2012 Jeep Wrangler engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 179 complaints for the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, 14% of the complaints on file. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 179 14% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 40,000 miles 139 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 1 and 11
Injuries and deaths: 3 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 139 complaints that include mileage. 68% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	47
20k to 40k miles	22
40k to 60k miles	26
60k to 80k miles	15
80k to 100k miles	14
100k to 120k miles	11
120k to 140k miles	2
140k to 160k miles	2
160k to 180k miles	0
180k to 200k miles	0
200k+ miles	0

What the data shows

Of the 139 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 40,000 miles, and 68% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 11 fires, 3 injuries.

What owners wrote

I was driving on the highway and the engine caught fire. I’ve been looking for an engine to rebuild and all of them had previously been on fire. I believe the engine is defective for the jeeps that year, make and model.

April 2021 FireInjury

Vehicle is currently (dec 2012) at dealer having heads/valves replaced (10th day after waiting 10 days for parts), original report 9 nov: idling engine continues to be very rough, much rougher than when reported to dealer on november 9 2012, dealer did PCM reflash/update as stalling maneuver, after which problem worsened and mil came on vehicle is vibrating abnormally when stopped and idling, all passengers feel the car shaking, almost stalls at times idling engine changes speeds and sound intermittently and is…

Reported at 15,400 miles, November 2012

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Jeep models