2020 Jeep Wrangler Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
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Chronological view of owner reports
I took my vehicle to a Jeep dealer because the instrument panel on my dashboard went completely dark. The technician advised that I would need a new Instrument ClusterPanel, part #68442288AE. He also advised that there is a safety recall on this part however my VIN did not fall into the recall range although my vehicle DID fall into the year, model and make of the recall. I am making this complaint because I would like my vehicle to be covered by this recall since I have encountered the very situation in the recall and my vehicle matches the year, make and model covered in the recall.
The ABS module failed and caused an issue while in the middle of driving it. When the ABS module failed, I lost power steering and other critical functions. When I lost functionality, errors that I saw on the dash included: “service breaks, service ABS, service shifter” etc. Luckily it didn’t cause any accidents. The vehicle is currently at the dealer service department. It has been there for 3 1/2 months waiting on an ABS module that is on back order. The dealer just advised me today that it could be another 3 months. It’s already been on order for the last 2 months.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the instrument panel went blank. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was acknowledged; however, the contact discovered upon investigation that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V652000 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle remained in dealer possession unrepaired. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.
There is a current recall out for the dash panel failures. I have issues with my dash panel that would be described as a failure that I believe should fall under the recall for this issue, my make and model matches however my specific VIN # does not. I'm hoping to get that changed so I May be ble to get my dash panel fixed under the recall. The panel throws incorrect warnings and glitches to where you cannot see what's shown on the screen, as if it is completely dim all the time. The photo provided is when the dash first started glitching in april, you can see the colors are changed and PRN is dimmed. Now everything is completely gone
I have a 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport. The instrument cluster on my Jeep had been flashing for awhile back in 2022 and finally went completely black in December 2022. I could not see my digital speed, gas, etc. I finally took it to the dealership in July of 2023 after saving money for the repair (since it was no longer under warranty) and it ended up being the instrument cluster that went bad. $1k + repair later and here we are with other Jeeps having the instrument cluster recalled when mine fell within the criteria but I have not received anything about a refund for the recall that we had to pay for.
While driving, my Jeep's infotainment screen kept flashing an advertisement for SiriusXM Service. I found this obnoxious and distracting because it would display it on my screen every time I came to a stop. And then go away as I started moving again.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle abruptly stopped and failed to move. The contact stated the engine was running, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that her ten-year-old daughter was in the vehicle during the failure. The vehicle stopped in the middle of a busy three-lane highway. The contact stated that other drivers were honking their horns and being very rude while she was unable to move the vehicle. The local Police were called and were able to take the contact's daughter to a safe location. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with an electrical system failure and a failed computer system. In addition, the stop-and-start battery was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not assist. The contact stated that the manufacturer refused to buy the vehicle back under the vehicle buyback program. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
The radio keeps shutting off & resetting . Also the SERV 4WD light won’t turn off after multiple inspections by Jeep dealership technicians.
I was driving my 2020 jeep wrangler and I had a busy intersection and the engine stopped. I tried to restart the engine that did not work. I called AAA for a jump and they sent a technician and it still would not start. I had to have it towed to a local Jeep dealership. Everything electronically was flashing on the dashboard. My hazard lights would work on and off. The wipers started going, and I could not get the Jeep out of the park. After 2 1/2 hours in this busy intersection, the tow truck appeared. The vehicle is in the shop right now, and there was no warnings or messages that appeared.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, she noticed that the auto start light was illuminated, and the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that she noticed that during cold weather the auto start feature failed to operate as designed. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the feature may have drained the battery. The vehicle was taken to an undisclosed dealer where it was diagnosed that the auxiliary and core battery needed to be replaced; however, the contact stated that the auxiliary battery was replaced but the core battery was recharged. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then stated that the auto start light illuminated. The contact was then advised to drive the vehicle for a few weeks to allow the auto start light to reset. The light failed to turn off. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number and advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000
Jeep caught fire by passenger visor
After having the steering damper replaced for the death wobble on my 2020 Jeep Wrangler, a week later I was driving my jeep down the road and the vehicle stalled out on me. The auto start/stop light turned on and the car stalled out in the middle of a busy roadway in drive and would not go into park. After getting it into park, several lights turned on my dash, including “service power steering” and “service electronic stability control. My shifter lights all began flashing at once and my windshield wipers began to go while they were turned off. The vehicle would also not go into N and after finally getting it into neutral, we had to hold the emergency neutral pull while steering across 4 lanes of a busy roadway. This is now the second major safety issue (1st is death wobble) i’ve had with my jeep and no recalls have been issued. My car is at 42k miles and a lease, these cars should not be having these issues so early! It has now been at Jeep for a week and they have yet to look at the vehicle and keep giving me the run down of “we haven’t been able to look at your vehicle but it doesn’t look good” Jeeps seem to have major safety issues lately.
THE CAR STOPPES EVERY FEW WEEKS AND THE BATTERY NEEDS TO BE JUMPED, I TOOK IT TO GET THE BATTERY CHECKED AND NO ISSUES WITH THE BATTERY ALTERNATOR AND STARTER.
My engine cut off without warning at a very busy intersection. I was stuck in busy traffic. I could not get it restarted or out of park. (I am a resident of Altavista, Va. 24517 This incident occurred in South Boston, Va.,approx. 40-45 miles from where I live.) A South Boston Policeman stopped and a fire dept. employee offered their assistance (and were very helpful). They were almost hit by cars several times from each side. I knew I had to get the vehicle out of the middle of the street, so I asked the policeman to call a local garage to send a rollback (tow truck) to get it out of the street and the dangerous traffic. The local garage was equipped with a machine that showed what was wrong, The final settings had to be made by a Jeep dealer. The garage took it to a Jeep dealer in Henderson, NC. (approx. 44 miles from South Boston, Va). Personal in the service department informed us said that they had know this to happen before. The Jeep has a primary and secondary battery (the stop and go system). I understand that if the primary battery goes dead without warning, the secondary battery tries to pick up the entire electrical load and the smaller battery cannot handle it and it destroys the fuse block. Both batteries and the fuse block had to be replaced. I was without a car for approx. two weeks, and a great deal of expense ($1,391.64). I am now wondering if and when it will happen again.
I am not clear 100 percent but the brand new car (leased) was brought in 3 separate times with electrical issues (towed twice) when it had under 20k miles on it In Jan 2023 when I was driving on a major parkway in NY the electrical system went-my steering locked up and I had to somehow get off road and onto median. I was towed to a gas station in Hempstead I believe then had to pay to town home (I forgot to call keep roadside as my sod was not working ) It is now sitting in ny in my moms driveway -I am due to return the leased card in march so I am still paying for an inoperable car I flew to FL which is where I now live and needed a car so went to Schumaker jeep in Delray I have a new jeep that appears to have failed testing (I found a piece of paper in console (vin for this new car is [XXX]) And the radio console screen and interior lights dim out of nowhere or go completely black even though radio/etc on. I’ve reported to dealers here in FL -to the Chrysler capital corporate and keep corporate phones-have 2 case numbers with no follow up. Went to a keep dealer to have diagnostic testing but looks like that didn’t really happen as I wasn’t given a sheet showing the completed testing. I’m not sure how to resolve my issues and I’m worried I’m again in an unsafe car which seems to be missing safety protections (side view mirror blind spot alerts) my 2020 keep had and def seems to have some electrical issues or has failed battery charging, I don’t know how to get help for either car and am worried I’m driving an unsafe car. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I had been driving my car off and on throughout the day without incidence. I stopped by the the grocery store and went in for a very short amount of time. I came out and cranked my car, it cranked as normal. I drove out of the parking lot into traffic and the car just started going haywire then shut off. Lights were flashing inside the car, the dash lights kept coming on and off, the wipers were moving even though they had not been on previously. I turned on my hazard lights and they would only illuminate in the front of the vehicle, but also intermittently. I had no means of warning other drivers, this occurred after dark. The car would not go into neutral so it could be pushed from the roadway. There were no warning lights to let me know anything was wrong. I had no indicators prior to this occurrence and was left completely stranded in traffic in the dark. I was told by the auto shop it was towed to that the issue was the auxiliary battery. This battery was causing a drain on the main battery and therefore shut down.
My vehicle is still at the Jeep dealership service center being repaired, but so far, the reported issue includes a "shorted" fuse block. As I was driving the vehicle, I was approaching a red light when my vehicle abruptly halted. The cars behind & near me were forced to go around to avoid hitting my vehicle. The dashboard initially flashed the message "safety mode" or something similar, the check engine light came on, the brakes locked, & the power steering & windows ceased to function. While I waited for the police, I tried to restart the vehicle many times, in hopes of getting it into neutral and/or getting it off of the roadway - nothing worked. The vehicle then began to flash the message "Service Electronic Stability Control." The DOTD serviceman & the tow truck driver were unable to get the vehicle into neutral manually, so it had to be dragged using chains. Once the vehicle was towed to the Jeep dealership (Covington, LA), I was first told that the battery had a voltage of 0. After replacing the battery, I was told that the fuse block was shorted. The representative explained the fuse block's purpose, & further explained that because mine shorted, the battery was unable to communicate with the rest of the vehicle, like the alternator & the PCM, on how much voltage was coming out of the system - i.e., since my computer shorted, the vehicle did not know that the battery was dead. Thus, when the battery killed abruptly while driving, the vehicle basically panicked & went into “safe mode” (limp mode) & locked up the entire machine. I asked repeatedly how this happens and how it can be avoided in the future, and while dancing around many indirect answers, the rep stated that my fuse block in this instance basically caused a complete electronic failure of the vehicle. I am an attorney & I have spoken with experts who suggest that this issue should be investigated. It is a serious hazard & a defect for one glitched part to kill the entire machine while driving.
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that the wife was driving the vehicle at 20 MPH when the vehicle's rear-wheel lock activated without any warning. The vehicle was driven home. The vehicle has not been repaired but the dealer was notified. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 24994.
The rear camera/head unit freezes with an image of what was behind the vehicle when placed in reverse. This recently caused an issue where a group of people walked behind my Jeep while pulling out. Both myself and the group were fortunate enough that I caught one of the people walking behind my Jeep and stopped before backing into them with the backup camera still showing a clear path. This issue has been documented with Jeep and was serviced November of 2021. They replaced the unit but after a few months the new head unit started crashing and I am still having this intermittent issue where the screen shows a static image for the rear view upon placing the Jeep in reverse. No warning lamps or messages are shown. Eventually the watchdog timer times out after about a minute and the system reboots. The head unit will also crash randomly at other times while driving but this is the only instance it puts safety at risk. I would estimate it occurs 2-5% of the time I back out. Before I took the Jeep in for service I documented, in detail, each time the unit crashed and gave it to the service tech, I will send it to you as well when I locate the file. I also attached links to video showing a 2 examples at various different times this occurred, including an instance today. https://photos.app.goo.gl/pvrpoP44CjFHHfvN6 https://photos.app.goo.gl/ALu3dAw6Sarz3jzJ6
After stopping my Jeep on September 27th smoke was coming out of the engine immediately. There had been no warning lights on the dash or any smells from the engine. I got out and tried to open the hood and the engine was already fully engulfed in fire. Our Jeep had never had any engine trouble or been into the dealership except to have the oil changed. Upon doing my own investigation I have seen many of these fires. Something is definitely wrong with this engine. I could have lost my life.
I was driving down freeway and all power cut out, pulled over and power came back on. A week later my service 4x4 light came on. I tried to put in 4wd and it got stuck, would not go into 4wd. I had to use excessive force to push stick back to 2wd. I called local dealership to set up an appoint. Service advisor told me he already knew what was wrong with it and that I would have to pay out of pocket because its not being covered by Chryler warranty regardless of mileage and with in warranty timeframe. He said it is a "common problem" because these vehicles have soybased wiring and attracts rodents. Took my vehicle in thinking that he must be wrong, but the technician identified that my wiring is damaged. The dealership refused to submit the claim to Chrysler corp nor would they put down their statement about the "soy based wiring" when I raised legal issues, they refused to work on my vehicle even if I paid as they stated" they dont want the publicity". I was never informed on purchase that the vehicle i purchased had this safety issue. Work order states damage but eludes specific cause on invoice, no repairs were done, service 4wd light still on, I only have 2wd, all dealerships in area are owned by same group who sold me this vehicle and no appoints for 1 to 2 months available.
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The 2020 Jeep Wrangler has 96 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.