Used Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator Fire Complaints by Model Year: What to Check Before You Buy

Key facts

• Recall: NHTSA campaign 26V363000 (shown as "26V363"); Chrysler (FCA US) manufacturer recall 21D, submitted June 4, 2026.
• Scope: 2021-2025 Jeep Wrangler (JL, including the 4xe plug-in hybrid) and 2021-2025 Jeep Gladiator (JT).
• US units: 1,076,999 total (787,887 Wrangler + 289,112 Gladiator). Estimated share with the defect: 0.1%.
• Build windows (the real population): Wrangler June 24, 2020 – Dec 2, 2024; Gladiator Aug 18, 2020 – Dec 2, 2024.
• Defect: the Electric Hydraulic Power Steering Pump (EHPSP) electrical connection can develop high resistance, overheat combustible material, and cause a fire — possibly with the ignition off and the vehicle parked. Component supplier: Dare Auto Inc.
• Warning signs: loss of power-steering assist and/or a "Service Power Steering" message.
• Reported harm: NHTSA is aware of 51 fires and 1 injury attributed to this issue.
• Remedy: inspect, repair, and replace EHPSP parts as needed, free. Consumer advisory is Park Outside, not a full Do Not Drive. The remedy part was still being finalized at announcement (phased recall).
• Owner letters: mailed in phases July 9 – Aug 3, 2026; VINs searchable on NHTSA since June 11, 2026.

Which used Wrangler and Gladiator model years get the most fire complaints?

Within the recalled 2021-2025 range, the 2024 Jeep Wrangler is the single largest cluster of fire-mentioning complaints — 170 records, about 20% of that year's 868 total complaints — with the 2021 Wrangler second at 100. The Gladiator's fire-keyword complaints are much lower across every year, peaking at 26 in 2021. The complaint curve concentrates on the Wrangler, which makes sense: the Wrangler is 73.2% of the recalled fleet and carries the overwhelming majority of fire complaints.

These are keyword matches over free-text NHTSA complaints, not NHTSA-adjudicated fire causes, so treat them as "complaints mentioning fire," not confirmed fires. They over-count somewhat and will keep drifting upward after the pull date.

Based on NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint records for Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, model years 2018-2025, retrieved via the free api.nhtsa.gov complaints API on July 29, 2026. "Fire-keyword" = complaint text or component contains fire/smoke/burn/melt/flame/"caught on"; "power-steering keyword" = text contains "power steering"/"steering pump" or component contains STEERING.

Why the 2024 Wrangler number is easy to get wrong

If you query NHTSA's complaints database with model = "wrangler" for 2024 and 2025, you get zero — which is misleading. NHTSA renamed the Wrangler in the complaints database for those years into four body-style variants: WRANGLER 2-DOOR, WRANGLER 4-DOOR, WRANGLER 4-DOOR 392, and WRANGLER 4-DOOR 4XE. The 2024 figure of 170 and the 2025 figure of 12 above aggregate all four variants, de-duplicated by ODI complaint number. Any outlet querying the single "wrangler" name will wrongly report zero for the two newest years.

By the numbers

• 1,076,999 US vehicles recalled under 26V363; 73.2% are Wranglers.
• 51 fires, 1 injury in NHTSA's public tally. The Part 573 report separately lists 72 field reports (35 confirmed to originate at the EHPSP interface), 63 customer-assistance records, 0 accidents, and 1 injury; record dates span July 13, 2019 – March 28, 2026.
• 170 fire-keyword complaints on the 2024 Wrangler — the largest single-year cohort.
• 0.1% is Chrysler's estimated share of recalled vehicles that actually have the defect.

Is it the recall or the investigation PE24-024?

These are two linked but distinct things. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened preliminary evaluation PE24-024 on September 6, 2024, into engine-compartment fires on 2021-2023 Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles. The recall (26V363) is the later manufacturer action: Chrysler determined a defect exists on May 28, 2026, and filed the recall on June 4, 2026, covering model years 2021-2025. FCA had earlier investigated EHPSP fires from May 2023 to April 2024, closed it for a low rate, then reopened in August 2024.

Should I avoid Jeeps built between mid-2020 and December 2024?

The recall population is defined by build date, not the model-year badge: Wranglers built June 24, 2020 – Dec 2, 2024 and Gladiators built Aug 18, 2020 – Dec 2, 2024. A vehicle in that window isn't automatically dangerous — Chrysler estimates only 0.1% have the defect — but any used 2021-2025 Wrangler or Gladiator should be VIN-checked against 26V363 before purchase, and the buyer should confirm whether the free remedy has been completed. Pre-recall years (2018-2020 Wrangler, 2020 Gladiator) show fire complaints too, but fall outside this campaign.

What a VIN check can and can't tell you here

A VIN check is useful for screening and history, but it is not the authority on remedy status. Here is the honest split for this recall.

Because this defect can involve an underhood fire, the accident/damage and salvage-auction records are the most relevant differentiators: they can reveal a Jeep that was fire-damaged and passed through a salvage auction. Just remember an auction record is not the same as a legal title brand.

How to check a specific used Jeep by VIN

1. Start with NHTSA's free VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls. It shows whether the exact VIN has open recalls, including 26V363, and whether the remedy is still open — the authoritative source for remedy status.
2. Confirm remedy completion with a Jeep dealer if the NHTSA result is unclear, since the fix was phased and parts were still being finalized at announcement.
3. Run a full history check — for example a Zilocar VIN check — to screen for recall presence and surface accident, airbag-deployment, salvage-auction, odometer, theft, ownership, and sales-listing history that a recall lookup alone won't show.

A Zilocar VIN check screens a used Wrangler or Gladiator for open-recall presence and surfaces accident and airbag-deployment records, junk/salvage-auction records, odometer and theft checks, ownership, sales-listing history, specs, NHTSA/IIHS ratings, and market valuation. It does not confirm whether recall 26V363 was remedied, track NHTSA investigations, or show firmware or legal title-brand status — verify those with NHTSA or a Jeep dealer.

Sources

• NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V363 (PDF) — unit counts, build dates, EHPSP defect, chronology, PE24-024, remedy.
• NHTSA press release: urgent park-outside warning for 1 million+ Jeeps — 51 fires, 1 injury.
• NHTSA complaints & recalls lookup — source of all by-model-year complaint counts (api.nhtsa.gov ODI complaints API).
• Consumer Reports: Park These Recalled Jeeps Outside Due to Fire Risk — confirms 26V363, model years, build dates, one injury.

Last verified: July 29, 2026.