Clutch overheated and cause an immense amount of smoke during drive with no warning indication from hud. Dealer stated that clutch has gotten well passed 390°c Heat from clutch has also caused front driver caliper to lock up and damage rotors.
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
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.
Service Brakes complaints
17 reportsMy Jeep Gladiator has recently been having multiple random error messages popping up. ABS warning, service 4WD, service shifter, traction control and others. Dealership charged $200 to diag a bad ABS module and charged $1400 to replace the module and controller. Less than 24 hrs later same issue occurred . Doing my own resea…
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My Jeep Gladiator has recently been having multiple random error messages popping up. ABS warning, service 4WD, service shifter, traction control and others. Dealership charged $200 to diag a bad ABS module and charged $1400 to replace the module and controller. Less than 24 hrs later same issue occurred . Doing my own research this seems to be a common issue not just with Gladiators but other Jeeps as well. Many forums are saying it’s bad wire connectors or broken wires from improper initial installation. Causes issues with speed control, braking, and power steering.
Driver side rear wheel speed sensor. This is a known issue national back order on the part, mechanic installed new part system does not reset and clear. In the current state, abs offline four-wheel drive system service required traction control service required. What is the true fix for this?
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle had suddenly started to vibrate and shake. The contact stated that the vehicle was maintaining its lane but was lurching from left to right. No warnings illuminated. The contact stated that she pulled off to the sid…
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The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle had suddenly started to vibrate and shake. The contact stated that the vehicle was maintaining its lane but was lurching from left to right. No warnings illuminated. The contact stated that she pulled off to the side of the road; however, when she turned the vehicle on, it would start shaking again. The contact stated that she would keep driving while the vehicle was shaking, and the shaking would eventually stop. The contact stated that the shaking was occurring at any speed and was also triggered when she would drive over any small bumps or dips in the road. The contact stated recently, while she was driving in traffic at approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle started to shake again, however, this time violently. The contact stated that at the time, it was raining. The contact stated that it felt like the vehicle had lifted up, and then she crashed into the guard rail on the driver's side front bumper. The contact stated that the bumper and an LED light bar attached to the front grill had made contact and were slightly damaged, and the driver's side headlight stopped functioning. The police were not called, and the contact was not injured. The contact reported that the driver's side front air bag had deployed but had not inflated and was draped on her lap. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The contact reported that after the crash, she observed the check oil and check brake warnings illuminated. The contact stated that she needed to depress the brake pedal with more force in order to stop. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
During normal driving, dash would display multiple warning lights. There would be traction control, ABS inactive, and transmission errors displayed on the screen. Twice, there was a loss of power steering while driving. All signs pointed to a CAN buss issue, but dealer could not/ would not find it. Doing research, I found that t…
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During normal driving, dash would display multiple warning lights. There would be traction control, ABS inactive, and transmission errors displayed on the screen. Twice, there was a loss of power steering while driving. All signs pointed to a CAN buss issue, but dealer could not/ would not find it. Doing research, I found that the CAN buss connector located behind the glove compartment was known in the Jeep community to fail and cause these symptoms. The only replacement is offered by Mopar/Stellantis. Multiple models and makes under Stellantis company use this same connector that has bad solder connections inside. It causes increased resistance inside the connector, and causes CAN buss communication errors, and setting any one of hundreds of possible DTC. In every occasion, there was a loss of stability control, ABS, and multiple occasions of vehicle being locked in Park. In two occasions, the electric assist power steering was disabled.
Loss speedometer and all dash gauges. Known problem on Forums; however NO TSB or Recall to fix issue. Plethora of CEL codes to include causing speed to not display on digital or analog indicators.
While driving several warnings lights illuminate: traction control, ABS, air bad, service 4 wd, and brake. When this happens power steering is lost making it extremely hard to steer the car. The brakes are automatically engaged and occasionally the windshield wiper turns on. This causes a risk not only to myself and passenge…
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While driving several warnings lights illuminate: traction control, ABS, air bad, service 4 wd, and brake. When this happens power steering is lost making it extremely hard to steer the car. The brakes are automatically engaged and occasionally the windshield wiper turns on. This causes a risk not only to myself and passengers but anyone driving near me as I can no longer steer with ease and the brakes lock up. My Gladiator has been at the Jeep dealer for 10 weeks while they try to solve the problem. They replaced the ABS module but that didn't solve the issue. I'm told that its electrical and whatever it is will harm several systems. My wife's 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL has the exact same issues. She has a very hard time controlling it due to no power steering.
I was driving at about 5 MPH and about to go onto the Freeway on ramp in Riverside, California, when the sensor in my car went off and locked the brakes, causing the person behind me to rear-end me. This is not the first time this has happened with this vehicle. Luckily, I was not injured, however, this could have been a serious…
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I was driving at about 5 MPH and about to go onto the Freeway on ramp in Riverside, California, when the sensor in my car went off and locked the brakes, causing the person behind me to rear-end me. This is not the first time this has happened with this vehicle. Luckily, I was not injured, however, this could have been a serious injury if I was traveling at a higher speed or under many other circumstances.
Center rear brake light failed. Detected 18 months after purchase.
My truck malfunctioned at an automatic car wash. It has approximately 54k miles. I had no warning lights or system alerts on vehicle or Uconnect app. I stopped in the parking lot & put the Gladiator in Park, I left the ignition on. I got off truck & got a towel to clean interior.There are several spaces to vacuum. I put the veh…
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My truck malfunctioned at an automatic car wash. It has approximately 54k miles. I had no warning lights or system alerts on vehicle or Uconnect app. I stopped in the parking lot & put the Gladiator in Park, I left the ignition on. I got off truck & got a towel to clean interior.There are several spaces to vacuum. I put the vehicle in DRIVE to move forward & out of the way of a patron that was going to reverse out. In DRIVE, I pushed the gas pedal in a slight & normal way. The truck REVERSED in DRIVE position. It accelerated to an unknown speed, it felt constant. I pushed break with foot I pushed D with. Right foot. The breaks didn’t work. I tried breaking several times during incident, it was approximately 10 seconds. I didn’t have time to use e- break. I don’t believe back up camera was displayed. I concentrated on physically looking at surroundings & steering. I avoided hitting 1 car, a SUV & a brick wall. The truck made contact with around 4 trees & a sign. The damage was mainly to L side. There’s damage to R side & R back tire had a bulge on it. I went over a concrete, grassy area & felt the impacts of front & back ends going over it & landing. I went over another concrete curve & hit a tree at an angle around the middle of front L cab. The impact caused the car to bounce forward. It didn’t move. I put the truck in Park from D position. I pushed off button. I couldn’t get out of truck of driver side door it’s damaged. 1 witness & lady from suv stopped to check on me. I called police to crash site. He noted witness & lack of break marks. Roadside service wait was long, officer called one. I made a report to Uconnect that evening. They gave me a case # told me they’d move vehicle to a dealer, inspect, analyze & call me. I’ve called, recorded calls & told case was elevated to higher level & no info can be given to me. They refused to tell me where car was, if inspected, warranty info, or what malfunctioned. My ribs, clavicles, r shoulder hurt for a month.
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
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