Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (headlights, tail lights, turn signals, interior lights).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Jeep Commander owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
2006 Jeep Commander with 93000. I have had serviced multiple times over brakes and suspension. Brakes will just grind when trying to stop at times. Brakes have been replaced and problem still occurs. Every mechanic has said everything looks good. Had bigotires do 3 inspections on brakes and suspension and everything checked out! Suspension- I have had services 3 times. All new parts have been put on front drivers side yet problem still persist. Popping noise and squeaking when turning and hitting speed bumps or pot holes and very noisy when backing up. Lighting has also started to go off and on! I believe something is wrong with the lighting. …
While driving this vehicle through a stone tunnel on the blue ridge parkway that had no lighting within the tunnel the Jeep suffered an total electrical failure and a total blackout took place. Thankful that I was not killed and that no one else was in the tunnel at the time, the Jeep was coasted to the outside of the tunnel and off to the side on the grass. Had anyone been coming in either direction I May have had enough light but it was pitch black. I have read of hundreds of electrical failures in this Jeep vehicle and wonder why I was never notified. This is a product warranty issue for Jeep and it nearly was also responsible for vehicular homicide! The Jeep just cut off all electric and not even dashboard lights afforded visual. I have the park rangers report and she said this most likely was total electrical failure. …
Takata recall as I was driving my car on the four lane my car started to have white rubber smelling smoke fill the car and all my dash lights went crazy, my radio kicked off and my speakers and my turn signals quit working. I started to panic and stopped on the side of the rode. I had my kids in the car so I first removed my children then tried to find the problem. At this point my car was completely full of smoke n it like as if it was burning down. My wiring in the cars passenger side rear floor board had caught on fire ! The fire burnt through my floor and my floor mats. I almost choked to death on the smoke and had to take the battery out of the car to kill the power and dump water on the floor.
While driving home from work I noticed my truck was slowing down without me applying the brakes and once I did apply the brakes I was informed I had only one brake light working. At that time I immediately went to a part store to have the fuses check and I purchased more bulbs and found out that was not the problem. The service department informed me that this was electrical problem not even the new bulbs worked and the fuses were good as well. I purchased this vehicle in October 2014 from drive time of columbus, ga and was not informed of the recall. The carfax associated with this vehicle did not mention any defects as a matter of fact the carfax listed this vehicle as almost perfect. …
1.it leaks. Whenever there is rain I have 2-3 inches of water in the front foot area on both sides. In addition to that water leaks through the lining and front pillars of the truck landing on the dashboard. What is this about? This not only results in my time to drain out the water it also leads to a gross musty smell. After a rain I can hear the water swishing back and forth in ht roof of my car. This is rediculous. Further this issue has done something to the electrical system. 2.the electrical system. The driver's side door window/lock/mirror switches no longer work. So that means that the driver's side window hasn't been down in forever. That makes life quite difficult. The next electrical problem is that for no apparent reasons lights come on. As I driving the interior lights just start to shine bright all of them at the same time. …
My Jeep upon being on the highway and in the right lane suddenly slowed down to the point of stalling and I had to bring the car to the side of the road and began shutting it off when coincidently the the light went on in the roof of the car and my headlight dimmed. I called the Jeep place for an oil change and they diagnoised the car and did a recall on the ignition switch and told me the powertrain transfer case is bad and thermostat leaking from the housing and 4 wheel drive failed. I have never used the 4 wheel drive as I recently purchased the car at the end of April and own it for just 7 months. They said it will cost me over $750.00 dollars to be fixed. I called Chrysler and they said my vehicle is not included however on your web site NHTSA campain# 13V175000 seems to apply to my diagnoised problems. …
I purchased the vehicle in 2010 and within a month some electrical issues were intermittently occurring. The dealer said the ignition had to be replaced and did so. These problems seemed to continue thought not often. The symptoms are as follows-first the lights start flickering and then go out. All of the dash components go out including the speedometer, fuel gage, radio etc. The ac fan also turned off. This condition did not stop the vehicle from running it just turned off the electrical components there was however a problem with stalling, a separate issue from the electrical issue., a few times while in the vehicle was stopped it would stall when stopping or starting off again. This was true in reverse and forward. I was never really worried about safety until last night when the lights went out while driving on a dark curvy country road. …
I cannot "safely" drive my vehicle as the car goes into neutral on it's own? There have been many a times that I have been on the highway traveling 55 MPH or more and all of a sudden, the car would slightly jerk and then loose complete power. I would step on the accelerator but no change, I would simply pull off to the side of the highway. Wait a few minutes and eventually the car would start up again? The headlights and interior lights go off and on? The face plate to the radio system gets hot? And has affected the illumination of the dashboard instrumental lighting? This is not a VIN thing but a Jeep Commander thing? Such an attractive vehicle with so many many issues? Safety issues. And the company has yet to fulfill the recalls? Its been more than a year? Dealers keep telling the consumers, the part isn't available yet? …
Takata recall my Jeep Commander has been nothing but trouble since I purchased it I have had all the recalls done by my local Jeep dealership and still have to constantly replace wheel speed (ABS) sensors and reprogram the computer. At low speeds off aproxamitly 15-20 MPH I loose power like the vehicle is trying to starve itself from fuel affecting accelerate so if you pull out into a intersection it practically dies and the. When you go to brake the pedal gets hard and the vehicle keeps rolling I have to replace all 4 wheel sensor (ABS) and get computer reprogrammed for it to stop costing hundreds of dollars to do over the time that I have owned the vehicle I have learned to perform such task on my own . …
November 24 evening leaving fuji (children in car) November 30 morning on way to work ? Hit mailbox (baby in car) December 5 morning on way to work ? Dies turning out of subdivision and stalls in middle of street (baby in car) there was one other instance when I had all kids with me?it was prior to nov 24 but I do not recall the actual date all of the instances the engine stalled, the lights (when on) went out, I lost the ability to steer and brake as well. The MPH ranged from 4 or 5 MPH to 35 MPH. There were times when it was warm and days that it was cold. Nothing seemed to standout as a possible "trigger" I took car to dealer after the November 24th incident. Tony in the service department said there was really nothing that they could do unless it was a problem they could "make happen" when they drove it. …
Headlight complaints in other Commander years
Frequently asked questions
How common are headlight problems on the 2006 Jeep Commander?
NHTSA has 66 complaints about the lights of the 2006 Jeep Commander, 4% of the model year's 1,782 complaints. The component named most often is headlights (11 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Jeep Commander headlight problems?
No. NHTSA lists no lights recall for the 2006 Jeep Commander, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Jeep Commander headlight problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 80,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 1 fire and 3 injuries to lights problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.