2019 Jeep Compass Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
2019 jeep compass, 65k miles Car started having misfires while accelerating and decreasing speeds.It stayed pretty consistent at all speeds! Shortly after the car overheated and stated coolant temperature too high. Had it diagnosed and it was confirmed oil is mixing in with the coolant meaning blown head gasket and more than likely engine rebuild/new engine. All regular maintenance has ALWAYS been done. It is absolutely unacceptable that so many people are reporting this same exact issue and nothing is being done. Every other comment is someone stranded or the vehicle has shut off while driving, for the ones whose engine hasn’t failed they are on the verge of doing so. The investigation into this needs to be reopened, how is this not a major safety concern with an obvious engine defect. Is it gonna take several bad accidents, or worse a death ? This needs to be addressed immediately.
I was driving normally down the street and the car suddenly shut itself off and a warning light came up that said something like "coolant high" and then it lost all power. after 5-10 seconds, everything came back on as normal. this has happened approximately 20 times in the last 2 years. I took it to the Jeep dealership and they tried to pull codes to see what was happening and they state that they cannot figure out what is wrong with it because it is not pulling any codes for that.
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that a message that the coolant level was high was displayed on the instrument panel and immediately after the message was displayed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. Additionally, the windows failed to open and close, the doors failed to lock and unlock, and there were other unstated electrical malfunctions. The contact coasted over to the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle several times for the vehicle to operate as needed. The failure was intermittent but had occurred approximately 12 times. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact had not received a callback. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
The car flashed an error code "Coolant temp too high" and the engine shut down while I was entering the parking lot of my son’s school. The car froze up, but then turned itself back on. The coolant temperature was normal. I’ve been terrified to drive ever since.
I am submitting this complaint regarding my 2019 Jeep Compass, which suffered catastrophic engine failure at only 50,000 miles despite regular maintenance and timely oil changes. The vehicle has been well-maintained, with all scheduled oil changes performed on time using the recommended oil and filters. Despite this, the engine experienced a dropped cylinder, leading to total failure and requiring a full engine replacement. The manufacturer, Jeep (Stellantis), refuses to cover the repair, stating that the vehicle is just outside its 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty due to the time limit. However, engine failure at only 50,000 miles is highly premature and raises concerns about possible defects in the engine design, materials, or assembly. Given that many modern engines last well beyond 100,000 miles with proper maintenance, I believe this failure may indicate a widespread manufacturing defect that could pose safety risks to other Jeep Compass owners. If the engine fails unexpectedly, it could cause loss of power while driving, creating a serious hazard for drivers and passengers. I request that the NHTSA investigate whether other Jeep Compass owners have experienced similar premature engine failures and determine if this issue requires a recall, extended warranty coverage, or manufacturer accountability. Jeep should not be allowed to avoid responsibility for major engine failures in vehicles with such low mileage. Safety Concerns: •Unexpected engine failure can lead to sudden loss of power, increasing accident risks. •If this issue is widespread, other Jeep Compass owners could face similar failures without warning. •The manufacturer should be held accountable for defects leading to premature catastrophic failures. I urge the NHTSA to investigate this issue and determine if a recall or extended coverage program is warranted to protect consumers from unexpected and costly failures.
The car flashed an error code "Coolant temp to high" and shut the engine down while I was entering the on ramp to the expressway. The car stalled in the middle of the lane. The coolant temp was normal and not high. I was able to restart the car and had no issue for rest of the drive. I checked my coolant levels and everything is normal. This again happened the next day in my neighborhood thankfully. The code flashed and the engine immediately shut down. There was little to no time to react. My fear is this will happen again when my daughter is driving.
When I exited my car to enter my workplace on January 27, 2025, I noticed the radio had not turned off, which was unusual. I re-entered the car, turning the ignition on and off, hoping to shut the radio down. However, when I attempted to start the car, it made stalling noises, and would not turn on. After several attempts, the car turned on but the temperature gauge soared, and an error message about high coolant temperature appeared, causing the car to shut down immediately. I called my husband, who suggested waiting a few minutes before trying again. Fortunately, the car started, and I went into work, advised by my husband not to touch it until it was time to leave. Later, I drove directly to the Jeep dealership. Two days passed, and they dismissed the issue, unable to replicate it. Online research revealed this is a recurring problem with this model, raising my fears of the car shutting down unexpectedly in risky situations like driving on the highway.
Stop/start stalling and shutting down at intersection. When lifting foot off the brake, vehicle may start up again just briefly but then stalls out. The vehicle has been stuck in traffic, at high risk for an accident. I have been successful in restarting the vehicle thus far to resume driving. Behavior can occur multiple times a day or once a week but it has been present for >2 yrs. Problem has been reported and inspected by local dealership but, per the dealership, unable to replicate on demand. Solution provided has been to replace both batteries but remedy is short lived. Dashboard error: Auto Stop/Start Not Ready/Unavailable . This error appears after the engine stop/start stalls and engine shutdown but goes away when car is restarted
The motor is constantly burning oil between oil changes it takes 5.5 quarts on an oil change when the oil is changed I get less than 4 quarts out of the oil pan and this time the oil light came on and I checked the oil level and it was about 4 quarts low and I have the oil changed every 5,000 miles like the manufacture recommends I have read multiple complaints online that this is a known issue with the jeep compass and other vehicles with the 2.4 multiair engine in them
after making a left turn, the engine shut off, an alert on the dashboard read the coolant temperature was too high. Then a second later the coolant alarm went away, the temperature gauge dropped back to normal and the engine started back up. This happened too fast to be an actual problem with the coolant temperature. It happened as described here: [XXX] If this had happened 3 seconds sooner, I would have been stuck in traffic while making a left turn. I'm a little shocked NHTSA has precluded this is not a dangerous issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My engine has killed 3 times while in motion but coming to a stop. I get an alert that the coolant temp is too hot and the engine immediately shuts off while everything else (radio, lights, etc.) remains on. After I put the vehicle in park and shut it off, I'm able to restart it right away and the coolant temp is completely normal. I took the vehicle to a mechanic for a full diagnostic check and they said that this is a known issue with Jeep vehicles and that there's no known solution for it. This happens without warning and there are no alerts or error messages before the vehicle shuts off. Luckily, each time this has happened has been while I've been coming to a stop in a quiet residential area but my concern is that it could happen while I'm on a busy highway. Here is a link to the inspection report I got back from the mechanic: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Every 3000 to 5000 miles the car jerks like the transmission is slipping, the coolant temperature warning sign comes on, and the car shuts off while driving. No warranty will fix the issue and it is very unsafe to have your car shut off while on the highway driving 70mph. This has happened several times. Jeep dealer will not fix
The "coolant temperature too high" error message has flashed three times, the first on 10/22/2023, the second on 12/19/2023 and the third on 12/22/2023. In one instance the "service parking brake" error message flashed as well. This instance was four days after the vehicle passed the state safety inspection and the dealer made no notes of needed repairs to the brake system. Thankfully in all instances, the vehicle was parked and not in motion which prevented the cause of a safety issue to myself or other drivers on the road. The first time this occurred was after the vehicle had been parked overnight and for most of the next day whereas the last two were after short drives. There are no stored messages in the gauge cluster and no DTC codes when checking with a code reader via the OBDII port. I also checked the coolant level after each instance and the level was good each time. No other warning lamps, messages or symptoms happened prior to this message. I have not had the vehicle diagnosed by the dealer or an independent mechanic. I have seen this issue reported multiple times on Jeep forums and in all cases, the issue was never reproduced and best efforts were used to fix the issue but FCA has not been able to provide one. I have read that batteries, sensors, etc. have been replaced but the issue still remains. I came here today to report this, knowing that there was an open investigation but found that the investigation was closed in 12/2023. I felt that I should report my instances anyway in hopes that if I do and others also come forward that the investigation may be reopened. While no crash, fire, injury or fatality have been reported yet, there is a strong possibility that any of these could occur.
Car stalled out while idling at red light. Car had to be towed to dealer!!replaced battery !! Stalled again dealer said the cause was faulty door latches!! Car stalled again, had to be towed to dealer , kept for 5 days!! All codes cleared , incident never repeated!!!
engine is over heating and now the transmission is having problems its only 5 years old. My safety is important the car could have caught fire and it slowed down while i was on the highway that could get me in an accident
Took it for regular maintenance and was told both batteries needed to be replaced. Replaced them a month later car wouldn’t start, got it to start and completely shut off while going 60 mph.
WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND MY JEEP JUST CUT OFF AND WOULD NOT START BACK UP, IT LOCKED UP EVERYTHING. HAD TO GET IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE HEARD OF THESE PROBLEMS, THEY TESTED EVERYTHING OUT AND SAID IT WAS POSSIBLY THE BATTERY, GOT THE BATTERY REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE, ONE WEEK LATER IT DID THE SAME THING WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT AND COULD NOT GET IT TO START, TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM, AFTER A WHILE IT STARTED BACK UP. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE EXPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE A ONE YR OLD CHILD THAT IS IN THE CAR WITH ME, HOW CAN I FEEL SAFE IN A CAR THAT IS GOING TO STOP SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC OR ON A HIGHWAY. NOONE SEEMS TO KNOW THE PROBLEM TO GET THIS FIXED SO I CAN DRIVE MY CAR SAFELY ON THE ROADS. VERY SCARY.
As I was exiting one interstate and merging onto another one the engine stalled. A message displayed telling me the cruise had shut off (my cruise was on but not in use when the engine stalled). This is the second time this has happened - both on the highway.
The vehicle will be shut off via auto stop start system at a traffic light, I'll let off the gas and the vehicle will sometimes take several tries to start or totally stall out and have to be manually restarted, it's dangerous.
The stop/start system for saving on gas mileage has pulled the charge from the secondary stop/start battery and depleted that, in turn pulling from the car battery and depleting that and then pulling on the alternator, weakening it. The car has been stuck in "off" regarding the stop/start system. The car died in traffic today with again the battery depleted. After jumpstarting it, and turning the car off, it would not restart as the cells have been depleted. It is dangerous when you have no warning, no battery light to tell you that it needs help. I have another Jeep , a Cherokee Limited 4x4 that did the same thing and stranded me in the middle of six lanes of traffic. This is a serious Jeep problem that is going the get people killed, if it already has not. I will write a complaint about that as well.
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with oil consumption failure and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
High Coolant temperature warning came up on dashboard and engine shut off while I was driving my vehicle through an intersection. Car had plenty of coolant and other fluids, car was not overheating. About 5 minutes later the car turned back on.
Was driving along going 35 mph and had to stop for a pedestrian crossing the road. After coming to a full stop, the Jeep flashed a warning on the dashboard that the “engine coolant temperature is too hot” and the car completely shut off. The car was then turned back on and driven another 10 minutes to work without issue. After researching, it seems that we are no the only ones that are seeing this issue and is a massive safety issue if, for example, the car on the highway and shut off while going 70+ miles and hour. We are not sure what components are the issue as there were no warning lights or anything prior to the issue occurring.
A message appears on the dashboard ‘High Coolant Temperature’ and immediately sends the vehicle to shut off and after a couple of seconds the error disappears and the temperature gauge returns to normal. When it shuts down, the car will either completely shut off or jolt and start back up.
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, or while stopped at a traffic light the vehicle would suddenly shut off. The failure had occurred while driving 70 MPH, and while stationary at a traffic light. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer several times, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 16,000. The VIN was unavailable.
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The 2019 Jeep Compass has 53 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.