Jeep Wrangler
Off-road SUV · 1987–present. 151,163 units sold in the US in 2024
How it began
The family starts in 1940: the U.S. Army asked 135 automakers for a light reconnaissance vehicle, and only Bantam, Willys-Overland and Ford answered. In 1941 Willys won the contract for the MB, the World War II jeep, and the civilian CJ series grew from it. The Wrangler itself was created by American Motors Corporation (AMC), Jeep's owner, which began working on a CJ-7 replacement in 1982; Chrysler bought AMC on August 5, 1987. For the 2007 generation, Chrysler named Trevor Creed (Senior Vice President of Design) and Mike Donoughe (Vice President, Body-on-frame Product Team).
The Wrangler was born at AMC in the United States. Since August 2006 it has been built in Toledo, Ohio: first at the Toledo Supplier Park, built in 2005 for the Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited, and today at the Toledo Assembly Complex, where the Wrangler sold in the U.S. is assembled alongside the Gladiator.
AMC introduced the Wrangler YJ in 1986 as a 1987 model, replacing the long-running CJ series. It arrived about a year before Chrysler bought AMC in August 1987.
In the United States, a wrangler is a cowboy: the person who looks after cattle or breaks horses on a ranch. According to Stellantis, the word also describes someone who successfully handles difficult or unpredictable situations, which is exactly what this Jeep is expected to do off-road.
By the mid-1980s the CJ-7 was nearing its tenth birthday, and the SUV market wanted more refinement, features and comfort. Stability problems with the CJ had led to rollover lawsuits against AMC. AMC answered with a Jeep that was wider, lower and steadier on pavement, while keeping the CJ-7's open-body profile. Its own 1987 ad put it this way: ready for anything, even the environment Jeep drivers dread most, civilization.
Generation by generation
- Gen. 11987–1995 · YJ
The square-headlight Jeep
Photo: Elise240SX · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. It replaced the CJ series with a wider track, an angled grille, rectangular headlights and a more modern interior. It kept a steel ladder frame, the 93.4-inch wheelbase and leaf springs, but borrowed its steering and other suspension parts from the Cherokee XJ. The fuel-injected 2.5-liter four made 117 hp; the 4.0-liter inline-six arrived in 1991. Stellantis says 630,000 were sold.
The innovation. A stability package for pavement: a body lower and wider than the CJ's, wider leaf springs and anti-sway bars; the earlier CJ already offered a front stabilizer bar as standard or optional equipment depending on configuration. Its square headlights were, according to Jeep, the first and last time this kind of Jeep used them.
If you buy one usedSelected campaigns include 92V148 (front brake hoses rubbing against splash shields, certain 1987–1992 Wranglers), 94V106 (sending-unit gasket fuel leaks with plastic tanks, 1987–1994) and 02V041 (parking brake may self-release on 1990–1995 manuals). The brake-hose campaign differentiates both front hoses on 1987–early 1990 vehicles from left-front contact on late 1990–1992 vehicles. Driving Line’s original historical feature describes the 4.0-liter engine introduced for 1991 as the preferred engine; that is specialist preference. Check the exact VIN and completed repairs. - Gen. 21997–2006 · TJ
Round headlights return, coil springs arrive
Photo: SsmIntrigue · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. With a look very close to the CJ-7, nearly 80 percent of its parts were new. Round headlights came back, along with dual airbags and a real glovebox. The 4.0 six made 181 hp and the 2.5 four 120 hp; the SE started at $13,495. The Rubicon, with Dana 44 axles and locking differentials, arrived in 2003, and the Unlimited, with a 10-inch longer wheelbase, in 2004.
The innovation. The Quadra-Coil suspension: coil springs at all four corners with multiple links, adapted from the Grand Cherokee, in place of leaf springs. It added 7 inches of wheel travel and a much smoother ride on pavement.
If you buy one usedSelected airbag campaigns for certain 1997 Wranglers include 96V060 (control-module software may delay deployment), 97V080 (possible deployment at ignition shutdown) and 98V046 (clockspring harness may break at full steering lock). Campaign 02V104 covers certain 2000–2002 vehicles with the 4.0-liter engine: debris may collect externally at the intake/exhaust manifold near cylinder 3, creating a fire risk; the remedy installs a manifold shield. Check the exact VIN and repair records. - Gen. 32007–2018 · JK
The first four-door Wrangler
Photo: Cutlass · CC0 What changed. All new: a frame 100 percent stiffer in bending, a three-piece modular Freedom Top hardtop, standard stability control and, for the first time in a Wrangler, power windows and locks. It launched with a 202 hp 3.8-liter V6; for 2012 the 285 hp 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 replaced it, 40 percent more powerful, with the Wrangler's first five-speed automatic. Toledo built 2,165,678 of them.
The innovation. The four-door Wrangler Unlimited: a 116-inch wheelbase, room for five adults and, according to Chrysler, the only four-door convertible on the market in 2006.
If you buy one usedCampaign 16V290 concerns clockspring dust contamination and possible driver-airbag failure on certain 2007–2010 Wranglers. Passenger-airbag inflator campaigns 16V352, 18V021 and 19V018 cover distinct populations across 2007–2016; earlier phases depend on sale/registration zones. The official instructions advise owners of affected unrepaired vehicles not to drive until repaired. Campaign 13V234 concerns certain 2012–2013 vehicles with the 3.6-liter engine and automatic transmission: a power-steering line may rub through the transmission cooler line, leaking transmission fluid and causing loss of transmission function. The factory-stock 2012-and-later 3.6-liter JK engine produces 285 hp. Check the exact VIN and repair records. - Gen. 42018–present · JL
Lighter, more high-tech and plug-in
Photo: Elise240SX · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. Production began in Toledo in December 2017, after a $700 million investment. Doors, hinges, hood, fenders and windshield frame are aluminum, and the swing gate is magnesium, to save weight. It added a 270 hp 2.0-liter turbo, an eight-speed automatic, Selec-Trac full-time four-wheel drive and Uconnect screens up to 8.4 inches. In 2021 the Rubicon 392 arrived, the first factory V8 Wrangler, reviving an option last offered by its CJ family predecessors nearly 40 years earlier, with 470 hp.
The innovation. The Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid, built since December 2020: a 2.0-liter turbo, two electric motors and a 400-volt battery, with 21 miles of electric range per Jeep. In February 2025, Jeep confirmed it had been America's best-selling plug-in hybrid for four consecutive years, including 2024.
If you buy one usedSelected campaigns include 18V675 (front track-bar bracket welds, certain 2018–2019 Wranglers), 20V124/21V028/23V116 (manual clutch pressure-plate overheating/fracture across 2018–2023) and 23V191 (frame stud may puncture the fuel tank in a crash, 2020–2022). Campaign 23V116 expands/replaces 21V028 and requires the new remedy after earlier repairs. For the 4xe battery, 23V787 lists 2021–2023 and the later 25V741 lists 2020–2025 in the agency record; affected owners must park outside away from structures and not charge until repaired. The later battery remedy is required even after earlier 23V787/24V720 repairs. Campaign 26V363 separately concerns power-steering-pump wiring and fire risk on certain 2021–2025 Wranglers, including while parked with ignition Off; affected owners are instructed to park outside away from structures until repaired. Verify the exact VIN and current remedy with the dealer.
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