2020 Jeep Gladiator Visibility Problems

Front defroster only blows in the center and does not distribute air to the sides of the front windshield when the driver looks out.

NHTSA ID

11713322

Incident

Jan 25, 2026

Steering damper is affected by a recall and i have not received the recall. Causes truck to abruptly jerk left or right causing a lif e threatening matter to everyone one the road

NHTSA ID

11652247

Incident

Mar 1, 2025

Rearview camera stays on while vehicle is going from reverse to drive causing a distraction an a safety concern

NHTSA ID

11650880

Incident

Mar 26, 2025

When cresting a hill the sun was suddenly shining brightly into the driver's eyes. When deploying the driver's side sun visor, the hinge broke, making the visor flop loosely down, not effectively blocking the sun, and causing driver distraction. When trying to find a repair remedy online, this appears to be a widespread and multi-year problem that the manufacturer is back-logged on the necessary repair parts. The defect is so widely known and spread, that an after market retailer has developed and is selling repair parts to address this manufacturers safety design defect.

NHTSA ID

11598753

Incident

Jul 3, 2024

While driving on the interstate, driver and passenger sun visors has fallen out of the sun visor mount blocking/impairing road visibility. It is extremely dangerous when this happens at highway speeds as an individual may lose control on their vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11595104

Incident

Jun 1, 2024

Rear window leaks badly, when raining causes the interior to fog up making it difficult to see. Turning on A/C clears most the fog, but the rear window is still not clear enough to see what's behind or on the sides when making lane changes. This is not an isolated incident, Jeep repairs with the same process which leaks again after a few months. Need a permanent fix to this design flaw.

NHTSA ID

11586480

Incident

Apr 26, 2024

While driving the drivers side sun visor attachment failed and the visor fell down in my field of view on a 2 lane highway and would not stay up. The road was smooth and there was no jarring that caused it to fall down at that time. Looking at the design, it appears to be a plastic part that failed at a reduced area so just a poor design. Suspect it affects most of the Jeep Gladiators and wranglers.

NHTSA ID

11557054

Incident

Nov 26, 2023

Defrost only blows from center vents. Wiper blades ice up and cause visibility issues

NHTSA ID

11508213

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

While I was driving on the freeway, suddenly all of my warning lights came on and my windshield wipers and the power steering went out. It was very difficult to pull over with the power steering out and stop. This is the second time this has occurred in 6 months. The first time this happened I had it towed to the dealer, they found nothing wrong but when I went to pick it up it happened again before I left the dealer. The service manager kept it and they ran more codes and thought they resolved the problem, but the same thing happened again when I went to pick it up. Finally, they gave me a loaner vehicle and after a month the Gladiator was finally fixed. The dealer said it was a defective wiring harness. Now the same problem is back. This is a serious safety issue due to the power steering going put and locking up the steering wheel. I have read many, many complaints from other Jeep Gladiator owners of the same issue.

NHTSA ID

11506707

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

I have had this vehicle in the shop more times than it has been on the road. It originally started with the auto start stop sensor. They told me to turn that off. They did an update. And it kept happening over and over again where it would cut itself off and I couldn’t get it restarted. The fix worked for maybe a month and it started all over again. Now the engine light is on I can be doing 30 miles an hour down the middle of town and it dies even with the auto start stop turned off. The steering is so loose that you have to fight it all the time to keep it in the road. The engine light is on and stays on. And it sounds like a scraping when the vehicle is in motion but the tires have clearance and no issues with their clearance. Checked under the vehicle nothing is under the vehicle. This vehicle has never been off road. I believe it qualifies as a lemon.

NHTSA ID

11475023

Incident

Jul 20, 2022

The sun visor bracket failed on both the passage and drivers’ side of the vehicle. On the driver’s side when the bracket fails it impends the driver’s vison as gravity defaults the position in a down angle.

NHTSA ID

11475022

Incident

Jul 20, 2022

The driver (and passenger) Sun visors have a defect that causes the sunvisor to fall into the field of driver view while driving. I almost hit a pedestrian because I couldn’t see while trying to frantically get the visor into a safe location. Jeep won’t issue a recall and it is deadly serious. I almost killed a human today because of this defect.

NHTSA ID

11473542

Incident

Jul 12, 2022

There is a well documented design defect with both the driver and passenger sun visor. They are known to just fall in front of the driver’s view creating a driving hazard. This happened to my wife and her visibility was immediately obstructed while driving. A recall needs to be created to minimize risk on our roads.

NHTSA ID

11472859

Incident

Jul 7, 2022

The visors come out of their sockets which result in blocking one's vision and making the visor not only useless but a safety issue. It bugs me that there are all kind of YouTube videos about how to fix this and they say that getting the Jeep replacement kit results in the same thing happening. I don't understand why Jeep has not fixed an obvious problem and issued a recall. We certainly did nothing to cause the visors to come out of their sockets. This is obvious and doesn't require that it be confirmed by a dealer. There is no warning when the visor will initially break and no warning when it can fall down and block your view. The normal road vibrations are enough to cause it to fall out.

NHTSA ID

11444804

Incident

Nov 2, 2020

DRIVER VISOR AT MOUNT POINT BROKE CAUSING VISOR TO HANG AND OBSTRUCT DRIVER VIEW OF WINDSHIELD. TRUCK HAS BEEN DRIVEN LESS THAN 3000 MILES/3 MONTHS. APPARENTLY THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE. I HAVE ATTACHED PICTURES OF THE CHEAP, WEAK, PLASTIC FITTING THAT SWIVELS AND HOLDS MOST OF THE VISORS WEIGHT.

NHTSA ID

11402702

Incident

Mar 12, 2021

Mileage

2,800 mi

I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE DEC 15, 2020. I HAVE LESS THAN 3,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, AND I HAVE DRIVEN THE VEHICLE LESS THAN 3 MONTHS. THE DRIVER SIDE VISOR BROKE AT THE MOUNT, WHICH CREATES A VISIBILITY ISSUE BECAUSE IT HANGS AND OBSTRUCTS THE VIEW TO DRIVE SAFELY. I NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER MOUNT FOR THE VISOR IS ALSO LOOSE/HAS A LOT OF PLAY. APPARENTLY THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH GLADIATORS AND WRANGLERS AS THE DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THEY HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THEM BEFORE AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OWNERS OF THESE MODELS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE ON PRACTICALLY NEW VEHICLES OR AT LOW MILEAGE.

NHTSA ID

11402686

Incident

Mar 12, 2021

Mileage

2,700 mi

OUR 2020 JEEP GLADIATOR HAS A DEFROST ISSUE ONLY DEFROSTS CENTER AND IN WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS SNOW BUILDS UP IN THE VIEW OF THE DRIVER THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ON THE JEEP FORUMS. AIR FLOW ONLY COMES OUT OF CENTER VERY LITTLE ON DRIVERS SIDE AND LITTLE ON PASSENGER SIDE. BROUGHT TO DEALERSHIP TO HELP WITH ISSUE. THEN WAS TOLD THAT'S HOW IT'S DESIGNED. DUE TO SAFETY MY WIFE WILL NOT DRIVE LONG DISTANCE WHEN IT SNOWS JUST FIGURED ON ALL ISSUES JEEP WOULD HAVE A FIX FOR .

NHTSA ID

11394355

Incident

Jan 17, 2021

Mileage

7,300 mi

FRONT WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER DESIGN IS [XXX]. IT ONLY BLOWS AIR STRAIGHT UP THE CENTER. SO, WHERE THE DRIVER LOOKS, WHERE THE PASSENGER LOOKS, AND THE WIPERS THEMSELVES, DOES NOT GET DEFROSTED. ALWAYS COVERED IN ICE. I NEED TO STOP AND SCRAPE THE WINDSHIELD EVERY 10-15 MINUTES, EVEN WITH THE DEFROSTERS ON HIGH. HORRIBLE, AND VERY UNSAFE DESIGN, BY JEEP. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

11389843

Incident

Jan 1, 2021

Mileage

3,000 mi

THE DEFROSTER DOES IS NOT DESIGNED TO BLOW HOT AIR ACROSS THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD RESULTING IN A SERIOUS VISIBILITY ISSUE DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER. IN ADDITION TO THE ICE BUILDUP ON THE WINDSHIELD THE WIPERS BECOME DISABLED BECAUSE THE AREA THAT THEY REST ON DOES NOT RECEIVE DEFROSTER HEAT. A QUICK SEARCH ONLINE REVEALS SEVERAL FORUMS AND VIDEOS OF OWNERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUES. IN ADDITION THE LED HEADLIGHT DESIGN COLLECTS SNOW AND ICE AND BECOMES COMPLETELY BLOCKED AND RESULTS IN ZERO VISIBILITY DURING SNOWY CONDITIONS. THE DEALER AND JEEP HAVE SAID THAT THERE IS NO FIX FOR EITHER PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AT 15 MPH WHEN THE ICING BEGAN AND DID NOT GET BETTER REGARDLESS OF SPEED,. THE JEEP GLADIATOR WINDSHIELD DEFROST AND LED HEADLIGHT DESIGNS ARE A HAZARD. BELOW IS A LINK TO THE EXACT ISSUE. HTTPS://WWW.JEEPGLADIATORFORUM.COM/FORUM/THREADS/DEFROSTER-ISSUES.36391/

NHTSA ID

11385321

Incident

Dec 17, 2020

Mileage

1,250 mi

MY TRUCK FAILS TO DEFROST ABOUT 1/2 TO 1/3 OF MY WINDSHIELD ON THE PASSENGER-SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. I NOTICED THIS BEHAVIOR IN MY TRUCK THE DAY I PICKED IT UP. FOR ME, IT DOESN'T DEFROST THE 1/3 OF THE WINDSHIELD IN FRONT OF THE PASSENGER SEAT, INHAVE HEARD FROM OTHER JEEP GLADIATOR AND JEEP WRANGLER OWNERS THAT THE DEFROSTING ISSUE CAN BE MORE SEVERE, OR CAUSE MORE OF THE WINDSHIELD TO BE COVERED IN FROST. I ACTUALLY HAD TO CARRY A PIECE OF CARDBOARD ON MY DASHBOARD TO HOLD OVER THE VENTS TO DISTRIBUTE THE AIR TO THE PASSENGER SIDE. WHEN I SPOKE WITH JEEP OVER THE PHONE, THEY JUST SAID 'WE HAVEN'T HEARD OF THIS/THERE IS NO TSB, ETC.' I HAVE MADE IT CLEAR MANY TIMES THAT I CONSIDER IT A SAFETY ISSUE WITH BOTH JEEP DIRECTLY AND WITH TWO SEPARATE DEALERS'NONE OF WHICH SEEM TO EVEN WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR TEST FOR THE ISSUE'EVEN THOUGH VISIBILITY (ESPECIALLY IN WINTER CONDITIONS) IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN IN MY OPINION (IF NOT JEEP/FCA'S).

NHTSA ID

11385069

Incident

Nov 12, 2019

THE WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED WHILE DRIVING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY . THERE WAS NO IMPACT OR TRAUMA . THE TRUCK IS BRAND NEW , 2 MOS OLD WITH 2,600 MILES ON IT . IT HAS NEVER BEEN DRIVEN OFF ROAD AND THE WINDSHIELD WAS NEVER IMPACTED BY ANY OBJECTS. I WAS DRIVING ~ 1 MILE PER HOUR , TURNING TO GO OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY .

NHTSA ID

11341794

Incident

Jul 27, 2020

Mileage

2,600 mi

THE ROOF LEAKS IN THE CENTER FRONT AND WILL UNEXPECTEDLY HIT THE DRIVER WITH WATER WHILE DRIVING. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER SERVICE MANAGER THAT ALL JEEPS LEAK AND THAT HE WOULD TRY TO FIX IT BUT IT WOULD LIKELY GET WORSE. IT IS A DANGEROUS EVENT TO GET HIT BY WATER WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT WARNING. THIS IS A NEW JEEP 2020 GLADIATOR. SINCE I AM TOLD IT CAN'T BE FIXED IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A DANGEROUS FLAW. THEY HAVE OFFERED FOR ME TO DRIVE TO ANOTHER DEALER IN ANOTHER CITY TO ATTEMPT REPAIR. WITH WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT SEEMS TO BE AN AVOIDANCE.

NHTSA ID

11321564

Incident

Mar 1, 2020

Mileage

1,250 mi

ON MAY 08 2019 I PURCHASED A 2020 JEEP GLADIATOR . 2 DAY LATER MY WIFE AND I DROVE IT TO MYRTLE BEACH SC ROUGHLY 850 MILES. IMMEDIATELY WE NOTICED WHEN WE GO ON THE HIGHWAY THE WASHER FLUID WAS NOT SPRAYING MORE THAN 4 INCHES UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDSHIELD. NEEDLESS TO SAY WE WERE LUCKY OUR TRIP HAD VERY LITTLE RAIN. WHEN WE ARRIVED BACK HOME I WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT THE JEEP FROM AND INFORMED THEM OF THE ISSUE. THE SPRAYERS WORK BUT ONLY UNDER 70 MPH 6 MONTH'S LATER I HAVE REPORTED IT SEVERAL MORE TIMES TO FELDMAN JEEP WOODHAVEN MI. I CONTACTED JEEP MULTIPLE TIME AND WAS TOLD UNLESS A NEW PART COMES OUT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. THE WASHER FLUID NOW DOESN'T WHEN DRIVING AT SPEEDS IN THE 50'S AND 60'S NOW. I LIVE IN MICHIGAN AND BASICALLY HAVE TO AVOID ANY ROADS WITH SPEED OVER 50 MPH TO BE ABLER TO SAFELY DRIVE MY JEEP.

NHTSA ID

11281560

Incident

May 10, 2019

Mileage

100 mi