Caught on Cam: Jeep Wrangler Tips Over During Crash Test

A vehicle’s ability to safeguard its passengers during a crash is one of the most important factors for consumers when buying a new car. And among the most trusted agencies to give honest ratings regarding this is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The non-profit agency regularly conducts crash tests to gauge a vehicle’s road-readiness as well as its crash-worthiness.

In a YouTube video recently uploaded by the IIHS, it shows two 2019 four-door Jeep Wranglers tipping over to the side during a small overlap front crash test. In the video, the vehicles are seen smashing into a barrier before rolling out to the side and sliding on the floor.

Upon inspection, the Wrangler’s passenger safety cage and driver injury measurements were given a Good rating (the highest of all). But the model’s overall score for the said test was downgraded to Marginal, which is only a tier higher than Poor, for its inability to stay upright.

“In both the institute’s tests, the vehicles tipped onto its passenger side after striking the barrier. The partial rollover presents an additional injury risk beyond what the standard criteria are intended to measure in small overlap frontal crash tests. A vehicle tipping onto its side is not an acceptable outcome for a frontal crash and, as a result, the Wrangler’s overall rating [on this test] was downgraded to Marginal,” the IIHS said.

The agency also conducted a side collision test for the model, where it earned a Good rating after managing to keep all four tires planted to the ground. However, testers noted that the rear passenger’s head protection is insufficient, thereby giving the four-door Wrangler a Marginal rating for this particular aspect.

In summary, the 2019 Jeep Wrangler received a total of four Good marks out of five crash tests. These results, according to the IIHS, also apply to the model’s 2018 and 2020 editions but not for the two-door variant, which has yet to complete its crash tests.