2023 Jeep Compass

NHTSA Safety Complaint Summary Component: Braking System / Electronic Stability Control / Electrical System Incident Date: November 5, 2025 Vehicle Mileage: 5,207 Description of Defect: While operating the vehicle at highway speeds on the Grand Central Parkway, the vehicle suffered a sudden and complete loss of primary braking function. Simultaneously, the dashboard displayed multiple critical system failures, including: "Service Electronic Stability Control," "Start/Stop Unavailable," "Service Park Brake," and "Dynamic Torque Service Required." The brake pedal became unresponsive/hard, requiring extreme force and distance to bring the vehicle to a stop, nearly resulting in a high-speed collision. This was a non-collision catastrophic mechanical failure of the braking and electronic control modules. Post-Incident History: The vehicle was held by an authorized manufacturer dealership (Hempstead Jeep) for over 60 days. Despite attempted repairs, the vehicle continues to exhibit electrical instability, including intermittent battery failure and charging system warnings. The manufacturer has been unable to provide a permanent remedy for the underlying electrical-to-braking system fault. This vehicle remains a severe risk to public safety and life. Thank You [XXX] & [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I am submitting this complaint to report a serious and repeated safety-related electrical failure involving my 2023 Jeep Compass. While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden and dangerous electrical malfunction. The windshield wipers activated on their own, both digital screens began flashing uncontrollably with warning messages, headlights and dashboard controls turned on and off without driver input. Most critically, the automatic emergency braking system became disabled while the vehicle was in motion. During the first service visit to an authorized Jeep dealership, I was informed that the Body Control Module (BCM) was not responding, and that multiple vehicle systems showed inactive status and communication failures. The dealership stated they could not identify the root cause. Instead of repairing the issue, the system faults and communication errors were cleared/reset, the battery was replaced “as a precaution,” and the vehicle was released without a confirmed repair. The next day, the same failure occurred again while driving on the highway. The windshield wipers activated randomly, the screen displayed a red warning stripe, multiple system failure messages appeared, and the emergency braking system was disabled at highway speed. This created an extremely dangerous situation. The vehicle behaved unpredictably, critical safety systems were unavailable, and I could have been involved in a serious or fatal accident, putting my life and the safety of others at risk. Thankfully, my children were not in the vehicle at that time. Due to the severity of the malfunction, the vehicle was unsafe to operate and required towing back to the dealership. The issue remains unresolved. This appears to involve a serious defect with the Body Control Module (BCM), vehicle communication systems, and possible wiring or grounding faults, which directly affect vehicle safety and warrant investigation.

The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the instrument panel was illuminated while attempting to start the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the battery had failed and needed to be charged. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 38,074.

Vehicle was called for Safety recall 88A "refers to a recall for the 2022-2023 Jeep Compass where the instrument panel cluster may not be bright enough, preventing drivers from seeing critical information like vehicle speed and warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash." I've been told a different dealerships that cluster is working as designed even if this is actually dim. Last visit was a Jeep Dealership where they realized cluster was dim but they just decided to mark it "as designed" and were telling me that as a customer I had to pay $1600 USD + tax to fix this issue. In the first place the issue came from the manufacturer as this part is not supposed to fail as being one of the most important due to the nature of this car of being "mostly electrical". They've said that it has been rectified but the true is that still dim and barely see something during sunny days. I'm not willing to pay for something that was supposed to be done in the factory.

The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the message to service the START/STOP system was displayed. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the emergency brake activated independently. The contact had to press the START button again for the vehicle to move. The contact stated that there was an A within a circle around displayed, indicating that the START/STOP system warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where an unknown computer repair was performed. Additionally, the contact stated that the front driver's side and passenger's side air bag warning lights were illuminated. The dealer determined that unknown parts needed to be replaced; however, the parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,269.

The vehicle was purchased in Dec of 2023. It had a slight vibration and hesitation under acceleration a few miles after leaving the dealership, just assumed everything needed to “break in”. About a month later, we had noticed an intermittent roaring noise coming from the engine bay that vibrates the whole vehicle and sometimes stops on its own or after moving the gear selector from Drive to Select Shift (~2000 Miles). About a month later, the Engine Start/Stop was cutting off the engine before coming to a complete stop (below 5MPH) (~3000 Miles). In late February 2024 I took it to the dealer we purchased from and they acknowledged the issues but were not able to diagnose, therefore, they put “No Faults Found” on the invoice and told me that it was the self learning of the modules and should clear up after 6 months. The above symptoms were getting worse so we reached out to Jeep Wave Customer Support and they recommended we take it to a different dealer. I took it in around Mid March 2024, they acknowledged the issues and performed a reflash on the PCM, ECM, and TCM for a recall. March 23-Day of Reflash and first Buy Back request submitted through Jeep Wave. Since the day of reflash, the electronic ebrake has been activating during some stops (ebrake light not indicated on center console or on the screen in the instrument panel) and is not deactivating until the gear selector is moved to park or the vehicle is restarted. The Engine Start Stop has been activating even when turned off. The front USB port has stopped working, the interior blower motor is making noise and the buttons on the steering wheel are working intermittently. The range per tank has gone from roughly 400 miles to less than 200 miles although the average MPG on the gauge cluster has not decreased. It has been to 3 different dealers on 5 different occurrences. It was at a dealer today (04/03/24) the service advisor call Jeep and was told not to touch it and send us home. Second buy back denied

The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the instrument panel and the screen flashed bright and then went dim on and off constantly at dusk causing a visibility hazard for the contact. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the auto-dim sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle had not been included in a recall for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72.