Jeep · Gladiator · 2021
7
Recalls
264
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2021 Jeep Gladiator has 7 recalls and 264 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: steering (47 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Jeep Gladiator and 2018-2024 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. The instrument panel cluster may experience an internal short circuit and fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Remedy Status
Dealers will replace the instrument panel cluster, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between October 3, 2024, and January 23, 2025. Owners may contact FCA customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA's number for this recall is 30B.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021 Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator vehicles that were previously remedied under NHTSA recall number 23V-116. The software for the powertrain control module may cause an engine stall, which can result in a loss of drive power.
Remedy Status
Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 15, 2024. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US LLC's number for this recall is 92B. Vehicles previously repaired under recall 23V-116 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Jeep Wrangler, Ram 1500, and 2021-2022 Jeep Gladiator vehicles equipped with 3.0L diesel engines. The high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) may fail, causing an engine stall.
Remedy Status
Dealers will replace the HPFP and inspect and replace additional fuel system components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 17, 2023. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is Z96.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Jeep Wrangler and 2020-2021 Jeep Gladiator vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. The clutch pressure plate may overheat and fracture.
Remedy Status
FCA US LLC will notify owners, and dealers will add software to reduce engine torque capability when clutch assembly temperatures rise to a level that may damage the inner pressure plate, free of charge." FCA has ordered a stop sale for the affected vehicles as of February 25, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 4, 2021.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator, and 2022-2023 Ram 1500 vehicles equipped with a 3.0L diesel engine. The high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) may fail.
Remedy Status
Dealers will replace the HPFP and replace additional fuel system components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 17, 2023. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 01A.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Jeep Wrangler, and 2020-2023 Jeep Gladiator vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. The clutch pressure plate may overheat and fracture.
Remedy Status
Dealers will replace the clutch assembly and update the software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed from November 16, 2023 through July 25, 2024. Owners may contact (FCA US, LLC) customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US LLC's number for this recall is 19A. This recall expands and replaces previous recall 21V-028. Vehicles previously repaired under recall 21V-028 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Jeep Wrangler, RAM 1500 and 2021 Jeep Gladiator vehicles. A radio software error may prevent the rearview image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy Status
Dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 6, 2022. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA, LLC's number for this recall is Z86.
On 12-13-23 I hit an 8 point buck going 55mph head on between the 2 headlights doing 15k in damage.. airbags did not deploy. On 4-11-26 I was hit by a drunk driver head on. I was going 33mph, he was going much faster in a Polaris rzr hit me on the driver side tearing off my tire, and whole suspension completely, sending me into an embankment... and still no airbags deployed.
Bought this vehicle with 27,000 miles on it. While driving on the interstate with heavy traffic. (Doing Highway speeds) All the sudden the power plant shuts down. It happend at 27,500 miles and happened again at 37,000 miles. It has done it to me four times now. Twice with heavy semi trucks bearing down on me and my family. This was a very UNSAFE situation. The Fault on the screen comes up momentarily and states "Capture Throttle Body Fault." and all power is lost to the throttle. SERIOUS SAFTETY ISSUE. as loosing power on the interstate at 75 miles an hour. I believe JEEP the company should fix this issue as I know for a fact I am not the only individual experincing this problem! Please feel free to reach out to me if you need further information. There was not a crash,fire or injury due to the ability to get off the road and into the apron of the interstate. In a higher traffic location this could be catistrophic. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE talk this issue seriously as I am convinced this has caused others to wreak. Thanks and have a great day
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that the instrument panel was blank at startup. Due to the failure, the speedometer, fuel gauge, mileage, and other features were not visible. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V652000 (Electrical System); which was associated with the failure. A dealer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.
Description of the Safety Issue I am submitting this complaint to report a serious seat belt safety incident involving entrapment and inability to self‑release, which required emergency intervention. While parked, my daughter as a passenger in my Jeep Gladiator, became tangled in the seat belt in such a way that she was physically unable to release herself or exit the vehicle. Despite multiple attempts, the seat belt could not be disengaged, and the situation escalated to the point where I had to cut the seat belt to free her. This was not caused by a crash, sudden stop, or misuse. The seat belt’s configuration, retraction behavior, or release mechanism appeared to contribute to the entrapment and prevented normal occupant egress. Why This Is a Safety Concern Seat belts are intended to protect occupants and allow safe release when needed. In this incident, the seat belt instead: -Entrapped a child occupant -Prevented self‑release -Created a situation where cutting the belt was the only way to avoid further harm Had this occurred during an emergency (fire, water submersion, post‑collision scenario), the inability to quickly exit the vehicle could have resulted in serious injury or worse. Outcome of the Incident -No collision occurred. -No vehicle warning lights or alerts were present. -The seat belt was rendered unusable only because it had to be cut as an emergency safety measure. -The incident caused significant distress and created an immediate safety hazard. Request for Review I am requesting that NHTSA: -Review this incident as a potential seat belt design or functional defect -Consider whether similar incidents may be occurring but underreported -Evaluate whether this issue warrants further investigation, service bulletin, or recall activity Seat belts should never place occupants—especially children—into situations where escape is difficult or impossible.
The center high mounted tail light (CHMTL) has failed. It makes it a little harder to see the vehicle is braking. The fuses are fine. It is a very common failure on Jeep Gladiators. Many times people don't know it has failed. There are no warning lamps or indicators to tell you it has failed.
This afternoon I was driving on a 35mph 4 lane road when my power steering suddenly went out. Because it was unusually light traffic and there are no turns or curves, I was able to safely maintain my lane until the power steering resumed just as quickly as it went out. Most women struggle with manually steering a normal sized car- a truck this heavy is nearly impossible. Had I been going any faster or if I were on a curve, I would have absolutely wrecked. There were no alarms, no signals no messages, nothing. Because this Judy happened, I have not yet had it looked at my a mechanic.
While angling into a turn lane, I was forced to go back into lane of traffic first signaling into the turn lane (left) then out (right) turn signal seemed to get stuck on, Steering wheel became locked and would only move a fraction of an inch either left or right. Once I was around the obstruction in the turn lane I angled back into it and was able to come to a stop. Once stopped the turn signal very loudly clicked off and the wheel was once again able to be actually turned. The ESS was disabled the whole time and at no point did the vehicle cease to be on and engine running.
The 3rd brake light in the tailgate malfunctioned This is required to pass New York State safety inspection A Jeep dealer replaced the part No warning on the dashboard of this light failing
Two of the same faults occurred within the same month of each other. The first: while driving home from work on the highway, while heavily raining, without warning every alarm light possible engaged, windshield wipers went full speed, vehicle would not shift, and my steering locked up (not to be confused with lost power steering). After about a mile I was able to encourage the Jeep off the side of the highway. While waiting for my tow, with the E Brake set and in Park, the Jeep kept trying to crawl forward on its own. I was unable to turn the vehicle off as it would not respond, in addition to an alarm warning saying not to turn off the Jeep. The second occurrence was in the parking garage at work; I pulled through the parking stall, put the Jeep in reverse to back up and the same fault took place. No steering, wipers on full speed, every alarm on the dash was engaged. Thankfully I was not a highway speed. I was able to turn off the Jeep this time after about 5 minutes of attempting to.
While driving on the highway on 1/19/2026, the electric power steering system abruptly stopped working. It took all my strength to steer the vehicle to take the first available exit. The failure made controlling the vehicle very difficult, putting my safety, my family's safety and the safety of others around me at risk. As soon as the vehicle slowed to approximately 20mph, the power steering started working normally again. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. There were no warning lamps, messages or notifications during the power steering failure. There were no warning lamps, messages or notifications after the power steering started working normally again. I did a complete system scan using a scan tool that can detect Diagnostic Trouble Codes from all vehicle systems, and no DTCs were detected. See attachment.
I have had my gorilla glass replaced two years ago for cracking on its on, my front windshield cracked again 2 weeks ago for no reason and it cracked in the same location, causing a huge crack along my vison. This glass is supposed to be unbreakable and yet it broke twice since ownership all by it self. No rock chips or anything. I was just sitting at a traffic light when I heard a ting and the crack just grew before my eyes. Bad glass and Mopar knows its a flaw but will not replace it.
While driving yesterday vehicle lost power steering and almost cause a crash. Upon talking to multiple shops and online researching we all came to a conclusion it was the can bus board (controller area network) shops stated this is a very know problem with jeeps. I feel as this is a safety factor for this. Now I am at the point in fixing it and trading in the vehicle due to my family and trying to be safe. Codes are saying lost of communication with can bus basically all the computers are not talking to each other.
The heating steering wheel had an electrical short in the heating element where it began to melt the rubber of the steering wheel and start smoking. This became very hot where it could burn my hand. I was forced to pull over immediately to diagnose the problem before anything else could burn. The smoking stopped when I tuned off the heated steering wheel.
Approximately two months ago while driving about 65 mph on the interstate the power steering failed, and reverted to manual steering. The vehicle became extremely difficult to turn. I was near an exit, and as I slowed to leave the interstate, at 30-35 mph the steering began to work normally. I did not have the issue investigated. Two days ago while going to work, and descending a mountain which had numerous sharp curves the power steering failed again. I was traveling around 40 mph, and the vehicle was extremely difficult to steer. As I reduced speed to about 25mph the steering resumed normal operation. I was making a 90 degree downhill turn when this event occurred. I almost departed the road on a steep drop off. Had my wife been driving I do not think she would have possessed enough strength to keep from going off the road. I had the vehicle checked, by a mechanic and there were no codes or anomalies detected. I am a certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, as well as an Aviation Safety Inspector. This issue with my Jeep is an accident waiting to happen. There are a significant number of complaints for this same issue. NHTSA needs to address this issue.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power. The contact stated that there were several unknown warnings illuminated, and the instrument cluster had started flashing on and off. The contact stated that the vehicle slowed down while depressing the accelerator pedal and continued to lose motive power. The contact stated that a warning flashed on the instrument cluster to "Pull Over" and that "Vehicle Was Going to Shutdown". The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn to the left or the right and that the brake pedal was difficult to depress, requiring the activation of the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed back to the residence. The contact stated that her husband determined that the 12-Volt battery needed to be replaced. The contact stated that a new battery was installed; however, the vehicle had failed again with the same symptoms. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The third brake light, located on the tailgate of the 2021 Jeep Gladiator, has ceased to function due to a failure within the printed circuit board (PCB) inside the light housing. This issue has been confirmed by a third-party repair shop, which has noted that the PCB appears to be broken or damaged, rendering the brake light inoperable. Notably, the vehicle's instrument panel does not provide any notification or alert regarding the malfunction of the third brake light, which could lead to a significant safety risk. This failure impacts the vehicle's ability to properly signal braking and deceleration to other motorists, particularly from the rear. Given that the third brake light is a critical component for road safety, this issue poses a significant risk of rear-end collisions, especially under conditions where visibility is compromised. When the third brake light fails to illuminate this reduces the overall visibility of the vehicle’s braking signals, particularly in situations where the tailgate is obscured or when the vehicle is loaded. The lack of a functional third brake light increases the likelihood of a rear-end collision, putting both the driver and other road users at risk. The failure of the third brake light due to a malfunctioning PCB appears to be a common issue among 2021 Jeep Gladiators. The problem has been reported by multiple owners, and the root cause appears to be related to the design or manufacturing of the printed circuit board within the light assembly. The third brake light has been inspected by a third-party repair shop, which confirmed the malfunction of the PCB. However, despite the issue being identified, there has been no alert or warning displayed on the vehicle's instrument panel. There is no indication within the vehicle's diagnostic system that the third brake light is inoperative. Given the potential safety hazards and the recurring nature of this issue I respectfully request that the NHTSA conduct an investigation.
My vehicles rear locker went out on me while driving on the road and completely destroyed itself. I have video evidence on how that looks at the shop where it cost me over 3k to get a new one because I could t drive it or I had to get a whole new rear differential. My steering is already been going loose at 70k miless
The vehicle turned off while sitting at a red light; luckily it started back up. I did receive the service stat stop warning light. Took the vehicle into the dealership, and both the main battery and auxiliary battery are bad. Last November, both batteries were just replaced. My vehicle was purchased new in June 2021, and this will be the fourth set of batteries it has had.
I am writing regarding my 2021 Jeep Gladiator Mojave, which recently suffered engine damage due to a faulty head gasket. I understand the vehicle is approximately 5,000 miles over the 60,000-mile warranty; however, I believe this issue should not be my financial responsibility given the circumstances. At around 60,000 miles, I brought my Jeep in for a full service and inspection to ensure it was in top condition. I was informed at that time that everything looked fine and that there were no issues to address. Since then, I’ve continued to maintain the vehicle properly and drive it with care. The sudden head gasket failure, which ultimately led to engine damage, came as a complete surprise. This situation has been extremely difficult — not only because of the unexpected cost, but also because this Jeep was meant to be my long-term vehicle. My family and I have been loyal Mopar customers for years, and I’ve always trusted in the quality and reliability of your vehicles and service network. Given that I sought professional service and maintenance through authorized channels, and that no issues were identified at the time, I kindly request that Mopar consider a goodwill repair or assistance. I don’t believe it’s fair to be held financially responsible for a mechanical failure that likely existed but went undetected during a recent inspection. I’m grateful that nothing happened to me on the road, as I was unaware of the developing problem under the hood. I truly hope Mopar can stand behind its reputation for integrity, safety, and customer care by helping me through this situation. Thank you for your time, understanding, and continued support. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Without any warning and after about 7 minutes of driving, Jeep turned off while driving at about 40 mph. There were no dash lights or warnings and the Jeep has never had an issue or any other symptom previously. Would not start and had to be towed. 8 hours later it was still in a crank no start condition. Both batteries were fully charged so not a battery issue. I'm a long time Jeep owner, VP of the Middle Peninsula Jeep Association LLC and fairly well versed in Jeep mechanics. I only say that to let you know that I have a lot of experience with Jeeps, was able to exclude certain causes and have not encountered thisnwith any of my previous Jeeps. Jeep is in show condition and meticulously cared for. The day after vehicle shut off, all dash lights and windows also stopped working so issue also caused batteries to fully drain. Dealership says it is needs a new PDC. I strongly suspect this is due to manufacturer defect related to PCM and some of manufacturing defects associated with COVID-era manufacturing issues. Uncertain if it could also be related to other open recall. Vehicle has less than 50K on it. It really doesn't feel right that just a large component would go out on such a new Jeep and definitely isn't in accordance with the quality I've come to know and expect when owning other Jeeps. Would appreciate anything you can do to assist. On another note, about half of the Gladiators I see have the 3rd brake light out (mine included). Any idea what the issue could be with that as I also have to get that replaced, too. Many thanks!
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2021 Jeep Gladiator has 7 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 264 owner-reported complaints for the 2021 Jeep Gladiator.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2021 Jeep Gladiator.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2021 Jeep Gladiator are steering (47 reports), power train (37 reports), steering,suspension (13 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 7 recalls on record for the 2021 Jeep Gladiator. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
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This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.