Total Complaints
417 filings
JEEP GLADIATOR · model year
417 NHTSA complaints, 15 crash reports, and 7 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2021JEEPGLADIATOR carries 417 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 15 crashes, 2 fires, 16 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and 3/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2021 GLADIATOR is steering with 84 filings, followed by power train (58) and engine (53). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 7 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 1 investigation file overlapping the 2021 GLADIATOR, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
417 filings
Crashes Reported
15 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| STEERING | 84 |
| POWER TRAIN | 58 |
| ENGINE | 53 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 38 |
| SUSPENSION | 38 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 26 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 15 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 15 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 13 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 11 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 11 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 10 |
| WHEELS | 8 |
| AIR BAGS | 4 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL | 3 |
POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Jeep Wrangler and 2020-2021 Jeep Gladiator vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. The clutch pressure plate may overheat and fracture.
BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Jeep Wrangler, RAM 1500 and 2021 Jeep Gladiator vehicles. A radio software error may prevent the rearview image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "
POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Jeep Wrangler, and 2020-2023 Jeep Gladiator vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. The clutch pressure plate may overheat and fracture.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Jeep Wrangler, Ram 1500, and 2021-2022 Jeep Gladiator vehicles equipped with 3.0L diesel engines. The high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) may fail, causing an engine stall.
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator, and 2022-2023 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with a 3.0L diesel engine. The high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) may fail.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Jeep Gladiator and 2018-2024 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. The instrument panel cluster may experience an internal short circuit and fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 10
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator vehicles that were previously remedied under NHTSA recall number 23V-116. The software for the powertrain control module may cause an engine stall, which can result in a loss of drive power.
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
Passenger side rear axle leaking gear oil. Issued was repaired by dealership No warning I just saw the oil on the tire and in my driveway
Two of the same faults occurred within the same month of each other. The first: while driving home from work on the highway, while heavily raining, without warning every alarm light possible engaged, windshield wipers went full speed, vehicle would not shift, and my steering locked up (not to be confused with lost power steering). After about a mile I was able to encourage the Jeep off the side of the highway. While waiting for my tow, with the E Brake set and in Park, the Jeep kept trying to crawl forward on its own. I was unable to turn the vehicle off as it would not respond, in addition to an alarm warning saying not to turn off the Jeep. The second occurrence was in the parking garage at work; I pulled through the parking stall, put the Jeep in reverse to back up and the same fault took place. No steering, wipers on full speed, every alarm on the dash was engaged. Thankfully I was not a highway speed. I was able to turn off the Jeep this time after about 5 minutes of atte
Two of the same faults occurred within the same month of each other. The first: while driving home from work on the highway, while heavily raining, without warning every alarm light possible engaged, windshield wipers went full speed, vehicle would not shift, and my steering locked up (not to be confused with lost power steering). After about a mile I was able to encourage the Jeep off the side of the highway. While waiting for my tow, with the E Brake set and in Park, the Jeep kept trying to crawl forward on its own. I was unable to turn the vehicle off as it would not respond, in addition to an alarm warning saying not to turn off the Jeep. The second occurrence was in the parking garage at work; I pulled through the parking stall, put the Jeep in reverse to back up and the same fault took place. No steering, wipers on full speed, every alarm on the dash was engaged. Thankfully I was not a highway speed. I was able to turn off the Jeep this time after about 5 minutes of atte
Two of the same faults occurred within the same month of each other. The first: while driving home from work on the highway, while heavily raining, without warning every alarm light possible engaged, windshield wipers went full speed, vehicle would not shift, and my steering locked up (not to be confused with lost power steering). After about a mile I was able to encourage the Jeep off the side of the highway. While waiting for my tow, with the E Brake set and in Park, the Jeep kept trying to crawl forward on its own. I was unable to turn the vehicle off as it would not respond, in addition to an alarm warning saying not to turn off the Jeep. The second occurrence was in the parking garage at work; I pulled through the parking stall, put the Jeep in reverse to back up and the same fault took place. No steering, wipers on full speed, every alarm on the dash was engaged. Thankfully I was not a highway speed. I was able to turn off the Jeep this time after about 5 minutes of atte
While angling into a turn lane, I was forced to go back into lane of traffic first signaling into the turn lane (left) then out (right) turn signal seemed to get stuck on, Steering wheel became locked and would only move a fraction of an inch either left or right. Once I was around the obstruction in the turn lane I angled back into it and was able to come to a stop. Once stopped the turn signal very loudly clicked off and the wheel was once again able to be actually turned. The ESS was disabled the whole time and at no point did the vehicle cease to be on and engine running.
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.
I have had my gorilla glass replaced two years ago for cracking on its on, my front windshield cracked again 2 weeks ago for no reason and it cracked in the same location, causing a huge crack along my vison. This glass is supposed to be unbreakable and yet it broke twice since ownership all by it self. No rock chips or anything. I was just sitting at a traffic light when I heard a ting and the crack just grew before my eyes. Bad glass and Mopar knows its a flaw but will not replace it.
This afternoon I was driving on a 35mph 4 lane road when my power steering suddenly went out. Because it was unusually light traffic and there are no turns or curves, I was able to safely maintain my lane until the power steering resumed just as quickly as it went out. Most women struggle with manually steering a normal sized car- a truck this heavy is nearly impossible. Had I been going any faster or if I were on a curve, I would have absolutely wrecked. There were no alarms, no signals no messages, nothing. Because this Judy happened, I have not yet had it looked at my a mechanic.
My name is [XXX] , and I am writing to formally submit a complaint regarding the loss of my vehicle due to engine fire. The vehicle was a 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, VIN [XXX] , with approximately 26,666 miles at the time of loss. I purchased the vehicle on May 13, 2021. The fire occurred on July 10, 2025. I was driving on the freeway, and my vehicle lost power and dashboard warning lights illuminated. When I pulled over, the engine was on fire. The fire department came and doused the flames but my entire engine was destroyed. After the fire, I retained legal counsel and initiated an independent investigation through Fire Cause Analysis in Berkeley, California. Their findings identified the origin of the fire as being linked to the power steering pump electrical connector. I later discovered that NHTSA has an open investigation identified as PE24024 concerning Jeep Gladiator engine fires which notes that the fires reported to NHTSA for this vehicle originated at the power steering p
While driving on the highway on 1/19/2026, the electric power steering system abruptly stopped working. It took all my strength to steer the vehicle to take the first available exit. The failure made controlling the vehicle very difficult, putting my safety, my family's safety and the safety of others around me at risk. As soon as the vehicle slowed to approximately 20mph, the power steering started working normally again. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. There were no warning lamps, messages or notifications during the power steering failure. There were no warning lamps, messages or notifications after the power steering started working normally again. I did a complete system scan using a scan tool that can detect Diagnostic Trouble Codes from all vehicle systems, and no DTCs were detected. See attachment.
While driving on the highway on 1/19/2026, the electric power steering system abruptly stopped working. It took all my strength to steer the vehicle to take the first available exit. The failure made controlling the vehicle very difficult, putting my safety, my family's safety and the safety of others around me at risk. As soon as the vehicle slowed to approximately 20mph, the power steering started working normally again. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. There were no warning lamps, messages or notifications during the power steering failure. There were no warning lamps, messages or notifications after the power steering started working normally again. I did a complete system scan using a scan tool that can detect Diagnostic Trouble Codes from all vehicle systems, and no DTCs were detected. See attachment.
My vehicles rear locker went out on me while driving on the road and completely destroyed itself. I have video evidence on how that looks at the shop where it cost me over 3k to get a new one because I could t drive it or I had to get a whole new rear differential. My steering is already been going loose at 70k miless
My vehicles rear locker went out on me while driving on the road and completely destroyed itself. I have video evidence on how that looks at the shop where it cost me over 3k to get a new one because I could t drive it or I had to get a whole new rear differential. My steering is already been going loose at 70k miless
While driving yesterday vehicle lost power steering and almost cause a crash. Upon talking to multiple shops and online researching we all came to a conclusion it was the can bus board (controller area network) shops stated this is a very know problem with jeeps. I feel as this is a safety factor for this. Now I am at the point in fixing it and trading in the vehicle due to my family and trying to be safe. Codes are saying lost of communication with can bus basically all the computers are not talking to each other.
While driving yesterday vehicle lost power steering and almost cause a crash. Upon talking to multiple shops and online researching we all came to a conclusion it was the can bus board (controller area network) shops stated this is a very know problem with jeeps. I feel as this is a safety factor for this. Now I am at the point in fixing it and trading in the vehicle due to my family and trying to be safe. Codes are saying lost of communication with can bus basically all the computers are not talking to each other.
The heating steering wheel had an electrical short in the heating element where it began to melt the rubber of the steering wheel and start smoking. This became very hot where it could burn my hand. I was forced to pull over immediately to diagnose the problem before anything else could burn. The smoking stopped when I tuned off the heated steering wheel.
The heating steering wheel had an electrical short in the heating element where it began to melt the rubber of the steering wheel and start smoking. This became very hot where it could burn my hand. I was forced to pull over immediately to diagnose the problem before anything else could burn. The smoking stopped when I tuned off the heated steering wheel.
The heating steering wheel had an electrical short in the heating element where it began to melt the rubber of the steering wheel and start smoking. This became very hot where it could burn my hand. I was forced to pull over immediately to diagnose the problem before anything else could burn. The smoking stopped when I tuned off the heated steering wheel.
Without any warning and after about 7 minutes of driving, Jeep turned off while driving at about 40 mph. There were no dash lights or warnings and the Jeep has never had an issue or any other symptom previously. Would not start and had to be towed. 8 hours later it was still in a crank no start condition. Both batteries were fully charged so not a battery issue. I'm a long time Jeep owner, VP of the Middle Peninsula Jeep Association LLC and fairly well versed in Jeep mechanics. I only say that to let you know that I have a lot of experience with Jeeps, was able to exclude certain causes and have not encountered thisnwith any of my previous Jeeps. Jeep is in show condition and meticulously cared for. The day after vehicle shut off, all dash lights and windows also stopped working so issue also caused batteries to fully drain. Dealership says it is needs a new PDC. I strongly suspect this is due to manufacturer defect related to PCM and some of manufacturing defects associated with COVI
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.