My screen is completely black. I cannot see the temp, nothing. I cannot change the time. cannot connect my phone. There is no back up camera.
Vehicle safety record
2021 Jeep Compass Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 83 complaints about the 2021 Jeep Compass with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system (35) and the engine & cooling (22). Those complaints describe 5 crashes and 2 fires. There are no recalls for it. For comparison, the 2020 has 143 and the 2022 has 226.
NHTSA data checked
BFewer problems than a typical Compass year, for its age
#60 most complained-about 2021 vehicle
- Complaints
- 83
- Recalls
- 0
- Crashes
- 5
- Fires
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Most common 2021 Jeep Compass problems
Share of all 83 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
No recalls for the 2021 Jeep Compass
What owners say
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83 complaints about the 2021 Jeep Compass
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 4.
On October 30, 2026, my 2021 Jeep Compass Limited, with approximately 67,000 miles, unexpectedly became inoperable despite operating normally the previous day. When attempting to start the vehicle, the dashboard displayed a "Coolant Temperature High" warning accompanied by a flashing check-engine light. The engine made clicking noises but failed to start, while the radio and other electrical components remained functional. The temperature gauge remained at its lowest reading, and there were no visible signs of...
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overheating, smoke, or unusual odors. The battery and alternator were tested and found to be functioning properly, and diagnostic trouble code U0402 was identified. I am concerned because NHTSA previously investigated similar coolant temperature warnings, engine shutdowns, and failure-to-restart incidents involving 2019-2020 Jeep Compass vehicles under investigation PE22-013. Although my vehicle is a 2021 model, it is exhibiting similar symptoms, raising concerns about a potential recurring safety-related defect. An unexpected loss of engine power while driving could create a serious collision risk. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether the 2021 Jeep Compass is affected by a similar defect and determine whether a safety recall or manufacturer corrective action is warranted.
carvana falsifying 150 point inspection on bad tie rods with 2021jeep compass
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled in the middle of the highway. The vehicle lost power, but was able to be restarted, and the vehicle drove in LIMP Mode to the dealer. The "D" on the instrument panel was flashing during failure, and there was an electrical odor inside the vehicle. The failure was a recurring failure. The dealer was unable to reproduce failure but serviced the auxiliary battery and reprogrammed the transmission; however, the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
I am filing a safety complaint regarding my 2021 Jeep Compass Limited due to repeated coolant loss, overheating/high-temperature warnings, and eventual engine failure. The vehicle began losing coolant and required frequent refilling. The problem progressively worsened until coolant would immediately leak out underneath the vehicle when added. I paid approximately 1,400 to have the radiator replaced, but the same problem returned approximately two weeks later. The vehicle subsequently developed additional problems...
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including shaking, a check-engine light, Cylinder 1 misfire, and diagnostic code P0117 related to the coolant temperature sensor/circuit. The vehicle also displayed a warning that the oil temperature was too high and the engine needed to cool down. The vehicle eventually became undrivable, and I believe the engine may have locked up. The progression from severe coolant loss and overheating to misfire, high-temperature warnings, and possible catastrophic engine failure is concerning. This vehicle is used to transport my children, including daily school transportation. I am concerned that a sudden loss of coolant, overheating, loss of power, or engine failure while driving could create a serious safety hazard. The radiator replacement did not resolve the underlying problem, which makes me concerned there may be a larger defect involving the cooling system, temperature control, or related engine components. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether similar coolant-loss, overheating, temperature-warning, and engine-failure problems are occurring in 2021 Jeep Compass vehicles and whether a safety defect may exist.
Screen glitching can't use touch screen and rear view camera not available when screen is glitching.
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to formally submit a complaint regarding my 2021 Jeep Compass, particularly concerning recurring mechanical, electrical, and safety-related problems that have created serious concerns about the vehicle's reliability and safe operation. The most concerning issue is the vehicle's unexpected stalling at low speeds, particularly associated with the 2.4L engine. Unexpected loss of power while driving at low speeds creates a significant safety concern because it can occur when...
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entering intersections, turning, maneuvering through traffic, or attempting to accelerate from a stopped or slow-moving position. In addition to the stalling issue, I have experienced or am concerned about the following problems: 1. Transmission Problems The vehicle has demonstrated concerning transmission behavior, including: Rough or abnormal shifting Delayed acceleration Delayed engagement Unresponsive or delayed gear changes Hesitation when attempting to accelerate Behavior that may contribute to the vehicle unexpectedly losing power or momentum These symptoms raise concerns regarding the transmission's proper operation and the possibility that transmission performance may be contributing to the vehicle's stalling and delayed acceleration. 2. Electrical System Problems The vehicle has also experienced significant electrical concerns, including: Infotainment screen freezing or becoming unresponsive Battery becoming completely or significantly discharged after sitting overnight Suspected parasitic battery drain Random or unexplained dashboard warning lights Electrical/electronic systems intermittently malfunctioning These issues are particularly concerning because intermittent electrical problems can be difficult to diagnose and may affect other vehicle systems, including safety-related components. 3. Backup Camera and Safety Concerns I am also concerned about failures involving the vehicle's backup camera and safety-related wiring, including poten
The engine will shut off completely while traveling a a normal rate of speed. The temperature gauge will malfunction and report high temperature (when there is none) and the engine will shut off. It cannot be restarted without putting the car in park and pressing the brake while in the midst of moving traffic. This has happened to me multiple times. At first, turning off the auto stop/start feature would prevent this form happening but turning it off no longer prevents this. This happens randomly and cannot be...
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reproduced manually. It is also extremely dangerous and upsetting when this happens in highway traffic at speed. The Jeep also seems to have a parasitic drain on the battery and both batteries had to be replaced by the dealer. My research shows that there have been alt least 15 similar complaints filed.
I was driving on the Arecibo. P.R. highway when suddently the car started acelererating..i wouldn't show down. There were a lot of cars on the road, so I had to swerve onto the grass and hit a tree car. I dind'd receive any help from highway patrol. The Police were show to arrive. I've done some research and this Jeep Compass has received many complaints about this factory defect.
The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bags warning light illuminated on the instrument panel with the message "Air Bags Wiring Fault" displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that the passenger's side seat belt latch was defective and failed to latch properly. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,972.
The infotainment screen in my 2021 Jeep Compass has developed a display failure where the screen is glitching and unusable. The issue persists after restarting the vehicle and appears to be a hardware malfunction. This affects visibility of navigation, backup camera, and vehicle settings, which creates a potential safety concern while driving.
The contact owned a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she noticed black smoke coming from the front passenger side headlight. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that prior to the failure, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate as needed. The contact pulled over and safely exited the vehicle with her daughter. The vehicle then caught fire and was engulfed in flames. The firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, but they were unable to determine the...
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cause of the fire. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard, where it was deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.
This first occurred on 3/10/2026 and then occurred again on 3/15/2026. When driving the coolant temp warning will randomly come on. This causes the car to lock up. After about 30-60 seconds it goes back to normal. This could very dangerous if I were on the interstate that I take every day to work. I am a mechanic, have hooked it up to a computer and there are no codes. I have tried to research it a learned that it is a consistent issue that seems to be common in the Jeep Compass, going back as far as the 2019 model.
[[redacted]] nearly three minutes after dropping my kids off to school, driving near the [[redacted]] ! My jeep begin to accelerate, I couldn't control the brakes or steering wheel! I became very scared as I approached a curve upon me reaching the curve, the dashboard and radio screen completely blacked out! I lose complete control of the vehicle, hit and embankment and tree! Cause injuries to my left wrist! I'm still in a splint and have a 5lbs restriction in place, with abrasions to my face as well! Found out...
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from the adjuster yesterday they can't even get the vehicle to start to retrieve any needed information! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Gas pedal broke off while driving. It is made of plastic and the arm that attaches to the pedal snapped off. We towed to a shop to have repaired today. No warning lights or sounds. Thankfully I was going slow and not on a busy street. It could have been a bad outcome if I was merging into on coming traffic. My safety and others were at serious risk due to my car not being able to accelerate with no warning.
The LCD radio screen goes in and out, mostly out. Can't see information projected on infortainment screen hence can't see for back up camera situations. If it does come on fully meaning seeing all the controls, sometimes all the letters and numbers are projecting upside down. If the car is hugely warm enough from long term driving the screen will be normal. I have read some reviews and it seems like this is a jeep problem. This issue has never been with other cars I owned. This poses a safety risk especially because it makes a back up camera issue.
While driving, the 2021 Jeep Compass displays "Coolant Temperature High: Shutting Down" even though the car temperature gauge indicates normal engine temperature. Following the warning notification, the vehicle came to a complete stop. Fortunately, I was not going fast and was able to drift into a parking lot space. After several minutes, the vehicle started again and drove normally. If this was to happen at high speed or on a congested highway, someone could be seriously injured or killed. I have seen on...
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other online forums that this is a somewhat common issue with the Jeep Compass. However, after many different service procedures have been attempted from reports online, it appears that no solution has been determined or suggested by the manufacturer.
The high coolant temperature light cut on and turned my vehicle off while driving. This problem has been reported on older model Jeep compasses. The car never turned back on and I had to get my vehicle towed home.
Multiple times now at random, car will go from normal temp to overheating on the gauge for a moment. Shuts down in doing so regardless of being driven. Then will instantly think its cooling back down to normal. When it reaches normal it resumes normal driving abilities. While the temp is going up and down on the gauge the center of the cluster tells you "high coolant temperature". No codes or pending codes can be found. Thermostat housing and sensor have been replaced and still occurring at random. Researching...
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online forms, lots of complaints of same issues with no resolve, spending thousands of dollars and trips to dealers and shops to not be resolved. This is a huge safety hazard as you can not move out of the way of others when it happens and occurs both when driving and stopped situations.
On November 1, 2025, while backing my 2021 Jeep Compass out of the driveway, I noticed the rearview camera started 'jumping' and displaying colored lines. I pulled the vehicle in front of my home, and suddenly there was loud banging and the engine light started flashing. I immediately turned the vehicle off, and it would not start again. I contacted the Jeep dealership Monday morning, November 3, 2025 to advise the vehicle started making loud noises, engine light flashing, rearview camera not displaying...
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properly. The Jeep was subsequently towed to the dealer. I was advised by service tech that there was a fluid leak in the trans pump area. I was also told the vehicle did not pass a battery check, and gave authorization to replace the main battery. The service tech advised the radio needed to be replaced, I told him the radio played fine, but the rearview camera malfunctioned while backing the car out. He said the rearview signal is from the radio, I declined to replaced the radio. I have had several issues with the 2021 Jeep, included oil leakage, and now transmission leakage. I also note certain 2021 Jeep Compass models have rearview camera issues, and upon calling Stellantis November 24, 2025, they advise my particular vehicle is not affected. I disagree. The vehicle has regular maintenance (oil changes) and has 24,200 original miles. I believe this to be a defect and also a safety issue.
Back up camera goes blank
My vehicle information screen is not working. I cannot connect my phone; therefore cannot talk hands free. So this seems like a safety issue. I do not have access to my back up camera.
Every single time I seen the climb McDonald pass in Helena, Montana the car freaks out says service transmission now no matter if I do it at 55 miles an hour or 75 miles an hour, which is about as fast as it'll go up the pass, it goes in the limp mode, shuts off the fuel pump says service transmission now every single light on the dash that could come on comes on. I don't know what's going on with it. I've taken it to the dealership. They can't seem to figure it out.
Stop/start system malfunction this is the 2nd time I've had to fix this problem the first time was with dealership in Henderson ky and it will cause more problems later big expenses and a whole vehicle failure so before im out to much money and left with no working vehicle that I still got to pay for i will be returning it this system failure has almost caused a major crash and has caused missed days at work
Purchased Jan 20 2024 Battery issues started in April 2024, battery started melting a particular component, i had to replace the battery, the melting was still happening, I went to another jeep location, to get a fuse component that keeps wires separate, the melting still happened. I told the original Jeep dealership about each thing, they told me to bring it in finally and told me I had to pay for a wire harness to be run throughout the car, 3000, to 1800, and then 0, for a "malfunction they found and fixed"...
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After Wire harness situation and price de-escalation after i told them they shouldjust take the car back because i dont have 3000; the start stop now not cooperating, has been happening since Aug 2024 in daytime with lyft rider in car. Stopped for a few months then repeated in October at night with other guests in car. Today (07/14/2025) Before 2 shift of lyft (before 7:50pm) The car stopped 6 times, 2 times with 2 different lyft riders in car. 4 times by myself, 1 time on the highway 2nd to 1st lane, with 18 wheeler behind me. This time it started back immediately but with 2nd passenger in car and 3rd time on my own it took several minutes before turning back on. Car stopped driving again today 07/15/2025 (recorded video) Now the car has a serv 4wd and the engine light is on, and I dont know whats wrong with the car. Its stressful, and I'm ready to give the car back for trade in value. Car still stops when it wants, its difficult to get a video as its happening, but the car just starts shaking, and stops driving no matter where I am. Everything will be easier to explain over the phone or in person, I am very scared of this car, this is my only source of income and now the Check engine light is on and I don't know whats wrong with the car. I've never had this many issues with a car and its the youngest car I've had. Ive seen many complaints about Jeep compass in particular after 2016. Having more problems and all similar to each other as the years go by.
Jeep Compass: every year compared
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30 | 0 | C |
| 2024 | 55 | 0 | C |
| 2023 | 49 | 2 | B |
| 2022 | 226 | 4 | F |
| 2021 | 83 | 0 | B |
| 2020 | 143 | 1 | C |
| 2019 | 333 | 2 | D |
| 2018 | 952 | 6 | F |
| 2017 | 229 | 4 | C |
2021 Jeep Compass vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Jeep Compass | 83 | 0 | B | |
| 2021 Ford Bronco Sport | 717 | 16 | F | Compare |
| 2021 Ford Escape | 356 | 19 | C | Compare |
| 2021 Nissan Rogue | 298 | 10 | F | Compare |
| 2021 Subaru Forester | 215 | 0 | D | Compare |
| 2021 Jeep Cherokee | 184 | 4 | D | Compare |
| 2021 Mazda CX-5 | 150 | 0 | D | Compare |
| 2021 Toyota RAV4 | 0 | 1 | A | Compare |
| 2021 Honda CR-V | 0 | 4 | A | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 2021 Jeep Compass
Does the 2021 Jeep Compass have any recalls?
NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2021 Jeep Compass right now. Recalls can be announced at any time, and this page checks NHTSA every day. You can also check your exact vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What are the most common problems with the 2021 Jeep Compass?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the electrical system (35), engine & cooling (22), transmission & drivetrain (9).
How many complaints has the 2021 Jeep Compass had?
83 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on October 8, 2020 and the latest on November 11, 2026. Of these, 5 describe a crash and 2 a fire, and together they report 0 injuries and 0 deaths.
Is the 2021 Jeep Compass a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 63 out of 100 (grade B: fewer problems than a typical Jeep Compass year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Jeep Compass years have the most complaints?
2018 (952), 2007 (434), 2019 (333). See every Jeep Compass year compared.
What should I do if my 2021 Jeep Compass has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data