Jeep Has Finally Fixed the Biggest Issue With the Wrangler, IIHS Says

The Jeep Wrangler is one of the preeminent off-roaders of the modern era, offering laudable rock crawling chops from the factory at an affordable price, but it's had a shadow hanging over it: its high center of gravity and narrow wheelbase have made the Wrangler more prone than the average vehicle to rolling over, a characteristic that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has often criticized the popular SUV for.

It's almost comical to watch Jeep Wrangler crash test videos from as recently as 2022, in which the burly SUV immediately flips over on impact during the small overlap crash test. But IIHS officials are giving credit where credit is due, as the 2026 model year Jeep Wrangler has managed to stay upright during the driver-side small overlap crash test. And all it took was an updated frame rail, the independent safety watchdog agency said.

IIHS

"The 2026 Jeep Wrangler 4-door remained upright during the driver-side small overlap crash test, resolving a longstanding issue with the popular SUV. The improved result came after changes were made to the frame rail," a statement released by IIHS reads. "Thanks to the latest changes, Wranglers built after October 2025 earn an acceptable small overlap rating, which combines results from the driver-side and passenger-side tests."

The rollover issue was first identified in 2019 and recurred in 2022, despite some modifications by Jeep. A high rollover risk is common on tall, narrow-wheelbase SUVs, but the Wrangler carries a particularly strong reputation for tipping; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials labeled the tip-over risk at around 26.7 percent in 2020 shortly after the introduction of the current generation Wrangler. This percentage is higher than most SUVs, but we suspect the Wrangler's broad popularity also plays a role in its rollover risk reputation.

The Wrangler is still far from perfect, as IIHS tests showed a high risk for injury to the front passenger's right foot and leg in small overlap crash testing. Even so, the Wrangler and its Gladiator sibling models are rising out of crash test purgatory, as Jeep says it included the updated frame rail on the pickup model as well. This means that the Jeep Gladiator will also receive an acceptable rating for the 2026 model year.

(Road & Track reached out to Stellantis for details on how the Wrangler was re-engineered to avoid tipping and will update this story if we learn more.)

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A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.