Jeep Renegade: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Jeep Renegade: 9 model years scored from 2,196 NHTSA owner complaints and 24 recall campaigns. Worst year 2017, best year 2020.
Jeep Renegade: which years to avoid
Across 9 scored model years the Jeep Renegade ranges from 40/100 in 2017 to 89/100 in 2022 — a 49-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Renegade at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Engine (267 of them).
Avoid: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Read the guide
The cheap crossovers: Dodge Journey, Jeep Compass and Renegade, used — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-01.
How the Renegade changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2015–2018
Mean score 42/100, about 52 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (789 complaints). 5 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2019–2023
Mean score 84/100, about 10 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (88 complaints). The record improves by 42 points against the years before it. 8 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2020 (score 83). Worst: 2017 (score 40, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 88 | BUY | $3,286 | 20 | 2 |
| 2022 | 89 | BUY | $3,368 | 25 | 2 |
| 2021 | 82 | BUY | $3,640 | 66 | 2 |
| 2020 | 83 | BUY | $3,726 | 62 | 3 |
| 2019 | 79 | BUY | $4,034 | 79 | 4 |
| 2018 | 41 | AVOID | $5,007 | 441 | 2 |
| 2017 | 40 | AVOID | $5,288 | 563 | 3 |
| 2016 | 46 | AVOID | $5,054 | 429 | 2 |
| 2015 | 41 | AVOID | $5,262 | 511 | 4 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Renegade, through the years →
Renegade sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Renegade on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Jeep Renegade
Across every Renegade model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Engine847 complaints across all Renegade years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System615 complaints across all Renegade years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Power Train421 complaints across all Renegade years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Unknown Or Other413 complaints across all Renegade years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Fuel/Propulsion System256 complaints across all Renegade years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620
- Service Brakes79 complaints across all Renegade years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Jeep Renegade years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2017 is the weakest at 40/100, with its complaints concentrated in Engine.
What are the best Jeep Renegade years to buy?
2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2022 at 89/100, on 25 complaints and 2 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Jeep Renegade problem?
847 of the complaints filed against the Renegade across all its model years sit in the Engine group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04