NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
160 reportsClear category filterMileage unknown · Mar 5, 2025
Engine
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 everythin…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11646406
Mileage unknown · Feb 12, 2025
Engine
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 t…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11642108
Mileage unknown · Feb 8, 2025
Engine
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…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11641517
Mileage unknown · Jan 29, 2025
Engine
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 c…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11639282
Mileage unknown · Jan 21, 2025
Electrical SystemEngineService Brakes
When starting my 2019 Jeep Compass an error message stated "coolant temperature high" and "service brake system." It then sputtered and shut down. I waited a minute and then restarted the vehicle. There was a lag for the car to start and then it went back to normal and no codes were present.
NHTSA ODI #11637355
Mileage unknown · Jan 2, 2025
Electrical SystemEngineService Brakes
On 4 separate occasions over a 5 day period, the electronic parking brake system spontaneously engaged. This caused the vehicle to lose power and slow until it came to a complete stop/stall. The EPB indicator was displayed on the dash. I tried several courses of action to resolve the issue including putting the car in park, att…
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On 4 separate occasions over a 5 day period, the electronic parking brake system spontaneously engaged. This caused the vehicle to lose power and slow until it came to a complete stop/stall. The EPB indicator was displayed on the dash. I tried several courses of action to resolve the issue including putting the car in park, attempting to disengage the EPB as well turning the vehicle off and on again. This issue presents itself with no prior warning. Fortunately, I was not highway driving during any of the mishaps. I was able to coast to the side of the road or to a parking lot safely. This issue presents itself a dangerous issue that other Jeep Compass owners are also experiencing with seemingly no true resolve from the Jeep manufacturer.
NHTSA ODI #11633568
Mileage unknown · Dec 30, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineFuel/propulsion System
Stopped at stoplight. Engine start/stop was selected on and stopped engine per usual. Released brake and engine didn’t restart leaving vehicle un-powered in traffic. Shifted to park. Let vehicle recycle on/off power a few times. Engine was able to be restarted several minutes later. This happened before ~1 year ago and dealer …
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Stopped at stoplight. Engine start/stop was selected on and stopped engine per usual. Released brake and engine didn’t restart leaving vehicle un-powered in traffic. Shifted to park. Let vehicle recycle on/off power a few times. Engine was able to be restarted several minutes later. This happened before ~1 year ago and dealer replaced aux battery and torque sensors but couldn’t replicate failure and never disclosed any actual fault found.
NHTSA ODI #11633269
Mileage unknown · Nov 24, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineService Brakes
I was driving my 2019 Jeep Compass Trailhawk and had just started to accelerate when my car showed a warning light for "High Coolant Temp." The car subsequently lost all engine power and immediately initiated my parking brake. The car was stopped in the middle of the roadway, posing a serious danger risk to myself and other driv…
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I was driving my 2019 Jeep Compass Trailhawk and had just started to accelerate when my car showed a warning light for "High Coolant Temp." The car subsequently lost all engine power and immediately initiated my parking brake. The car was stopped in the middle of the roadway, posing a serious danger risk to myself and other drivers. Had this occurred 30 more feet, I would've been in the middle of a railway crossing. After a few seconds, the temperature indicator returned to normal, though the car still had no power. I had to restart my car two times, then the issue was temporarily resolved and I was able to drive back to my house.
NHTSA ODI #11627111
Mileage unknown · Nov 4, 2024
Engine
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
NHTSA ODI #11623563
Mileage unknown · Oct 19, 2024
Engine
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 …
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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
NHTSA ODI #11620814
NHTSA investigations
1PE22013 · False Overheat Leading To Loss Of Motive Power
Opened Dec 2, 2022 · Closed Dec 10, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine; Engine And Engine Cooling
On December 2, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE22-013 to investigate allegations of loss of motive power accompanied by high coolant temperature messages on the dashboard of Model Year 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles. At the time this investigation was opened, ODI was aware of fifteen Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) for Model Year (MY) 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles alleging a loss of motive power (LOMP) while driving. The LOMP events were often accompanied by a high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high message appearing on the dashboard of the vehicle. In most incidents, the high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high dashboard messages spontaneously self-corrected or were corrected after the vehicle was stopped and restarted. One complainant alleged no immediate restart, and the vehicle was towed. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) was opened to assess the frequency and potential safety consequences of these engine shut down events. On January 19th, 2023, ODI sent an information request letter to Fiat Chrysler US LLC (FCA) requesting pertinent information on the subject 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles. FCA provided its full response on March 2nd, 2023. ODI has reviewed the information FCA provided as well as new reports submitted to NHTSA’s Vehicle Owner Questionnaire database. Based on a review of available information, ODI has identified 173 subject vehicles that likely experienced a shutdown event associated with the high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high dashboard messages. ODI found the 2019 Model Year (MY) Jeep Compass as having the highest failure rate while also being the oldest group of vehicles in this investigation. The 2019 Jeep Compass vehicles that experienced a failure represent an incident rate of about 0.09%. The 2020 Jeep compass vehicles that experienced a failure represent an incident rate of about 0.04%. After reviewing the information available at this time, ODI identified one allegation of a crash and no allegations of injury, fire, or fatality. The alleged crash occurred at a stop light and was able to be restarted immediately. In its response to ODI, FCA provided its assessment of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. FCA believes the alleged defect does not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. FCA stated that allegations related to this investigation involve the vehicle notifying the driver of an overheat condition, via a message and telltale lights, followed by an engine shutdown. FCA goes on to say that once the engine shuts down, the driver is instructed via an instrument cluster message to place the vehicle in park. After the vehicle is placed in park, it can then be restarted and immediately driven with no issues. This is consistent with ODI’s observations. Based on the analysis conducted by ODI indicating a low failure rate and given that the vehicles normally can be re-started immediately after the shutdown event, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. NHTSA reserves the right take additional actions if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Engine And Engine Cooling
On December 2, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE22-013 to investigate allegations of loss of motive power accompanied by high coolant temperature messages on the dashboard of Model Year 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles. At the time this investigation was opened, ODI was aware of fifteen Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) for Model Year (MY) 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles alleging a loss of motive power (LOMP) while driving. The LOMP events were often accompanied by a high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high message appearing on the dashboard of the vehicle. In most incidents, the high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high dashboard messages spontaneously self-corrected or were corrected after the vehicle was stopped and restarted. One complainant alleged no immediate restart, and the vehicle was towed. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) was opened to assess the frequency and potential safety consequences of these engine shut down events. On January 19th, 2023, ODI sent an information request letter to Fiat Chrysler US LLC (FCA) requesting pertinent information on the subject 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles. FCA provided its full response on March 2nd, 2023. ODI has reviewed the information FCA provided as well as new reports submitted to NHTSA’s Vehicle Owner Questionnaire database. Based on a review of available information, ODI has identified 173 subject vehicles that likely experienced a shutdown event associated with the high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high dashboard messages. ODI found the 2019 Model Year (MY) Jeep Compass as having the highest failure rate while also being the oldest group of vehicles in this investigation. The 2019 Jeep Compass vehicles that experienced a failure represent an incident rate of about 0.09%. The 2020 Jeep compass vehicles that experienced a failure represent an incident rate of about 0.04%. After reviewing the information available at this time, ODI identified one allegation of a crash and no allegations of injury, fire, or fatality. The alleged crash occurred at a stop light and was able to be restarted immediately. In its response to ODI, FCA provided its assessment of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. FCA believes the alleged defect does not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. FCA stated that allegations related to this investigation involve the vehicle notifying the driver of an overheat condition, via a message and telltale lights, followed by an engine shutdown. FCA goes on to say that once the engine shuts down, the driver is instructed via an instrument cluster message to place the vehicle in park. After the vehicle is placed in park, it can then be restarted and immediately driven with no issues. This is consistent with ODI’s observations. Based on the analysis conducted by ODI indicating a low failure rate and given that the vehicles normally can be re-started immediately after the shutdown event, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. NHTSA reserves the right take additional actions if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Engine
On December 2, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE22-013 to investigate allegations of loss of motive power accompanied by high coolant temperature messages on the dashboard of Model Year 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles. At the time this investigation was opened, ODI was aware of fifteen Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) for Model Year (MY) 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles alleging a loss of motive power (LOMP) while driving. The LOMP events were often accompanied by a high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high message appearing on the dashboard of the vehicle. In most incidents, the high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high dashboard messages spontaneously self-corrected or were corrected after the vehicle was stopped and restarted. One complainant alleged no immediate restart, and the vehicle was towed. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) was opened to assess the frequency and potential safety consequences of these engine shut down events. On January 19th, 2023, ODI sent an information request letter to Fiat Chrysler US LLC (FCA) requesting pertinent information on the subject 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles. FCA provided its full response on March 2nd, 2023. ODI has reviewed the information FCA provided as well as new reports submitted to NHTSA’s Vehicle Owner Questionnaire database. Based on a review of available information, ODI has identified 173 subject vehicles that likely experienced a shutdown event associated with the high coolant temperature or coolant temperature too high dashboard messages. ODI found the 2019 Model Year (MY) Jeep Compass as having the highest failure rate while also being the oldest group of vehicles in this investigation. The 2019 Jeep Compass vehicles that experienced a failure represent an incident rate of about 0.09%. The 2020 Jeep compass vehicles that experienced a failure represent an incident rate of about 0.04%. After reviewing the information available at this time, ODI identified one allegation of a crash and no allegations of injury, fire, or fatality. The alleged crash occurred at a stop light and was able to be restarted immediately. In its response to ODI, FCA provided its assessment of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. FCA believes the alleged defect does not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. FCA stated that allegations related to this investigation involve the vehicle notifying the driver of an overheat condition, via a message and telltale lights, followed by an engine shutdown. FCA goes on to say that once the engine shuts down, the driver is instructed via an instrument cluster message to place the vehicle in park. After the vehicle is placed in park, it can then be restarted and immediately driven with no issues. This is consistent with ODI’s observations. Based on the analysis conducted by ODI indicating a low failure rate and given that the vehicles normally can be re-started immediately after the shutdown event, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. NHTSA reserves the right take additional actions if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
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