JEEP WAGONEER · model year

1978 JEEP WAGONEER

3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1978JEEPWAGONEER carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1978 WAGONEER is tires with 1 filings, followed by tires:tread/belt (1) and tires:sidewall (1). 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.

NHTSA currently has 29 investigation files overlapping the 1978 WAGONEER, and 3 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.

3
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

3 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
TIRES1
TIRES:TREAD/BELT1
TIRES:SIDEWALL1

Recent Complaints

20020215TIRES

FIRESTONE, FR721, P2357515, DOT#UDHLF71392HOGL.CONSUMER STATED THE TIRE WAS THUMPING AND SOON AFTERWARDS TIRE EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT, CONSUMER PURCHASED 4 NEW FIRESTONE 721 TIRES, ALL FAILED BY 30,000 MILES, 2 OF THE TIRES HAD PLY SEPARATION, AND THE OTHER 2 HAD SIDEWALL FAILURES, THAT WERE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMER. *JG *AK

20020215TIRES:TREAD/BELT

FIRESTONE, FR721, P2357515, DOT#UDHLF71392HOGL.CONSUMER STATED THE TIRE WAS THUMPING AND SOON AFTERWARDS TIRE EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT, CONSUMER PURCHASED 4 NEW FIRESTONE 721 TIRES, ALL FAILED BY 30,000 MILES, 2 OF THE TIRES HAD PLY SEPARATION, AND THE OTHER 2 HAD SIDEWALL FAILURES, THAT WERE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMER. *JG *AK

20020215TIRES:SIDEWALL

FIRESTONE, FR721, P2357515, DOT#UDHLF71392HOGL.CONSUMER STATED THE TIRE WAS THUMPING AND SOON AFTERWARDS TIRE EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT, CONSUMER PURCHASED 4 NEW FIRESTONE 721 TIRES, ALL FAILED BY 30,000 MILES, 2 OF THE TIRES HAD PLY SEPARATION, AND THE OTHER 2 HAD SIDEWALL FAILURES, THAT WERE CAUSED BY THE CONSUMER. *JG *AK

Compare 1978JEEPWAGONEER to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 3 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1978 JEEP WAGONEER have?
The 1978 JEEP WAGONEER has 3 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1978 JEEP WAGONEER?
The most-complained component for the 1978 JEEP WAGONEER is TIRES with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include TIRES:TREAD/BELT and TIRES:SIDEWALL.
Is the 1978 JEEP WAGONEER safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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.