2021 Jeep Gladiator

The vehicle randomly stalled out / died while idling, with the clutch pedal fully engaged. This poses a serious safety hazard as the vehicle may unexpected stall out at a traffic light or while driving resulting in a serious accident. The most likely risk is a stalled out vehicle in heavy traffic resulting in a rear end collision. The vehicle stall out and failure to maintain idle malfunction was reported to the local dealership and an FCA Technical Advisor (TA). The vehicle’s stall out was witnessed and documented by an independent mechanic. However, the dealership and FCA TA continue to state that the vehicle is “operating as designed” and that “this is normal characteristic of the vehicle”. These claims indicate that the Jeep Gladiator Engineering Design Team intentionally designed the vehicle to stall out with the driver completely pressing in the clutch pedal. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The vehicle fails to maintain idle. During normal driving conditions the idle spikes significantly and noticeable from 200 – 2,000 RPMs. The throttle surges unpredictably without driver input to the controls. The failure of the vehicle to maintain idle creates a serious safety hazard as it distracts the driver’s attention and substantially impairs the vehicle’s use during routine driving tasks. The failure to maintain idle malfunction was reproduced and confirmed by multiple service personnel at the local dealership. However, the Service Director falsified and backdated the service records to claim that they “couldn’t duplicate concern” and that the “vehicle is driving normal.” An FCA TA stated that, “There are certain scenarios where the engine's idle speed may increase normally without accelerator input, this would include A/C operation or alternator charging requirements, however the difference in rpm is very slight and most people do not notice it and it will not cause the vehicle to gain or lose speed.” However, the malfunction occurs with a fully charged battery and the climate controls off, and it is highly noticeable. The FCA TA stated that the vehicle was “operating as designed” when he could not recreate the failure to maintain idle malfunction. However, the same FCA TA stated the vehicle was “operating as designed” after he was able to recreate the failure to maintain idle. Both of these statements cannot be factually correct as they directly contradict. Four independent mechanic shops evaluated the vehicle and were able to recreate the failure to maintain idle. A new Service Director and a Service Manager at another dealership both recreated / observed the failure to maintain idle and said that it was not right. However, after inspecting the vehicle again the FCA TA stated that “this is normal characteristic of the vehicle”, implicating Jeep Gladiator Engineering Design Team. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

Experienced death wobble-violent shaking of steering wheel and car side to side -on highway on 1/6/2022. It happened twice, 5 mins from my home. Both incidents occurred in expressway. Once while traveling 70mph and had to swiftly change two lanes in rush hour traffic to the slow lane. The shaking stopped stop at reduced speed to 50. Then the second time minutes later I was going 57mph in the slow lane and the violent shaking started again. Luckily it was at my homes exit. I slowed down and drove the 4 blocks on the streets straight to my garage. Called Jeep next morning and they can’t pick it up until Wednesday, January 12. Bought this truck brand new from Jeep in May 2021. When I test drove it, steering pulled to one side. Had it aligned as part of the purchase. Months later I had steering problems and took it to them and they changed the track bar. A few weeks ago I did an oil change with them and they rotated the tires. And now I got the death wobble twice yesterday. There’s something in the suspension that’s either broken, loose, or worn out. I don’t feel safe.

There is a failure of the vehicle’s Brake Throttle Override (BTO) system which poses a serious safety hazard. When braking the throttle will surge from ~500 to ~1,500 RPMs without driver input (foot completely off the accelerator pedal, clutch pedal pressed in, and applying brake pedal). Despite the driver’s foot firmly engaging the brake pedal, the vehicle sends rogue commands to the throttle to surge in the direction opposition to the driver’s inputs and intentions. The BTO malfunction creates a serious safety hazard as it impacts stopping distance. It also causes driver distraction / confusion causing them to second guess that they accidentally brushed the accelerator, which could lead to a serious accident. There is a significant risk that the vehicle’s BTO system may not prevent an unintended acceleration (UA) event leading to severe injury or death. For driver safety, the BTO system should be fully operational and the throttle should not spike while braking. The BTO malfunction was reproduced and confirmed by multiple service personnel at the local dealership. However, the Service Director falsified and backdated the service records to claim that they “couldn’t duplicate concern” and that the “vehicle is driving normal.” An FCA Technical Advisor (TA) inspected the vehicle, and he stated that “the brake pedal should always take precedence over the accelerator”. The FCA TA stated that the vehicle was “operating as designed” when he could not recreate the issue. However, the same FCA TA stated the vehicle was “operating as designed” after he was able to recreate the throttle surge while braking multiple times. Both of these statements cannot be factually correct as they directly contradict. The FCA TA claims that vehicle is “operating as designed” indicating that the Jeep Engineering Team violated the BTO standard governing the safe operation of a motor vehicle when designing the Gladiator. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The vehicle operates in direction violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): 49 CFR 571 Standard No. 124 outlining the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards governing the operation of the Accelerator Control Systems. The “standard establishes requirements for the return of a vehicle's throttle to the idle position when the driver removes the actuating force from the accelerator control.” 571.124 Section 5.1 requires that “there shall be at least two sources of energy capable of returning the throttle to the idle position within the time limit specified by S5.3 from any accelerator position or speed whenever the driver removes the opposing actuating force.” 571.124 Section 5.3 requires that the “maximum time to return to idle position shall be 1 second.” After testing, the average return to idle time is 5.2 seconds, indicating the failure of a dual-redundant fail safe. The excessive delay in the return to idle is due to frequent but unpredictable throttle spikes that occur without input to the controls as the driver’s foot is completely off the accelerator. These unexpected / unwanted throttle surges vary from ~200 to ~1,500 RPMs. The excessive delay in the return to idle poses a significant safety risk to the driver and others. The throttle malfunction was reproduced and confirmed by 4 personnel at the local dealership, including the Service Technician, Shop Foreman, Service Manager, and Service Director. However, the Service Director falsified and backdated the service records to claim that they “couldn’t duplicate concern” and that the “vehicle is driving normal.” An FCA Technical Advisor (TA) inspected the vehicle, and he recreated the failure to return to idle within 1 second. However, the FCA TA claims that vehicle is “operating as designed” indicating that the Jeep Engineering Team violated this Federal Regulation governing the safe operation of a motor vehicle when designing the Gladiator. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.