Used Car Checklists

2025 Jeep Gladiator: What to check before buying

Owners have filed 7 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical. The 6 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.

Jeep Gladiator2025
Owner complaints
7
Recalls
0
Crashes reported
0
Reliability
Good
64/100 on Auto Reliability Index

Run the VIN before you go

A history report shows accidents, title brands, odometer readings, and open recalls for this 2025 Jeep Gladiator. Ask the seller for the VIN; it is also on the dash at the base of the windshield.

Your inspection sheet

Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.

0/6 checked

1

Paperwork and questions

Before you go, or before you touch the car0/1

2

Cold start, engine bay, and underside

Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/1

3

Test drive

At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4

These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.

Reported on neighboring Gladiator years

Nearby years usually share most parts, so their problems are worth checking on this car too.

2024 Gladiator

11 owner complaints
  • Steering 3
  • Acceleration and cruise control 2
  • Electrical 2

Worth adding to your 2025 checks

  • Ask for service records showing a battery replaced for shorting, and inspect under the hood for melted wiring or scorch marks.
  • Drive above 55 mph on the highway and feel for violent shaking through the steering wheel.
  • On a straight, level road, check whether the truck pulls left with the steering wheel centered.
Open the 2024 checklist

2023 Gladiator

46 owner complaints
  • Electrical 11
  • Steering 7
  • Fuel system 6

Worth adding to your 2025 checks

  • Drive at 60 to 75 mph over bridge joints and rough pavement, and reject any shake that lasts until you slow down.
  • Ask for front-end and steering stabilizer repair records, and ask whether the wobble came back after the repair.
  • Ask the seller about dead-battery, no-start, or stalling episodes, and have both the main and auxiliary batteries tested.
Open the 2023 checklist

Which Gladiator is it?

EPA figures for each version of the 2025 Jeep Gladiator. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.

VersionDriveEPA rating
3.6L 6-cyl4WD19 mpg
  • Reset the trip computer at the start of the drive. A Gladiator that averages well under the EPA 19 mpg combined on a mixed route may have an engine or tire problem.

Why these checks: what owners reported

NHTSA complaints for the 2025 Jeep Gladiator, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.

  • Electrical2No crashes

    Automatic emergency braking engages at full force with no traffic or obstacle ahead. One report links it to an automatic over-the-air software update that also left the touchscreen jumping and shifting information. The false braking happens at highway speeds, from 39 mph to over 55 mph, and can force following drivers to brake hard, which creates a real rear-end crash risk. A separate software complaint says the truck turns on a paired Android phone's Wi-Fi and leaves it on after shutdown, draining the phone battery. Only 2 complaints are on file.

How the 2025 compares with other Gladiator years

Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.

The 2025 has the fewest owner complaints of the 6 Gladiator years we cover, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.

2025 Average of other years
  • Electrical241

Also looking at these instead of a Gladiator?

Cars shoppers compare with the Jeep Gladiator, with their own 2025 checklists.

2025 owner complaints, side by side