Jeep Wrangler Years to Avoid

Years to avoid: 2018 At least twice the 257 complaints of a typical Wrangler year. Most described: shaking or vibration.
Best years: No year stands out Only the 2016 and 2017 drew under three quarters of the 257 complaints of a typical Wrangler year since 2016. The 2017 is named in an open NHTSA investigation. The 2016 has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 12, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 25 mpg combined, arrived in 2020. Includes the Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid.

Wrangler problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Wrangler year drew 257 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (232). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (257), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2018 Wrangler Avoid Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	1,152	1,829	14
2021 Wrangler Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	432	967	17
2019 Wrangler Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	405	749	9
2012 Wrangler Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	367	837	9
2013 Wrangler Most described: stalling or shutting off	287	657	6
2023 Wrangler Most described: loss of power or limp mode	271	381	16
2020 Wrangler Most described: gauge cluster or speedometer failures	243	619	13
2022 Wrangler Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	221	417	16
2010 Wrangler Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	135	686	10
2014 Wrangler Most described: oil leaks	133	658	4
2017 Wrangler Most described: smoke or a burning smell	102	312	5
2016 Wrangler Most described: stalling or shutting off	96	464	5
2015 Wrangler Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	87	481	3
2011 Wrangler Most described: the airbag warning light or an airbag fault	85	486	10

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Wrangler for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Jeep dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	3	12	Not rated
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	6	84	Not rated
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Gas	14	977	Not rated
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Diesel	16	381	Not rated
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Diesel	16	417	Not rated
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Diesel	17	967	Not rated
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	25 mpg Diesel	13	619	Not rated
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	9	749	Not rated
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	14	1,829	Not rated
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	5	312	Not rated
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	5	464	Not rated
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	3	481	Not rated
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	4	658	Not rated
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	6	657	Not rated
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	9	837	Not rated
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	17 mpg Gas	10	486	Not rated
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	17 mpg Gas	10	686	Not rated

Best rating leaves out the plug-in hybrid, which EPA rates on gas and on electricity separately. MPG by year lists both ratings.

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2018: 1,829 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Jeep Wrangler
Model year	Complaints
2010	686
2011	486
2012	837
2013	657
2014	658
2015	481
2016	464
2017	312
2018	1,829
2019	749
2020	619
2021	967
2022	417
2023	381
2024	977
2025	84
2026	12

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 17 to 24 mpg (every year from 2010 to 2026); highest in 2018. Diesel: 25 mpg (2020 to 2023).

Best gas version
Best diesel version

2026: gas 21 mpg · diesel not offered

Show as a table

Jeep Wrangler best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version	Best diesel version
2010	17	–
2011	17	–
2012	18	–
2013	18	–
2014	18	–
2015	18	–
2016	18	–
2017	18	–
2018	24	–
2019	24	–
2020	23	25
2021	23	25
2022	23	25
2023	23	25
2024	21	–
2025	21	–
2026	21	–

Every Wrangler year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Questions

Which Jeep Wrangler years should you avoid?

The 2018 Wrangler is the year to avoid: it drew at least twice the 257 owner complaints of a typical Wrangler year in its first three years. Owners of the 2018 most often describe shaking or vibration. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Jeep dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Jeep Wrangler years?

No year stands out as best. Only the 2016 and 2017 drew under three quarters of the 257 complaints of a typical Wrangler year since 2016. The 2017 is named in an open NHTSA investigation. The 2016 has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired. If you are shopping for one, check by VIN that the repair was done. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Jeep Wrangler years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2018 (1,152) drew the most, then the 2021 (432). Owners of the 2018 most often describe shaking, shuddering or vibration.

Which Jeep Wrangler years have the most recalls?

The 2021 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (17), then the 2023 (16). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. Six recalls tell owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired, covering 2010 to 2016, 2020 to 2025 models. Each year's recalls page lists them first.

What are the most common Jeep Wrangler problems?

In the 10,616 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe shaking, shuddering or vibration (1,403 complaints, most of them for the 2018, 2019, and 2021); the “death wobble” (752 complaints, most of them for the 2018, 2019, and 2021); and loss of power or limp mode (743 complaints, most of them for the 2021, 2023, and 2024). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Jeep Wrangler year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 25 mpg combined, first reached by the 2020 diesel version. The plug-in hybrid, rated separately, gets up to 20 mpg on gas alone and 49 MPGe on electricity.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.