Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2018 Jeep Compass submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 64 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 64, in the owner's own words
The headlights and interior lighting flickers when turned on. The vehicle often will not start, but once hooked up to a jumper pack starts immediately despite the batteries being inspected previously and being okay. The start/stop function doesn't always work, and the engine stalls while driving, causing a massive safety issue.
The contact owns a 2018 Jeep Compass. The contact stated that while receiving an oil change, the contact was informed that the passenger’s side headlight failed to operate. The contact attempted to replace the light bulb; however, the headlight failed to illuminate. The original light bulb was reinstalled. The contact stated that the START/STOP system failed to restart the vehicle after an idle stop. The message “Battery Charging System Failure” was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
Headlights work intermittently. Driver side comes on but passenger side doesn’t or vise versa. Also sometimes neither come on. No warning messages or anything. Yes the jeep dealership saw the issue with the lights and so did an independent mechanic.
My driver's side headlights stops working intermittently. This occurs quite randomly. I have replaced the bulbs, the switch, and after taking it to a dealer, I ended up replacing the driver's side headlight assembly. Nothing has worked, and now I am hundreds of dollars poorer for my trouble. This is clearly a safety issue, and judging from what I have seen in online forums, there are a great many others with the same problem. This is a safety issue that falls squarely on the manufacturer to remedy, and to compensate its customers for our losses.
The electrical system and start/stop system has went blizzark and began loosing power going in and out of limp mode the headlights no longer work on one side and high beam isn't bright anymore I've replaced the auxiliary battery and the normal battery has begun to short circuit and cannot decide if it's full charged or down to 8volts when their began happening it was during a rainstorm and I was left stalled in mid intersection ....even a jump wouldn't fix the problem. I had it towed to my dealership where the mechanics were unable to diagnose the problem but did get it to happen again going down the highway they then also had it towed back to the shop and replaced the auxiliary battery it didn't happen again until 3 months later now it's getting worse each day i will replace the battery but then I'd like to have my electrical problems looked into but I have read many 9the people having the same issues even after the recall of an electrical chip and I wander if it shouldn't also.be replaced a second time
I bought my vehicle in May of 2019. In May 2021 my car had 34,000 miles on it and the passenger side headlight was out. I took it to the dealership and they replaced my left headlight assembly (vehicle was under warranty). In October 2024, I noticed that my headlight on the passenger side was out again. My vehicle had 56,426 miles on it. I called the dealership (South Point Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Austin, TX) up to 9 times and no one responded to my calls. Due to their lack of response, I took it to a shop up the road that specializes in Jeeps. When the shop took a look at the issue, they found that both headlights were actually out. First they tried just replacing the bulbs, and that didn't work. So they replaced the entire headlight assembly on both sides. This fixed the issue for maybe 3 weeks. My headlights are still out. I took it back to the shop for help and they told me they cannot help me, as everything looks to be set up right. I have spent over $1,200 in repair costs and ubers to get this issue fixed and I am at a loss. Looks like this is a common issue with 2018 Jeep Compasses. I filed a case against Jeep and they immediately denied my case. This is very concerning given I do have to drive at night and early mornings to travel to work.
A cable going to the driver's side headlamp assembly was intermittently shorting and causing the headlight to turn off while driving. The cable and entire headlamp assembly had to be replaced to fix the issue. There are other reports of this issue on [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My headlights only work on random occasions. The bulbs don’t need replacing so it seems electrical. I can’t drive at night now because I never know if I’ll be able to see or not with this issue.
The vehicle is a 2018 Jeep Compass Limited with the VIN [XXX] ####. I purchased it used on [XXX]. On [XXX], I noticed a problem with the headlights. They have been flickering between both headlights almost daily since then. On [XXX], both headlights were out, and I needed to drive at night. After about half a mile, the passenger headlight turned on, and after another half mile, the driver’s headlight came on. I’ve attached photos taken on October [XXX] and [XXX] to illustrate the issue. It’s a serious safety concern. This is just one of several dozen reports of the same problem. The manufacturer must be informed about this issue and initiate a recall once they have a solution to ensure that the headlights remain on when they’re supposed to. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Low and high beams. Come on at intermediate times sometimes the passenger side will be on and there will be no driver side. Sometimes they will not come on at all. No matter how many turns you turn the light or flick. The switch I've replaced both headlights and the ballasters. Still to no Avail. They do not work all the time.
HEADLIGHT WILL NOT COME ON. BOTH HAVE BEEN REPLACED. ONE MAY COME ON BUT THE OTHER WILL NOTCOME ON.
We realized a headlight malfunction where the headlights randomly and intermittently turn off. Sometimes they both work, sometimes one or the other works. A year ago, we seemed to notice a headlight go out, then they both worked. It happened again, so we replaced the bulb. Just last night, my wife happened to be following me home at night and her right headlight wouldn't turn on. In the middle of driving, both headlights went out. Then, shortly after, her left headlight went out and the right one came back on. I searched Jeep forums and discovered this is actually a very common problem and is not unique. This is an extremely hard issue to recognize due to the intermittent nature and poses a serious safety hazard driving at night. Given that it is obvious (took me 5 minutes) to realize there were countless other Jeep Compass owners having the issue, and the fact that headlights are a serious safety issue, I strongly recommend the NHTSA take a look into the issue. If you have any inspectors in the Dallas Fort-Worth area that would like to inspect this vehicle, please let me know.
The driver side headlight went out approximately 8 months after purchasing the vehicle used which was out of the 6 months that the dealer had a warranty. I have replaced the headlight and ballast and it is still not working properly. I have checked and confirmed voltage by testing the driver side against the passenger side which does work and all voltages match going into the rear plug of the headlight assembly. Looking on forums, I am not the only individual with this problem and the dealership wants to charge $170.00 dollars to run a diagnostic. This problem is certainly not due to lack of preventative maintenance, this appears to be a defect in the vehicle itself.
Head light problem lights not working took to dealership brought a new headlight assembly that didn’t fix the problem waited 7 hours they still couldn’t fix the problem took vehicle home I replaced a fuse,relay, and bulb that fix the problem . Six months later the same problem headlight please look in to this , need to be recalled.
I was getting my car serviced, I was getting a State inspection the mechanic told me they could not inspect the vehicle due to the fact that a headlight was not working.. they tried replacing the headlight it still did not work.. I had to leave without getting my vehicle inspected!! I was going to try to take it to the dealer to try and get it fixed.. I checked on line and found several other Jeep owners of this make and model also 2018 Jeep Compass had electrical problems involving the headlights.. at times I would turn vehicle on and both lights would be on. On other times only one headlight would be working. Some times if I would cycle thru the switch both lights would come on, other times not.. This is unsafe driving around with one headlight and not knowing when it will happen.I have spoken to both dealerships in the area, and they are no help.. they want me to bring vehicle in to troubleshoot the problem openended I do not have the money for this and Since it is happening to other people with this particular year and make vehicle I think it is a problem that should be looked into..by Jeep! This just started on my vehicle when the mileage reached approximately 32,000 miles I have owned this vehicle since 2019. Thanks for any help available..
Head lights not working.
HID headlights only work intermittently. no headlights randomly while driving is extremely dangerous. two dealers have reviewed vehicle and have no fix. issue is constant and one light is off 95% of the time, sometimes driver side, sometimes passenger side, sometimes no lights at all. no warning lamps in the dash, vehicle thinks its working fine. this has been ongoing for over a year.
The headlights do not work reliably. The first time this happened was in June but seemingly resolved itself until this last week. Sometimes the passenger side only works, sometimes the driver side only, sometimes neither side. They will come on and go off or only one will come on or go off as they please. There is no pattern or rhyme or reason. There are no warning lights; in fact, the car says Lights On, the symbol for the high beams shows as on when I pull or push forward, but neither is. This has not been inspected yet but will be shortly. There are several complaints online about this intermittent headlight issue. Even after relays, ballasts, and fuses have been changed. The car is only 5 years old, the last thing I should be worrying about is the headlights.
2018 Jeep Compass Limited has the OEM Bi-Xenon option equipped. The issue is with both headlights operating intermittently. It does not matter what position the headlight switch is in (Auto, On) they continue to alternate turning on and off. Sometimes one will come on and the other will be extremely delayed (15-20 minutes), sometimes both are delayed, and sometimes they do not come on at all. Shutting off and restarting the engine power does not help. The issue seems sometimes is worse if stopping for, at night, errands where the headlights then will not turn on at all. Later, next day, the whole issue starts again. This is a very serious issue.
Intermittent issue occurs where my radio screen looses power or displays code error please restart system, blinkers stop working, thermometer on display shows 2 dashes, climate controls stop working, hazards won’t work, directional buttons on steering wheel and ok button do not work to change display on dash. all of these happen at same time intermittently
Headlights come on sometimes sometime, other times driver will come and passanger side won't, or passanger side will come on and driver side will not. Seems to be some sort of issue other then headlights because when they do work they seem to work fine but randomly one or the other does not work. Makes it unsafe to drive at night and worry that if we are out for a late drive we may randomly end up with no headlights at all.
2018 Jeep Compass with OEM Bi-Xenon Headlights w/DRL. The right headlamp assembly bulb will frequently not turn on no matter what position you turn the headlights on to. Some days I am left with only driving with one operating headlight since the other won’t flicker on. This has been brought to my local dealership who found no source to problem.
We purchased our 2018 Jeep Compass in December 2022, we started having problems with the headlights in January 2023 only 1 month after purchasing it. The headlights stopped working completely. We took the jeep to our local jeep dealership and they couldn't figure out what was going on with the headlights but confirmed it was the electrical system. They called their Electrical Engineer in and it was confirmed it was something going on with the electrical system via the headlamps so we replaced them along with the bulbs and it went again 3 months later. Meanwhile, because this is an issue with the 2018 everywhere the parts were on back order. It took us 2 months to get our car repaired. Currently, our jeep is in the shop again as it went out while my daughter was driving home from work at night in the county (where there are no street lights) and she almost ran off the road. This is a serious and dangerous issue and situation. I've seen a ton of complains for this same issue with the 2018 Jeep Compass model but I don't see where there has been a recall. I guess the recall will happen after someone loses their life per usual. Our jeep is in the shop yet again awaiting repair for the same issue. It appears we will be out of a car for another 2 months.
A few months after purchase, my hazard lights came on while the vehicle was off and parked in my driveway. I couldn't get them to turn off until I disconnected the battery. I scheduled a diagnostic with the jeep dealership and before I could get it in, it started happening while I was driving it as well. I never know when it's going to happen. At the diagnostics appointment, they told me it's a problem with the electrical system but that they weren't sure exactly what is causing it. They offered to replace two parts at about $1,500 cost to me that "might" keep it from happening again. They wouldn't honor the warranty. When I reached out to Jeep directly, they told me it isn't covered. Since then it's gotten worse. The auto start/stop system doesn't work. Sometimes the hazard lights won't come on at all. I've been pulled over for driving with them on and I've been unable to turn them on when I needed them. I spoke with someone at Jeep again today because they have been on for that last 2.5 hours and I have to start my car periodically to keep the battery from dying, and was told I needed to take it to another dealership and pay for another diagnostic. I don't feel safe driving this car. I stopped at rest area recently and my hazards stuck on when I got back in the car. I disconnected the battery to reset it but it happened again as soon as the battery was reconnected. I had to drive on the highway with them on. I can't signal lane changes or turns and people get in front of me, slow down, and turn their hazards on to try and let me know that mine are too. This isn't safe and Jeep won't take care of it.
Vehicle headlights work intermittently. Either will go out unexpectedly. Car has been to dealership. Problem not solved. Relays have been replaced, etc. There is a lengthy forum on this topic with this Jeep model; many others have this issue. This is a profound safety issue. When lights do not work, my daughter has been forced to pull off of road, exacerbating the safety issue. Please urge a recall on this matter
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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