general problems of the 2018 Jeep Renegade - part 1

A faulty tail light connection to ground can cause a fire hazard, potentially affecting the circuit board. I noticed a burning plastic smell emanating from the back tail light one day, which I believe originated from this connection. If left unrepaired, this could potentially start a fire.

Driving down the road the Jeep shuts off. It’s done it 5 times now. It takes a bit to turn back on. Almost caused four accidents it shitting down instantly.

While driving the moving vehicle on 3 occasions my vehicle has stalled out with me driving it, however there is a recall online for the same year, make and model of my vehicle for the same exact problems I am experiencing and I am being told that there are no recalls for my VIN. This is a problem since (let me repeat myself) online a recall for same year, make and model experiencing the exact problems with vehicle stalling and shutting off while driving. This is a serious issue and I keep getting the run around from Jeep corporation not insuring the safety of their vehicles and the people that own them.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled for several seconds and then restarted. The contact stated that prior to the vehicle stalling, while stopped at a traffic light, several unknown warning lights illuminated and then turned off. The failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure and occurred whether driving in a straight line or turning left or right. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and an alternator check was performed, and the contact was informed that the alternator was functional. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. Recently, the check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated and remained illuminated. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

See attached document for complaint.

Uconnect screen is out. Started glitching but now it is completely black yet the touch part of it is responsive?? now if only I could remember exactly where everything is located and in what order. . Haha. Not. Also I have no backup camera view, not being able to see what temp my ac/heat is at or which mode it is on. What time is it even? how do I turn on the passenger heated seat for my daughter in the mornings and evenings when the temperature outside is below zero? how do I know where my next turn is when I am driving to a destination with my children and this is the first time I have ever seen, much less been on this road? it sucks!! and my android auto is no longer an option. . . Music?? the safety I could put myself and others in by having to look at and use my phone to change songs, artists, podcasts, make a call or change a gps route. . . Not cool! also the "fog light" running light on my passenger side does not work at times despite having changed the bulb, wiring, even though the fog light works just fine? and I have often felt like my transmission was slipping when accelerating from stop signs or at other times and that is insane considering the vehicle had less that 50k miles at the time. I want to love my Jeep like I once did yet all this has me questioning whether I would even ever purchase another Jeep. I also feel like my front end is loose and there is a wobbling and have had the mechanic check several times. It doesn't sound safe or feel safe. Yet what is truly most important is that I want and need my current Jeep to last me but all these issues kinda scare me to be honest. I want my screen back!!! I want my light to work at all times! I need my transmission to be wonderful!! I don't even have 95k on my Jeep yet!!! I am praying that submitting this report will help out in some ways.

Tried to turn on car and Jeep ecu started misfiring. I got the part replaced twice and it still did not work. Just stalled and engine refused to turn over. Was told it also was having fuel system problems.

About a month ago, I started noticing that my radio was making strange beeping sounds. Of course I’ve got the display, and I immediately noticed that those beeps were being caused by, what looked like an invisible person touching my screen. At first, it just was a nuisance, but quickly escalated to a radio and display screen that is completely unusable. . It didn’t matter whether my phone was bluetoothed to it or not, it’s a complete mess and won’t stay anywhere for more than a second. Today it interferes with my rear facing camera, not allowing you to turn on sometimes it does not even come on. I’ve been reading that a lot of Jeep Renegade owners in this 2018 time period are having this problem and, in my opinion, this should be a recall item. Absolutely because to fix it. “go from $1500-$2500.

The uconnect / touch screen display is constantly glitching- I can’t see anything other than striped lines and colors and/or a pitch black screen. I cannot use the rearview camera because of this, which creates a safety concern when backing up/reversing due to limited visibility without the rear view camera function. This problem has occurred with many other owners of the same vehicle (see posts online). The vehicle hasn’t been inspected but others had theirs inspected and claimed they were quoted $1,500+ for the screen repair, and even after repair, the screen malfunctioned again in a few weeks. The first sign of the issue was when I saw a thin, vertical green line through my touch screen, but it didn’t affect the visibility or usability of the screen so I thought nothing of it.

Stereo head unit screen went black. It started "glitchy" with streaks but eventually went black. No use of the rear back up camera or any functions on the head unit. . . Climate control, radio, setting, etc. I have seen online that this is common and I do not think it is right for a consumer to spend well over a 1000 to replace it. This is not a "wear" part. Disapointed in the quality of components in my Renegade.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at approximately 65 mph the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the daughter reported that the stall was abrupt and that there were no warning lights. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 18v524000 (electrical system), however her VIN was not part of the selection. The failure mileage was unknown.

The information screen, which displays the backup camera and everything else that the car does, from radio to climate control, glitches and then goes black. From what I’ve seen on the internet, this is a widespread problem and, since it deals with the backup camera, is directly safety related.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that many different electrical features controlled by the infotainment center were activated independently. The contact stated that the ac/heating system, defroster, bluetooth, and several other systems occasionally activated without driver intent. The dealer was informed of the failures; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,202.

Radio touch screen is now half black/out.

Driver side rear tail light assembly ground wire burned up and caused the tail light assembly to stop working. Replaced tail light assembly and wiring harness. This is a common failure on the Jeep Renegades and should be recalled due to safety.

The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Renegade. The contact stated that upon his daughter approaching the vehicle, she observed small flames emanating from front passenger side door which had by that time blacken the glass. The drivers boyfriend witness the flames originating from the glove compartment and attempted to extinguish the fire by hand; which failed but resulted in him sustaining injury to his right hand. The boyfriend was eventually able to extinguished the flames by disconnecting the battery. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard but had yet to be deemed a total lose by the contacts insurance provider. A fire report was not filed. A police report was not filed, but injuries were reported. The drivers boyfriend later transported himself to an area hospital and was treated for minor burns to his right hand. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was informed that the manufacturer intended to send an investigator to inspect the vehicle at the tow yard. The contact was later informed that a manufacturing defect was not deemed the cause of the fire and that he would receive no further assistance. The failure mileage was 47,000.

Unknown. Bought a 2018 Jeep Renegade, brand new and about 4-5 months ago, the screen started glitching. Sometimes, it only shows 1/3 of the screen, and there is a constant beeping as the screen switches between apps and stations. In other words, the screen is faulty, and it sometimes affects the reading of the digital speedometer. My car has only about 84k miles. I understand many others are experiencing similar issues with their 2018 Jeep Renegade.

The entire radio system begins to get white ghost lines which affects the rear back-up camera and rear safety systems, and it also affects the parking brakes when the vehicle is in park or stopped. The use of the radio system is required to do basic maintenance on the vehicle such as brake changes.

After purchasing a new battery due to multiple issues with a drained battery, when trying to jump the new battery the Jeep would not take a jump. The lights came on and indicated multiple issues and the steering wheel became immovable. The Jeep will not start and each time if left hooked up will drain fully charged battery.

I just bought a 2018 Jeep Renegade 4 month ago carmax, so far 6 times, the engine. Just shuts off, last time my wife going on the freeway. I'm afraid that someone may get killed. Is they anything you can do to help is there a recall. We bought extended warrenty. Or is the car a lemon.

Radio screen had lines going up and down, goes black while driving, car play disconnects, backup camera won’t work with lines going across screen or screen being black,.

The automobile will shut off during driving. On three separate occasions while driving the automobile has lost all drivability. The first occasion I was leaving work (01/02/2025) and as I went to accelerate on to the road from a dead stop, the engine shut off. I had to place the car back in park and depress the brake to start the engine again (by depressing the start engine button). The second occasion happened as I was entering the expressway (01/07/2025). I was turning off the main road onto the onramp of the expressway when the engine shut off again. This time I was accelerating up to around 40 mph when the engine shut off. Luckily, I was able to coast to a stop in the emergency lane. The steering locked up due to the engine shut down so I was not able to restart the car until putting it back in park to start the whole start sequence. The third occasion happened today (01/16/2025) as I was leaving school. I was leaving the parking lot when I went to accelerate from a stop the engine shut off again.

The radio screen is glitching and only showing about 1/4 of the screen this inhibits me from seeing the back up camera or gps on the screen. This is a safety concern.

My touchscreen stopped working and is showing black lines and will go completely black.

The dash board light comes on and turns off and this drains the battery, tried to start vehicle 2x to revive it and disconnected the display battery cord so the battery doen't turn on the display. Battery has been replaced new but screen is not working. Dealership has done diagnostics and radio replacement recommended.

Interior navigation screen has stopped working which interferes with the back up camera & other important features of the vehicle. Nothing specific happened, just went black on half of the screen one day.

My speedometer will change from mph to km on its own while I am driving. It will also keep changing back and forth making it a driver distraction. My dash screen is also going bad. I will definitely take it in for an inspection. I pulled into a rest area to assess what was going on with the electrical problem. There were not any warnings at all. It just happened so I have not informed anyone yet.

Radio has backup that went black. Cost is $1,200-$2,000 to get the radio fix. The map feature doesn’t work. Backup feature doesn’t work. I can’t adjust radio stations. I live in rural TN and need my radio to work for my protection. I live on social security. That would be my whole month paycheck. It should be covered.

The uconnect screen for the instrument controls and back up camera is partially blank. Had the uconnect replaced 3 years ago under extended warranty. This is the 2nd uconnect to go bad.

Unknown running lights and blinkers. Continually replace bulbs and either burn out black or just stop working. Possible wiring /electrical issues? dashboard computer works at random. Ongoing for about a year. Last 3 months the dashboard lightning bolt light flashes along with the service engine light. It will lose power to move forward while in motion and at times loses steering power as well. Speed doesn't seem to matter. Can be going 65 mph or 25 mph and happens at random. Usually flashing bolt light disappears after vehicle is turned off and restarted but service engine light remains on for a few days but then disappears after that. Vehicle has been brought in to be repaired and diagnosed several times at different locations but since the warning lights on the dash disappear, the scan device doesn't detect an issue. Ongoing malfunction is potentially dangerous and very frightening despite how fast the vehicle is moving. Not sure how to move forward with resolution when nobody seems to find what is wrong with it? money continually spent on trying to diagnose without resolution is frustrating and not knowing details puts others at risk as well. No active recalls and have not found or any prior recalls that would explain. Light issues are inconvenient but mentioned in the chance they are a component of the source of bigger issues that may include electrical , powertrain, etc. . . . *dashboard warning lights along with loss of driving power has happened on multiple different occasions. In additional details below I will record most current episode.

The screen started to glitch out for periods at a time. Now it is just black and nothing works on it now, including the backup camera (safety issue). The seat warmers and steering wheel warmer is on but now there’s no way to turn them off. The amount of people that complain of the same issues online is insane, this needs to be recalled.

Navigation screen not working reboot by disconnecting battery temporarily fixes problem worsening screen problems.

Fuel gage no longer accurately displays fuel level after a sudden loss of power of vehicle, and transmission lags when shifting gears.

The rear view camera was glitchy for a few years until finally becoming completely disabled due to the car play system malfunctioning. I have blind spots on each side of the back of my car that do not allow me to check for oncoming traffic when backing out. This also includes looking out for pedestrians. It has come to my attention that this may be a manufacturing issue as multiple clients have complained about similar issues.

Engine stall. The first time it happened I was going about 35 mph down the street and the car quit accelerating. Engine still running all the lights on did not notice any warning lights. Coasted into a parking lot. Turned off car and restarted and drove 1/2 block home. Read online to start car in auxiliary mode three or five times. Did that and did not have a problem. About 3 or so weeks later, it happened on the highway and almost caused a wreck. Very scary! I got to the side of the road 3 times. Restarted and barely would start driving and it would happen again. Had car towed to dealership and started claim with Jeep. They can not duplicate the problem and find no codes. Other issues: passenger car entry warning, head module? or display will call people randomly, change radio stations and the reverse camera will come on while I'm driving, needs new struts ( only drive highway and in town ), uneven tire wear, auto windshield wipers does not work. Slow to shift out of first gear and jolts car when it shifts. Been at dealership for 3 weeks +.