Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Jeep Compass owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact's son owns a 2011 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while his son was exiting the parking lot and driving approximately 15-25 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled and the steering wheel locked-up. The contact did not know whether there were warning lights illuminated. The contact's son was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated his son was able to restart the vehicle and drove to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The contact's son was able to restart the vehicle and drove to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the roll over bent valve in the fuel tank was not closing properly leaking fuel into the EVAP system causing the vehicle to stall and lock the steering wheel. The vehicle was repaired. …
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving 20 mph, the vehicle went into limp mode and would not exceed 25 mph. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the brake switch, camshaft sensor, catalytic converter, and the crankshaft sensor needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer a month later where it was diagnosed with the throttle body and the brake switch needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,317.
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine subframe was damaged. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Compass. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH after refueling, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted and worked as designed; however, the failure recurred while driving after refueling. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
Wife was driving her jeep when she started to veer to the left. went to turn to steering to get straight when it wasn't responding a lot of slack in the steering. called a tow truck when the tow truck lifted noticed the cradle/sub frame was broken. she was on a country road when it happened. If this was on a highway or interstate there would have been major collision resulting in death. there was no warning when it broke it just broke. after doing some research into why it would break the air conditioning hose to the water to drain was running on the sub frame which rusted and eventually break, the break shifted the engine about a foot and dropped about 10 inches Since she didn't hit anything or no property damage there was no police involved. I have reached out to chrysler with the issue with no response. …
Fire started spontaneously under the hood. Unable to control or stop the fire. Melted everything under the hood and fire department had to be called. No prior warning that there was any issue electrical or otherwise.
Marked by an audible whine and the illumination of the transmission overheat light, the CVT on the 2.4l 4-cylinder engine in the 2011 Jeep Compass experiences significant and dramatic power loss. This is especially prevalent at sustained highway speeds creating a potentially unsafe situation. If the transmission overheats too much, the vehicle will not move until the transmission cools down. This issue first happened on my 2011 Jeep Compass in July 2014 and was temporarily rectified by Jeep. Their solution was to replace the CVT transmission fluid. However, this problem has returned this summer under highway use, especially on hot days. On Saturday, September 12, my family and I experienced not only the whine from the CVT, but significant power loss on the highway. …
First time this happened, I refueled my vehicle all the way to full. I drove off and got on the highway on-ramp, while I was accelerating, the car shut off, locked up the steering and the engine shut off while the car was still in drive, and the key was still in the ignition. I quickly stopped the car, put it in park and restarted the car, got on the highway and the incident didn't occur again. A few weeks later, the same thing happened. I refueled until the tank was full, drove about 100 yards, and the car shut off while still in drive with keys in ignition and the steering locked up while I was going around a sharp turn. I could have died if another car came around the turn at that time. I restarted the car and the same thing happened again within 50 feet. After that, restarting it a second time I was able to drive the car without it happening again. Scared to refill the car again. …
Did not know that was a recall on thecatalytic converter they fix it they had the part in im woudering about the antilock brakes because my brake light comes on and the ads light because courtesy dodgejeep Ram in conyers ga is charging me about 800.00 hundred dollars plus 190.00 for a battery I can't afford that. My car was on a city street when the brake light and ABS light came on I thought the brake fluild was low courtesy Dodge said that it was ready before I could drive the Jeep off the lot the brake light came back on. Then they said it was the battery, now they telling me antilock brakes. I cannot afford to pay 1,190.00 dollars.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Jeep Compass. The contact stated the check engine light illuminated intermittently over several months. The vehicle was taken to (diehl Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram fuso of moon 5408 university blvd, moon, pa 15108) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the oxygen (o2) sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and diagnosed. The contact was then informed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced which was still pending. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Engine complaints in other Compass years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2011 Jeep Compass?
NHTSA has 40 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2011 Jeep Compass, 21% of the model year's 188 complaints. The component named most often is engine (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Jeep Compass engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2011 Jeep Compass, though it has 3 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 2011 Jeep Compass engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 59,000 miles, and 33% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 2 fires and 0 injuries to engine & cooling 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.