9.4

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,301 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2021 Jeep Wrangler:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #17

Jul 162021

Wrangler

  • miles
Vehicle pulled to the right and almost hit a person walking on road. Turned wheel to avoid person and Jeep steering started to wander on the road. Took a few seconds to get vehicle under control. Took to Dealer service department. Technician drove vehicle and said it drives normal and showed no diagnosis codes. No warning lamps or messages were present.

- Aurora, OR, USA

problem #16

Jul 052021

Wrangler

  • miles
Driving down the road and ALL the warning lights came on at the same time. They were flashing across the dash one at a time. We got a sway bar warning, an airbag warning, check engine light came on and then all of the sudden we lost power steering. It took all my husband's strength to control the vehicle when the power steering went out. We had to maneuver to the side of the road. If I had been driving, I fear what would have happened. We had the vehicle taken to our local dealer. Darcars Chrysler Plymouth and Jeep in Waldorf MD. The service technician there said he had no idea what was wrong and it would take several days to get it looked at. We took to the internet to research our issue. We found over and over people with a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon from model years 2019-2021 having the same issues. The issue turns out to be a problem with the "wiring harness". The Jeep forums online have documented instances of this problem by many, many people. Jeep should be forced to recall these wiring harnesses since they won't do a voluntary recall. This is a dangerous defect. Our vehicle has 6,000 miles on it. Our vehicle is available to inspect at the dealer. Someone is going to die if this defect isn't addressed.

- Hughesville, MD, USA

problem #15

Jun 162021

Wrangler

  • miles
Vehicle wanders at highway speeds as well as low speeds. Requires constant "arms/hands" pressure to keep vehicle tracking straight. Travelling on a curvy road regulary the vehicle ends up crossing over the yellow lines on occasion causing a panic for me and any approaching vehicle - so far no accident. The dealer installed a part recommended by Jeep but did not fix issue.

- Collegeville, PA, USA

problem #14

Jun 292021

Wrangler

  • miles
2021 Jeep Wrangler JL, build date 05/2021, apprx 1,000 miles, has the newer steering gear (black) that was supposed to fix the steering issue that Jeep has had since 2019. The Jeep is wandering within lane and requires constant wheel correction to stay within lane. This happens at slower speeds and highway speeds. Steering is overly sensitive. Lane changing requires overcorrection due to the wandering. Difficult to hold straight line. Dealer says nothing is wrong and that's how it is and nothing they can do to fix. Dealer states they cannot duplicate. This is a known issue from FCA on previous years and has continued into some 2021 models. Not being able to drive within the lanes poses a hazard to driver, passengers, and other vehicles on the road. Overcorrection due to extreme sensitivity will create a roll over hazard.

- Galveston, TX, USA

problem #13

Apr 012021

Wrangler

  • miles
Vehicle has less than 1000 miles on odometer. Wandering, constant steering wheel input needed to keep vehicle on center. Steering feels loose. Have NOT experienced "Death Wobble". Tires/wheels are OEM and of course new. Tire pressures are within OEM door label specs. Lug nuts checked and vehicle raised from ground and checked for obviously loose suspension/steering components; none found. Dealer states normal condition for type of vehicle; I disagree. Dealer has not worked on the vehicle. I have owned several Jeeps over the decades...this is by far the worst for steering issues. Tow and alignment have not been checked/adjusted.

- Missoula, MT, USA

problem #12

Apr 182021

Wrangler

  • miles
Within a few days of purchasing the vehicle, I noticed that the vehicle moved dramatically to the right and to the left, and the steering mechanism of the vehicle was extremely loose. At 150 miles, I brought it in...the adjusted the steering and aligned the tires. I went on a three hour trip on the highway on April 18th, 2021, Sunday. I nearly crashed into a huge tractor trailer truck because the vehicle swung rapidly to the right and the steering mechanism was so loose, it would not respond sufficiently in time. In addition, the vehicle swings wildly with even mild wind. I managed within inches to swing the car away. I have now brought the vehicle back two more times to the dealership, and they deny any issue. I have provided videos with my spouse driving. My son also drove and found the same issue. The issue occurs both at speeds above 50...and at a speed of 15 miles. This steering column of this vehicle is defective and a true danger on the highway. The manufacturer refuses to take any responsibility in spite of ample knowledge and notice by consumers. Complaints about this issue are all over the internet. We have videos of the defect, which have been provided. I have tried to return the vehicle but they refuse. It has been in the shop 5 of 7 weeks of ownership. The dealership states the vehicle is to manufacturer specifications...this is a serious defect.

- Palmetto Bay, Fl. 33189, FL, USA

problem #11

May 082021

Wrangler

  • 6,250 miles
Navigating steep downhill hairpin turns total steering loss. Got vehicle stopped, shutoff vehicle restarted and had steering but check engine light was on. Continued on to get off of hill. Smell of hot electrical in cab. Took to dealer vehicle has 6000 miles on it. Vehicle has been at dealership since. Long list of codes for communication failures. When checked at dealership. Traction control activated and could not move vehicle until it was shutoff and restarted..

- South Jordan, UT, USA

problem #10

Apr 172021

Wrangler

  • 2,900 miles
Purchased 1/3/2021. Steering wander, pulls to right, and 2' dead zone in steering wheel. Dead zone has no tire resistance in the steering wheel. Always a need to keep a tension on the wheel to prevent going to the right. Maiden voyage up the AZ 87 mountain freeway and second time up and down the twisty 87 freeway in Arizona several times constant wandering. A couple of times it felt as if I was about to loose control of the Jeep at 65mph. Immediately I slowed down below the speed limit. I am very familiar with this freeway. Jeep pulls to the right even from the left lane. You can see the steering wheel turn a few degrees to the right as the Jeep emblem is not center on. There are times in the dead spot you move the wheel back and forth 2' and it's no response. Some times the dead zone is almost 2' on the wheel and sometimes it's less. Dealer aligned after axle replacements under warranty and then 5/10/21 aligned again. Was returned to me saying it still pulls. I took it out and it still was off, brought it back and they aligned twice again and it still pulls to the right. Due to go back again 5/13/2021, tech calling fca. That will make 20 days in the shop within first 127 days of ownership. Mileage 3200. Pulling is noticeable on pavement over 40 mph and gets more pronounced the faster you drive and on freeways.

- Fountain Hills, AZ, USA

problem #9

Mar 102021

Wrangler

  • 40 miles
Brand new and from the start the steering wanders and there is a lot of play in the steering. It's a nonstop battle to keep the vehicle going in a straight line and it gets more dangerous with the speed increases. The wandering with the very loose steering causes over steering issues which has caused the vehicle to cross the center line and go onto the road's shoulder. Turning has serious control issues with constant steering adjustments throughout the turn so the vehicle is not tracking a straight line through the turn. This is on city and country roads, straight away and turning throughout corners.

- Georgetown, TX, USA

problem #8

Feb 072021

Wrangler

  • 4,000 miles
I purchased this 2021 Jeep Wrangler unlimited on September 9, 2020. It is a totally stock vehicle with no modifications of any sort. It has not been driven off road at all, and only on city streets, highways, and interstates, no accidents. While driving on a nearby interstate in January of 2021, at about 77 mph, a minor seam in the road sent my vehicle into what is commonly known as 'death wobble' mode. Had about 4,000 miles on the odometer. On a five hour road trip, it happened over a dozen times on that trip alone.I videoed the car in violent wobble at highway speed and returned the car for another day of service. The local Jeep service center ordered a 'steering damper' assembly as a fix for the problem, even though the 2021 Wrangler come with that steering damper as standard equipment starting this year. Unfortunately, the part is on an extended back-order, I am told, and won't be available for some time. In the meantime, they did a 'road-force' wheel and tire balance as an interim fix. One tire was at 24 lbs, one was at 17 lbs, and the other two were at 10 lbs and 1 lbs. Since then the car has had fewer, momentary, wobbles of much shorter duration, and has recovered quickly more it does wobble briefly at slower speeds now as well. While driving, I can feel the suppressed wobbles in the steering wheel and gas pedal and am concerned for safety and continued wear and damage to front suspension and tires, and the frequency of having to do costly road force balancing on the tires. I love the Jeep but I've lost confidence in the car at this point. I have attempted to upload some video of one of my cars death wobbles, showing its intensity, and refusal to subside until decelerated to about 55 mph. The video exceeds the space allowed for this document, so you'd have to contact me to arrange another way to view it if necessary.

- Rockford, IL, USA

problem #7

Feb 072021

Wrangler

  • 50 miles
Brand new vehicle wanders at highway speeds as well as low speeds. Requires constant "arms/hands" pressure to keep vehicle tracking straight. Vehicles pulls to the right despite having undergone 3 alignments now at 3K miles. 2021 Wrangler has the upgraded steering box and while no dead spots on the wheel, the right pull is annoying. Plenty of unhappy customers. The fix which seems to be known amonsgt Jeep owners is related to longer lower control arms in order to increase caster so the vehicle track straight.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #6

Feb 012021

Wrangler

  • miles
When driving slow or fast the car wanders and there is 'play' in the steering wheel. Difficult to stay straight and in one lane without constantly adjusting.

- Delray Beach, FL, USA

problem #5

Feb 192021

Wrangler

  • 4,232 miles
A bunch of codes flashed on my dash screen and then steering wheel locked up when I was driving on a city street I had just turned and was going straight at about 30 mph. I had to use excessive force to pull the car over and turned car off and on and then I regained steering. Although the steering was back, the check engine light turned on. I was out of town so I took it to a dealer to see if it was safe to drive 2hrs back home. They checked it said a bunch of codes came up but they cleared them and didn't find anything wrong. They test drove it and couldn't duplicate the problem so they summed it up as a computer glitch, and said it would most likely not happen again and should be fine driving back home. It was fine the rest of that day. The next day as I'm driving it happens again and does another 4 times that day. 3 driving thru crowded city streets once I was driving straight at about 15 mph, next I was at a stop sign and then I was slowing down to pull into a parking spot. The 4th time that day I was on the freeway heading back home. I was in heavy traffic going about 40 mph. Same as the first incident I had to pull over and turn the car off and on again to regain control of steering. And the check engine light stayed on.

- Palm Springs, CA, USA

problem #4

Oct 142020

Wrangler

  • 400 miles
The Jeep has excessive steering play and wanders in the lane. When travelling in a straight line, the vehicle requires constant and significant steering correction. This issue becomes more pronounced and dangerous at speeds above 60mph. Two repair attempts have been made by Jeep only of las vegas, but the problem persists. This vehicle has the new black steering gear box and 840 miles. After the last repair attempt, the problem is worse. Vehicle is now too dangerous to drive.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #3

Sep 302020

Wrangler

  • miles
Steering has excessive play. Seems to be more noticeable on hot days. The vehicle seems to drift leading to constant correction while driving. This happens at all speeds.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #2

Nov 012020

Wrangler

  • 225 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, he became aware that the steering wheel was loose and failed to steer the vehicle straight. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to lindsay Chevrolet located at 15605 jefferson davis hwy, woodbridge, va 22191, (571) 200-4754, where it was diagnosed with needing the steering gear to be replaced and the steering module updated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 225.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

problem #1

Sep 102020

Wrangler

  • miles
Wandering steering above 30 mph won't track straight, excessive play in the wheel. Ordered from dealer went to the shop for steering issues at 52 miles and back again 2 weeks later, just picked it up from the dealer and steering is worse, I feel it is unsafe for my 17 year old daughter to drive.

- Houston, TX, USA