What 927 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Jeep Compass

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.

NHTSA ODI 11709033

Unknown / 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 multiple times 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.

NHTSA ODI 11709049

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.

NHTSA ODI 11708868

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.

NHTSA ODI 11708604

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.

NHTSA ODI 11708362

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.

NHTSA ODI 11705937

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.

NHTSA ODI 11705047

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.

NHTSA ODI 11702263

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.

NHTSA ODI 11700410

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

NHTSA ODI 11698553

-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.

NHTSA ODI 11698642

UNKNOWN Vehicle dashboard dinged and text on the screen alerted me that the temperature of the coolant was too high or overheated. The vehicle immediately stopped accelerating. Before I could properly engage my blinker and pull off the roadway in a safe manner, the vehicle resumed normal operating status and temperatures read normal. This has happened over 5x, speed driven during each event varying from 28-65. Weather was mild, two events occurring in winter months with temps no more than 45 F. Coolant was checked and appeared to be at normal levels following the latest event. The roadway conditions, traffic rules and conditions of overall transportation system when this alert disengages driver's ability to control speed of vehicle put driver and passengers at risk of being rear ended by traffic traveling in the same direction from behind. Especially in South Dakota, the place of for owner and driver of this JEEP Compass, where large pick up trucks hauling livestock or other ag products and semi trucks hauling general trailer loads are commonplace.

NHTSA ODI 11698155

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.

NHTSA ODI 11697402

Headlights work intermittently. Driver side comes on but passenger side doesn’t or vise versa. Also sometimes neither come on. No warning messages or anything. Yes the jeep dealership saw the issue with the lights and so did an independent mechanic.

NHTSA ODI 11693722

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.

NHTSA ODI 11692502

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.

NHTSA ODI 11690591

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.

NHTSA ODI 11689742

The infotainment screen is delaminating, which seems to be an extremely common issue in this model year along with other models and years that use the same screen. The delaminating causes numerous issues including poor visibility and ghost touches on the screen which can easily distract the driver as their radio changes stations randomly, messes with the navigation, adjusts the fans, and many other functions that are controlled with the screen. As of right now, I have not brought the car into the dealership specifically for this issue as so many other individuals are reporting the same problem in numerous forums.

NHTSA ODI 11689401

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.

NHTSA ODI 11688224

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)

NHTSA ODI 11686452

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.

NHTSA ODI 11686462

> 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)

NHTSA ODI 11685473

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.

NHTSA ODI 11685485

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.

NHTSA ODI 11685310

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.

NHTSA ODI 11685413