2018 Jeep Compass Complaint Log

failing component: Transmission / Powertrain. The transmission is jerking aggressively when shifting into gear. yes, the vehicle is available for inspection. I currently have the vehicle in my possession. How was safety put at risk? The vehicle jerked violently into gear while accelerating from a stopped position at an intersection. The force was strong enough to physically jolt both the driver and passenger. This creates a safety risk due to unpredictable vehicle behavior during acceleration and could lead to loss of control or increased risk of collision. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed? YES – the issue has occurred after the vehicle was returned following transmission replacement. The dealership has attempted multiple transmission replacements, indicating an ongoing unresolved issue. Has the vehicle been inspected by anyone? YES – inspected and repaired multiple times by dealership service department. Transmission has been replaced multiple times, including a failed replacement while still at the dealership. Warning lights or prior symptoms? NO warning lights were present. Prior to the failure, a whining noise was present, which was previously reported to the dealership as a suspected transmission issue. The vehicle was brought to a dealership for a transmission-related issue and has undergone multiple transmission replacements. After the most recent repair, the vehicle was returned with the issue unresolved. On March 22, 2026, while accelerating from a stopped position at an intersection, the vehicle jerked aggressively into gear. The force was significant enough to physically jolt both the driver and passenger. Despite multiple repair attempts, the transmission is still not operating correctly. This creates a safety concern due to unpredictable shifting behavior. Additionally, the dealership drove the vehicle approximately 3,000 miles while in their possession, yet the issue remains unresolved.

Issue occurs in [XXX] during normal daily driving, including while reversing and operating the vehicle at low speeds. The malfunctioning touchscreen interferes with safe vehicle operation in parking areas, residential streets, and regular traffic conditions. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

Oil compsuption

While driving I stopped at a light and an issues occurred where my stop start light appeared on dashboard. The car turned off for a minute and eventually started back up.

Hello my truck is having issues stalling, noise like grinding, rattling, or some kind of clunking sounds especially during acceleration. It jerking movement. My car will shift into neutral by itself and sometimes it won't even shift into gear at all when trying to put it into drive.

I was driving up a hill and coming to a light. Another car was asking the turn at the light. I let off the gas to slow the car down and there was no way I was going to hit the car turning. The Automatic Emergency Braking engaged, slamming on the brakes, causing an abrupt stop in traffic. I was almost hit from behind because this system took over my car and did not allow me the driver to co trol the car.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The driver was able to restart the vehicle after several minutes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an oil consumption test was performed, and the vehicle passed the oil consumption test. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was currently experiencing excessive oil consumption and required 2 quarts of oil after driving 5,000 miles. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

When coming to a stop at a stop light or stop sign sometimes the car will stall and the automatic stop/start will turn off and put the cars emergency brake on. This is typically in the middle of traffic. I put the car in park and the car won't turn off. I have to take my foot off the brake while it is in park, turn off the car that way. Then to turn it back on, put my foot on the brake and start the car all over again. All while cars are behind me and it is taking me minutes to get my car moving. This is happening very often. It can happen in dangerous places in the road as well. This cannot be normal.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, and while stopped at a traffic light, several unknown warning lights illuminated with the message to “Park the Vehicle” displayed. The contact stated that while the vehicle was running and shifted from park into drive, the vehicle failed to move. The contact stated that while shifted into park, the vehicle failed to turn off. The failure persisted, and the contact made several attempts to move the vehicle. The contact was eventually able to start the vehicle and drove to a parking lot, after which the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

Check engine lights came on, and then a warning saying stop safely, the engine will shut down soon, now it will not start. Leaving me stranded. This happened twice, but now the car won’t start and will need to be towed. I have asked several repair shops and done research online, and nobody knows how to fix this issue.

Warning lamp:"stop safely. vehicle will shut off soon" the car will shut off while driving. The warning is not sufficient enough to ignore that fairly new cars are shutting down on the road for no reason. There are numerous complaints about this same issue and I am wondering what is it going to take for jeep to take accountability and fix this. We should not have to pay for this repair. Resolution unknown. We are supposed to guess. No information is offered through a diagnostic check. As you can see this vehicle has 46,000 miles on it. Regular maintenance. Serviced at the dealer numerous times.

My car has had an ongoing issue where it doesn’t start and has even stopped while I was driving before and not turned on again. I had the battery changed and still the same issue. My gps is not locating the correct location of my car, also the warnings are wrong (blind spot, etc.) they go off sometimes when there is nothing there. It’s an angojng issue, I only added one incident date but there have been many and I think it is associated to the recalls on this model.

Car starts just fine, I let it warm up, it idles just fine. It is a 6 speed manual, I can reverse out of my driveway and drive 1 block to the stop sign and the car will stall immediately. This has happened more than 10 times in the past month. I have replaced the spark plugs as of yesterday 1/14/2026 and it ran fine all day through busy city and many purposely made stops along my drive and back home. Today 1/15/2026 I went to go to our gas station in town, and the car stalled again at the same stop sign. This time, it would not restart, it shut itself down, and I had to open the drivers door and close it for it tonregister the carvwas shutnoff, and then attempted to restart. No go. We tried the old fashioned push start and pop the clutch and this failed also. I ended up holding the pedal down for it to even sputter. I then waited a minute and retried starting the engine. It sputtered so much I had to give it more gas to keep it running. I made it back to my house and it died turning into the driveway. It will be parked until a solution can be found.

I was driving and my car just stalled and I could not get it to start again. I have had this happen to me over 4 times. My car is currently at the Jeep Dealer and they charged me over $700 telling me it was wiring. It happened again on 11/24/2025 and they have had my car since then and they keep telling me they cannot figure out what was wrong with it. Today they called me and said it was a circuit thing. There was a recall for exactly what was happening to my car. NHTSA Recall 18v-524 just that my car was not recalled. I am now going 2 weeks without a car and it clearly is experiencing EXACTLY what the recall says. over 3 times I was on the highway when the car stalled while I was driving. It just stopped in the middle of the highway the car behind me had to stop short. I had a bad panic attack. Why are they not doing the right thing and fixing what they know they have to fix. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I MAKE A COMPLAINT THROUGH YOU.

Randomly high temperature warning light comes on dash which causes car to immediately shut off. After a complete stop you are able to restart car. All obvious cooling components fine. This happens often and random putting occupants in serious danger of collision. Has happened on highway and in middle of intersection making a turn. This false warning causing car shutdown happens 5-8 times a month.

The vehicle will turn over but does not go into gear. With all emergency systems lighting up. When vehicle was running it would randomly turn off or stall in the middle of the road.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the engine was running and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact made several attempts to move the vehicle; however, the steering wheel and the gear shifter were seized. The contact called a neighbor to the scene for assistance, and after several attempts, the vehicle restarted, and the contact drove the vehicle to the residence. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer failed to determine the cause of the check engine warning light being illuminated; however, the contact was informed that the steering rack was loose and needed to be repaired. The steering rack was covered under warranty and was repaired. Recently, upon starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled to have the vehicle diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle briefly started shaking violently, before losing motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle initially failed to restart. After waiting approximately one hour, the vehicle was able to restart but operated under reduced power, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the powertrain control module wiring harness. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V524000 (Electrical System), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 123,478.

Car turn off while driving on the freeway, all dashlights come on ( 4WD, service engine, transmission service, ABS, crash detector, high voltage, battery voltage, etc) the car has 79k miles

When I first purchased my car, for some reason it kept starting, and then the engine would turn off in the middle of driving. As of lately the Key fob has been undetected in the car or battery is low. I have replaced my key fob twice. I have also replaced my batteries in both of the key fobs. After I replace the key fob, the check engine light came on in the car is stalling not starting properly. Sometimes I have to press the multiple times for it to start up. Recently I was driving and my car just stalled and I could not get it to start again. I have had this happen to me over 10 times. There was a recall for exactly what was happening to my car. NHTSA Recall 18v-524 just that my car was not recalled. I am now without a car and it clearly is experiencing EXACTLY what the recall says. over 5 times I was on the road when the car stalled / stopped while I was driving. It just stopped in the middle of the road. Now my car will not start at all. I have not even had the car for two years. The car has 40,000 miles on it. I got the car at 20,000 miles. They have been 6 recalls for cars like mine however my specific VIN was not included. The recalls that I am most concerned with. u87 and w20.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact reported that the rearview camera display was intermittently blank, and no image was visible. The contact stated that occasionally the image froze and was not properly displayed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

Shifting assembly failed. When the service center went to order it, it was heavily backordered (meaning many people with this Make / Model experiencing the same failure at the same time). Service center showed me that a thin rubber gasket is all that failed … it is no more substantial than a rubber washer you put in a water hose). Why a $500 part for a $0.50 failure? (Perhaps that is the service center taking advantage.) But even still why would Jeep put such a cheap part in such a critical location where it can break and become dislodged and result in you losing control of your vehicle drive train? Something feels very wrong about this.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that intermittently, while driving 60 MPH on the highway uphill, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward and backward. The vehicle failed to respond when the accelerator pedal was depressed or released. The contact stated that the engine revved high. The vehicle was stopped and began to shake. The driver was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was restarted, and the malfunction, transmission, and service engine warning lights were illuminated. The message “START/STOP not Available” was displayed. The contact called the local dealer, but there was no answer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was called, but the phone hung up, and the automatic system confirmed there was no recall coverage. The contact attempted to use the website, but there was an error with the submission. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000.

The jeep use to stop if I was going and a car suddenly stopped in front of me. But now it has done it 3 times and there wasn’t a car or anything infront of me.

I Changed Both Batteries On My Truck And A Blown Fuse & It Still Wont Start. Cant Figure Out Why The Fuse & Replacement One Keeps Blowing Out. Only Signs Come On The Dashboard After Changing Both Batteries Are The Electronic Throttle Control Warning Light & Engine Check Light.

Description of Problem: Since purchase, this vehicle has exhibited severe safety defects, including sudden and repeated engine shutdowns at highway speeds, loss of power while driving, dashboard malfunctions, steering lockups, service ESC, dynamic steering torque service required, service hill holder, false fuel gauge readings, service airbag reading, transmission warming sign, and emergency brake engagement without command. These failures have occurred multiple times and forced me off the road to avoid collisions. They mirror known recalls on this model year and create a clear risk of injury or death. Attempts to Repair: The selling dealer (Coral Springs Pre-Owned Superstore) and an authorized Jeep dealer (Arrigo Jeep in Margate, FL and Arrigo Jeep Tamarac,FL) have repeatedly failed to identify or repair the issues despite video evidence. They claim they cannot replicate the malfunctions, though the vehicle continues to fail monthly. Safety Concern: The Jeep Compass shuts down without warning at highway speeds, leaving me stranded in traffic. This is an immediate hazard and should be investigated as a systemic defect. Requested Action: Investigation into recalls/defects on the 2018 Jeep Compass, enforcement of repairs, and accountability for dealerships that continue to sell unsafe vehicles.

> After a routine oil change at a Jeep dealer on [XXX], the A/C in my 2018 Compass stopped working the next day. Compressor hardware is fine but the vehicle stored code U0423-00 (“Invalid Data Received from IPC”). This matches the defect covered under Recall T70 (2019 Compass) where invalid cluster data causes A/C failure, but my VIN is not included. This creates a safety concern: without working A/C, I cannot safely transport my [XXX] daughter in Florida heat, and it limits my ability to get to work. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate expansion of the recall to include affected 2018 models. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the START/STOP indicator light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine seized. While attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact had the vehicle set for approximately ten minutes and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH. The contact stated that the Auto STOP indicator was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle could only be driven for twenty minutes before the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the vehicle needed to remain parked for ten minutes before being restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

I've had this jeep since September 2021. I've driven about 32,000 miles. When I purchased the car it had 36,000 miles. Every light came on, including the check engine light. I have also seen the car will shut off. Park this vehicle about a month ago.

Key fob not found, tpms not reading but sensors are good, backup camera beeping when things are not behind and continues to beep in drive, engine stalling, worn motor mounts due to no reason

Seat belt buckle rear left, yes Child buckled up and noticed it came unbuckled. No, I have purchased another own that also failed No No

UNKNOWN. Saw there was recall in past for rear piston but mine was not affected. But I’m having issues with the brakes. When slowing down or coming to stop when using the brake, the whole car shakes and rattles.

When starting the vehicle the error message comes on with the man holding the air bag and it comes on bigger in the dashboard too. And feels like the car runs hotter with this message on. If someone is riding in the passenger side and I get into an accident. It could be deadly for that person. So the area is on the passenger side. Yes spoke to the dealer at Flow Volvo in Greensboro NC, and she know about the problem of the car also. I do see in 2017 there was a patrolman that noted the kbb about the situation. Now I was no there so I do know abything about it,just read this on the kbb information for the car. And as I have stated when you start the car the the warning lamp with the man comes on small holding the air bag and in the dashboard also. Also uploading pictures of the warning lamps.

Vehicle does not start or starts and will not go into gear. Dash lights go crazy and various issues display on screen

Got an error message that the passenger seat air bag needs service.

My car has the start/stop when it turns off when your idle, well sometimes when you release the brake to go it will hesitate to turn back on and or even not start again at all and you have to fully turn the car off and back on.

1.air bag module passenger seat, OCM,SWS, plastic insulators,seat cushion foam, hose, heat mat Vent bag. 2.If an accident happens the bag would not eject and can cause death and the driver would be at fault. 3.Yes the problem has been confirmed by Jeep dealer in Greensboro NC on Wendover Ave gave a diagnosis. 4 The inspection came from the dealer 5.Yes there is a light the comes on the says airbag started [XXX]. Also have receipts for all this information *** INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

-Infotainment/Radio failure. Not available for inspection: its whereabouts are unknown to this driver-has been given to Jeep/Mopar. -Backup camera intermittently working: Would freeze up while the car was actively in reverse. While driving (vehicle in forward) backup camera would turn on & show footage of the car in reverse from much earlier in the day (>7 minutes have passed since reversing the car). Safety risk to self/others as the back up camera was inoperable while in reverse. -Radio remained on despite the car being off, driver & passenger entering & exiting multiple times, locking/unlocking the car, etc. It stayed on 18 minutes before this driver shut it off manually. Safety risk to self/others as the car battery was at risk of being drained despite the car being off. -Problem was diagnosed & radio replaced by Jeep dealership. -No inspection by police or insurance. Radio was replaced before it could produce real safety events -No warnings available/applicable. Problem began intermittently & then became a daily issue.

When my oil gets low, my car shuts off in the middle of the highway. Also, when I turn my wheels, it's making a very loud clicking noise.

Car shut down on highway went into limp mode due to electrical issue. Several times already this has occurred. Recall is in place for this situation. Please help. Thanks [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

Car started shifting hard during deceleration giving a jolt forward. Check engine light came on for power train control module. Also started hearing a rattle and had to replace control arms.

The car's dashboard will periodically show all the lights and indicate that the car will stop. In some cases, the car does stop, and you lose power steering. When we brought it into the dealership in early April 2024, they cleared the codes and indicated that start/stop relay may need to be replaced. A few weeks later, the same thing happened and the dealership repaired the start/stop relay. Since then, the lights will periodically come on and turning it off eventually clears the codes. May 18, 2025, it happened again. On the radio, it showed P2AF5. We brought it to the dealership and while there were 30-40 codes that were showing (some active and some stored), the P2AF5 code didn't display. The dealership cleared all the codes in hopes that it would only turn on the code that caused all the other codes. No new codes displayed. They offered no further diagnostic suggestions and said to bring it back if it occurs again. Because losing power steering while driving is a safety hazard and because a lot of people on various sites indicate they have similar problems due to the start/stop relay, I want to report this issue in hopes that you can find a pattern and determine a fix.

My start/stop system stopped working suddenly and it jerks forward almost stalling as it accelerates and decelerates. The radio glitches and flips between settings at a fast pace. It randomly loses power when accelerating and traction control flashes on dashboard. The check engine light came on for a few days then went off.

Theres a few issues with this car Im a mechanic and ive done some research on this vehicle there are multiple safety concerns including the engine for the 2.4L losing power while trying to accelerate, the abs system failing and electrical system throwing codes up that aren't actually an issue. I feel the whole car needs to be reassessed from the engine transmission all sensors and the brake system. There is a lot of issues with the new motor that was put in, including an issue with the 2.4L motor which is the oil pump housing causing the vehicle to stall and to lose power while accelerating. This is a major safety concern and could kill someone. Please fix it.

My car will stop while I’m driving, stall and tell me to put in park. It also stalls in the middle of the road saying “stop safely your cars about to shut off” on the odometer. I’ve almost been in two accidents with my [XXX] because of this! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

rotator/control arm issue

Sunroof exploded outwards while driving, took no damage from debris or flying objects.

My infotainment screen did this (pictures) while I was driving. Not sure what caused this or anything. It tends to fix itself after a few minutes, but other days it does the same thing. Doesn't work then fixes itself. No warning lamps popped up. The component has not been inspected by anyone yet. I have not brought it to the dealer yet for them to recreate the problem. I have not seen a TSB on it. Since the screen does this, it is very concerning for people who use the backup camera religiously as they could run into a person in the parking of a grocery store. Now that I am aware of the problem, I make sure to take extra caution to look when backing up.