Owners have filed 14,055 complaints on the Jeep Wrangler, covering 1986–2023. The system named most often is Steering (1,299 reports). Worst years by volume: 2018, 2008, 2021; cleanest: 1986, 1996, 1987. 447 reports describe a crash, 432 a fire, 12 a death. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jeep Wrangler
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 14,055 Wrangler complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 1,299 Read
I have a lemon jeep that has caused me many accidents due to the steering issue and engine overheating and leaking oil which I almost started a wildfire in northern california mountains highway 299. Unacceptable, fca doesnt care
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel locked, causing him to momentarily lose control of the vehicle. Upon attempting to bring the vehicle to a stop, the contact stated that the brake pedal was stuck in its resting position, prompting…
While driving under normal conditions, the vehicle suddenly became unstable and difficult to control. Steering response was abnormal, and the vehicle did not behave as expected, creating a loss of stability and control. The incident occurred without warning and required the vehicle to be towed. This event raised…
Electrical System 938 Read
The contact's daughter owned a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Hybrid. The contact stated while his daughter was driving 30 MPH, the vehicle ahead of hers stopped unexpectedly. The contact stated that the daughter slammed on the brakes and swerved to the right; however, the driver's side front end of the vehicle hit the…
I was involved in a collision. The front driver's side hit another car, causing a lot of damage. The surprise was the fire. There is no reason for it to have caught for the way it did. The door was jammed, so resorted to unhooking the soft top, while I caught fire. I opened the top and jumped off the top, crawling…
Vehicle travelling down curved highway ramp, inexplicably lost control, hit the jersey barrier, went over the jersey barrier and crashed into the abutment of the overpass bridge and then flipped over bursting into flames. Driver was killed. No evasive maneuvers were made by the driver, no skid marks, cause of crash…
Power Train 399 Read
Yesterday 8/27/23 at 5pm I pulled into a parking lot and then into a parking space. As I came to a stop my Jeep lunged forward into the vehicle that was parked in front of me. At the time my Jeep Wrangler 4XE was operating in Hibrid mode running on electric with 49% charge left. As my Jeep came to a stop the gasoline…
I was driving my 2023 Jeep Wrangler 2 Door Willys on a 4 lane divided road approaching a stop light. The stoplight was red so I started slowing down approximately 200 feet from the intersection. I applied the brake pedal and the vehicle started to slow down. As I was approaching the intersection I could feel the…
Jeep caught on fire while it was parked in the driveway there as a ecall on the battery as it s a 4xe i had an appointment with the jeep dealer on the 16th of december and they cancelled it few days before the scheduled appointment they said they didnt have any loaners as it was a 2 day job they would call to…
Engine 181 Read
The contact owns a 2007 jeep wrangler. While driving approximately 20 mph, the contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood and entering into the vehicle. The contact was unable to see and crashed into a culvert. The police reported to the scene and a report was filed. The contact sustained bruises to the arms and…
The contact was an attorney who was filing a complaint on behalf of his client, who owned a 2023 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while his client was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The failure caused his client's vehicle to be rear-ended by another vehicle. No air bags were…
2021 jeep wrangler. Consumer writes in regards to fuel tank issue. The consumer stated while driving, the vehicle began smoking and went into limp mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who hadn't determined the cause of the failure after 6 weeks. The vehicle had 2,845 miles
Suspension 157 Read
Beginning in January 2023 with approximately 20,000 miles our leased 2021 Jeep Wrangler began to shake uncontrollably while driving on the highway at speeds over 60 mph. The shaking was so significant that while trying to safely guide the car off the highway my husband was shaken into the guardrail causing damage to…
Driving home from work - roughly 30 miles per hour when suddenly my jeep pulled hard to the right. I had no control, bounced off a phone pole and my airbag went off. It felt as if something in the undercarriage simply gave out. *dt I have now been without a vehicle for 6 weeks.*dt *tt *tr
The contact owns a 2017 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that the front passenger side sway bar and j-link separated while driving 40 mph. As a result, the vehicle veered out of control and struck a mail box, fence, and concrete wall, which caused the rear differential cover to separate and leak fluid. The contact…
Air Bags 146 Read
I was driving to work on 10-5-15 when a drunk driver pulled out in front of me, I had no time to stop but when my 2010 jeep wrangler unlimited hit their vehicle, I immediately smelled and saw smoke comming from the engine compartment of my jeep. I drove to the side of the road where I quickly got out and made it just…
While driving at 30 mph, the vehicle was involved in a head on collision and the airbags did not deploy. *ak the vehicle crashed with into a large tree. *scc
The contact owned a 2023 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH and the vehicle hydroplaned and rolled over eight times. The contact stated that none of the air bags were deployed. In addition, the contact stated that the failure occurred while it was raining. The contact stated that his mother and…
Service Brakes 103 Read
Over the past two days, the vehicle has intermittently displayed an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system error message while driving. At the same time, the brake pedal becomes extremely hard to press, as if the brake booster or power assist is not functioning. When this occurs, it requires significantly increased…
Jan/2023 at 55mph, a vehicle swerved into my lane which required immediate braking. Applying the brake, the Jeep engine surged, and Jeep would not slow down. I reapplied brake and initially it didn't slow my vehicle. After re-reapplying the brakes, the Jeep responded to the braking. On Mar 28, 2023 traveling…
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while at a stop light and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would not drive forward and the gear shifter lights began blinking. Suddenly the vehicle would lurch forward and backward crashing into both the vehicles in the front and rear and a third…
Fuel System 79 Read
Low speed rear right impact to vehicle caused it to fall on its side and immediately burst into flames rendering total destruction. Another owner's auto was 't boned' and it also burst into flames. *nm ..updated 08-09-12 *bf updated 08/09/2012
1994 jeep wrangler. Attorney representing consumer writes in regards to vehicle fuel tank location that caused a family member death of the clients, he is representing. *smd the decedent was a passenger in the vehicle. The driver lost control of the vehicle, jumped a curbed, hit a pole, then a tree and burst into…
The contact owned a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that there were strong fumes coming from the vehicle, causing the contact to sustain severe headaches and nausea. The contact had gone to the Doctor's Office, where blood work was completed. The contact was informed that no issues were found, and the Doctor…
Wrangler 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 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags,forward Collision Avoidance | 13 | 11 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 19 | 22 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 16 | 12 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 9 | 9 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 19 | 23 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 16 | 20 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 28 | 15 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 14 | 24 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 20 | 22 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 13 | 14 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 19 | 18 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 12 | 17 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 13 | 32 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 9 | 13 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 16 | 30 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 20 | 25 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 5 | 6 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 10 | 6 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 13 | 5 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 7 | 3 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 9 | 4 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 11 | 13 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 12 | 16 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 13 | 6 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 20 | 7 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 22 | 4 | |
| 1996 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1995 | Electrical System | 23 | 3 | |
| 1994 | Electrical System | 9 | 6 |
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 | 3,044 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.6 |
| Worst single series | 64 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 4.6 hides a worst series at 64. 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
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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 Wrangler?
By complaint volume, 2018, 2008, 2021 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 Wrangler years are the cleanest?
1996, 2003, 2002 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jeep Wrangler have?
14,055 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1986–2023. Of those, 447 describe a crash and 432 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.