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2020 Jeep Compass

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Jeep Compass do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 126.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 31 of 139 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Engine. Review the 79 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 65 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports2 fire reports2 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

29 reports
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Mileage unknown · Sep 19, 2023
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

When trying to start vehicle it displays a “Service Electrical System” error followed by “Coolant Temperature Too High” my coolant gauge sky rockets red and then returns to a very low level. The vehicle has not overheated and has been parked and cooled off completely before trying to start. It is now causing my vehicle to throw …

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When trying to start vehicle it displays a “Service Electrical System” error followed by “Coolant Temperature Too High” my coolant gauge sky rockets red and then returns to a very low level. The vehicle has not overheated and has been parked and cooled off completely before trying to start. It is now causing my vehicle to throw messages saying my back up light, brake light, and blinker lights are out but all lights work as they are intended.

NHTSA ODI #11545511

Mileage unknown · Sep 17, 2023
EngineUnknown Or Other

I was making a left turn when the temperature indicator shot up to red, it had been reading right in the middle which is normal. Then "coolant temperature high" lit up on the dashboard display. The car started to sputter (like shaking) as I was going through the intersection and I thought it was going to turn off completely. I…

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I was making a left turn when the temperature indicator shot up to red, it had been reading right in the middle which is normal. Then "coolant temperature high" lit up on the dashboard display. The car started to sputter (like shaking) as I was going through the intersection and I thought it was going to turn off completely. I hit the gas because there was still oncoming traffic and it seems like the car recovered. The gauge showing the temperature slowly went back to normal and the error light went away. The same situation happened about 3 months ago when my husband was driving. However, he was sitting at a light when the temperature went up and the error occurred. The car completely shut down and had to be restarted.

NHTSA ODI #11544999

Mileage unknown · Aug 26, 2023
Unknown Or Other

I was at a stop light and car just went dead. Before going dead a warning of “High Coolant Temperature” popped up and engine light came on and it went dead. Car would not start again and was towed to dealership. I’ve seen that their are lawsuits out there on this and no fix so I am not confident in dealership finding issue

NHTSA ODI #11540912

Mileage unknown · Jun 14, 2023
Electrical SystemExterior LightingUnknown Or Other

The A symbol continues to appear on the dashboard which indicates a failure in the STOP/START function of the vehicle. the vehicle has under 21,000 miles on it. I just purchased the vehicle a little over 90 days ago. Returned the vehicle to the service center where vehicle was purchased, and was told that it required an out of…

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The A symbol continues to appear on the dashboard which indicates a failure in the STOP/START function of the vehicle. the vehicle has under 21,000 miles on it. I just purchased the vehicle a little over 90 days ago. Returned the vehicle to the service center where vehicle was purchased, and was told that it required an out of pocket expense of over $600.00 . The auto-light button switches back to manual on its own.

NHTSA ODI #11527069

Mileage unknown · May 8, 2023
Unknown Or Other

Prior to this incident below I started my vehicle up and it started up fine. Suddenly I couldn’t move my vehicle out of the parking spot. I tried to turn the vehicle off and it wouldn’t turn off at all. So I was just sitting trying to figure out what to do. I suddenly click the stop start button without pressing the breaks and i…

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Prior to this incident below I started my vehicle up and it started up fine. Suddenly I couldn’t move my vehicle out of the parking spot. I tried to turn the vehicle off and it wouldn’t turn off at all. So I was just sitting trying to figure out what to do. I suddenly click the stop start button without pressing the breaks and it turned my vehicle off. The next day I took my vehicle to a Jeep dealership service and they turned me away because the symbol that pop up on the dashboard during the incident was a capital letter “A” with an arrow encompassing it and an exclamation mark to the right disappeared off the dashboard at the time because i restarted my Jeep. Now today as in May 7, 2023, I was leaving the mall to go home. I was stopped at a red light waiting for it to turn green. The type of road had three lanes and I was in the middle lane. When the light finally turned green I went to press on the gas and notice the car wouldn’t move at all almost like the vehicle suddenly shut down. It showed that the vehicle was still on but it wouldn’t move. The symbol that pop up on the dashboard was a capital letter “A” with an arrow encompassing it and an exclamation mark to the right saying stop start sensor. The stop start button when not turn off the vehicle to restart it. I started freaking out because cars was on all side of me. I was scared that I was going to get hit from behind by another vehicle. I continued to try to press the button eventually my Jeep started up again and I got out of the way of the traffic. The main problem is that there is something wrong with the stop start system.

NHTSA ODI #11520868

Mileage unknown · Mar 30, 2023
Unknown Or Other

Auto start/stop kicked it at a stop sign and I could not restart the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11514553

Mileage unknown · Dec 18, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

Vehicle started indicating High Coolant temperature then engine would shut down. It would restart after shut off. Radio would fade in an out . While vehicle was in motion the engine should shut down and had to pull over and restart the vehicle. This happened on several occasions before the vehicle completely shut down. Towed …

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Vehicle started indicating High Coolant temperature then engine would shut down. It would restart after shut off. Radio would fade in an out . While vehicle was in motion the engine should shut down and had to pull over and restart the vehicle. This happened on several occasions before the vehicle completely shut down. Towed vehicle to dealership with a repair of $700 to replace both batteries.

NHTSA ODI #11497915

Mileage unknown · Aug 30, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesUnknown Or OtherCrash

8/30/2022 Started the vehicle in the drive way foot still engaged on break and the vehicle accelerated forward with my foot on break and damaged my home and vehicle. 8/28/22 Emergency Break engaged on its own and we couldn’t move the vehicle it was turned off and restarted. 8/27/22 vehicle information screen was blank and black …

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8/30/2022 Started the vehicle in the drive way foot still engaged on break and the vehicle accelerated forward with my foot on break and damaged my home and vehicle. 8/28/22 Emergency Break engaged on its own and we couldn’t move the vehicle it was turned off and restarted. 8/27/22 vehicle information screen was blank and black after starting the vehicle..this happened at least three times.

NHTSA ODI #11482006

700 miles · Aug 10, 2020
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING ON TWO OCCASIONS. BOTH TIMES I HAD SLOWED TO A STOP AND WHEN I HIT THE GAS TO REACCELERATE AT A GREEN LIGHT THE CAR SHUT OFF. THE INFOTAINMENT SCREENS REMAINED ON AND THE LIGHTS ON THE SHIFT KNOB STARTED TO BLINK. I HAD TO PUT THE CAR INTO PARK, TURN IT OFF AND RESTART IT ALL WHILE SITTING AT A…

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VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING ON TWO OCCASIONS. BOTH TIMES I HAD SLOWED TO A STOP AND WHEN I HIT THE GAS TO REACCELERATE AT A GREEN LIGHT THE CAR SHUT OFF. THE INFOTAINMENT SCREENS REMAINED ON AND THE LIGHTS ON THE SHIFT KNOB STARTED TO BLINK. I HAD TO PUT THE CAR INTO PARK, TURN IT OFF AND RESTART IT ALL WHILE SITTING AT AN INTERSECTION. IT WAS NOT A QUICK PROCESS. THE CAR HAS AN IDLE FEATURE TO SAVE ON GAS HOWEVER THIS WAS NOT THE FEATURE IN ACTION THE CAR WAS OFF COMPLETELY.

NHTSA ODI #11348490

Official recalls

1

20V208000 · Visibility:windshield Wiper/washer:linkages

Apr 9, 2020

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ram 1500, 1500 Classic and Jeep Compass vehicles. The windshield wiper arm or arms may loosen, possibly causing the wipers to not operate properly and reduce the driver's visibility in certain weather conditions.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Reduced visibility increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the wiper nuts, free of charge. The recall began April 27, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is W25.

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

1

PE22013 · 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.