Toronto, Ontario — The results of a recent driver-side small overlap crash test may cause Jeep owners to think twice about cruising roofless in the future, as the Wrangler continues to present the same tendency to tip over as in years past.
This is the second time officials from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have witnessed the Jeep Wrangler flip over in this test. In 2020, using a 2019 model year Wrangler, a flip saw Stellantis suffer a downgrade in ratings.
At the time, Stellantis (formerly FCA) said “they’re looking at making changes to address the outcome in our driver-side small overlap crash test.”
In this most recent test, however, IIHS sensors detected a “significant risk of injury” to the driver’s left leg and foot. The IIHS did note, however, that the Wrangler’s safety cage held the successfully held together the vehicle’s structure.
As a result, the 2022 Jeep Wrangler Ultimate saw its safety rating downgraded from “Good” to “Marginal.” The IIHS said they observed the dummy’s head strike the door window frame in the crash, forcing them to assert that “the head protection is inadequate.”
Additionally, all four of the Wrangler’s trim levels rank quite low when it comes to headlights. Only one trim variant of the Wrangler achieves a “Marginal” rating for its headlights. The remaining three are all considered “Poor”—the IIHS’ lowest possible rating.
In response to the results of the 2022 Jeep Wrangler’s driver-side small overlap crash test, Stellantis released the following statement:
“Stellantis has produced more than one million of these vehicles. Real-world performance strongly indicates they afford the level of safety our customers demand and deserve. By conservative estimate, they have accounted for 105 billion on-road travel miles. And we are unaware of any field reports that correspond with the IIHS test results. Available in more than 24,000 configurations, the four-door Jeep Wrangler meets or exceeds all federal safety standards and continues to win acclaim from news organizations and consumer advocates. Since its 2017 introduction, the current model has earned more than two dozen awards for attributes ranging from design to capability, to residual value. Stellantis is reviewing this latest result. We routinely consider third-party testing and factor it into our product-development process, as appropriate. But we engineer our vehicles for real-world performance. The Jeep Wrangler has unique and extraordinary capabilities unlike any other vehicle on the road. Real-world data and ongoing demand indicate the four-door Wrangler meets or exceeds the expectations of the buying public.”
