Owners filed 2,469 complaints about the 2015–2025 Jeep Compass with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 41st-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2018 model year drew the most (941), and the single most-reported problem area is engine, named in 41% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2018, with 941 complaints, led by engine (473).
- Spike years: 2016 (2.1× the typical year), 2017 (1.6× the typical year), 2018 (6.8× the typical year), 2019 (2.4× the typical year), 2022 (1.6× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: exterior lights complaints came at a median of 2k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 20 complaints mention a fire and 96 mention a crash; owners reported 63 injuries.
Jeep Compass complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 113 | Engine (30), Electrical system (22), Air bags (16) | 62k mi | 4 | 2 |
| 2016 | 293 | Engine (135), Electrical system (62), Transmission / powertrain (44) | 55k mi | 9 | 2 |
| 2017 | 229 | Electrical system (86), Engine (71), Transmission / powertrain (42) | 28k mi | 10 | 3 |
| 2018 | 941 | Engine (473), Electrical system (375), Transmission / powertrain (151) | 19k mi | 28 | 5 |
| 2019 | 329 | Engine (160), Electrical system (143), Transmission / powertrain (37) | 12k mi | 13 | 2 |
| 2020 | 139 | Engine (79), Electrical system (65), Transmission / powertrain (28) | 19k mi | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | 80 | Electrical system (34), Engine (18), Transmission / powertrain (9) | 70k mi | 5 | 2 |
| 2022 | 222 | Electrical system (102), Exterior lights (50), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (46) | 10k mi | 11 | 0 |
| 2023 | 45 | Electrical system (13), Engine (7), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (7) | 10k mi | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 52 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (25), Electrical system (18), Lane departure assist (9) | 12k mi | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 26 | Electrical system (11), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (10), Lane departure assist (4) | 11k mi | 5 | 1 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Jeep Compass problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1,019 | 41% | 25k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Electrical system | 931 | 38% | 23k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 353 | 14% | 31k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Brakes | 169 | 7% | 15k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Exterior lights | 148 | 6% | 2k mi | Headlight replacement cost |
| Automatic emergency braking / collision warning | 147 | 6% | 23k mi | — |
| Speed control / acceleration | 127 | 5% | 40k mi | — |
| Fuel system | 123 | 5% | 21k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Jeep models in the index
- Jeep Cherokee (7,347)
- Jeep Wrangler (6,869)
- Jeep Grand Cherokee (4,849)
- Jeep Renegade (2,200)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.