2019 Jeep Wrangler tips over in crash test

We have seen a lot of crash tests, but in what might be a new low benchmark among modern cars, the all-new Jeep Wrangler suffered a poorer-than-usual crash test result in which it tipped over. Yes, that’s right.

The crash test in question was conducted on the 4th-generation 2019 Jeep Wrangler JL by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). The new Jeep Wrangler was subjected to the institute’s driver-side small overlap front crash test when it tipped over on its side.

This outcome has questioned by Jeep’s parent company FCA related to how the IIHS engineers rigged the SUV to the propulsion system. This doubt was considered by IIHS and a second crash test was conducted in which, guess what, it tipped over again.

“A vehicle tipping onto its side is not an acceptable outcome,” remarked the IIHS. They also noted that the tipping over of a vehicle can cause “additional injury risk beyond what the standard criteria are intended to measure,” according to the institute’s press release. The tipping over can also raise the risk of the driver or passengers being ejected out of the vehicle, as the Jeep has removable doors and roof. Also, note that the removable roof makes it impossible for the Wrangler to have side curtain airbags.

This incident has forced IIHS to downgrade the Wrangler’s safety rating, even though it performed well in the crash, at least within the standard measurements that the crash test envelops. The overall rating of the Wrangler ended up being “marginal”. The SUV did protect the driver’s space and the crash test dummy, even through the crash.