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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2018 Jeep Renegade Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
58about this part
Share
13%of 444 total for the year
Median mileage
17,500miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 58 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2018 Jeep Renegade, 13% of the 444 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 17,500 miles.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I purchased the car less than 2 months ago and it seems that the first four gears sometimes makes the car lunge when they shift up. I contacted the Jeep dealer I bought it from and I was informed they couldn't do anything because there weren't any warning lights on the dash showing up. It happens sometimes when im accelerating both fast and slow.”

NHTSA complaint #11115043, filed 2018-08, 1,200 miles

“Driving with my child in the vehicle and the car engine cutoff. Luckily I was not in traffic and was able to get the vehicle stopped. Message in dash was something about needing to shift to park. Placed vehicle in park, engine restarted and sputtered for a moment, then continued as normal. Only happened once. Dealership said it was likely due to low oil level (approximately 2500 miles since oil change).”

NHTSA complaint #11341140, filed 2020-07, 20,000 miles

“I bought this car new, this car is currently at 33596miles. Recently had noticed some really hard jerky shifting, so hard it feels like someone had bump into the rear of my car. When I start up the car cold, shift from park to reverse I can hear this harsh grinding, whining noise.”

NHTSA complaint #11331384, filed 2020-06, 33,420 miles

“Purchased new on 3/19/19. On 3/25/19, with 108 miles on it, the transmission locked up while in motion, in traffic on a very busy highway. Was towed to dealer, who 8 days later said transmission module was faulty, replaced, returned to me 4/1/19. 4/6/19 same scenario repeated, however this time in a parking lot. Again towed to dealer. The first time an extremely frightening experience! I strongly suggest a recall!!”

NHTSA complaint #11194857, filed 2019-04, 108 miles

“While letting off the gas to slow down to either a stop or around a curve; the car idles all the way down and dies, the dashboard flashes a message saying 'vehicle must be in park to switch gears'. When I place the vehicle in park it then tells me to push the brake and the start button; when I do the car 'whines' and acts like it's having a hard time starting back up; when it does finally turn over it idles high until I put the car in gear making it jump.”

NHTSA complaint #11300350, filed 2020-01, 49,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2023210%
2022622%
202169%
2020813%
201979%
20185813%
20179517%
20167417%
201517133%

Other parts of the 2018 Jeep Renegade

Engine
190 complaints
Electrical system
131 complaints
Fuel system
100 complaints
Other or unknown
95 complaints
Brakes
20 complaints
Vehicle speed control
16 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
12 complaints
Steering
11 complaints
Air bags
9 complaints
Exterior lighting
9 complaints
Electronic stability control
8 complaints
Body and structure
6 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2018 Jeep Renegade

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology