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What 76 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Jeep Compass

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (76)Crash / fire / injury (6)Electrical system (31)Engine (16)Transmission & drivetrain (8)Brakes (6)Steering (6)Speed control (5)Driver assistance (4)Fuel system (4)Lights (4)Engine & cooling (3)

4 of 76 complaints match · Fuel system · clear filters

Feb 3, 2026Fuel system

Gas pedal broke off while driving. It is made of plastic and the arm that attaches to the pedal snapped off. We towed to a shop to have repaired today. No warning lights or sounds. Thankfully I was going slow and not on a busy street. It could have been a bad outcome if I was merging into on coming traffic. My safety and others were at serious risk due to my car not being able to accelerate with no warning.

NHTSA ODI 11715296

Dec 12, 2023EngineFuel system

When stopped at a stop sign (on a slight incline, if that could be a factor), the Compass suddenly lost power. No reaction from pressing the gas pedal at all. In Drive or in Reverse. The Check Engine light came on and the temperature gauge went all the way up. Putting it in Park and restarting cleared the Check Engine light and the temperature gauge was right back to normal. Almost like nothing had happened. Thankfully it was a small intersection with no other traffic. But could this happen on the freeway?

NHTSA ODI 11559641

Aug 27, 2021Transmission & drivetrainFuel system

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN JULY 2021. I DRIVE IT 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK. EACH WEEK I PUT IN BETWEEN $15-$20 IN GAS TO BRING THE FUEL LEVEL BACK UP TO THE FULL MARK. THE JEEPS DOES NOT HAVE GOOD FUEL ECONOMY. IT DEFINITELY DOES NOT REACH 22-25MPG. I DRIVE IT ABOUT 30MINUTES EACH WAY; WITH A FEW STOPS IN BETWEEN AT ABOUT 40MPH. ALSO, THE JEEP MAKES A LOT OF NOISE TO CLIMB STEEP HILLS. THE NOISE ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE WHEN YOU PUT THE CAR IN A LOWER GEAR AND THE CAR IS TRYING TO REV UP TO THE NEXT GEAR.

NHTSA ODI 11430746

Apr 8, 2021Fuel system

MY HUSBAND AND I BUY TWO JEEPS. THE REASON I CHOOSE MINE AND HE CHOOSE HIS, WAS FUEL ECONOMY. BUT THE JEEP COMPASS IS NOT PERFORMING AT ALL TO THE STANDARDS. I DID CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY WERE VERY NICE SETTING AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE COMPASS TO HAVE A CHECK AND SEE WHAT WAS WRONG. PLEASE FIND ATTACHED THE RESULTS OF THE CHECK-UP. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE REPORT FROM THE MECHANICS, NOT EVEN THE CAR LIES IN REGARDS TO THIS SITUATION CLEARLY SAYS THAT ONLY DOES 13.5 MILES PER GALLON. THE ADVERTISING ALSO ATTACHED SAYS AN AVERAGE OF 25 MPG 22 MPG ON CITY AND 31 MPG ON HIGHWAY. I WILL UNDERSTAND IF PERHAPS THE CAR DOES 20 MPG IN HWY AND 18 MPG IN THE CITY SINCE PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT STYLES OF DRIVING AND THAT WILL REFLECT IN THEIR GASOLINE CONSUMPTION. BUT THIS LITTLE BEAUTIFUL CAR DOES NOT HAVE A V8 ENGINE TO DO ONLY 13.5 AND IT SAYS SO ON THE DASHBOARD. PLACING A CAR IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM TO CHECK IT IS ALSO A BIT TRICKY BECAUSE THE COMPUTER WILL ANALYZE IF THERE IS A BAD PART IN THE CAR, THE COMPUTER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT A POORLY CONSTRUCT PART THAT CAUSES THAT HUGE AMOUNT OF GAS USE PER GALLON.

NHTSA ODI 11407113

Working with the data? Download all 76 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2021 Jeep Compass verdict →