2018 Jeep Compass Reliability Report

Most of these filings repeat the stalling and oil-loss pattern found under the engine heading. The car shuts off in turns, at stop signs, or while merging, sometimes with little or no oil in the engine and often under 10,000 miles. Dealers run oil consumption tests that owners describe as inconsistent. Other reports cover a blacked-out touchscreen that disables the backup camera, vibration that worsens between 60 and 80 mph, a humming noise at 30 to 40 mph, and a burning odor with steam from the front of the car.

Headlights fail at random. Sometimes only the driver side works, sometimes only the passenger side, and sometimes neither, often while driving at night with no dash warning. Many reports involve the Bi-Xenon (HID) lamps. Owners and dealers replace bulbs, relays, ballasts, fuses, switches, and whole headlamp assemblies, often without a lasting fix, and dealers frequently cannot reproduce the fault. Reported failures range from about 15,000 to 56,426 miles. One owner reports a central display too bright to use at night that cannot be dimmed.

Most steering complaints describe the wheel going heavy or locking after the engine stalls. The car loses power steering and acceleration at highway speeds, in intersections, and at stoplights, and several owners link the stalls to low oil. Some reports pair the stalls with dash lights flashing or a false high-temperature warning. One crash report describes the car pulling right without warning at about 20 mph. Another owner reports a clunk from the steering gear rack at 61,000 miles, and a third describes ABS and steering warning lights that come back after a sensor replacement.

Front suspension parts wear out early. Sway bar links break, sometimes more than once, and are replaced at around 25,000 to 35,000 miles. Struts clunk or fail between 10,000 and 20,000 miles, and lower control arms and bushings rattle over bumps and potholes. Owners hear rattling and clunking that gets worse over time, and some are told their VIN is not covered by a recall. Three reports involve crashes, including a snapped tie rod and a broken front suspension component.

The electronic parking brake engages by itself, usually while pulling away from a stop or at low speed, and the car stalls in traffic. Recovery can take several minutes of cycling the brake switch. Other reports describe the car braking hard on its own, including a drop from 73 mph to about 45 mph on cruise control. Separate complaints cover pulsing and shaking from warped rotors, grinding brakes, and a crash in which the brake pedal did not respond at about 45 mph. Dealers often find no fault codes.

Airbags fail to deploy in serious crashes. Reports describe a rear-end collision at about 50 mph, a driver-side impact at about 40 mph, and a deer strike with no deployment, plus one case where airbags fired only after a rollover. Seven of the 15 reports involve crashes. Separately, the airbag warning light keeps coming on even after dealers replace the wiring harness and occupant restraint controller, and one dealer quoted $5,000 for a harness. Other owners describe long waits for a passenger airbag module repair, with dealers saying parts are not available.

The car loses acceleration or goes into a reduced-power mode, with a check engine light and speed held near 30 mph until it is restarted. Stalls at intersections often trace back to low oil. A smaller set of reports describes the opposite problem: an accelerator pedal that sticks and pushes speed past 80 mph, sudden acceleration during a turn, and cruise control that would not shut off. Two of these led to crashes. Dealers often cannot find stored codes or reproduce the fault.