Jeep Renegade
Problems & Worst Years

Three consecutive model years of Renegade complaints show a clear before-and-after split. In 2017, low oil pressure warnings paired with engine stalling led the list at 70 occurrences, followed closely by a separate engine-stall-during-driving complaint (66, safety-severity) and two distinct electrical failures causing dashboard warning lights and unexpected shutdowns (40 occurrences each, both safety-tagged). A suspension complaint about vehicle instability, also safety-severity, added 25 more, making 2017 the year with the broadest safety exposure at four flagged problems out of 298 total occurrences.

The 2018 model year kept the volume high — 312 occurrences — but shifted the specifics: engine stalling during driving or acceleration reached 88 occurrences, stalling at idle tied to fuel delivery issues added 60, and excessive oil consumption logged 58, alongside electrical shutdowns at 52. Recalls 18V524 and 18V731 apply to 2018, while 17V485, 18V131, and 18V731 cover 2017, indicating Jeep issued multiple rounds of remedies for the stalling problem across these two years.

By 2019, the picture calms considerably: total complaints fell to 85 with zero safety-severity flags, and the top issues shift toward backup camera glitches, UConnect screen malfunctions, airbag deployment complaints, and oil leaks — all logged at a flat 20 occurrences each, suggesting a more even spread of minor nuisances rather than one dominant defect.

For a used buyer, 2017 and 2018 Renegades warrant the closest attention to how the engine behaves at idle and under acceleration, given how consistently stalling shows up across both years' top complaints, while a 2019 model with confirmed recall work reads as notably calmer. These are, again, self-reported complaint counts rather than a lab-verified failure rate, and a pre-purchase inspection paired with service records will tell a buyer more than the model year alone.