Jeep's reputation for unreliability is one of the most durable in the industry, and the record on this site both confirms and complicates it. The Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler each have model years that score in the 20s and model years that score in the 80s, and the difference is not random. It follows electrical redesigns and transmission launches, and a buyer who knows which years those are can buy a good Jeep.
Grand Cherokee: the WK2, 2011 to 2021
The fourth-generation Grand Cherokee launched for 2011 with a new platform shared with Mercedes-Benz, the new Pentastar 3.6-litre V6, and an electrical architecture built around a component called the Totally Integrated Power Module — a fuse and relay box that also controls the fuel pump, the starter and the lighting. On 2011 to 2013 cars the module's fuel-pump relay could fail, stalling the engine or preventing it from starting; the federal regulator investigated and Chrysler recalled the affected vehicles in 2014 and 2015. The early Pentastar also had a cylinder-head failure that Chrysler addressed with a warranty extension. The 2011 and 2012 cars carry 1,638 complaints each and score 58 and 54.
For 2014 Jeep fitted the ZF eight-speed automatic and a monostable electronic shifter — a lever that returns to centre after each push, with no physical detent for Park. Owners exited the vehicle believing it was in Park when it was not; the regulator linked the design to hundreds of rollaway incidents and Chrysler recalled the shifter in 2016, adding software that shifts to Park automatically when the driver's door opens. The 2014 car carries 2,373 complaints and scores 28.
From 2016 the record improves sharply: the shifter had been replaced with a conventional design, the electrical module redesigned, and the eight-speed's software matured. The 2016 car scores 74, the 2017 car 80, the 2019 car 76 and the 2020 car 85. These are the Grand Cherokees to buy. The 2018 year is a modest dip, and the 2021 to 2024 WL generation launch shows the usual pattern, scoring in the 50s and 60s with infotainment and electrical complaints leading.
Jeep Grand Cherokee: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 77 | BUY | 70 | 3 |
| 2024 | 52 | CAUTION | 240 | 12 |
| 2023 | 55 | CAUTION | 381 | 12 |
| 2022 | 60 | CAUTION | 366 | 12 |
| 2021 | 71 | BUY | 401 | 12 |
| 2020 | 85 | BUY | 233 | 3 |
| 2019 | 76 | BUY | 364 | 7 |
| 2018 | 54 | CAUTION | 853 | 11 |
| 2017 | 80 | BUY | 364 | 6 |
| 2016 | 73 | BUY | 308 | 9 |
| 2015 | 54 | CAUTION | 1,355 | 10 |
| 2014 | 28 | AVOID | 2,374 | 12 |
| 2013 | 70 | BUY | 802 | 10 |
| 2012 | 54 | CAUTION | 1,638 | 11 |
| 2011 | 58 | CAUTION | 1,638 | 6 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Jeep Grand Cherokee model page.
Wrangler: the JK, 2007 to 2018
The JK Wrangler is the simplest vehicle on this site, and its record is correspondingly steady: between 300 and 830 complaints a year across 2011 to 2017, scores between 60 and 79. The 2012 model year, the first with the Pentastar V6, carries the engine's cylinder-head problem and scores 60; the 2015 car scores 79. Known JK faults are the kind an owner learns to live with — a leaking hardtop, a heater core, the Pentastar's oil-filter housing — rather than the kind that stops the vehicle. The four-door Wrangler Unlimited is catalogued separately through 2020 and scores a little higher in every shared year, because it sold to a less hard-driving buyer.
Wrangler: the JL, 2018 onward
The JL Wrangler launched for 2018 and its first year has 1,807 complaints and a score of 26 — the worst Wrangler year on file. The leading complaint is what owners call the death wobble: a violent oscillation of the front axle after hitting a bump at speed, inherent to a solid-axle vehicle but far more common on early JLs. Jeep replaced the steering damper under a customer-satisfaction programme in 2019 and later revised the steering gear. Behind that are frame welds that were recalled, the new 2.0-litre turbo engine's early faults, and the eight-speed automatic. The 2019 car halves the count and scores 41; the 2020 car scores 38. The record for 2021 onward is not yet deep enough on this site to score.
What to check
Grand Cherokee 2011 to 2013: ask whether the power-module and fuel-pump-relay recalls are complete, and whether the engine has had cylinder-head work. Grand Cherokee 2014 to 2015: check the shifter recall is complete and, on the test drive, deliberately try to leave it out of Park. Wrangler JL 2018 to 2019: ask whether the steering damper was replaced under the 2019 programme, and drive it over rough road at 45 to 50 miles an hour with both hands on the wheel.
Summary
Grand Cherokee — buy 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020; avoid 2011, 2012, 2014. Wrangler — buy JK 2013 to 2017; avoid JL 2018; acceptable JL 2019 to 2020 with the steering work documented.