Ford Explorer vs Jeep Wrangler

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure Ford Explorer Jeep Wrangler
Complaints on file 43,316 23,013
Model years covered 1977–2026 1986–2026
Worst model year 1998 2021
Best model year 2008 2025
Crashes reported 2,358 779
Fires reported 987 741
Injuries reported 1,950 477
Deaths reported 182 26
Most complained-about part Transmission & Drivetrain Steering
Share of complaints involving harm 12.6% 8.8%

Ford Explorer by year

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Body & Structure 5,325 12.3%
Engine & Cooling 4,200 9.7%
Tires 4,187 9.7%
Steering 4,178 9.6%
Other & Unspecified 3,122 7.2%
Electrical System 2,309 5.3%
Brakes 2,223 5.1%

Jeep Wrangler by year

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Steering 3,542 15.4%
Electrical System 2,994 13.0%
Engine & Cooling 2,753 12.0%
Fuel & Propulsion 2,567 11.2%
Suspension 1,599 6.9%
Airbags 1,484 6.4%
Other & Unspecified 1,307 5.7%