2012 Jeep Compass

Name: 2012 Jeep Compass owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2012 Compass than about the typical Compass year: 1.3 times as many. Among the 11 Compass years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2021 (0.32 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2018 (2.46).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.77 per 1,000

1.3 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 34 complaints filed in the first three years, of 184 ever. 95% lower bound 0.51. Not counted: 3 complaints that reported only that a recall repair was unavailable, not a failure.

Every Compass model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.59

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.12	3
2009	0.32	6
2010	0.65	9
2011	0.59	28
2012	0.77	34
2013	0.32	15
2014	1.10	63
2015	0.25	16
2016	0.65	52
2017	1.21	96
2018	2.46	421
2019	0.58	92
2020	0.35	44
2021	0.32	29
2022	2.20	178
2023	0.43	39

Issues owners of the 2012 Compass report

No phrase appears often enough in these complaints to describe them reliably.

When it breaks

25% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 59,000 miles, from 129 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 0 of which list a recall campaign.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

Questions buyers ask about the 2012 Jeep Compass

Is 2012 a good year or a bad year for the Compass?

What problems does the 2012 Compass have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Engine (36), Fuel/Propulsion System (34), Air Bags (28).

Is the 2012 Compass reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Compass years: for every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2012 Compass than about the typical Compass year: 1.3 times as many.

Which Compass year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2021, at 0.32 per 1,000 sold. Every Compass year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Compass.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is checked by hand against its source table, not against an outside figure.