2011 Jeep Wrangler: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed May 10, 2023 · Fuel system · WA

Jeep wranglers have a common problem with the fuel inlet. It clogs over time then will cause fuel to spill over or click off constantly while fueling the vehicle. This gets worse in cold months. I have spilled fuel hundreds of times over the years while fueling. Jeep forums and YouTube talk about the widespread issue. No warranty or recall? Perhaps after a gas station goes up in flames

Filed Sep 20, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · TX · fire

While travelling country road (divided highway) cruising at approximately 65 mph (cruise control engaged) the message indicator went "ding" and the check engine light began flashing. I turned on flashers, slowed down and found a commercial driveway into which I could exit and stop off roadway. After turning off ignition I immediately raised the hood and found active fire (flames) to the rear of the intake manifold and forward of the firewall where the wiring harness is located. I instructed my passenger to immediately exit the vehicle. I had bottles of drinking water with us (hot day in Texas) so I took three or four bottles of water and extinguished the flames from both sides of the upper engine. The flames were immediately extinguished indicating no presence of petroleum products fueling the flames. After ensuring that fire was fully extinguished I called a local towing service to come pick us up and drop the Jeep at a local NAPA repair shop. Shop located and ordered a new wiring harness as opposed to trying to repair existing harness. May file a claim with Auto Insurance after repairs are made.

Filed Feb 25, 2021 · Brakes · 22,000 miles · NC · fire

Purchased 2011 sahara manual 2dr in 3/2016. On 2/24/2021 noticed smoke and burning smell coming from left front side as I was returning home from a doctor visit on local 4 lane 35 MPH highway. Stopped at local jeep dealer,ross jeep, 2 blocks away and fire was visible from left front wheel. Was told fire due to brake "seized" causing fire to rotor/brake. 22,000 miles currently on jeep. Have serviced regularly as recommended and garaged with no "off road" driving. Mechanic/dealer suggested new brakes and rotors on front of jeep. Why with only 22,000 miles would I have a problem with brakes and what would cause this problem ? From reading other complaints I feel lucky to not have had a total loss of jeep and my life due to fire. I had jeep completely checked out prior to purchase along with checking for recalls and no issues surfaced.

Filed Feb 20, 2021 · Electrical, Steering · 94,000 miles · KS

Jeep was towed to shop due to starter randomly catching on fire. Asked mechanics to check the road walk. They said everything was fine but jeep bounces all over the road. I have drove many keeps and this isn't normal and is unsafe to drive. Electrical issues with the heated seats. They turn on for 3-4 seconds and shut back off.

Filed Mar 26, 2020 · Body, Brakes · 140,000 miles · IN · fire

Driving down road vehicle started to flame from right front passenger side near front. Pulled over. Got out in time at which time vehicle went up in flames. Called 911 and fire department came put out fire left fire reignited and they came back to put out. Called insurance, filed case with chrysler got no response. Vehicle was not modified or used for off road this was a vehicle used for regular commute to work. The vehicle was traveling a speed of approx 35 MPH on a city street. Raymond street. Believe it was an issue with fuel system in relation to engine. Salvage yard phone 317‑787‑3202 vehicle id for salvage 27404152 chrysler case #[xxx] geico claim #[xxx] wayne township fire dept indpls, in about 8:45 pm responded to this*dt ('parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).')*jb *dt

Filed Dec 31, 2019 · 50,000 miles · AR · fire

Driving to work my wrangler died and burst into flames moving from the back to the front. I was northbound on hwy 265 when vehicle died and started burning.*dt

Filed Jan 24, 2019 · Body, Engine · 70,000 miles · NY · fire

Started on fire,struggled going up hill then started on fre

Filed Nov 20, 2018 · Electrical · 54,000 miles · CA

When turning on fan speed switch (climate control) wire to fan becomes soo hot it melts, has burning smell, as if it wants to burn or catch fire. Has done this twice even after replacing burnt wiring. This wire gets red hot at any position of the fan speed switch which controls the AC, or heat. I'm afraid of jeep catching on fire.

Filed Aug 29, 2018 · 125,000 miles · CA · fire

I was driving 45 MPH southbound on highway 101 in california. I started smelling a burning smell from under the hood. I was coming up to traffic and began to press the brake pedal and realized that I had very little brake pressure. I then switched lanes in preparation to get off the highway. As I got off the next exit with very little brake pressure, the smell got worse and smoke began to come out from under the engine bay. As soon as a I got off the next exit, I pulled into a parking lot and hand to use the hand brake to get the car to stop. I had no brake pressure left. As soon as I put the car in park, flames started coming out from under the engine bay. I grabbed what I could and exited the vehicle and called 911 requesting the fire department to put the fire out. The fire started under the left hand side of the engine bay. That is where the flames were seen visibly first. I have no aftermarket parts or mods outside of mopar (oem). Car has been maintained and service by putnam jeep in burlingame. No offroad usage either.

Filed May 3, 2018 · Body, Engine · 60,000 miles · IN · fire

I was driving down the road going 55 MPH and a huge gust of white smoke came thru the dash vent system so I pulled over and got out of my jeep sahara and noticed a big mass of white smoke coming out from under the hood... 2 minutes later, fire started and within a couple minutes my whole front part of the jeeps engine was engulfed in flames. Than from there it burned up the rest of the jeep.. This vehicle was completely destroyed in a matter of 10-15 minutes.. I was driving on a paved road in the country ..

Filed Jan 11, 2016 · Engine, Transmission · 81,000 miles · WA · fire

Monday, january 11, 2016 4:21 pm transmission fire. 2011 jeep wrangler rubicon with 81k miles all maintenance. No modifications and no off roading. Lost power on an inclined road. Then the car shut off after all the panels went crazy and then black smoke started pouring out of the hood area. Only thing that kept my car from going up in flames was it was pouring down rain and I was on an incline. The 100000 mile / 5 year power tran warranty ended the day before this happened. At the time I did not know it was an engine fire do to the rain and all the black smoke. The dealership has been no help and both did not even mention fire until I did further investigation and had a private mechanic look at it. I am in the process of waiting on an insurance adjuster to complete their investigation.

Filed Jul 17, 2015 · Engine · 67,766 miles · CA · fire

While frwy. Driving at approx. 72 MPH / 2600 rpms and without warning or indication of malfunction, we heard a pop, and immediately noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The driver maneuvered the vehicle to the right shoulder. Upon exiting the vehicle I noticed smoke and flames coming from the underside and engine compartment. My family immediately exited the vehicle and I used a fire extinguisher to extinguished the fire that was engulfing the engine compartment and undercarriage of the jeep. After extinguishing the fire, I was able to inspect the vehicle. I noticed a large hole in the lower engine block just behind the oil pan on the passenger side. Additionally, the metal heat shield that sits just to the side of the engine was bent backward. It appears that the engine malfunctioned and threw a bearing or other engine part through the outer motor casing releasing oil and causing the resultant fire and damage. However, I can not rule out a computer malfunction resulting in engine failure vs. Pure mechanical engine failure. It has been over two weeks since the incident and chrysler has just informed me they will not cover the repairs under the existing 5 year/50,000 mile drive train warranty that had not expired and was provided as part of the original purchase agreement in july 2011. Their response was "we have had the opportunity to review the inspection report and must inform you that we are not LED to believe that the incident was due to a manufacturing responsibility."