2007 Jeep Compass
Complaints about this year name ball joints far more often than the other years of this generation — 14% of them, about 25× the usual rate of 0.5%.
First year of a new generation. The Jeep Compass was redesigned for 2007. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 434 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 137 |
| Involving a crash | 13 |
| Involving a fire | 8 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 23.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- ball — 24% of this year's complaints, against 8% across the other years of this generation (3×). Owners wrote it as: ball, joints, ball joints, joint.
- tie — 15.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.5% across the other years of this generation (6.4×). Owners wrote it as: tie, rod, tie rod, rods.
- arms — 12.9% of this year's complaints, against 1.6% across the other years of this generation (7.9×). Owners wrote it as: arms, control arms, lower control, bearings.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- tie — 13% of complaints, 24× usual
- tank — 15% of complaints, 5× usual
- compass 4x4 — 8% of complaints, 21× usual
What owners wrote
THE VEHICLE WAS BEING SERVICED AT AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHEN THE MECHANIC ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE FRONT TIE RODS AND LOWER BALL JOINTS WOULD NEED REPLACING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR REPAIRS. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1…
DEVELOPED A NOTICABLE VIBRATION.TOOK TO DEALER AND WAS ADVISED THE BALL JOINTS NEEDED [VIN] AND THE VEHICLE WAS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. WHEN PICKED UP THE VEHICLE, INVOICE STATED 2 LOWER ARMS AND A TIE ROD WERE REPLACED. I HAVE DRIVEN MANY VEHICLES OVER 100,000 MI…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 10V234000 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL Fixed free of charge.
- 06V434000 EQUIPMENT
- 06V493000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
How this was worked out
Every year of the Jeep Compass was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2007 Jeep Compass? What happened to yours?
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