2012 Jeep Wrangler at 42,000 miles
You did not give a mileage, so this uses 42,000 — the median reported failure mileage for this model year, which is a rough stand-in for “a typical example of this car”. Put your real reading in the box below for an answer about your car.
At 42,000 miles on this car
At 42,000 miles on a 2012 Jeep Wrangler, 29 of the failure modes other owners have reported already have their median report at or below your reading, and 11 more fall inside the window where they are usually reported. The heaviest of the ones already due is other powertrain problem.
Already past the median 29
Half of all reports of these failures came in at or below where your car is now.
- Other powertrain problem 16k
- Other steering problem 24k
- Other engine problem 30k
- Misfire or rough idle 15k
- Other body or interior problem 29k
- Other visibility problem 36k
- Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure 42k
- Other suspension problem 40k
- Tail light, brake light or signal failure 34k
- Wiper or washer failure 38k
- Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure 13k
- Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure 20k
17 more.
You are in the window 11
Your reading falls inside the middle half of reports for these.
- Radiator or coolant leak 43k
- Cruise control failure 44k
- Other driver assistance problem 45k
- Other electrical problem 47k
- Other fuel system problem 48k
- Headlight failure or clouding 49k
- ABS module or sensor failure 55k
- Other speed control problem 60k
- Steering column or shaft failure 64k
- Other brake problem 65k
- Wiring harness or short circuit 81k
Typically later 23
Reported further down the road than where you are.
- Starter failure 46k
- Airbag inflator rupture 47k
- CV axle or driveshaft failure 47k
- Transmission fluid leak 50k
- Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure 50k
- Overheating 52k
- Alternator or charging system failure 56k
- Seat belt or retractor failure 60k
- Airbag failed to deploy in a crash 60k
- Water pump failure 62k
- Fuel pump failure 66k
- Audio or connectivity failure 66k
11 more.
Timing unknown 8
Reported, but too few owners gave an odometer reading to place them.
- Complete engine failure or seizure 1×
- Engine knock or bearing noise 1×
- Complete transmission failure 1×
- Infotainment screen failure 1×
- Tire blowout or tread separation 1×
- Paint peeling or clear coat failure 1×
- Rust or structural corrosion 1×
- Sunroof failure or glass breakage 1×
Why the list is generic until you type a number
Every figure below is a comparison against your odometer, so with no reading given the page has to pick one: 42,000 miles, roughly what a 2012 car covers at 12,000 miles a year. A reading 30,000 miles either side of that moves failures between the columns, which is the difference between a useful list and a generic one.
Already inside the reported range
29 failure modes on the 2012 Jeep Wrangler have a median reported mileage at or below 42,000: other powertrain problem (median 17,500 miles, 260 reports), other steering problem (median 22,500 miles, 184 reports), other engine problem (median 30,000 miles, 111 reports), misfire or rough idle (median 15,000 miles, 29 reports), other body or interior problem (median 30,000 miles, 24 reports) and other visibility problem (median 35,000 miles, 23 reports).
These are the ones worth mentioning to a mechanic by name at the next service. Being past a median is not being overdue — it means the reports cluster below where you are now, so if the failure was going to be typical, it would already have happened.
The window you are in now
11 further modes are reported in a band that includes 42,000 miles: radiator or coolant leak (38k to 55,000 miles), cruise control failure (23k to 145,000 miles), other driver assistance problem (29k to 75,000 miles), other electrical problem (28k to 75,000 miles), other fuel system problem (17k to 75,000 miles) and headlight failure or clouding (38k to 100,000 miles). These are the ones to watch on this car over the next few thousand miles.
A window here is the 25th to 75th percentile of reported mileages, so it holds the middle half of the reports and excludes the tails on both sides.
Still ahead of you
23 further modes sit above your reading, the nearest being starter failure at a median of 45,000 miles. On a car you intend to keep, these are the ones that decide whether it is worth keeping.
What this list is not
It is a reading of what owners of other 2012 Jeep Wranglers reported, and at what odometer reading they reported it. It is not a maintenance schedule, not a diagnosis, and not a prediction about this car: two identical cars with different service histories are not the same car.
Complaints are filed voluntarily, mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers, and a failure mode with few reports has a wide window even when the median looks precise. Modes with fewer than 8 dated reports are shown without percentiles for that reason.
Where 42,000 miles falls on the curve
The three columns above sort the failure modes one by one. This is the same evidence in aggregate: every dated report on this model year, stacked up in the order the odometer readings arrived. The dashed line marked you is where your car sits. How much of the line is to the left of that mark is how much of this model year's reported trouble is, on the evidence, already behind you.
About 47% of the dated reports on this model year had already been filed by 42,000 miles. That is the share of the problems that show up in this record, not of the problems this car will have. A further 2 reports came in above the top of the scale, which is why the line stops short of the top.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the mileages called out above
A steep early climb means a car whose reports cluster young, which is the pattern of a defect rather than of wear. A line that only gets going past six figures is the opposite. Neither shape says anything about the specific car in your driveway, and a curve built from a few dozen readings can be moved by one owner with a talkative afternoon.
Full report for the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Compare with another car
Questions this page answers
What should I expect at 42,000 miles on a 2012 Jeep Wrangler?
29 of the failure modes owners have reported on the 2012 Jeep Wrangler have a median report at or below 42,000 miles, and 11 more fall inside the mileage window where they are usually reported. That is a watch list drawn from other owners, not a prediction about this car.
How to use the three columns. The left column is the list to hand a mechanic before you buy, and to check the service history for if you already own the car. The middle column is what to budget for this year. The right column is not a reprieve — it is a reminder that a used car has a bill schedule, and this is roughly where it falls. All of it is drawn from 1,288 owner complaints about this exact model year, not from a maintenance manual. How the percentiles are computed.
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed