Verified government source

NHTSA complaint #11420689

This page summarizes an official U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration owner complaint. Use the verification links below to confirm the record directly with NHTSA.

Vehicle

2021 JEEP WRANGLER

Manufacturer

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)

Components

POWER TRAIN

Dates

Incident: 06/12/2021
Filed: 06/12/2021

Owner complaint summary

My jeep wrangler has axle lockers. They are only supposed to be able to be engaged when the vehicle transfer case is set to 4wd low (4L). Since buying this jeep brand new, the vehicle information intermittently shows the axle lockers being engaged in 2wd high (2H). I have brought it to the dealer twice for this problem. First they reset the computer. The second time they replaced the 4wd module. The incorrect status is redisplayed again. I have only had this jeep for 2 months, it has less than 3000 miles on it. The dealer doesn't seem to know what the problem is. I have talked with Jeep corporate who also says they can find no reports of this issue. However the internet jeep forums are full of people reporting this problem, supposedly it is related to failed axle locker sensors on the Rubicon wranglers. It is common enough an aftermarket company sells a wiring harness that bypasses the sensor. Because the sensor is not available separately, eventually this requires the entire axle be replaced. Some people have had their axles replaced 3-4 times. There really should be a recall. More than a few posters have also stated their axles have locked by themselves in 2H. This could cause a crash as axle lockers are not designed for use on pavement or at high speeds. Here are some links to the the forums: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/%E2%80%9Cservice-axle-locker-system%E2%80%9D-light-on.13241/ https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/what-happens-when-the-axle-lock-sensor-fails.67068/ https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/random-service-axle-locker-system.35153/ https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jl-rubicon-owners-keep-your-locker-sensors-from-failing-how-to-pot-your-sensors.56892/ Here is a link to the wiring harness sold because it is such a common problem https://www.zautomotive.com/product/z_lkr_oem/ The attached photo shows the car in 2H, the lock symbol over the axle, driving 70mph

This is an owner complaint filed with NHTSA (ODI #11420689). It is not automatically an official recall, investigation outcome, or manufacturer admission unless the complaint text itself describes one.

Official record ID (ODI): 11420689. This page is the human-readable source link used across afterwarranty. The raw JSON link proxies NHTSA's public API for machine verification; prefer this page when reading the complaint.