172 of the
6,123 complaints filed about the Jeep Compass
are about the lighting —
3% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2018.
The headlights and interior lighting flickers when turned on. The vehicle often will not start, but once hooked up to a jumper pack starts immediately despite the batteries being inspected previously and being okay. The start/stop function doesn't always work, and the engine stalls while driving, causing a massive safety issue.
NHTSA complaint #11738275 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
It appears to be the Body Control Module that gave out. While driving home in the evening from work, the vehicle stopped accelerating beyond 20 mph. Further, the passenger windows stopped working, as did exterior tail, emergency, and turn signal lights. The dealer was unable to directly confirm that the BCM was the problem, however, it was confirmed the problem was not fuse, battery, or engine related. No inspection of the component or vehicle to date. No warning lamps or messages appeared. It was raining outside, the vehicle started as normal, and moved as normal for approximately five minutes, then suddenly the vehicle stopped accelerating forward placing myself and others in harm's way.
NHTSA complaint #11727851 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while receiving an oil change, the contact was informed that the passenger’s side headlight failed to operate. The contact attempted to replace the light bulb; however, the headlight failed to illuminate. The original light bulb was reinstalled. The contact stated that the START/STOP system failed to restart the vehicle after an idle stop. The message “Battery Charging System Failure” was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
NHTSA complaint #11726914 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle started show MULTIPLE errors on dash from blind spot not working , lane assist not working, AEB need to be checked,rear brake light not working, turn signal not work, lane assist not working and other errors. Went to dealership for these errors where they repaired a faulty sensor on the front for the lane assist and from collision. Said it was fixed...It was not. Within a hour leaving the dealership, if you pressed to turn off the power save button for when the vehicle when it comes to a stop and not idle, the errors all pop up one after another.. they did not correct any of the errors. I check back lighting and they are on and working but errors say they aren't. Front collison day is it not on but it works and alarms a sound. This is dangerous and if it will have dangerous outcome given it would not correct. Also was receiving notification.to pay into a program for future problem the moment it started again (i paid for extra coverage at signing) I don't know if it's electrical, auto start stop, the lights or something else. Car is barely 2 years old with less than 10,000 mi on it (straight for dealership). Dealership do not clear codes or correct the errors no matter me mentioning them to them.
NHTSA complaint #11719163 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
12/16/25 I almost was hit by a Mac truck the car kept saying my blind spot was temporarily unavailable and also states auto high beam unavailable service required, in which my screen went black, and the car completely turned off. I took the car into have services on 12/19/25. My car was kept for a week and the service department stated they were unable to created it. My car kept having the service lights come on every day that I drove it. On 12/31/2025, I brought the car in again with a picture of the incident that kept occurring several times on 12/30/25. The service department is stating that they were unable to duplicate the issue, and I picked up my car on 01/09/26. My car continued to have the same problem when I almost home. On 1/11/26, the error message for the blind spot and high beam errors came on 13 times when I was out and about. It seems to happen when making turns, going over small bumps, switching lanes, going around curved ramps, and when picking up speed. I need an email from the corporation to send the video clip to that happened on 01/11/26.
NHTSA complaint #11710209 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am submitting this complaint to report a serious and repeated safety-related electrical failure involving my 2023 Jeep Compass. While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden and dangerous electrical malfunction. The windshield wipers activated on their own, both digital screens began flashing uncontrollably with warning messages, headlights and dashboard controls turned on and off without driver input. Most critically, the automatic emergency braking system became disabled while the vehicle was in motion. During the first service visit to an authorized Jeep dealership, I was informed that the Body Control Module (BCM) was not responding, and that multiple vehicle systems showed inactive status and communication failures. The dealership stated they could not identify the root cause. Instead of repairing the issue, the system faults and communication errors were cleared/reset, the battery was replaced “as a precaution,” and the vehicle was released without a confirmed repair. The next day, the same failure occurred again while driving on the highway. The windshield wipers activated randomly, the screen displayed a red warning stripe, multiple system failure messages appeared, and the emergency braking system was disabled at highway speed. This created an extremely dangerous situation. The vehicle behaved unpredictably, critical safety systems were unavailable, and I could have been involved in a serious or fatal accident, putting my life and the safety of others at risk. Thankfully, my children were not in the vehicle at that time. Due to the severity of the malfunction, the vehicle was unsafe to operate and required towing back to the dealership. The issue remains unresolved. This appears to involve a serious defect with the Body Control Module (BCM), vehicle communication systems, and possible wiring or grounding faults, which directly affect vehicle safety and warrant investigation.
NHTSA complaint #11705938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fog lights go off and on by themselves at times. Forward collision warning continues to trigger and have to be reset. Automatic braking has engaged several times without reason.
NHTSA complaint #11699772 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Headlights work intermittently. Driver side comes on but passenger side doesn’t or vise versa. Also sometimes neither come on. No warning messages or anything. Yes the jeep dealership saw the issue with the lights and so did an independent mechanic.
NHTSA complaint #11693722 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On [XXX], a rental vehicle issued by Enterprise was stopped due to an expired North Carolina license plate [XXX] ) and a defective taillight. The expired plate was physically affixed to the Jeep Compass at the time of rental, yet Enterprise’s rental receipt showed a different plate number [XXX] ). This discrepancy was never disclosed before the stop and was repeatedly denied by Enterprise staff for months. Multiple Enterprise representatives—including the branch manager where the vehicle was rented—insisted the Jeep had “only ever” had the [XXX] plate in their system, despite the North Carolina plate being listed on the signed rental agreement and cited by law enforcement. Later, Enterprise claimed the vehicle was re-registered in another state after impound, which altered internal records. This retroactive change created a misleading paper trail that misrepresented the actual tag on the vehicle during the rental period. The expired plate and defective taillight directly triggered a law-enforcement stop, exposing the authorized driver to legal risk, arrest, and vehicle seizure. This unsafe condition should have been identified and corrected before releasing the vehicle, per standard fleet-safety procedures. After impound, personal property left in the vehicle—including electronics—was denied by Enterprise staff as ever existing, despite multiple third-party witnesses confirming its presence. One electronic item was later tracked via GPS to a private residence unrelated to any Enterprise location, after which it was abruptly “found.” Other property remains missing. failure to ensure vehicle roadworthiness, improper record-keeping that concealed the true plate assignment, and mishandling of customer property after impound. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11678806 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My driver's side headlights stops working intermittently. This occurs quite randomly. I have replaced the bulbs, the switch, and after taking it to a dealer, I ended up replacing the driver's side headlight assembly. Nothing has worked, and now I am hundreds of dollars poorer for my trouble. This is clearly a safety issue, and judging from what I have seen in online forums, there are a great many others with the same problem. This is a safety issue that falls squarely on the manufacturer to remedy, and to compensate its customers for our losses.
NHTSA complaint #11666975 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked at a store front in the evening, both headlights were operational. The contact returned and restarted the vehicle; however, the driver's side headlight was inoperable. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the headlight and the electrical connectors and harness had melted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that after the headlight failure, the vehicle was difficult to start one morning. The contact stated that the instrument cluster and the overhead map lights were flashing off and on. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
NHTSA complaint #11664881 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The electrical system and start/stop system has went blizzark and began loosing power going in and out of limp mode the headlights no longer work on one side and high beam isn't bright anymore I've replaced the auxiliary battery and the normal battery has begun to short circuit and cannot decide if it's full charged or down to 8volts when their began happening it was during a rainstorm and I was left stalled in mid intersection ....even a jump wouldn't fix the problem. I had it towed to my dealership where the mechanics were unable to diagnose the problem but did get it to happen again going down the highway they then also had it towed back to the shop and replaced the auxiliary battery it didn't happen again until 3 months later now it's getting worse each day i will replace the battery but then I'd like to have my electrical problems looked into but I have read many 9the people having the same issues even after the recall of an electrical chip and I wander if it shouldn't also.be replaced a second time
NHTSA complaint #11638970 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I bought my vehicle in May of 2019. In May 2021 my car had 34,000 miles on it and the passenger side headlight was out. I took it to the dealership and they replaced my left headlight assembly (vehicle was under warranty). In October 2024, I noticed that my headlight on the passenger side was out again. My vehicle had 56,426 miles on it. I called the dealership (South Point Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Austin, TX) up to 9 times and no one responded to my calls. Due to their lack of response, I took it to a shop up the road that specializes in Jeeps. When the shop took a look at the issue, they found that both headlights were actually out. First they tried just replacing the bulbs, and that didn't work. So they replaced the entire headlight assembly on both sides. This fixed the issue for maybe 3 weeks. My headlights are still out. I took it back to the shop for help and they told me they cannot help me, as everything looks to be set up right. I have spent over $1,200 in repair costs and ubers to get this issue fixed and I am at a loss. Looks like this is a common issue with 2018 Jeep Compasses. I filed a case against Jeep and they immediately denied my case. This is very concerning given I do have to drive at night and early mornings to travel to work.
NHTSA complaint #11635884 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A cable going to the driver's side headlamp assembly was intermittently shorting and causing the headlight to turn off while driving. The cable and entire headlamp assembly had to be replaced to fix the issue. There are other reports of this issue on [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11635418 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My headlights only work on random occasions. The bulbs don’t need replacing so it seems electrical. I can’t drive at night now because I never know if I’ll be able to see or not with this issue.
NHTSA complaint #11628917 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle is a 2018 Jeep Compass Limited with the VIN [XXX] ####. I purchased it used on [XXX]. On [XXX], I noticed a problem with the headlights. They have been flickering between both headlights almost daily since then. On [XXX], both headlights were out, and I needed to drive at night. After about half a mile, the passenger headlight turned on, and after another half mile, the driver’s headlight came on. I’ve attached photos taken on October [XXX] and [XXX] to illustrate the issue. It’s a serious safety concern. This is just one of several dozen reports of the same problem. The manufacturer must be informed about this issue and initiate a recall once they have a solution to ensure that the headlights remain on when they’re supposed to. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11625655 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
All Vehicles with Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) that are configured in a manner to illuminate the primary low beam or high beam headlamps, or a significant output of an LED source are a danger to other vehicles at night if they are too bright. Vehicles with the above characteristics put drivers at risk as the operator of that vehicle assumes they have their lights on due to the amount of light they can see, but the taillights are not illuminated in any fashion. There are no active or passive warnings to the operators that they have no lights on. They assume that because they can see, others can see them but that is not the case in most instances. The drivers themselves, in newer cars at least with digital information displays, are often seen with brightly illuminated dashboards hindering their own visibility because the car believes it is daylight, and has all internal brightness settings to max to ensure visibility. The easiest proposal for remediation is a mass recall and software update by the manufacturers to these vehicles where the DRL function is replaced by using a low output light on all directions, similar to parking lights (where the brake lights are in a dim setting similar to being on, and the front turn signals are in a dim setting) thus increasing daytime visibility still, while also having rear-facing safety for themselves and other drivers. This is of course, not limited to the 2022 Jeep Compass, but all brands, and a large percentage of vehicles form the last decade. More and more drivers are not familiar with their vehicles, and as automated settings for headlamp control advances, drivers are no longer familiar with the standardized symbols indicated the difference between parking lights, low beams, and fog lamps. See attached photos for 3 examples from three different manufacturers. I see several daily on my way to work in Boston, and numerous drivers flashing their highbeams at the unilluminated vehicle, in an attempt to alert them.
NHTSA complaint #11623051 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.