1998 JEEP WRANGLER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 261 complaints · 6 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (38 complaints · 14.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 22
  • Fires 9
  • Injuries 15
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1997 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 38 of 261 owner complaints (14.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 38 complaints, 14.6% of reports ENGINE 38 · 14.6% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 37 complaints, 14.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 · 14.2% · 6 fire reports AIR BAGS: 30 complaints, 11.5% of reports AIR BAGS 30 · 11.5% · 12 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 24 complaints, 9.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 24 · 9.2% · 3 crash reports SUSPENSION: 19 complaints, 7.3% of reports SUSPENSION 19 · 7.3% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 18 complaints, 6.9% of reports STRUCTURE 18 · 6.9% · 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 13 complaints, 5.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 13 · 5.0% · 1 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 12 complaints, 4.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 12 · 4.6% SERVICE BRAKES: 11 complaints, 4.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 4.2% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 184 complaints, 70.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 184 · 70.5% · 17 crash reports 5 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 38 14.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 14.2% 0 crashes · 6 fires
AIR BAGS 30 11.5% 12 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 24 9.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 19 7.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 18 6.9% 0 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 13 5.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SEAT BELTS 12 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 11 4.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 184 70.5% 17 crashes · 5 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-23 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 1998. 1998-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 1999-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 1999-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 1999-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 1999-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2000-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2002-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2003-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1998 Jan 2023 Recall campaign 98V023000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V023000 Recall campaign 98V048000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V048000 Recall campaign 04E041000 ◆ Recall campaign 04E041000 Recall campaign 06E011000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E011000 Recall campaign 06E022000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E022000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000
  • Campaign 06E011000 was reported 2,654 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q1 Owner reports 6
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 5
1998-Q4 Owner reports 16
1999-Q1 Owner reports 20
1999-Q2 Owner reports 16
1999-Q3 Owner reports 15
1999-Q4 Owner reports 6
2000-Q1 Owner reports 6
2000-Q2 Owner reports 7
2000-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 9
2001-Q2 Owner reports 9
2001-Q3 Owner reports 9
2001-Q4 Owner reports 7
2002-Q1 Owner reports 5
2002-Q2 Owner reports 6
2002-Q3 Owner reports 8
2002-Q4 Owner reports 5
2003-Q1 Owner reports 5
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 7
2003-Q4 Owner reports 4
2004-Q1 Owner reports 6
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 4
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 2
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 3
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 3
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 98V023000
Recall campaign 1 98V048000
Recall campaign 1 04E041000
Recall campaign 1 06E011000
Recall campaign 1 06E022000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (6)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04E041000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    SHOULD THIS OCCUR, THE COCKPIT COULD CAUSE INJURY BY STRIKING PERSONS OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE OR COULD BECOME A DISTRACTION OR AN OBSTACLE TO OTHER DRIVERS, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    BESTOP WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND PROVIDE A REPAIR KIT AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FREE OF CHARGE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 16, 2004. OWNERS WHO DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BESTOP CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT (800) 845-3567.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E011000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FUEL LEAK COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    AIRTEX WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED FUEL PUMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 25, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AIRTEX CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT 1-800-880-3056.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E022000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID CAN LEAD TO A DECREASE IN BRAKE LINE PRESSURE AND AN INCREASE IN STOPPING DISTANCE, WHICH CAN RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    AFFINIA (BRAKE PARTS, INC.) WILL REPLACE THE SUBJECT BRAKE HYDRAULIC MASTER CYLINDERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 20, 2006. OWNERS CAN CONTACT AFFINA GROUP CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-323-0354.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V023000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    THIS CAN CAUSE AN INCREASE IN ENGINE IDLE SPEED AND A LOSS OF POWER ASSIST DURING BRAKE APPLICATION WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE BRAKE BOOSTER DATE CODE AND ANY BOOSTERS WITH THE SUSPECT MANUFACTURING DATE RANGE WILL BE REPLACED.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V048000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE FRONT SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED INCREASING THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SEAT SHOULDER BELT TURNING LOOP ON THESE VEHICLES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 261 complaints · page 1 of 11

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources