2008 Jeep Wrangler 4-DR 4X4 problems
NHTSA has received 831 complaints about the 2008 Jeep Wrangler 4-DR 4X4, and 24% of them involve fuel system. After that come air bags (17%) and electrical system (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 831 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 39
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 52,000 miles 758 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 116 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 153 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 171 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 102 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 91 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 65 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 29 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 24 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 758 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 52,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 39,000 miles (177 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 39 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler 4x4. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the contact smelled an extremely strong burning odor. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road and quickly became engulfed in flames. The contact, front seat passenger and rear seat passenger sustained minor burns to the face and arms. The fire department extinguished the fire and informed the contact that the transmission fluid boiled over into the transmission and engine area, which resulted in a fire.
I was driving my 2008 jeep wrangler (4 door) estimated speed 45 MPH going through an intersection and another car pulled out in front of me to turn, I had no time to brake- hit his side/back of his car and then my jeep hit the traffic light pole. (head one) (the other driver was ticketed) needless to say, traveling at 45 MPH, hitting another car without braking and then hitting a pole that at least one of my airbags should have deployed- but neither one of them deployed.
I bought a 2008 jeep wrangler (4) door unlimited rubicon. I did not have more than 150 miles on it before the engine would stall while making a turn at an intersection. I went on a vacation with about 1000 miles on it. I parked the vehicle at about a 15 to 20 degree angle; front facing down. The gas tank was 1/2 full, and I left the vehicle running for about 2 minutes. The engine shut down (stopped) running. I attempted to start the engine but it would not turn over.
The air bag light came on and dings every 30 secs, the horn doesn't work. I made an apt with the dealership there was no sense of urgency to get me in, dropped it off on a friday to be told to bring it back today. They quickly diagnosed the problem as air bag clockspring wiring failure and explained if I were in an accident the air bags would not deploy. This is a $420.00 fix to repair a safety issue, and lucky for me they happen to have the part just laying around.
The clock spring failed and now the airbag, horn, and cruise control does not work. It started with a clicking noise in the steering column when turning, then after a popping noise everything mentioned stopped working. After research there are a lot of people with the same exact issue but no recall has been issued.