2018 Jeep Wrangler driver assist problems

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Change the ending so it is completely accurate: The electric power-steering assistance and electrical/instrument-panel systems have repeatedly malfunctioned. Power-steering assistance failed while I was driving on August 3, 2026, and again on August 8, 2026. Each time, the steering suddenly became extremely difficult. I struggled to maintain control and pull over safely without being struck or causing a collision. This placed me, my passengers, and other motorists at serious risk. The Jeep also displays numerous warning lamps and messages, the instrument cluster and odometer malfunction, the radio loses sound, and reverse sometimes will not engage. Multiple electrical systems can malfunction simultaneously. Five people have witnessed these problems. Electrical symptoms existed when I purchased the Jeep in May 2024. Federico Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram inspected it in July 2024 at 44,780 miles. The dealer documented a disappearing odometer, multiple warning lights, failure to start, required jump-starts, and inability to turn the vehicle off. Federico diagnosed an internal instrument-cluster failure and replaced the cluster. Similar problems continued intermittently afterward and became substantially worse beginning July 11, 2026. Federico recently reviewed my video. A technician considered a possible wiring problem, but the dealership requires a paid diagnostic before confirming the cause. The current failure has not been physically diagnosed. Mopar received my report and video but has not inspected the Jeep or provided a technical determination. Police, insurance representatives, and independent shops have not inspected it. The Jeep has fewer than 65,000 miles and is available for inspection upon request. I limit driving as much as possible because I believe it is unsafe, but I have no other vehicle and must occasionally drive it for essential transportation.

NHTSA complaint #11757777 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

1. Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel. AN Instrument Panel That Fails TO Display Critical Safety Information, Such AS THE Speedometer or Warning Lights, CAN Increase THE Risk OF A Crash. My VIN said there is no recall for this and my vehicle has this problem. 2. Blind Spot Warning becomes disabled and errors out periodically even when there are no issues with sensors and sensors are cleaned. When error occurs, the Blind Spot Warning lights remain active even when there are no objects in the blind spot.

NHTSA complaint #11640902 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

My vehicle started showing the airbag light on and it ended up being the clock spring, many jeep wranglers have being recalled because the same issue. The clock spring is the one that controls cruise, airbag, horn, traction, etc. i took it to the dealership and they said the vehicle was showing the B1B02 code, witch the the same why all the other jeeps were recalled but there is not a recall yet for my year. I want to people be aware of the importance of it, because in a crash the airbag will not deploy and even not in a crash the cruise control could malfunction anytime. I got my vehicle repaired today for a total of $1137.00 that wasn’t covered my extended warranty because they alleged the clock spring/airbag problem is reported very often. This is a really safety matter for all the jeep owners!!!

NHTSA complaint #11624505 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

While driving at 55 mph the brake light, service abs system, check engine light, service 4wd, service transmission, loss of power steering, and engine cooling fan ran very fast. I was lucky to pull off the road and put the vehicle in Park. The 4 Way flashers would blink erratically. Engine still running wouldn't come out of Park. I turned the vehicle off.l let it set a few minutes. I then restarted the vehicle and it shifted into gear and drove home with the check engine light on. The next day it had no check engine light.

NHTSA complaint #11624373 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

The sensors, in particular the blind spot warning, randomly light up and stay on until the vehicle is turned off. Radio and navigation system randomly shuts off, and check engine light goes on and off randomly. While driving at night, my entire dash flashed a red warning that there was no oil in the vehicle. I immediately pulled over at a gas station. It was dark, I couldn’t see, and it was 2am in a town I was unfamiliar with. I added 1 quart of oil ( I couldn’t really see the dipstick). The warning light went off, and the check engine light came on. I went 30 minutes to my destination and had the car towed to the dealership the next day. They said it was an o2 sensor, and that there was TOO MUCH oil in the vehicle so they drained it and did an oil change. I picked it up, drove less than 5 miles, and the check engine light came back on. I immediately returned to the dealership. They had it for several days before telling me that I had to replace the Catalytic Converters (2 of them) because I had overfilled the oil. They deemed it my fault. Since then the sensor problems continued, and the check engine light would randomly go on and off. Now it’s at the dealership again because it was leaking oil after an oil change. The dealership, and inspector from my extended warranty are saying that it has a blown engine because there was too little oil (in spite of NO SENSOR going off warning that the oil was low). Extended warranty inspector wants me to authorize a complete engine tear down for further inspection ($7000) and the dealership says I should just replace the engine ($11,000).

NHTSA complaint #11612468 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

I have been having electrical problems with my jeep for a couple of months. I took it in to my jeep dealer that found over fifty problem codes. They cleared the codes and drove it for 180 miles over two weeks and could not get anything to duplicate. Some codes- service shifter, abs not communicating, engine light, no speedometer, sway bar service, service 4 wheel drive, cruise control off, remote start off, and more. They had me take it home and let them know if it continues. It did so I took it to a different mechanic and he came up with 72 codes and he couldn’t track any of them to a source. So I picked it up today and on the way home on the interstate curved overpass going 65 it suddenly veered to the right at the retaining wall. The power steering quite. It was all I could do to keep it from hitting the wall. If it would of been my wife driving she would of wrecked. I was almost home and was able to muscle it home barley able to turn into the drive way. After a while I went back outside and started it and the power steering worked just fine.

NHTSA complaint #11595372 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Clutch - The Sansone Dealer located in Avenel, NJ has informed me that they did not have the part at the time and that I would receive a call. I never got a call so I decided to take the car back to them and now I'm being told they would need to hold onto the car for at least 48-hrs to diagnose the car. I don't understand why when they should be aware of the recall.

NHTSA complaint #11585732 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Vehicle starts throwing codes and power steering quits working...

NHTSA complaint #11539752 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Recurring issue with my Jeep where seemingly every light on the dash, as well as the blind spot detectors, illuminates. The lights are accompanies by warning messages that indicate that electronic stability control and parking sense are unavailable. ABS lights, Traction Control, stability control, the brake light, and prompts to service 4WD are present. The impact varies based on whether or not the car is in motion. When it is not, as in the case of a cold start, the transmission is locked in Park. When the car is in motion, power steering intermittently goes out. If you pull over and put the vehicle in park while the lights are illuminated (i.e. if they don't clear), the car will get stuck in park until the lights clear. I have had the vehicle towed to the Jeep dealership in Natick, MA twice and, while they've charged me nothing, they've been unable to help due to the issue clearing and a lack of persistent diagnostic logs. Aside from the inconvenience, the sudden loss of power steering presents a safety issue. This has been going on for months, though the safety concern with steering only presented yesterday.

NHTSA complaint #11532570 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Driving along at highway speed. lost power steering. All lights lit on dash. center LCD screen was giving warnings that all systems had failed. Anti lock brakes, gear selector, can bus systems, audio and GPS systems. Fortunately i was driving on a straight highway. I've looked into this issue. Its called the Christmas tree event. As all problem lights on dash light up. It looks like the fix is replacing 2 CANBUS ports behind glove box.

NHTSA complaint #11527294 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Electrical going haywire. While in drive it just wouldn’t do anything the gear shift “D” was blinking so I rolled to a safe place (thank god I was not on the freeway) turned it off then back on again apparently this is now a known problem not only for 2018 some were 2019 & 2020…… please investigate

NHTSA complaint #11520703 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

2018 Jeep Wrangler (JL) Sahara Safety features all disable with this issue: Power steering (this could happen on the highway) Stability (STC), Antilock Braking, Blind spot, etc. While driving their appears to be an electrical short. The steering wheel locks up and all lights on dashboard come on. Several error messages "Auto Park Disabled", "Speed Control Messaging Unavailable", "Service Antilock Brake System", "Service Transmission Continue in DRIVE. Do Not Shift or Turn Off Engine" - to name a few. Dealers turn me way with simple computer reboot solutions only for issue to reoccur. Issue presents itself intermittently. Dealer has regularly turned me away for being unable to replicate in non driving conditions.

NHTSA complaint #11517802 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

The power steering went out while driving, check engine light came on, ABS Service, Service Shifter, Start/Stop unavailable, Service 4wd, Auto Park Disabled, Blind Spot Alert, Electronic Stability Control Service, Parking Sense Off. I could not shift out of Park. Many people are having this problem with their 2018 Wrangler JL and JLU and later models. All you have to do is Google this or go to YouTube to see. It may be a faulty ECU. In any case, this is a problem and a safety hazard.

NHTSA complaint #11473095 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

While driving at low speed in heavy rain vehicle lost power steering, engine service light, anti lock brake failure, skid control. Had to remove vehicle from roadway and restart engine, which corrected steering failure. Engine service light remained on. Vehicle is garaged. After being in garage for 24hrs engine service went out. Contacted dealer and was given appointment. Recommended not drive vehicle until service. Vehicle has 18,000 miles on it. Was told by dealer that battery failed which is tired into the crawl feature of the of the Rubicon 2.0 liter engine with crawl electric motor. Also told that there were many service bulletins.

NHTSA complaint #11470042 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

In the middle of the intersection, the power steering turned off and the steering wheel locked. I could not move the steering. All dashboard lights came on as well as the emergency brakes. The gear shift also locked and refused to shift into any toner gear. The vehicle was completely disabled and would not restart. This is the 5 time this has happened. I took it to get serviced at my local jeep Chrysler dodge dealership and I am still receiving the same issue.

NHTSA complaint #11469062 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Service shifter comes on and can’t go into. While driving it’ll notify again and lock my steering making every hard to turn. Having to wait 10-30 mins just for to reset and get into gear then coming back on days later.

NHTSA complaint #11468589 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

1) Compromised Battery (a battery purchased in August of 2021 from Interstate Battery|Camp Bowie Blvd|FortWorthTx) 2) Moritz Service Team explained some batteries (via the 3 manufacturers) can have a fail rate or be bad batteries 3) Moritz could not replicate extent of the issues we experienced with a collapsed electrical system on 02.24.2022. 4) Moritz could not explain why the 3rd party purchased battery was “discharged” completely after driving the Jeep and stopping for a short period resulting in the collapse of electrical system. 5) Moritz Team and GM had no explanation for the replacement of 3 batteries for this Jeep in a short period of < 3 years. 6) Moritz Team and GM suggested they have no knowledge of this Jeep product having these type of electrical issues. (See link: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/JEEP/WRANGLER/SUV/4WD%252520Later%252520Release#safety-ratings-frontal) 7) Moritz Service Team and GM recommended returning the battery to its place of purchase for a warranty trade in. 8) Moritz Service Team and GM proposed if a repeat of this event occurs that: A) Moritz Service Team provide a more expansed evaluation of this issue (requiring our solo mode of transportation to be in the shop for an extended period) B) Should Moritz Service Team be unable to identify and replicate issue: a STAR report be submitted to escalate issue to next level engineers for Moritz. As an update: We delivered the Jeep with the 3rd party purchased battery back to Interstate Battery as recommended (following our meeting). Multiple tests were performed and noted that the 12V 48 AGM 60 G-48 (SLI48AGMDP) battery registered each time above 775. ISSUE UNRESOLVED: The issue remains how a fully charged battery (with no effect of user error), driven appropriately, resulted in a full electrical collapse of this Jeep Wrangler Unltd. Rubicon JL system within 30 minutes of the ignition beiNG turned off and attempted restart. MFG 10.2018

NHTSA complaint #11454861 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: CAMERA SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the backup camera was inoperable on several occasions. There were no warning lights illuminated. The backup camera would randomly work as designed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 7,800.

NHTSA complaint #11441913 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING

2018 JEEP WRANGLER HAS TERRIFYING STEERING ISSUES. CONSISTENTLY WHILE STEERING A HIGHWAY CURVE AT 40-55 MPH MY JEEP STEERING DISENGAGES AND RESULTS IN AN UNSAFE INABILITY TO MAINTAIN THE STEERING COLUMN. THE STEERING CAN BE DESCRIBED AS LOOSE AND COMMONLY DESCRIBED BY PASSENGERS AS THE UNSETTLING FEELING THAT THE FRAME OF THE VEHICLE IS COMING OFF THE WHEELS. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE NOT BEEN INJURED YET BUT IF THIS CONTINUES I DON'T THINK IT WILL REMAIN THAT WAY.

NHTSA complaint #11398134 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN REVERSE, WHETHER STATIONARY OR MOVING, SOMETIMES THE PARKING ASSIST GRID LINES DO NOT SHOW UP AT ALL ON THE SCREEN THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU WHEN YOU ARE BACKING THE VEHICLE UP. THE GRID LINES LET YOU KNOW HOW FAR TO KEEP BACKING UP, IF YOU ARE GOING STRAIGHT OR AT AN ANGLE, LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOU SHOULD STOP BACKING UP, ETC. THIS MEANS YOU ARE NOT EXACTLY SURE WHEN YOU SHOULD STOP & SOMETIMES YOU HIT THE CURB BEHIND YOU WITH YOUR WHEELS OR IN MY CASE, I HIT OUR BACKYARD FENCE. I ALSO COULDN'T TELL THAT I WAS AS CLOSE TO A PARKED CAR AS I WAS OR THAT I DID NOT PULL INTO A PARKING SPACE STRAIGHT. I'VE EMAILED JEEP SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS & JOINED SEVERAL ONLINE BLOG GROUPS & JEEP KEEPS TELLING US JEEP OWNERS THEY WILL BE PUTTING OUT A UCONNECT UPGRADE WHICH SHOULD FIX IT BUT WE'VE BEEN WAITING OVER 2 YEARS NOW & NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.

NHTSA complaint #11385725 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST

VEHICLE DOING DEATH WOBBLE FROM REPETITIVELY FROM SPEEDS 50 ON UP TO 70 AT TIMES LOWER. HARD TO CONTROL.

NHTSA complaint #11378298 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.