the driver door slightly which activated the emergency brake which in turn caused him to slam into a parked car. I don’t see how…
Renegade 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Air Bags,seat Belts | — | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags,seat Belts,forward Collision Avoidance | 1 | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 16 | 8 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 22 | 5 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 9 | 9 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 7 | 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 | 507 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.1 |
| Worst single series | 26 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.2 years |
A model average of 4.1 hides a worst series at 26. 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 Renegade?
By complaint volume, 2017, 2015, 2018 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 Renegade years are the cleanest?
2023, 2022, 2020 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jeep Renegade have?
2,102 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2015–2023. Of those, 76 describe a crash and 31 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.