IllustrationFront defroster only blows in the center and does not distribute air to the sides of the front windshield when the driver looks out.
2020 Jeep Gladiator
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Gladiator years
Owner complaints for the 2020 Jeep Gladiator are substantially higher than the model-year median of 23.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Gladiator years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
1590–25K
2125–50K
1750–75K
1075–100K
4100–150K
1150K+
212 reports with mileage · 271 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 183 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 181 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 54 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
11 crash reports7 fire reports5 injury reports
Visibility/wiper complaints
23 reportsSteering damper is affected by a recall and i have not received the recall. Causes truck to abruptly jerk left or right causing a lif e threatening matter to everyone one the road
Rearview camera stays on while vehicle is going from reverse to drive causing a distraction an a safety concern
When cresting a hill the sun was suddenly shining brightly into the driver's eyes. When deploying the driver's side sun visor, the hinge broke, making the visor flop loosely down, not effectively blocking the sun, and causing driver distraction. When trying to find a repair remedy online, this appears to be a widespread and mu…
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When cresting a hill the sun was suddenly shining brightly into the driver's eyes. When deploying the driver's side sun visor, the hinge broke, making the visor flop loosely down, not effectively blocking the sun, and causing driver distraction. When trying to find a repair remedy online, this appears to be a widespread and multi-year problem that the manufacturer is back-logged on the necessary repair parts. The defect is so widely known and spread, that an after market retailer has developed and is selling repair parts to address this manufacturers safety design defect.
While driving on the interstate, driver and passenger sun visors has fallen out of the sun visor mount blocking/impairing road visibility. It is extremely dangerous when this happens at highway speeds as an individual may lose control on their vehicle.
Rear window leaks badly, when raining causes the interior to fog up making it difficult to see. Turning on A/C clears most the fog, but the rear window is still not clear enough to see what's behind or on the sides when making lane changes. This is not an isolated incident, Jeep repairs with the same process which leaks again a…
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Rear window leaks badly, when raining causes the interior to fog up making it difficult to see. Turning on A/C clears most the fog, but the rear window is still not clear enough to see what's behind or on the sides when making lane changes. This is not an isolated incident, Jeep repairs with the same process which leaks again after a few months. Need a permanent fix to this design flaw.
While driving the drivers side sun visor attachment failed and the visor fell down in my field of view on a 2 lane highway and would not stay up. The road was smooth and there was no jarring that caused it to fall down at that time. Looking at the design, it appears to be a plastic part that failed at a reduced area so just a …
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While driving the drivers side sun visor attachment failed and the visor fell down in my field of view on a 2 lane highway and would not stay up. The road was smooth and there was no jarring that caused it to fall down at that time. Looking at the design, it appears to be a plastic part that failed at a reduced area so just a poor design. Suspect it affects most of the Jeep Gladiators and wranglers.
Defrost only blows from center vents. Wiper blades ice up and cause visibility issues
While I was driving on the freeway, suddenly all of my warning lights came on and my windshield wipers and the power steering went out. It was very difficult to pull over with the power steering out and stop. This is the second time this has occurred in 6 months. The first time this happened I had it towed to the dealer, they f…
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While I was driving on the freeway, suddenly all of my warning lights came on and my windshield wipers and the power steering went out. It was very difficult to pull over with the power steering out and stop. This is the second time this has occurred in 6 months. The first time this happened I had it towed to the dealer, they found nothing wrong but when I went to pick it up it happened again before I left the dealer. The service manager kept it and they ran more codes and thought they resolved the problem, but the same thing happened again when I went to pick it up. Finally, they gave me a loaner vehicle and after a month the Gladiator was finally fixed. The dealer said it was a defective wiring harness. Now the same problem is back. This is a serious safety issue due to the power steering going put and locking up the steering wheel. I have read many, many complaints from other Jeep Gladiator owners of the same issue.
I have had this vehicle in the shop more times than it has been on the road. It originally started with the auto start stop sensor. They told me to turn that off. They did an update. And it kept happening over and over again where it would cut itself off and I couldn’t get it restarted. The fix worked for maybe a month and it st…
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I have had this vehicle in the shop more times than it has been on the road. It originally started with the auto start stop sensor. They told me to turn that off. They did an update. And it kept happening over and over again where it would cut itself off and I couldn’t get it restarted. The fix worked for maybe a month and it started all over again. Now the engine light is on I can be doing 30 miles an hour down the middle of town and it dies even with the auto start stop turned off. The steering is so loose that you have to fight it all the time to keep it in the road. The engine light is on and stays on. And it sounds like a scraping when the vehicle is in motion but the tires have clearance and no issues with their clearance. Checked under the vehicle nothing is under the vehicle. This vehicle has never been off road. I believe it qualifies as a lemon.
Official recalls
724V652000 · Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/panel
Sep 5, 2024
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."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An instrument panel that fails to display critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
23V116000 · Power Train:clutch Assembly
Feb 23, 2023
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Overheated clutch components may increase the risk of a fire. Additionally, damage to other nearby components can result in debris falling onto the road or a loss of drive, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
21V028000 · Power Train:clutch Assembly
Jan 28, 2021
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Overheated clutch components may increase the risk of a fire. Additionally, damage to other nearby components can result in debris falling onto the road or a loss of drive, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
20V580000 · Seat Belts; Seat Belts:front:retractor
Sep 24, 2020
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 Jeep Wrangler and Ram 2500, 2019-2020 Ram 1500 and 2020 Jeep Gladiator vehicles. In the event of a crash, a front seat belt retractor may not properly slow the occupant's forward movement after locking.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In the event of a crash, if the front seat belts fail to lock, there is an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front seat belt retractors, free of charge. The recall began November 12, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W67.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Seat Belts:front:retractor
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 Jeep Wrangler and Ram 2500, 2019-2020 Ram 1500 and 2020 Jeep Gladiator vehicles. In the event of a crash, a front seat belt retractor may not properly slow the occupant's forward movement after locking.
Consequence: In the event of a crash, if the front seat belts fail to lock, there is an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front seat belt retractors, free of charge. The recall began November 12, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W67.
Seat Belts
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019 Jeep Wrangler and Ram 2500, 2019-2020 Ram 1500 and 2020 Jeep Gladiator vehicles. In the event of a crash, a front seat belt retractor may not properly slow the occupant's forward movement after locking.
Consequence: In the event of a crash, if the front seat belts fail to lock, there is an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front seat belt retractors, free of charge. The recall began November 12, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W67.
20V191000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
Sep 10, 2020
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2020 Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Cherokee, 2019-2020 Ram 1500 Pickup, Ram 2500 Pickup, Ram 3500 Pickup, Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, and Jeep Renegade and 2019 Dodge Challenger vehicles equipped with 8.4" or 12" radio displays. A software error can cause the rearview camera image to remain displayed after the vehicle has been shifted out of reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The lingering rearview image can distract the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Chrysler has notified owners, and dealers will update the radio display software, free of charge. Optionally, owners can choose to remotely update their software via an Over-The-Air (OTA) update available as of May 1, 2020. The recall began April 27, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W30-W37.
20V124000 · Power Train:clutch Assembly
Mar 3, 2020
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Jeep Wrangler and 2020 Gladiator vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. The clutch pressure plate may overheat and fracture.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The overheated clutch components may increase the risk of a fire. Additionally, damage to other nearby components can result in debris falling onto the road or a loss of drive, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will reroute a wire harness and inspect the clutch system, and replace components as needed. The recall began April 30, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W12.
19V636000 · Power Train:driveline:driveshaft
Aug 29, 2019
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2020 Jeep Gladiator vehicles. The rear driveshafts may have been incorrectly assembled without grease in the monoblock joint.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A joint without grease may overheat and seize, possibly causing the driveshaft to fracture, resulting in a sudden loss of drive power. If the driveshaft completely separates from the vehicle it may become a road hazard. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: FCA US will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driveshaft, free of charge. The recall began October 10, 2019. Owners may contact FCA US customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US number for this recall is V95.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1PE25014 · Instrument Panel Cluster (ipc) Failure
Opened Oct 23, 2025 · No close date supplied
Status: open (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/panel
The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) is opening a Preliminary Evaluation on 2020 Model Year Jeep Gladiators and Wranglers involving a malfunctioning Instrument Panel Clusters (IPC) resulting in the loss of important vehicle metrics and other status information. ODI has received 89 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging a complete or partial loss of the IPC display while driving. The subject vehicles' IPC display includes the speedometer, fuel gauge, engine temperature, turn signal indicators, warning light, and other gauges that are normally illuminated while the vehicle is in operation. Loss of the fuel gauge while driving may lead to an inability to determine the fuel level and result in a loss of motive power, and the loss of other safety-related information may impede a driver’s ability to take action to prevent a safety risk. Furthermore, an IPC that is suddenly not visible to the driver may divert the driver’s attention from the driving task, potentially causing a vehicle crash. ODI is opening this Preliminary Evaluation to evaluate the scope, severity and frequency of the alleged IPC malfunctions and to assess potential safety-related consequences. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov