2021 Jeep Gladiator Visibility Problems

Two of the same faults occurred within the same month of each other. The first: while driving home from work on the highway, while heavily raining, without warning every alarm light possible engaged, windshield wipers went full speed, vehicle would not shift, and my steering locked up (not to be confused with lost power steering). After about a mile I was able to encourage the Jeep off the side of the highway. While waiting for my tow, with the E Brake set and in Park, the Jeep kept trying to crawl forward on its own. I was unable to turn the vehicle off as it would not respond, in addition to an alarm warning saying not to turn off the Jeep. The second occurrence was in the parking garage at work; I pulled through the parking stall, put the Jeep in reverse to back up and the same fault took place. No steering, wipers on full speed, every alarm on the dash was engaged. Thankfully I was not a highway speed. I was able to turn off the Jeep this time after about 5 minutes of attempting to.

NHTSA ID

11717839

Incident

Jan 28, 2026

As I was driving, I reached out over the dashboard and accidentally lightly bumped the front windshield with my hand. Light enough that my middle knuckle barely tapped the glass, and the windshield spider cracked completely top to bottom, left to right, and every other angle. The force can be compared to wiping or cleaning your dashboard and bumping your finger tips into the glass. The windshield is broken all the way through. Im reporting this because Im fairly certain windshields are supposed to hold up to more than someone's knuckle lightly bumping them. The windshield did not have any damage prior to this moment and had just been to the dealership for standard maintenance confirming no damage to the windshield prior to this event. Visibility became immediately obscured for me as the driver, the windshield flexed and cracked even more as we drove to a safe location clearly indicating it was no longer safe for us to be in the vehicle. No warnings came up. The incident is fresh for us, but many Jeep Gladiator owners experience windshields breaking incredibly easily with extreme breaks for minimal impacts.

NHTSA ID

11667862

Incident

Jun 18, 2025

I was driving on a highway and the sun visor suddenly fell down but was still suspended by a wire and therefore obstructed my view. Nearly caused an accident. The arm that supports the sun visor seems to have dislodged from its housing. A quick search revealed this is such a common problem, there are many aftermarket parts sold to fix this problem. My vehicle is outside warranty, but several Jeep forum posts indicate this issue was not covered by Jeep’s warranty. The Jeep dealer is charging $382 to fix what should be a recall.

NHTSA ID

11649133

Incident

Mar 10, 2025

Rear view camera has stopped functioning. Vehicle is difficult to see out of when backing up. Lack of rear view camera makes reversing dangerous in certain situations. No. No. Camera failed with no warning.

NHTSA ID

11592288

Incident

Apr 1, 2024

The windshields chips very easily and then shatters The third break light quits working and the rear turn signal randomly quit working

NHTSA ID

11589195

Incident

May 3, 2024

The defroster only blows out of the center of the windshield. So the drivers side and passenger sides of the windshield do not clear up at all. This causes me to not being able to safely see where I am driving when my windshield is foggy or covered with snow and ice. This is not the only Jeep Gladiator or Wrangler JL/JLU that is affected. People are complaining all over forums on the internet and to their local dealerships. This issue needs to be fixed before someone gets hurt or killed because you can’t safely see where you are driving or what’s in front of your vehicle or out the side windows since they don’t clear up either like they are supposed to do. I just bought this vehicle on the 28th of August, it only has 12600 miles on it so it is basically brand new and it should not have this issue at all. The 12th was the first time I’ve had to use my defrost in my vehicle and that’s how I found out it didn’t work properly. Having to take your child to school is not a good time to find out you can’t safely drive because you can’t see without constantly using a towel to clean the windshield off.

NHTSA ID

11544213

Incident

Sep 12, 2023

I turned on my defroster and a 8 inch long crack happens from the middle bottom of the windshield. This is the second time in a year this has happened. There are numerous examples online of this happening. I live in Florida so it’s not because of the extreme temperature changes. It was only 50 deg F.

NHTSA ID

11497847

Incident

Dec 16, 2022

Windshield cracked in center - replaced - 3rd windshield installed today(8/22/2022) 1st 2 cracked in same place. If broke could enter driver/passenger compartment. Windshield repair shop and now again by Kunes CDJR Oregon (Chrysler dealer/place first purchased/new), Oregon, Illinois. Inspected by service department at dealership -

NHTSA ID

11480565

Incident

Feb 17, 2022

The vehicle auto starts when the defrost is turned on below the max or full setting. The owner’s manual specifies that “the engine will start automatically when” the “HVAC is set to full defrost mode”. The vehicle is operating in direct conflict with owner’s manual. This auto start issue poses a serious safety hazard as the vehicle will unexpectedly start and may begin to roll when the driver is not ready. Additionally, if someone is operating on or under the vehicle, it will result in a serious injury or the loss of a finger when the vehicle auto starts in violation of the driver’s intent. The unexpected / wanted start could cause a collision with another vehicle or pedestrian leading to serious injury or death. The malfunction was reproduced and confirmed by multiple service personnel, who expressed safety concerns. The malfunction was also recreated by 4 independent mechanic shops and documented as a safety concern. However, an FCA Technical Advisor (TA) claimed that the vehicle is “operating as designed“. This portion of the vehicle’s Auto Start / Stop System is NOT operating as designed and documented in the owner’s manual. I feel unsafe driving the vehicle, as this is one of numerous hardware / software malfunctions plaguing the vehicle. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ID

11447536

Incident

Apr 28, 2021

The vehicle has a lot of wandering movement while driving. The undercarriage of the vehicle and the driveshaft/steering feels like it is loose. The vehicle is difficult to keep on a center point in the lane Inez; it drives like bumper bowling balls on a bowling lane. I have felt a few times that the vehicle was going to pull into the shoulder of the road or over the center line into oncoming traffic and have to maintain movement in the steering wheel almost constantly to keep it in the lane. I will be taking it in to the dealer for inspection but it only has a few hundred miles on it and I felt it move like that from the first full day I owned it. I brought it home with 27 miles on it. No warning lamps, messages or alarms. Windshield fogs up considerably in the rain and the defroster only makes it partially clear. Window gets condensation on it from the defroster so it fogs the window anyway. Tried multiple settings and temperatures to resolve, even opening the windows and still difficult to clear windshield of excessive moisture when no external precipitation.

NHTSA ID

11433416

Incident

Aug 26, 2021

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact stated while driving at 70 mph, a rock flew and hit the window causing the windshield to crack on the passenger side. The vehicle was taken to a glass repair shop where it was diagnosed with the windshield needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred a week later causing the windshield to crack down the middle. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,500.

NHTSA ID

11421658

Incident

May 21, 2021

Mileage

7,500 mi

DEFROST ONLY WORKS FOR THE CENTER PORTION OF THE WINDSHIELD. NO AIR COMES FROM THE RIGHT OR LEFT SIDES OF THE DEFROST VENTS. THE LEADS TO LOSS OF VISIBILITY FOR THE DRIVER ESPECIALLY IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS.

NHTSA ID

11395941

Incident

Jan 15, 2021

Mileage

700 mi