What To Know If You Drive a Jeep Wrangler

While no vehicle is 100% safe, it’s extremely important to know the risks involved with a particular vehicle that you may drive or ride in. In the case of the Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler has classified the Wrangler as a convertible, which subjects it to different safety standards and requirements than a typical SUV. Sadly, the Jeep Wrangler has earned the dubious honor of having the most lethal rollover incidents than any other vehicle sold in America.

Jeep markets the Wrangler as a rugged, durable vehicle made for heavy-duty purposes, such as off-roading, but follows the safety designs for a convertible. A better decision would have been to classify the Jeep as a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) for safety design purposes, which would require various tests for roof strength being met relative to the vehicle’s weight before the vehicle could be sold to the public. Convertibles are not subjected to roof protection safety tests, rollover safety tests, or minimum roll bar strength tests. While a Jeep has a “sports bar” that looks like a roll bar, it is not designed to protect like an actual roll bar. These federal standards are only minimum standards before sale, any company can choose to exceed the minimum standards if so desired.

The convertible classification applies to all Jeep Wranglers manufactured before 2020 for the 2019 model year; however some modifications have been implemented since the 2019 model year that does improve the roof structure’s integrity during a roll over. While the government has twice proposed extending the SUV safety requirements to include the Wrangler, corporate lobbying ensured that it didn’t have to meet the roof strength standard for SUVs before any sale to the public, and it continues to maintain this exemption through existing standards of today.

Two aftermarket supply companies offer stronger roll bars, along with the explanation that if vehicle owners don’t upgrade, they risk that the spreader and sport bars may buckle and the windshield may fold inwards if the car rolls over. Structural integrity is suspect in anything but a low speed rollover.

The lawyers at Cronauer Law are interested in helping people who have been injured from the use of products manufactured by Jeep. For more information, please contact:

Cronauer Law, LLP

1101 DeKalb Avenue Ste. 2

Sycamore, IL 60178

815-895-8585

For more information, visit cronauerlaw.com