Jeep class action claims some Wranglers, Gladiators contain windshield defect

Jeep class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Jacob Reinkraut, Steve Smith, and Matthew Chapman filed a class action lawsuit against FCA US LLC.
• Why: FCA allegedly knew that some of its Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles contained a windshield defect that makes the windshield prone to cracking, fracturing, or chipping.
• Where: The Jeep class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.
• What are my options: CarShield provides vehicle service protection to brands like Jeep.

FCA US LLC manufactures and sells certain Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles with a dangerous defect that makes their windshields prone to cracking, fracturing, or chipping, according to a class action lawsuit filed May 23 in New Jersey federal court.

Plaintiffs Jacob Reinkraut, Steve Smith, and Matthew Chapman say they have experienced the windshield defect in their Jeep vehicles and had to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket to have their windshields replaced due to significant cracks.

The plaintiffs assert that they did not see anything impact the windshield before the cracks manifested.

Jeep windshield defect poses unreasonable safety hazard, class action says

FCA advertises its Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles as safe, dependable, and durable, the Jeep class action lawsuit says. However, they are allegedly manufactured with a defect that causes the front windshield to crack, fracture, or chip for reasons that would not cause a normal, non-defective windshield to fail.

The plaintiffs say that Jeep windshield cracking has occurred “during use of the defroster or having a small pebble from the road bounce up onto the windshield.”

When the Jeep windshield cracks, it can pose an unreasonable safety hazard because it affects the driver’s visibility and increases the risk of injury to vehicle occupants, the Jeep class action lawsuit alleges.

FCA knew about the Jeep windshield defect but concealed it from consumers, the plaintiffs claim. They note that FCA should have known about the issue from numerous customer complaints, field investigations, online forum discussions, and communications with service technicians.

Reinkraut, Smith, and Chapman say they would not have purchased their Jeep vehicles, or would have paid substantially less for them, had they known about the Jeep windshield defect.

The plaintiffs filed the Jeep class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of consumers who have owned or leased Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator vehicles for model years 2016 to the present.

In May, more than 132,000 model year 2014-2016 Jeep Cherokees were recalled due to fire risk.

Have you experienced the Jeep windshield defect? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

The plaintiffs are represented by Bruce H. Nagel and Randee M. Matloff of Nagel Rice LLP.

The Jeep windshield class action lawsuit is Racob Reinkraut, et al. v. FCA US LLC, Case No. 2:23-cv-02792-JMV-CLW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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