34 of the
1,395 complaints filed about the Jeep Gladiator
are about the lighting —
2% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2021.
The third brake light is not working on my 2022 Gladiator. It was working, but shortly after purchase it stopped working. This seems to be quite the issue as I have seen many Gladiators of all years with the third brake lights not working. This is a safety issue and will not pass inspection if not working. Since there are so many years of Gladiators with inoperable third brake lights it shows that the manufacturer has not addressed the issue. They then turn around and charge up to $100 per light replacement. Unacceptable! This is a government mandated item for vehicles, and as a mandated item it should work more than a couple of years. This is the first vehicle I have ever owned that has issues with the third LED brake light. If the government does not help correct this situation the manufacturer will never correct the situation, and replacement third brake lights will fail within a short period of time leading owners to pay for a part that fails continuously. I have read about many owners simply replacing the light with another Jeep third brake light and not reporting it, only to have it happen again later. Please do something about this highway robbery.
NHTSA complaint #11736720 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Headlights are recessed and snow can pack in the recess which blocks the light. The snow renders the headlights useless and makes for unsafe driving conditions.
NHTSA complaint #11724147 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The 3rd brake light in the tailgate malfunctioned This is required to pass New York State safety inspection A Jeep dealer replaced the part No warning on the dashboard of this light failing
NHTSA complaint #11718714 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The center high mounted tail light (CHMTL) has failed. It makes it a little harder to see the vehicle is braking. The fuses are fine. It is a very common failure on Jeep Gladiators. Many times people don't know it has failed. There are no warning lamps or indicators to tell you it has failed.
NHTSA complaint #11717367 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The automobile's consumer-facing SOFTWARE enables WIFI on the user's mobile phone devices, in my case, ANDROID. However, at the end of the drive, after the STOP button has been depressed, and the car should be stopped, the SOFTWARE fails to turn-off the WIFI that it enabled, thus causing a battery drain of the ANDROID device. When a feature is enabled, it is serious ERROR and BUG to fail to reset the settings to the prior state. Further, this SOFTWARE error and bug causes countless waste of millions or billions of WATTS per year. This bug is serious error and should be addressed on a high priority. Consider the poor consumer driving or even just existing in mid-west snow conditions needing to use his phone , but idiot Stelantis turned-on WIFI on his Android, but then FORGOT to turn-off the WIFI feature, so poor Consumer freezes to death because Jeep forgot to DISABLE after they enabled WIFI, not allowing for the Consumer to make a life-saving call. Further, It is understood by this Consumer that Jeep enabled the WIFI, in order to collect satellite radio usage and album cover pictures, and other reasons. Jeep must report each and every data collection and allow for each and every data collection to be approved or denied by the consumer, which they have not done, so far as I know. Enabling Android power drain and not turning it off when done, is like leaving the lights on when they are not in use, except more egregious, and a serious safety issue. It seems to me that the NHTSA should have inspected this software prior to Jeep spreading it to the public. Further, the hands-free calling worked at first, now it doesn't work. In addition, when turning and in 4wd, the automobile shakes and groans and jumps, when turning.
NHTSA complaint #11706757 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The third brake light, located on the tailgate of the 2021 Jeep Gladiator, has ceased to function due to a failure within the printed circuit board (PCB) inside the light housing. This issue has been confirmed by a third-party repair shop, which has noted that the PCB appears to be broken or damaged, rendering the brake light inoperable. Notably, the vehicle's instrument panel does not provide any notification or alert regarding the malfunction of the third brake light, which could lead to a significant safety risk. This failure impacts the vehicle's ability to properly signal braking and deceleration to other motorists, particularly from the rear. Given that the third brake light is a critical component for road safety, this issue poses a significant risk of rear-end collisions, especially under conditions where visibility is compromised. When the third brake light fails to illuminate this reduces the overall visibility of the vehicle’s braking signals, particularly in situations where the tailgate is obscured or when the vehicle is loaded. The lack of a functional third brake light increases the likelihood of a rear-end collision, putting both the driver and other road users at risk. The failure of the third brake light due to a malfunctioning PCB appears to be a common issue among 2021 Jeep Gladiators. The problem has been reported by multiple owners, and the root cause appears to be related to the design or manufacturing of the printed circuit board within the light assembly. The third brake light has been inspected by a third-party repair shop, which confirmed the malfunction of the PCB. However, despite the issue being identified, there has been no alert or warning displayed on the vehicle's instrument panel. There is no indication within the vehicle's diagnostic system that the third brake light is inoperative. Given the potential safety hazards and the recurring nature of this issue I respectfully request that the NHTSA conduct an investigation.
NHTSA complaint #11694453 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The information center on my 2020 Jeep gladiator will go out and will stay off for months at a time, as well as all warning lights. I consider this to be a serious safety hazard.
NHTSA complaint #11692618 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Instrument Panel Cluster has failed and is blank rendering the vehicle unsafe to drive as vital information is not being presented to the driver. Despite this Jeep Gladiator having been produced and sold in 2020, Stellantis Recall and Customer Service Departments are claiming that the VIN does not indicate there is Recall coverage despite the 2019-2024 NHTSA Safety Recall for this known failure. see: [XXX] The local dealer, Hilltop Jeep, in Richmond, CA has confirmed the failure of the Instrument Panel. Stellantis is not willing to remedy the problem. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11672090 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When the windshield wipers are turned on all the dash lights go out. There were no warning lights to warn me of an issue with the electrical system. I called a Jeep Wave Specialist, and I was told to take my Jeep to a dealer to diagnosis the problem.
NHTSA complaint #11659721 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Gauge cluster went blank randomly, no prior warnings, it just went out while driving. It has been at the dealership getting worked on, in which they stated this is an issue they have seen with other jeeps. I find this to be a safety issue since you can't immediately view how much gas you have, miles in the car, speed while driving. It has not been inspected by any other entity other than the Opelika Jeep Dealership in Alabama.
NHTSA complaint #11652009 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The center brake light went out on my Jeep around 30000 miles. I don’t know when it went out, but it’s an obvious safety concern and common problem with Jeep Gladiator’s. My vehicle is outside warranty of warranty, but a search of a Jeep forum reveals the dealers covered some folks under warranty but not others. My dealer wants $330 to fix what is obviously a defective part of a key safety feature (LED lights are typically rated for 50,000 hours or 6 years of constant illumination).
NHTSA complaint #11649137 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at night during snow storm snow builds in the headlights blocking ability to see. LED HEADLIGHTS do not melt the snow and the headlights are recessed and snow builds up. Drove approximately 15 miles after cleaning lenses off
NHTSA complaint #11642653 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the contact became aware that the passenger’s side headlamp was not illuminating. After a visual inspection of the headlamp assembly, the contact observed that the wires leading into the headlamp assembly were melted. The contact stated that two weeks later the failure occurred with the driver’s side headlamp. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the headlamp assembly. The contact was informed that the headlamp assemblies need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 42,000.
NHTSA complaint #11637734 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The third brake light on the Gladiator is a known issue. When it goes out, there is no warning on the dash or error code. The entire light has to be replaced (LED) vs just a bulb. This is a hazard as the third brake light can go out and no one will know until the vehicle is in an accident. Wasn't the third brake light mandatory equipment since 1985?
NHTSA complaint #11633864 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The instrument panel cluster has short circuited and failed preventing the display of critical safety information such as speed, fuel levels, and engine temperature, etc. This is the same issue that other jeep gladiators have a recall for code NHTSA recall 24V652, but the service department says my jeep that has the exact same issue is not covered. There was no warning and the dash went out while driving. Please add my vin to the list that should be on the recall so that I can have my jeep repaired by the manufacturer for the safety of everyone around me.
NHTSA complaint #11628355 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle only has 18000 mile, and is garaged. The third brake light has failed. In reviewing this on line, it appears to be a common problem. No reason for just a simple device to fail prematurely due a lack of durability testing that is available. This is a safety issue in a world of bad drivers out there.
NHTSA complaint #11618080 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving on hwy at 55 miles per hours complete power loss. No engine no electrical. I was able to coast to stop but was not able to activate hazards . I had just had the aux battery for auto start stop replaced by lithia Jeep dealer in corpus Christi
NHTSA complaint #11613765 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The LED center high-mounted stop lamp, more commonly called the 3rd brake light, failed. A silent code was available to be read by only the dealership service; there were no visible warnings on the vehicle nor any owner online dashboards. In fact, the owner online dashboard had green across the board and clearly stated no issues were detected. The real issue here, and the reason for this submission, is that this LED should not have failed at less than three years and reviewing online many people have been having the same exact issue. Without any visible warnings to the driver, I have no idea how long it has been out. An investigation into a potential recall should be initiated as this is starting to sound like a manufacture defect that is affecting a legally required center high-mounted stop lamp. Minimally, there should be a software update to inform the driver of this error code and not have it be silent such that only a dealership service center is able to read it.
NHTSA complaint #11589453 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.