2016 Jeep Wrangler: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jan 16, 2025 · Engine · 150,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a significant amount of smoke coming from underneath the hood and entering the cabin of the vehicle through the A/C vents. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while her one-year-old child was inside the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to McCoy's Auto Repair, where it was diagnosed and determined that the oil filter housing was fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Aug 4, 2024 · Brakes · NC

"Jeep Death Wobble" - I was informed by my mechanic that the Automatic Braking System module will need to be replaced. This was after numerous attempts to fix what is being referred to online as the Jeep Death Wobble online - widespread complaints online and on Jeep forums. Previous attempts to resolve this issue included alignment, new pads, brake pads, new brake rotors, 4 new tires. Despite all of this expense ($2k +) the jeep continued to wobble erratically and unsafely at around 44 MPH because the brakes are engaging or partially engaging. The temperature of the brakes and rims exceeded the range of the brake temperature sensor my mechanic used so he cautioned the car could vehicle could catch on fire if driven more than a short distance. The ABS module is on back order for months so I am out of luck to fix the vehicle. Jeep claims this is only a supply chain issue but based on what I see as widespread problems, it seems to also be a demand issue - this is happening to many other drivers and should be a safety concern for instability (hence the name Death Wobble) if not also for fires.

Filed May 12, 2023 · Engine · VA

Internal manual transmission problem. Cannot put jeep in 3rd gear. Burning smell

Filed Dec 16, 2022 · Electrical · TX · fire

I started my Jeep. After a few minutes I could smell smoke and something burning. The alarm started going off, wipers came on, radio etc. smoke came inside cab . I tried to shut everything off but it wasn’t working. I started seeing flames around the hood. My husband was able to disconnect the battery and the fire died out. Insurance would not cover it and said it was electrical. The fuse box was melted and wire harnesses. The vehicle was right by our garage and could’ve caught our house on fire. My son and I were in the vehicle when the fire started. Thank God we weren’t hurt. I did report this but was told it wasn’t Jeeps fault. A week later another jeep caught fire in the small town I live in. Something isn’t right.

Filed Nov 16, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · PA · fire

Parked vehicle outside corner of home at 9:00 pm. Awoken by loud popping and hissing sounds at 4:45AM. Looked outside to notice a bright orange hue by vehicle. Realizing the car was on fire, we called 911 and proceeded to use garden hose to water down both the vehicle and the home that the car was next to, in order to try to prevent the house from also catching fire. Vehicle was not moved nor accessed during those 7 overnight hours. It was locked and we were all asleep. There were two other vehicles parked next to and behind the vehicle that caught fire - those two other vehicles sustained no damage to them. The house sustained some minimal siding warping from the heat of the fire. Fire chiefs reviewing the damage in person as well as viewing photos have stated that it appears to be battery or fuse box related as that side of the engine's damage was greatest as well as the battery and fuse box being completely destroyed by the fire. No warning lights or indications of system failures or malfunctions prior to parking the car. Vehicle was towed away from scene by insurance company. Unsure if vehicle is still at that lot or not. Insurance deemed vehicle totaled and issued check for losses.

Filed Feb 28, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · 65,700 miles · AL · fire

The contact owns a 2016 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that upon replacing the engine oil himself, he noticed that oil was leaking onto the transmission. The contact stated that there was no smell of oil burning or any smoke coming from the oil leak. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil filter housing was cracked. The dealer replaced the oil filter housing and repaired the vehicle; however, while the mechanic was test driving the vehicle, the vehicle caught on fire under the hood. There were no injuries sustained. The fire was extinguished with the assistance of the fire department. A fire department report was filed. There was no police report. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent an inspector who diagnosed that the fire started under the hood. The contact stated that he believed the fire started out as an electrical fire. The manufacturer advised the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under warranty; and that the repair would be at his own expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 65,700.

Filed Nov 18, 2021 · Engine · CA

I have a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 2016 that suddenly lost power in fast moving traffic with intermittent miss fire and blinking check engine light along with smoke and smell of burning oil. Looking into the engine from the top a large , deep pool of oil was sitting in the middle of the engine and working its way on to hot components of engine and exhausts and smoking. This could have easily become fire hazard in high temperature desert environment where running temperatures and hot exhaust pipes could start a fire. The engine miss fire and sudden loss of power was checked to be failing ignition coils and plugs that are supposed to be warrantied to 100K miles. The Pentastar V6 3.6 oil cooler was leaking badly and its effect could have been disasterous for the engine and car safety. The Oil Cooler faulty plastic design on this engine is a well known problem that Chrysler is refusing to address as recall on Wranglers sold . There are hundreds of complaints and cases of failure of this plastic component on the internet and the dealers are all well aware of it and happy to charge $2k for replacement. Chrysler and the dealer refused to admit the faulty oil cooler design and also would not accept ignition coil and spark plug replacement under the Std 80,000 miles California Emission Control warranty that come with all engines sold in CA. Chrysler is hiding this faulty design on Wranglers but accepted it on other Chrysler cars.

Filed Aug 4, 2021 · Engine · OH

Oil filter housing/Oil cooler cracked. Dealership says its a common problem on 2014+ jeeps with 3.6 liter engine yet Jeep hasn't issued a recall. Dealer stated that this seems to happen around 50,000 miles on vehicle. No warning lights came on, noticed smoke coming from under hood when driving from oil falling onto exhaust. When pulled over large amount of oil was coming out from underside of Jeep. This happened with 43k miles on the vehicle which is right around where the dealer said they were seeing a large amount of failures for this part.

Filed Mar 2, 2021 · Engine · LA

The oil filter housing is made of plastics and it cracks and oil leaks on to exhaust which could cause a fire and also environmental issuer due to oil leaking on ground. This is a big problem with the jeep pentastar 3.6 v6 engine. After contacting jeep dealers to fix leak they tell me the part is on back order due to so many jeep and cars that have this part. The number they gave me is over 40,000 and time frame of getting one could be a month. This explains why jeep drop power train warranty from 100,000 miles to 60,000. I noticed a little leak at 65,000 mile and now at 70,000 miles you have to keep adding oil or park it due to maybe it catching on fire. One dealer told me he had 30 vehicle sitting on lot waiting on part.I feel jeep should have a re-call for this issuer. Now I have a jeep that I can't use for a month or more if lucky.

Filed Dec 28, 2020 · Engine · 67,000 miles · TN

Engine oil cooler fail, extreme fire hazard. Small amount of oil found on driveway while parked, attempted to locate source by starting engine. Oil flooded out of the engine, streaming down the engine to the frame. Had my wife driven the jeep to work it would've probably caught fire once the oil reached the exhaust.

Filed Dec 26, 2020 · Engine · 77,000 miles · LA

I noticed an oil burning smell and upon further inspection saw oil all over the undercarriage of my vehicle including the transmission and exhaust . Looked under the hood and noticed oil underneath my engine cover by the oil filter housing. So now every time I drive it smells like it's on fire. So I guess they are not worried about the people who buy their vehicles burning up.

Filed Dec 15, 2020 · Brakes, Transmission · AZ

I have gone through over 4 sets of mud terrain tires over the last two years that are unevenly worn and no one knew why. Most recently, the rear right tire had a sidewall gash and had a flat tire, we began smelling smoke and ended up taking the jeep into brakemasters and was told the entire rear differential was failing and falling apart. We had the rear diff replaced, brakes, rotors and paid $5000 out of pocket and as I was driving from home to tucson the other day to my maternity appointment, the back right tire began screeching while not braking and began sizzling and burning with oil coming out from the tire. I immediately stopped at the nearest brakemasters and they said that an entirely new rear differential is needed. Not only could the jeep have caught on fire with this safety issue but I kept losing control of the steering in the middle of the city with a 2 year old and one on the way. I am hoping to see some sort of resolution on this and to be communicated with other jeep owners of this safety issue.