NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
160 reportsClear category filter55,000 miles · Feb 23, 2022
Engine
The contact's wife owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while his wife was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. The contact's wife was able to restart the vehicle. The contact's wife stated no warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure; however, the oil pressure light …
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The contact's wife owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while his wife was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. The contact's wife was able to restart the vehicle. The contact's wife stated no warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure; however, the oil pressure light illuminated afterward. The contact stated that the vehicle also occasionally stalled after being shifted into reverse. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an oil change. Additionally, the START/STOP battery was replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
NHTSA ODI #11453670
Mileage unknown · Feb 14, 2022
Engine
Engine stops during operation on the road. Occurs sporadically. Engine light illuminates, "High Coolant Temperature". Not able to restart vehicle and must wait a few minutes before starting. The illuminated light gauge turns off. Coolant levels in reservoir normal. Has occurred 12-15 times since ownership. No illuminated lights …
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Engine stops during operation on the road. Occurs sporadically. Engine light illuminates, "High Coolant Temperature". Not able to restart vehicle and must wait a few minutes before starting. The illuminated light gauge turns off. Coolant levels in reservoir normal. Has occurred 12-15 times since ownership. No illuminated lights to take to mechanic.
NHTSA ODI #11451921
Mileage unknown · Dec 18, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineSteering
The vehicle will suddenly shut off while driving, randomly and without warning. Every dash light will illuminate, power steering goes out, the engine will shut off and will not start back up for 5 minutes or more. This has occurred while stopped at a stop light and while going 60mph in a tunnel. It is a hazard to the driver, pas…
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The vehicle will suddenly shut off while driving, randomly and without warning. Every dash light will illuminate, power steering goes out, the engine will shut off and will not start back up for 5 minutes or more. This has occurred while stopped at a stop light and while going 60mph in a tunnel. It is a hazard to the driver, passengers, and all surrounding drivers. The vehicle is still under factory warranty, the dealership is offering no assistance, jeep corporate is also unhelpful. The vehicle is UNSAFE.
NHTSA ODI #11444244
47,000 miles · Oct 27, 2021
Electrical SystemEngine
The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The contact stated dynamic steering torque service required, service ESC system, and service hill-start system warning messages were displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. Th…
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The contact owns a 2019 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The contact stated dynamic steering torque service required, service ESC system, and service hill-start system warning messages were displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
NHTSA ODI #11438393
Mileage unknown · Oct 26, 2021
Electrical SystemEngine
I have always been a jeep owner, Grand Cherokee, I decided to go with the Jeep Compass and i haven't had any issues until the beginning of the month. I changed the battery and still had the issue that the car wouldn't start. I brought to Chrysler Jeep and they changed the secondary battery and they reset it so i don't get the A…
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I have always been a jeep owner, Grand Cherokee, I decided to go with the Jeep Compass and i haven't had any issues until the beginning of the month. I changed the battery and still had the issue that the car wouldn't start. I brought to Chrysler Jeep and they changed the secondary battery and they reset it so i don't get the A symbol with exclamation point. Picked up my car from oil change, on my way i stopped at a traffic light at an intersection, it stalled on me. Completely turned off, the radio worked, the windows were able to go up and down. after a minute it turned back on. I brought it back to the dealer the next day, they had it for 4 hours and they said they didn't find anything wrong with the vehicle and they reset everything and i should be fine now. That Sunday, it stalled on me 3 times and this time it took 5-10 minutes before it restarted. It was the scariest moment in my life, i had my 6year old in my car and this car would not start. I brought it back to jeep on Monday the 25th and they still have it and they cant figure out what is wrong. they called me and said that they drove it and there is nothing wrong, i told them i do not want the car back until they fix it. now its Tuesday, and they still cant figure out the problem, this is a lease vehicle and they wont even give me a loaner until they find the problem. It just shuts off when you stop always at a traffic light. I told them the 3 things that popped up and they looked at me like im crazy...Service hill start system, service esc system and dynamic steering torque service req'd, they said no codes came up, then they said 2 codes came up but they still cant figure it out. It is dangerous for your car to stall without notice especially when you are leasing it expecting for it to be ok and no issues.
NHTSA ODI #11438219
Mileage unknown · Oct 16, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemSteering
On at least three separate occasions, without warning, the coolant sensor suddenly goes in to a false coolant temperature alarm as if the temperature has climbed to maximum heat. While the alarm is active, you are unable to accelerate and have no power steering. After a second, the alarm vanishes and coolant temperature gauge sh…
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On at least three separate occasions, without warning, the coolant sensor suddenly goes in to a false coolant temperature alarm as if the temperature has climbed to maximum heat. While the alarm is active, you are unable to accelerate and have no power steering. After a second, the alarm vanishes and coolant temperature gauge shows temperature back at normal operational level. This has happened while driving 65 MPH on a highway. This also happened while trying to make a left-hand turn at a busy intersection. This is quite frightening and if this were to occur at the wrong moment could easily result in an accident. Other owners of the same model vehicle have reported this exact same issue in online forums such as MyJeepCompass.com. In all reported cases, dealers and mechanics are unable to determine the problem after replacing the coolant sensor and trying every possible solution. I believe this is a software or firmware issue causing a false coolant temperature alarm to trigger. I reported this to Jeep and they only recommended bringing the vehicle to a local dealer.
NHTSA ODI #11436997
Mileage unknown · Aug 23, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineSteering
Bought my 2019 Jeep Compass on May 21st, 2019 and it's been in and out of the dealership for the light on gear shift flickering, batteries not charging, radio would change itself, etc. Just in November 2020, I had to take it back to the dealership and get the computer component/frame replaced and that was at 40,000 something mil…
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Bought my 2019 Jeep Compass on May 21st, 2019 and it's been in and out of the dealership for the light on gear shift flickering, batteries not charging, radio would change itself, etc. Just in November 2020, I had to take it back to the dealership and get the computer component/frame replaced and that was at 40,000 something miles. Now, after driving this morning to do a couple of arrands in town, it will not do anything. Lights on the dash comes on, break is stiff, warning messages were popping up (like "steering torque service required" "anti-lock brake system service required" "ecs system need service" etc.), mileage on dash is flashing, gas reads full then it drops down to empty and then nothing, engine light stays on during this whole time, can't get gear shift to move out of park, auto start/stop light doesn't come on, brake comes on and off now can't get it turned off, traction is off and won't come on. The dash will read and show that the engine is on but won't turn over.
NHTSA ODI #11430062
Mileage unknown · Jul 7, 2021
EngineUnknown Or Other
I was driving with my daughter in the car and when the engine shut off on me. Luckily I was pulling up to a red light. I was able to stop but the brakes locked up on me and I couldn't restart the car. Many warning messages appeared like "steering torque service required" "anti-lock brake system service required" "ecs system nee…
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I was driving with my daughter in the car and when the engine shut off on me. Luckily I was pulling up to a red light. I was able to stop but the brakes locked up on me and I couldn't restart the car. Many warning messages appeared like "steering torque service required" "anti-lock brake system service required" "ecs system need service" etc. I had just had my car serviced for a routine oil change a couple of days before at a Jeep dealership and nothing was mentioned to me that needed servicing. I then had the car towed to the dealership AutoNation Roseville Chrysler Jeep and Dodge and they do not know what is wrong with it. This is a real safety issue with a car shutting down while driving. I am just happy that I wasn't on the freeway when this happened.
NHTSA ODI #11423848
Mileage unknown · Jun 28, 2021
Electrical SystemEngine
On 4 seperate occasions, I have been driving at highway or cruising speeds and my vehicle will completely shut down. The dash will illuminate that the Auto Stop/Start is not working, then it will say "Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Down Soon" and the car will shut down. It will then take approximately 10-15 minutes for the car t…
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On 4 seperate occasions, I have been driving at highway or cruising speeds and my vehicle will completely shut down. The dash will illuminate that the Auto Stop/Start is not working, then it will say "Stop Safely, Vehicle Will Shut Down Soon" and the car will shut down. It will then take approximately 10-15 minutes for the car to restart. I have taken into my dealership every single time it happens; they've replaced main battery, auxillary battery, replaced battery terminals and have said it "was just a fluke". The light and issue have been reproduced only once by the dealership but no diagnostic codes appear when lights come on. Dealership states MOPAR/Jeep will not authorize repairs for undiagnosable issue as it's still under warranty. The last time this happened, I had my 5 month old son in the car and we shut down on the Tappan Zee bridge. It's happened on a small 2 lane road at 10pm, I now have flares in my car for this reason so I'm not rear ended as I fear for my life.
NHTSA ODI #11422699
Mileage unknown · Jun 16, 2021
EnginePower Train
1. I believe it's the "Auto Start-Stop" feature in the vehicle 2. While at a stoplight in a busy intersection, my vehicle has stopped twice, putting my children and myself in danger, making it a high risk for a serious accident with other motorists. This vehicle has also had a minor stall while driving on the highway. Luckily i…
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1. I believe it's the "Auto Start-Stop" feature in the vehicle 2. While at a stoplight in a busy intersection, my vehicle has stopped twice, putting my children and myself in danger, making it a high risk for a serious accident with other motorists. This vehicle has also had a minor stall while driving on the highway. Luckily it didn't completely shut off but gave us a minor jerk. 3. Not at this time; the dealer has requested to test drive the vehicle for up to 200 miles to recreate the scenario. I don't believe 200 miles will recreate the scenario, especially when they say it could be the vehicle oil consumption. Since the first time we took it in, they lowered the recommended oil change by 3k or 4k instead of the original 5k. While in the care of the dealership on (6/15/2021) they made an oil change, so I am sure they will not encounter anything in this 200-mile test drive. 4. Yes, this is the second time the dealership has inspected the vehicle's issue with no response to why the dealership mechanics can't fix the issue. When will the manufacture take responsibility and recall the 2019 Jeep Compass. Why put people's lives at risk when informing the dealership of the dangers of this vehicle. 5. The Jeep Compass displayed no warning lamps; the vehicle just stalled.
NHTSA ODI #11421215
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.