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KLUNK
KLUNK

2021 Jeep Compass

The Verdict

80 Smooth Ride

The 2021 Jeep Compass has 76 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (23 complaints) and body (22 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 80/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Jeep Compass, consider the 2025 model year which has 73% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2025 has 73% fewer complaints

View the 2025 Jeep Compass dashboard →

80

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
2007223183412732
20081054153513
2009401896
201031427154
2011734314831
2012470417421
2013181221425
201472139411017
201541623376
20165663316526
20175215517732
20181254019849569
201956246416513
202024321826
202122323226
20225181083713
20231531395
20242131465
202542941

By Category

Electrical
23
Body
22
Engine
22
Transmission
6
Brakes
3

By Severity

1
33
2
37
4
6

Worst Problems

Complaints

Engine 1

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 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.

2mo ago
Body 2

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.

3mo ago
Electrical 1

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.

3mo ago
Electrical 2

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.

3mo ago
Body 4

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 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.

4mo ago
Engine 1

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.

4mo ago
Electrical 4

[XXX] nearly three minutes after dropping my kids off to school, driving near the [XXX] ! 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 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)

4mo ago
Engine 1

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.

5mo ago
Body 1

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.

5mo ago
Electrical 2

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 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.

5mo ago
Engine 2

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.

5mo ago
Engine 1

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 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.

6mo ago
Electrical 1

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 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.

7mo ago
Electrical 2

Back up camera goes blank

8mo ago
Electrical 2

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.

9mo ago
Transmission 2

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.

10mo ago
Brakes 2

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

10mo ago
Engine 1

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" 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.

11mo ago
Body 2

After going on and off intermittently for the last year, the rear view camera system stopped working altogether! There is a recall for my Year (21) and model (Jeep compass) but unfortunately my vin number is excluded from this recall and Stellantis says there's nothing they can do on their end to assist me with this issue. This creates a safety issue whenever I'm backing up anywhere. To diagnose the problem, my dealership wants to charge me $210.00 just to look at it. There are no warning lights except words on my black screen that say "camera system unavailable"

12mo ago
Electrical 2

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked at a store front in the evening, both headlights were operational. The contact returned and restarted the vehicle; however, the driver's side headlight was inoperable. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the headlight and the electrical connectors and harness had melted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that after the headlight failure, the vehicle was difficult to start one morning. The contact stated that the instrument cluster and the overhead map lights were flashing off and on. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

13mo ago

76 total

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