Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Jeep Wrangler owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2011 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55- 65 mph when the vehicle in front suddenly applied its brakes. The contact attempted to apply the brake pedal however they were unable to stop fast enough and rear-ended the vehicle in front. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was damaged and considered a total loss. The vehicle was towed and totaled. The contact had back and leg injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 151,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that occasionally while driving at various speeds, the air bags warning light illuminated. In addition, the seat belt warning light would illuminate while driving downhill. The check engine warning light illuminated on the day the vehicle was purchased. The contact scanned the vehicle with an OBD2 scanner and retrieved a code that the battery might have been disconnected. An appointment was scheduled with the dealer to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the clock spring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 173,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated and then turned off independently while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 122,420.
I have Airbag failure. I had it diagnosed by a local mechanic. My Jeep had Airbag failure in the past and the repair was done by Jeep. Jeep refused to pay for it, although the same year of Wrangler was recalled for the Airbag failures. They returned my money almost 2 yrs later. The current Code is B1B02 (Clockspring). In addition to my Airbag light being on, due to failure (defect), my other gauges are not working properly (gasoline etc.) and the electronics will not work now (buttons on steering wheel for cruise control, radio, trip/mileage etc. Jeep dealerships in Illinois have repeatedly stolen parts off my Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, as it is a "Special Edition" Black Ops package. I have also caught a Jeep technician draining my coolant, which he spilled all over my radiator, in an attempt to tell me I had a "leak" and all the coolant is gone. …
When braking since these lights are on it will cause issue with the brakes themselves as if they don't want to brake fully. Now I'm a 32 year old man and am aware of making sure your brakes are good and fully functioning. I've noticed also the steering when slowing down too from this. Nothing underneath the vehicle is an issue for steering. All steering components are fully functioning. I've noticed issues with the clock spring in the Jeep as well. Sometime it comes and goes (most likely and electoral problem) geez who knew! Haha, however when I'm turning the airbag light will stay on then go off and the lights on the steering wheel themselves with turn off. They've been off for awhile now. Since this is happening on a daily basis. …
(1) Since October, I have had airbag failure in my Wrangler Rubicon. The failure is the 2nd time for the same defective parts. Jeep has failed to repair/replace the parts. I've been waiting for two months. I cannot drive with no airbags. It's a death sentence and SUICIDE to drive without airbags. There is a recall on this same defect issue, yet Jeep has continued to ignore this issue. (2) Jeep repaired a recall on my sidemirror defrosters a few years ago. After their repair, the defroster never worked again. (3) My heated seats failed to work, due to known defects. I've been without the deated seats for more than 2 years now! Jeep refuses to fix their defects.
We have been dealing with electrical issues with our Jeep for a few years now. About 2 months ago, the Airbag light turned on the dash, along with the Seatbelt light (although I am buckled in). I have now found that there are up to 6 recalls on the Airbag malfunctioning, but have never receive a recall or mention of this kind of malfunction when buying the car. How can I get this corrected? This car will not keep us safe, better yet pass an inspection with this manufacture's malfunction.
Driver side airbag light and sound indicator continually goes on and off. Dealer states that there is no recall for my vin number and will not entertain fixing unless I pay out of pocket. There was a recall for the RHD models during this year, how were the left hand models not included in this? I've read numerous complaints of Jeeps with the same issue post 2010 models. This is a safety issue and should be addressed by the manufacturer/dealer.
The steering wheel clock spring has gone bad leaving no power to the electronics of the steering wheel making me question if the driver airbag works at all now. my passenger air bag is a bomb according to that recall and my driver is now faulty because of clock spring if I get in a wreck I'd be seriously injured or dead. do better jeep
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2010 Dodge Ram 3500, Ram 4500/5500, 2010-2011 Dodge Dakota, 2010-2014 Dodge Challenger, 2010-2015 Dodge Challenger, Chrysler 300, and 2010-2016 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger vehicles, and 2009-2011 Dodge Dakota vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa,…
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) expanded the affected population to include 73,712 2005-2009 RAM 2500 trucks produced at the St. Louis North Assembly Plant. With this change, Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RAM 1500, 2005-2009 RAM 2500, 2006-2009 RAM 3500, 2007-2010 RAM 3500 Cab Chassis, 2008-2010 RAM 4500 and 5500 Cab…
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the recall repair is complete. Chrysler will notify the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM owners. Mitsubishi owners will be notified by their company.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2011-2016 Right Hand Drive Jeep Wrangler vehicles manufactured February 16, 2010, to May 2, 2016. The clockspring assembly may become contaminated with dust and cause the air bag circuit to fail.
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the clockspring, wheel back cover, and column shroud, free of charge. The recall began on August 11, 2016.
Show 2 more recalls
Air bags
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Jeep Wrangler right-hand drive vehicles manufactured February 1, 2007, through October 10, 2011. The affected vehicles have airbag clockspring assemblies that could experience broken airbag circuits.
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the clockspring and add a steering wheel dust shield, free of charge. The recall began on June 10, 2013. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753.
Air bags › Frontal
Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 right hand drive (rhd) Jeep wrangler vehicles manufactured from February 1, 2007, through October 10, 2011. Some vehicles May be equipped with driver's airbag clockspring assemblies that could experience a compromised airbag circuit resulting in an airbag lamp illumination,…
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners and remedy the vehicles as necessary free of charge. Chrysler will mail to owners an interim notification during March 2012. Owners May contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bag Clockspring Wiring Failure
In it's response to ODI's PE15-025 Information Request letter, FCA identified 1,703 consumer complaints, field reports and legal claims responsive to the subject defect condition on the subject Wrangler vehicles.Six of these reports alleged an air bag non-deployment in a crash in which either the air bag warning light was allegedly on or came on afterward the crash, one of which also alleged injuries as a result of…
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Electrical overstress
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events.
Air Bag Clockspring Wiring Failure
On May 10, 2016, Fiat Chrysler America (FCA) submitted a Part 573 Defect Information Report announcing NHTSA recall 16V290 involving 394,258 model year (MY) 2007-2010 Jeep Wrangler vehicles.Under the recall FCA will replace the clockspring and install a steering wheel back cover and steering wheel column shroud.This recall also includes approx.
Airbag complaints in other Wrangler years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2011 Jeep Wrangler?
NHTSA has 145 complaints about the air bags of the 2011 Jeep Wrangler, 30% of the model year's 485 complaints. The component named most often is frontal › driver clockspring/spiral cassette (4 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Jeep Wrangler airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 19V-018 (inflator module, Jan 15, 2019); NHTSA recall 18V-021 (inflator module, Jan 9, 2018); NHTSA recall 16V-352 (inflator module, May 24, 2016). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2011 Jeep Wrangler airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 78,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to air bags 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.