Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Jeep Wrangler owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My Jeep was parked on the street in front of my house for about 13 hours and a electrical fire started on the front passenger side at around 3 am. It burned half the vehicle before being put out and totaled out my Jeep. It also damaged the entire back end of the car parked in front of me. The fire department ruled this was a electrical fire and not arson. Days before I noticed the outside temp was reading at 119 degrees out side when the temp was actually 99 degrees. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with it but I found it very odd. I have read thousands of incidents similar to this some involving worst property damage and even cases with fatalities. I think Chrysler/Jeep need to be held accountable for this and get these dagerous vehicles off the streets asap
On July 19th 2013 I was waiting for the light big garbage container truck hit my back and the force I hit infront of my vehicle injuring a passenger . This was a multi vehicle accident ,I was in the middle hit from my back and my front hit infront of my vehicle. During this impact my vehicle's airbag did not deploy it. I complained to Chrysler ,they issue a case#[redacted] and investigate the accident. According to Chrysler they send to technician to take a sensor data from my vehicle and send to detroit for further analysis. Couple of weeks ago I received letter from Chrysler group llc. The letter contents are the purpose of the airbag is to deploy in those impacts where the accident severity is great enough and the front-end crush cannot manage all of the energy of the impact and lower the longitudinal (front to back) deceleration in the occupant compartment to the desired levels. …
On Friday March 14, 2014 I was driving with my 1 year old daughter on harmony church road (route 704) on my way to my son's elementary school. My daughter was in a car seat in the back seat, directly behind the passenger seat. While en route, my 2013 Jeep Wrangler unlimited hit drifted to the shoulder of the road and the passenger side front tire was pulled into soft mud. I lost control of the vehicle. My vehicle was pulled to the right shoulder of the road and I went off the road. The vehicle struck a tree and various bushes. The loudoun county sheriff?s department and loudoun county fire and rescue responded to the scene. My husband and I recently put larger tires and rims on the Jeep and a 3? Lift kit. My husband commented that with the larger tires and the raised height, the Jeep was more difficult to control on the road and I had noticed the vehicle visibly ?wander? …
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that there was a leak in the freedom roof. As a result, the carpets inside the vehicle would become soaked from rain and there was an abnormal odor present. The contact stated that the floor mats were very slippery due to the water in the vehicle. Additionally, during the winter months with extremely cold weather, it was difficult to unlock the passenger door. Rinaldi Chrysler Dodge trucks & Jeep inc (650 gold star highway, shenandoah, pa 17976, [phone]) was contacted by phone. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 12,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Jeep Wrangler. While driving at 70 MPH, the check engine indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a misfire on the number two cylinder, and the coil and sport plug needed to be replaced. A service center repaired the vehicle, but the failure recurred two years later. The dealer information was not available. The vehicle was repaired again. The manufacturer was contacted and was unable to provide assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000.
I was driving my 2013 Jeep Wrangler and the wiper was iced up so I turned the defroster on high and my windshield cracked. There were no vehicles on the road with me and nothing hit my windshield. The crack is about 6 inches long running laterally toward the driver side and originated right above the right defroster vent the crack has no external ridge and appears to be related to a body stress issue. The temperature was 20 degrees and the issue occurred at 3:20 pm.
The hood would flutter at speeds of 70 MPH or more, normally on interstate driving. Seemed worse when high winds (weather) were present. When my hood was damaged by hail in May 2018, I changed the original hood latches also to an aftermarket product that no longer allows the hood to flutter at these speeds. I am the original owner of this vehicle. This happened from the time I purchased the vehicle (01/2014) until latches were changed to aftermarket product (05/2018).
The night before and morning of we had snow (01/26/2015-01/27/2015). I went out to my Jeep, cleaned it off, started it up, turned the defroster, put it in drive, and a 8 inch crack appeared on the lower part of the windshield. The crack started right above the windshield frame then ran parallel above the defrost vents.
My vehicle, 2013 Jeep Wrangler unlimited vent on fire, while I was driving on the highway, in russian federation. I observed the fire, coming from right side of engine compartment. I stopped, pulled out fire extinguisher, but all my attempts to put down fire failed. Entire vehicle burnt down completely in 7-10 minutes. Independent expertise, determine that cause of fire was leakage of transmission fluid on catalytic converter, on the right side of engine compartment. Also, I'd like to mention, that vehicle were purchase from official Jeep dealer in sankt petersburg, russian federation. Complaint were made to zao Chrysler rus I can submit police and emt reports, from the place of accident. …
On a 2013 Jeep Wrangler when the tailgate was opened on a slight incline the tailgate broke through the tailgate stopper that connects the vehicle body to the tailgate and bent the hinges that hold the tailgate. Jeep dealer said the cause was our negligence. This is a brand new Jeep. Negligence--you have to be kidding. We simply opened the tailgate and the hinges are so poorly designed they did hot prevent the tailgate from bending the hinges. Dealer simply replaced the tailgate stop at our expense but did not replace the hinges. Three months later we opened the tailgate in our garage and the tailgate stopper broke again. This time the dealer replace the tailgate stop, the plastic hinge covers and the hinges again at our expense. …
Body complaints in other Wrangler years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2013 Jeep Wrangler?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the body & structure of the 2013 Jeep Wrangler, 3% of the model year's 654 complaints. The component named most often is body (16 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Jeep Wrangler body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2013 Jeep Wrangler, though it has 6 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 2013 Jeep Wrangler body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 11,000 miles, and 60% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 2 fires and 2 injuries to body & structure 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.