The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that two years ago the vehicle was taken to a dealer to be repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V116000 (Power Train); to prevent the clutch from overheating. However, the failure started after the vehicle was repaired under the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving, there was smoke coming from under the hood. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer to be diagnosed; however, the dealer was unable to perform the inspection or confirm the failure due to the age and mileage on the vehicle. The contact stated that the software update included a transmission kill switch to be activated whenever the clutch overheated, but the kill switch failed to operate as intended. The message that the clutch was overheating was displayed on the instrument panel during the failure. There was a burning odor and smoke during the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 26,000.
Jeep Gladiator fire or smoke problems
37 of the 999 owner complaints about the Jeep Gladiator describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 2022 model year.
- owner complaints
- 37
- worst model year
- 2022
- typical mileage
- 12,900
By model year
Often reported together
Loss of power 4Overheating 2Misfire 2Check engine light 2Transmission failure 1Pulling 1Power steering loss 1Fuel smell 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P0300 1
What owners say
Front brake caliper(s) was seizing up causing smoking and a burning smell. Vehicle was also pulling to the right when braking. Brake fluid or something like it coated the front drivers side wheel. Took vehicle back to dealership where vehicle was purchased new. Vehicle is still under warranty/extended warranties. The dealer did inspect and found front calipers to be seizing up causing excessive wear on brake pads and rotors. They did replace both front calipers but not the brake hoses. They also replaced and charged me for new brake pads and rotors. Not even a week later, I called the dealer to report the same problem, the brakes were again seizing up and there was a smoking/burning smell. The dealer ordered the new brake hoses, found that the brake hoses they attempted to re-use had collapsed causing all the above mentioned problems. The dealer had them installed and so far so good.
My husband parked this car in my driveway at 8:15 pm. Our security cameras show a spark under the car at 8:35. By 8:42 the front half of the car was completely engulfed in flames. The front half of the car is totally burned.
Caught fire while driving
What happened: Driving on road, check engine light and traction control light appeared, smelled metallic-type odor, pulled over, before I could put it in park smoke started pouring from under the hood on passenger side. Unable to extinguish due to ball of flames hitting me as I opened hood. Burned it to the ground. Which component: I'm assuming it was the electric hydraulic power steering pump (EHPSP) wiring. The fire was on the passenger side. The vehicle is available for inspection in a tow lot near [XXX]. Safety: It caught fire on a small dirt road in the country. I was the only occupant and I was uninjured. There was nobody on the road at the time. Thankfully the woods got rain recently or it would have caused a massive forest fire. Problem reproduced: No Inspection: No one has inspected the car yet. Warning: There was no other warning other than described above and the truck was behaving perfectly normal. Other: The vehicle was taken to Tri-Lakes Ford in [XXX] to replace the high pressure fuel pump (another recall). They told me they didn't have the parts to fix the steering yet, so I planned on coming back when they did. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I purchased this vehicle on May 25th. On june 4th it was parked out side my front porch and my house along with the jeep burned completely down. the fire was first witnessed on the front porch right where the jeep was parked. I was out of town working and had a friend there dog sitting for me. She and the dogs got out safely althoug she was sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation and was released later that evening. The arson investigation is still on going. as of monday June 8th, Both the arson investigator and home insurnace investigator could not determine the origin of the fire. When the recall went public on june 11th i informed them of the recall and have not gotten much back from either of them. The scene has yet to be re-visted. I drove the truck maybe a total of 150 miles. The steering felt strange at times but i only had the vehicle for 5 days before i left for work. There is no solution from jeep. I would really like for a specialest to inspect the vehicle to determine if it did in fact set my house on fire.
Lost the clutch, no ability to shift, had no propulsion. 60 seconds later, the car was on fire while driving. Pulled over, got out, and within 20 minutes the car completely burnt to the ground. Wa state law states that the vehicle used or new should not have been sold in condition. Vehicle was purchased in 2025. Carfax report shows that vehicle was sold from dealership in Florida days after the recall was issued.
My name is [XXX] , and I am writing to formally submit a complaint regarding the loss of my vehicle due to engine fire. The vehicle was a 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, VIN [XXX] , with approximately 26,666 miles at the time of loss. I purchased the vehicle on May 13, 2021. The fire occurred on July 10, 2025. I was driving on the freeway, and my vehicle lost power and dashboard warning lights illuminated. When I pulled over, the engine was on fire. The fire department came and doused the flames but my entire engine was destroyed. After the fire, I retained legal counsel and initiated an independent investigation through Fire Cause Analysis in Berkeley, California. Their findings identified the origin of the fire as being linked to the power steering pump electrical connector. I later discovered that the federal safety agency has an open investigation identified as PE24024 concerning Jeep Gladiator engine fires which notes that the fires reported to the federal safety agency for this vehicle originated at the power steering pump electrical connector - coinciding with the finding of Fire Cause Analysis. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owned a 2023 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on a private road, but turned on, a fuel odor was detected inside the cabin. No warning light was illuminated. A few minutes later, the engine compartment on the passenger side caught fire. The contact's husband and their pets were able to safely exit the vehicle without injury. The vehicle burned to the ground. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. A fire department report was filed. The insurance company was notified of the failure, but had not yet declared the vehicle totaled. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Action Number: PE24024 (Steering). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
I parked at a business and went inside and within 5-10 minutes of being in the business my Gladiator caught fire on the front passenger side under the hood. I was ghosted by Jeep Wave and my only course of action was to go through State Farm. Jeep and State Farm both had fire investigators on the same day look at the gladiator and I have never heard what caused the fire.
Related recalls
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
- What is wrong
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2020-2024 Jeep Gladiator and 2018-2024 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. The instrument panel cluster may experience an internal short circuit and fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Controls and Displays."
- Risk
- An instrument panel that fails to display critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the instrument panel cluster, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed between October 3, 2024, and January 23, 2025. Owners may contact FCA customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. FCA's number for this recall is 30B.
Recall number 24V652000 · Recall details
Questions about the Jeep Gladiator fire or smoke
Which Jeep Gladiator years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2022 (14 complaints), 2020 (10 complaints) and 2021 (6 complaints).
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