Jeep Wrangler vs Ford Bronco: Which Years to Avoid
Jeep Wrangler owners should avoid 2012, 2018-2021 and 2024, while 2017 stands as the Wrangler's Best year. Ford Bronco has no Good or Best year yet; 2022 and 2023 are its Avoid years. Wrangler averages 18.5 mpg combined versus Bronco's 17.7 mpg; totals aren't sales-normalized.
Head to head
Jeep Wrangler
- Model years
- 2005–2025 (21)
- NHTSA complaints
- 13,387
- Per model year
- 637
- Recall campaigns
- 68
- Years to avoid
- 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024
- Best years
- 2017
- Top problem area
- Steering
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 18.5
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- —
Ford Bronco
- Model years
- 2021–2025 (5)
- NHTSA complaints
- 956
- Per model year
- 191
- Recall campaigns
- 47
- Years to avoid
- 2022, 2023
- Best years
- —
- Top problem area
- Visibility & Wipers
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 17.7
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- —
Year by year
Complaint Index is relative within each model (0 = that model’s best year, 100 = its worst). Complaints and recalls are raw counts.
| Year | Wrangler | Bronco | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | |
| 2005 | Good | 650 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | Good | 730 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | Caution | 557 | 8 | 16.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | Caution | 873 | 7 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | Caution | 372 | 6 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2010 | Caution | 686 | 10 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2011 | Caution | 485 | 10 | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| 2012 | Avoid | 834 | 9 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | Caution | 650 | 6 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | Caution | 654 | 4 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | Caution | 472 | 3 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2016 | Caution | 460 | 5 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | Best | 309 | 5 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | Avoid | 1,820 | 14 | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| 2019 | Avoid | 741 | 9 | 20 | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | Avoid | 609 | 12 | 20.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2021 | Avoid | 934 | 15 | 20.5 | Caution | 229 | 20 | 18 |
| 2022 | Caution | 396 | 15 | 20.5 | Avoid | 376 | 23 | 18 |
| 2023 | Caution | 364 | 14 | 20.5 | Avoid | 225 | 18 | 17 |
| 2024 | Avoid | 725 | 11 | 19.5 | Caution | 74 | 16 | 17.5 |
| 2025 | Caution | 66 | 4 | 20 | Caution | 52 | 19 | 18 |
Complaint Index by year
Jeep Wrangler
Ford Bronco
Frequently asked questions
- Which years of the Jeep Wrangler should I avoid?
- NHTSA data flags 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024 as Avoid years for the Wrangler, with complaint indexes ranging from 75 to 100. The 2018 model year alone logged 1,820 complaints and 14 recall campaigns.
- Which years of the Ford Bronco should I avoid?
- 2022 and 2023 are the Bronco's Avoid years, with complaint indexes of 100 and 75 respectively. 2022 had 376 complaints and 23 recall campaigns, the most of any Bronco model year.
- Does the Ford Bronco have a Good or Best year?
- No. None of the five Bronco model years (2021-2025) earns a Good or Best verdict; every year carries either an Avoid or Caution rating tied to recall campaigns, including do-not-drive recalls in 2023-2025.
- Which SUV has more reported problems, the Wrangler or the Bronco?
- The Wrangler has 13,387 total complaints across 21 model years (637 per model year on average) versus the Bronco's 956 complaints across 5 model years (191 per model year). NHTSA publishes no sales data, so these totals are not normalized per vehicle sold.
- Which gets better fuel economy, the Wrangler or the Bronco?
- The Wrangler averages 18.5 mpg combined across its model years, slightly ahead of the Bronco's 17.7 mpg combined average.