2020 JEEP COMPASS Engine Problems

75 NHTSA complaints on file

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Engine Issues in the 2020 JEEP COMPASS

75 engine complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2020 JEEP COMPASS. Of these, 0 involved a crash, 1 involved a fire, and 0 resulted in injury.

75
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

All Engine Complaints

#11718918 |
I’ve had this car since March 8, 2020 and from the very beginning I’ve had electrical issues at first. It started with just my lights flickering the dashboard as well and it progressed overtime and also gave my different messages on my dashboard. The radio would shut off making it impossible to use my backup camera as well, I wasn’t able to take it to the dealer because when I called they said that it all had to come out of my pocket, even though I had just bought the car so it was a little impossible for me to be able to afford that at the moment so I put it all off overtime. It did progress and I had to get the battery switched out twice as well as the second battery this happened while I was pregnant and it actually was because the car stalled out on...
#11708586 |
I tried the auto start on the fob car would not start I tried to the push start nothing again . Did get warning coolant temp high Had to tow car They are investigating
#11708267 |
My vehicle’s engine has shut off completely in the middle of the road TWICE, both on busy highways. The first time, I was turning left and the engine shut off as I was turning into oncoming traffic and was stuck in the middle of two lanes. Second time, I was stopped at a red light and the engine shut off again. Once the car is turned off and back on, the light for the Auto Stop/Start came on and said to service the Stop/Start feature. The first incident, I had the car brand new for maybe a week. The second incident just happened last week.
#11705159 | Fire
On December 9th, my Jeep compass caught fire in Tyson’s corner parking lot (1750 Tysons BLVD). The fire department believes it came from the engine. No warning signs such as engine lights or temperature overheating prior. The car was parked in a spot when this occurred. My daughter was in the car and smelled smoke, car was turned off, got out and it was smoking and sparking then caught fire. 911 was called during this process and came to the scene. The insurance is aware and deemed it total loss. The police and fire department have records we are trying to obtain. The fire spread to other cars.
#11699972 |
While driving the 2020 Compass a message will s poradically appear on the dashboard display about "High Coolant Temperature" and immediately sends the vehicle power to shut down and after a couple of seconds the error disappears and the temperature returns to normal. It once shut the engine down completely in the middle of the street and I had to put car in park in middle of traffic and then restart it. This happens at all rates of speed - on the highway driving 65 mph or on a city road driving 40 mph. Dates is has happened that I took note of: 09/11/2025, 10/04/2025, 11/01/2025 and 11/17/2025. It has happened previous to 09/11/2025 as well. It is a serious safety issue to loose power while driving.
#11690201 |
Coolant temperature warning and sudden engine shutdowns. This has occurred multiple times in 3 months. started when car was at 50K miles. we have been unable to control the vehicle in traffic when this happens. Dealership (Dave Denis jeep-Dayton, Ohio) was unable to find a problem.
#11685871 |
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the 4WD engaged and disengaged while driving down the road. The contact stated that the brakes locked up while 35 MPH. Additionally, the computer became inoperable. The contact stated that the battery was replaced, but the vehicle failed to charge. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The Service 4WD message was displayed and the Auto START/STOP feature was inoperable. During inclement weather of snow or rain, the 4WD failure was more prevalent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
#11683522 |
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed driving visibility and prevented the safe operation of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at a slow speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle stalled. An unknown warning light was flashing on the gear shift lever. The contact restarted the vehicle; however, there was an abnormal humming sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was not taken to the local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
#11676770 |
The (A) this automatically temporarily pause the idling of the engine when stopping at a light or stop sign. I’ve noticed that it’ll shut my car off completely as if the battery has died. I’ve been put in scary situations due to heavy traffic. I’ve held up traffic for at least 3-10 minutes. ( my battery is less than 2-3 yrs old). So, for now I’ve started turning that function off upon starting the car before I put it in gear. Any complaints about that anyone know of?
#11674339 |
Driving down a busy street going about 40MPH and the car spontaneously turned off and completely lost power while I was driving. It was off for less than a minute and when it turned back on the yellow “start/stop function “ dashboard indicator light was on. The car restarted on its own but that light remained on until I got home and turned the car off. When I turned the car back on the light was gone. It has not happened again, I took the car to a local Jeep dealership and they said it might be a battery issue. The car is available for inspection. Nobody was hurt but I am concerned because if this were to occur on the highway it in a location where I was not able to pull over it could cause a serious accident as the car was driving at 40MPH at the time...
#11665533 |
I was driving down the road going about 40mph. The car stopped abruptly and displayer low coolant warning. Car would not restart. I towed it to a local mechanic who replaced the auxiliary battery. Car has been working and hasn't shut off but warning lights sometimes pop up for a split second. I'm worried it's going to happen again while driving.
#11665192 |
My car shut off and wouldn’t start it said the asc failed I took it to the dealership they did a diagnostic test said my aux battery level was low need replaced I replaced that my engine light is still on I have to put it on a battery charger everyday so I can go to work then it wouldn’t start at work I needed someone to give me a jump it’s stills said I needed mine esc service and it saying my temperature is too high it only has 58.884 miles on it I wish I never got this jeep I bought it brand new and I had to replace both front tire rod ends I’m beyond upset it also said my car was not in park when it was it wouldnt start I overrided the gear shift but it still wouldn’t start
#11664718 |
I had to get my engine replaced a year after I got it. The vehicle has an overheating issue. The vehicle oil pressure sensor goes off. The emergency break comes on. I don’t know where the engine light flashes the EI had to get my engine replaced a year after I got it. The vehicle has a overheating issue. The vehicle oil pressure sensor goes off. The emergency brake comes on. I don’t know where the engine light flashes the ECS light come on the cooling and oil mix together out of nowhere
#11653390 |
The vehicle mostly jerks when in drive mode/accelerating. There is possible oil leakage (slightly for the time being).
#11639792 |
Car won’t start due to Low Coolant error, fluids are fine.
#11636034 |
The engine is shutting down in the middle of Driving. While driving and happening at random the vehicle will have a message populate stating coolant temp high. the engine will turn off and turn back on if the vehicle is being driven. IF the vehicle is stopped and this happens the vehicle will shut down with same message car needs to be put in park from the drive mode and restarted. This has happened countless times and Jeep cannot fix the issue nor replicate as it happens randomly. This is a safety concern as it has happened on the highway and just stopped at time while driving. At the same time of this happening the check engine light comes on as well. The car has been to separate dealerships with neither of them being able to replicate the issue.
#11631311 |
My trancontrol started to run hot,and the vehicle started to jerk when it in motion and My driver shaft went bad and the transfer case assembly went outthe jeep compass is broken down
#11626957 |
Car had high coolant temperature warning come up on dash and car went into limp mode but then just cleared and continued to drive fine. Recently had auxiliary battery replaced due to auto start/stop not working.
#11620797 |
Car engine turned off while driving, e brake was activated with out warning. Car stopped, and the D on the shaft was flashing, vehicle placed in park and was turned off by driver. Car would not restart and could not depress the brake. Car was stuck in the middle of road. After several attempts car sputtered on and was able to be driven to a safe location. No warning lights activated on car, initial eye inspection didn’t see anything out of place. No fluid leaking. Battery was operational entire time
#11620687 |
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
#11610856 |
2020 Jeep Compass ran hot and started beeping. First was told it needed a system flush by mechanic. There was no prior warnings of any sort as the car has has had regular fluid changes (Oil etc) it appeared on 8/17/2024. Now its a 'transmission coolant fail' I have no idea how this happened at 91k miles.
#11610277 |
This issue has been happening sporadically over the last couple of years, but it's starting to happen more often. When driving normally, the check engine light will flash, a message "Coolant temp too high" will appear in red, and the car turns off. Sometimes it will turn back on immediately and drive fine, other times I have to leave it turned off for up to 2 minutes. This happened to me twice on my drive to drop off my kid at school, and on my way to the office, on a busy highway during traffic. All maintenance has been done on time, and there are no error codes when I get it scanned. I get met with shrugs and "could try ..." I see others have been having similar issues, so I am going to post here as well.
#11609542 |
I was driving home and got an error message that the coolant temperature was too high, even though the gauge showed it to be right in the middle at the normal level. The car then locked up and I was unable to turn the steering wheel for a terrifying few seconds. The car then restarted itself and I was able to drive home. a while later, I tried to start the car and it would not start and kept giving me the error message that the coolant was too high even though the gauge shows the level to be The very bottom of the temperature on the cool side. I checked the coolant levels and they were a little low so I added more coolant up to the max level and waited a few hours. Then I tried to start it again and it still will not start. Additional error...
#11596694 |
At first my car would only display the “Coolant Temp Too High” message if I came to a complete stop, and went again.. or if i would go over a certain speed. At that time, i could pull over, turn it off, wait a few minutes, and turn it back on and i could watch my coolant temp drop drastically.It has progressively gotten worse to the point that i cannot drive the vehicle longer than five minutes without it overheating. I do the same thing, pull off and wait and turn it back on. It starts to go down a bit, however, as soon as i pull out and begin to drive it, it starts to raise back up immediately. There have been times where the message will display as soon as i turn the car on in the morning.. Please help me. I am a young college student and...
#11595912 |
Yes, I bought a brand new 2020 Jeep Compass North Edition from a Wisconsin dealer in June 2020. I drove across country to Utah where I know reside. Had no problems on that trip. About 10 months later I started experiencing a "High temp coolant" light come on and the vehicle shuts off and locks up. Very dangerous while driving. After about 30 seconds I could restart it. It happened about 10 times. Then another alarm came on stating "Service electronic throttle control." As well as the "High temp coolant" warning. Milage at this time was 21K. Took it to a dealership because of the extended warranty I purchased. They replaced both batteries but could not get it to "error out" again. They also stated that there were no error codes stored in the memory, even though I had pictures of the dash showing the error codes. I could not...
#11595828 |
The driveshaft failed at only 32,000 miles and the engine is failing. The dealership confirmed this is happening for other vehicles of my make and model.
#11595217 |
I was dropping someone off at work, stopped at the front door, after it said high coolant temperature and my car shut off and rolled, I was about to get in a parking spot. Then I had to get my car towed because I did not want to risk it happening again. My engine and whole car shut off. It was towed to a certified dealership upon request, and is still being checking out. I could have put anyone at risk being in a public area with other cars and people around me but luckily no one was injured. The problem has not be confirmed yet. No the Vehicle has not been inspected by police or insurance. It was given to Jeep. The only warning sign was the high coolant then it shut my car off. It first appeared right before it happened.
#11589046 |
Since i bought this , he gave me a lot of trouble, i though thay gave me bad car is lemon car, when i went to the dealer it take month to fixe , i though they fixe but nothing happen, right know they have the car and when never someone like diagnostic can fixe the problem, i want to change
#11588246 |
We drove to the grocery store 5 minutes away. After being in the store for about 15 minutes we returned to go home. We tried starting the car and it wouldn’t start, message “High coolant temperature” came on with orange engine light. We waited 5 minutes, started again and all the warning lights flashed and the car locked up. Nothing would engage, even the brakes. We had to abandon the car in the lot and walk home.
#11574325 |
Coolant mixing with oil three times in a month span with new parts being replaced. With further inspection, driver was not at fault. Vehicle malfunctioned. Overheating after replacement of thermostat, head gasket, and water pump. Auto start/stop goes on and off requesting service.
#11567866 |
The first incident happened with my 2020 jeep Compass on 12/27/23 while on the freeway the temp light flashed the gage didn't indicate overheating I got off the freeway check the engine no sign of overheating waited for awhile then started the car again within five minutes car gage went to overheating had it towed the oil cooler went out out mixed with the coolant paid big bucks for the repairs. I got my jeep back on 1/10/2024 drove it for one week then on 1/16/2024 while driving the dash panel flashed car lost speed even pressing the gas peddle to the floor no acceleration while pulling over the emergency break engaged stoping the car in the road. restarted still no acceleration and car won't move in natural or reveres wheels lock can only move forward at low speed, 01/25/2024 car towed from my mechanic to dealership. Scared to keep...
#11566630 |
My 2020 compass keeps shutting off on its own. I will be driving and next thing you know it will start saying "key has left vehicle " or a different message saying a long the lines of its over heating. After the over heating message, the car will completely turn off on me making it hard to steer out of the road. I somehow have yo make it safely out of the way to turn it off and restart it. Im just scared one day it will happen on the highway when cars are going by so fast and ill end up getting in a collision. No solution to the problem. The dealership doesn't know whats going on or even have a clue as to what to look for. This is definitely a safety issue and im upset because no one knows how to fix it. I spent my hard...
#11566192 |
engine shutting off at highway speed, loss of acceleration at highway speeds and shutting down and not restarting at stop signs or stop lights.
#11552403 |
On October 28, 2023 I was making a turn at a major intersection and a coolant temperature high warning flashed on the dash display and the power to the vehicle shut down. Luckily this happened when it was not overly busy as I could have been killed by cross traffic as I was making a turn. At no time did the vehicle overheat and all that had to be done was to restart the vehicle to reset the error. If this had happened on the highway this could have caused a major accident as when the power goes out like this the steering locks.
#11548391 |
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle would not start. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
#11547790 |
Vehicle experience a dashboard message stating “High Coolant Temperature” or “Coolant Temperature Too High” followed by an immediate engine shutdown.” it happens while I'm driving or at a idle.
#11547500 |
Engine consumes oil rapidly. The touchscreen does not work and shuts off after start-up. Without the touchscreen, the rearview camera does not work, making this problem one of safety. Also, you can not turn on or off safety features in the settings mode, since the screen is blank.
#11545511 |
When trying to start vehicle it displays a “Service Electrical System” error followed by “Coolant Temperature Too High” my coolant gauge sky rockets red and then returns to a very low level. The vehicle has not overheated and has been parked and cooled off completely before trying to start. It is now causing my vehicle to throw messages saying my back up light, brake light, and blinker lights are out but all lights work as they are intended.
#11544999 |
I was making a left turn when the temperature indicator shot up to red, it had been reading right in the middle which is normal. Then "coolant temperature high" lit up on the dashboard display. The car started to sputter (like shaking) as I was going through the intersection and I thought it was going to turn off completely. I hit the gas because there was still oncoming traffic and it seems like the car recovered. The gauge showing the temperature slowly went back to normal and the error light went away. The same situation happened about 3 months ago when my husband was driving. However, he was sitting at a light when the temperature went up and the error occurred. The car completely shut down and had to be restarted.
#11535837 |
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30 MPH, a low oil pressure warning light illuminated intermittently, and the gears failed to shift as designed. The contact also stated that the front of the vehicle was shaking, causing an abnormal sound. The vehicle was taken to a dealer the low oil pressure sensor was replaced. After the repair, the failure reoccurred and the vehicle was taken to another dealer, Harr Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (110 Gold Star Blvd, Worcester, MA 01606) where the service tech was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
#11524689 |
While at a stoplight the engine stalled and the instrument cluster displayed a "coolant temperature high" message. After restarting the engine the temperature gauge displayed the normal mid temp. This has happened once before when reversing in the driveway at home. This scenario is identical to the open investigation at NHTSA from December 2022.
#11520171 |
Engine temporarily shut itself off by itself in the freeway as I was slowing down pressing my brakes because of the cars in front of me in traffic hour. The car flashed a “coolant temperature too high” message then immediately turned itself off for a minute. The engine/coolant temperature gauge was normal the whole time I was driving (in between the cold and the high sign). But even then it flashed that “coolant temperature too high” message and shut itself off right then for a minute after it flashed me that sign. It was over 100 degrees fahrenheit outside and inside the car without ac it was awful. I immediately turn on my four ways but cars still kept coming up behind me even though I could not move my car. The car would not turn on. I changed gears from drive to neutral and then to park. And after...
#11520327 |
Unknown as to exact issue. In August 2021, spark plug blew (according to dealer) in the middle of an intersection after the auto “off” and the engine would not turn back on at approximately 8K miles. The spark plug was replaced under warranty. Starting in April 2023, around 31K miles, on two separate occasions after the auto start/stop is in use. It will turn off unexpectedly and without warning after the vehicle has come to a stop. Both times the vehicle could not be turned completely off and restarted for at least one minute. No messages appear on screen. Both issues appear to be related to the Stop/Start feature. Two different dealers have not been able to identify issue.
#11519182 |
The vehicle was in motion going 40 MPH when the dashboard displayed high coolant temp. The dashboard continued to flash other warnings such as check engine and oil change required. Then, the emergency brake light was on, engine light, and oil light. This caused the vehicle to lose total power in the accelerator and partial power in the brakes. The event led my vehicle to cause a complete stop in the middle of a highway. To the resolve the issue, I powered off the engine and restarted the vehicle. After powering the vehicle back on, all was normal other than the check engine light was still on, but it did run perfectly fine. Coolant level in reservoir is normal. This instance has taken place on multiple occasions.
#11512071 |
Electronic Malfunctions The Jeep completely turn off. Energy lights did not turned on both batteries died. Unable to move the car to “N” to move it out of the freeway. CHP used flares to detour the traffic. Could have been a feral accident due to the electrical turning completely off on the freeway
#11511895 |
On 4 occasions, months apart, my 2020 Jeep Compass has given me a dashboard alert stating “coolant temperature too high” and the engine immediately stalls and shuts down. The first 3 times this occurred, the check engine light would come on and the vehicle would not restart and other alerts such as “service 4WD system” and “EBS not available” would display. At no time was the vehicle overheating or the actual coolant temperature above normal operating temperature. After sitting in the middle of an intersection for 5-10 minutes, the vehicle would finally turn on with the check engine light being off and no alerts displayed. The vehicle would then drive like nothing ever happened for a few months. The most recent time this unexpected shutdown occurred, as I slowed to approach a left hand turn the vehicle gave the coolant temperature error and shut down, losing power steering and making...
#11502752 |
The contact owns a 2020 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while approaching a traffic light, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,774.
#11500726 |
Car showed false high coolant message. And the engine shut off and would not start again
#11499475 |
Engine stalling, false overheating reading, battery failing. Radio screen getting stuck with review camera, radio not shutting off after vehicle shuts off, car in park but is not recognized by the system, TIMP issues stop and start function not working properly, losing oil, ESC needs attention. A whole lot of headache. Car has been broke down for a month with 27000 miles and making payment unable to drive.
#11497915 |
Vehicle started indicating High Coolant temperature then engine would shut down. It would restart after shut off. Radio would fade in an out . While vehicle was in motion the engine should shut down and had to pull over and restart the vehicle. This happened on several occasions before the vehicle completely shut down. Towed vehicle to dealership with a repair of $700 to replace both batteries.
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