How many miles will a 2012 Jeep Compass last?
NHTSA holds 28 owner complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 3 past 150,000 and none past 200,000. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 184 complaints on this model year, 129 of them with a mileage, and half of those mileages are at or under 59,000 miles; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 129 complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass that list mileage, the middle half came between 30,000 and 92,000 miles; 28 (22%) came after 100,000 miles, 3 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2012 Compass last?
The 129 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 171,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 30,000 miles, half at or under 59,000, three quarters at or under 92,000 and nine in ten at or under 128,702; 28 (22%) came after 100,000 miles, 3 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2012 Compass wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 101 of the 129 came at or under 100,000 miles. The 28 past that mark show the 2012 Compass still being driven at those mileages, not how many reach them: NHTSA's file counts complaints, not the vehicles on the road.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 30,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 59,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 92,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 128,702 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 171,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 28 (22%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 3 (2%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 2,231 NHTSA owner complaints on the Jeep Compass that list mileage came after 45,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Jeep Compass last? →
Common problems with the 2012 Compass
NHTSA's file holds 184 owner complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass. Owners named the engine most often: 36 complaints, and half of the 27 that list a mileage came after 89,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 36 | 27 | 90,000 |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 34 | 22 | 58,000 |
| Air Bags | 28 | 8 | 80,000 |
| Power Train | 26 | 23 | 79,000 |
| Electrical System | 24 | 19 | 50,000 |
Of the 184 complaints, 3 report a crash, 5 report a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2012 Compass a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2012 is a good or a bad Compass: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2012 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 184 complaints, the 2012 ranks 9th of the 19 Jeep Compass model years from 2007 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2018 (951). The fewest: the 2025 (30).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 Compass | 435 | 366 | 79,120 |
| 2008 Compass | 172 | 146 | 85,490 |
| 2009 Compass | 64 | 52 | 77,000 |
| 2010 Compass | 81 | 59 | 77,390 |
| 2011 Compass | 188 | 131 | 70,000 |
| 2012 (this page) | 184 | 129 | 59,000 |
| 2013 Compass | 80 | 56 | 50,000 |
| 2014 Compass | 308 | 190 | 57,135 |
| 2015 Compass | 113 | 73 | 62,000 |
| 2016 Compass | 294 | 181 | 55,000 |
| 2017 Compass | 229 | 159 | 28,000 |
| 2018 Compass | 951 | 478 | 19,000 |
| 2019 Compass | 333 | 103 | 12,000 |
| 2020 Compass | 143 | 32 | 19,126 |
| 2021 Compass | 82 | 13 | 70,000 |
| 2022 Compass | 226 | 34 | 10,447 |
| 2023 Compass | 49 | 12 | 10,000 |
| 2024 Compass | 55 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 Compass | 30 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Compass year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Jeep Compass years to avoid →
2012 Jeep Compass recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2012 Jeep Compass. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 16V668000 | Sep 15, 2016 | SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER |
| 13V233000 | Jun 4, 2013 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE |
| 13V120000 | Apr 3, 2013 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE |
| 12V142000 | Apr 3, 2012 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2012 Compass lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2012 Compass.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 55 of the 184 complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: COMPASS, COMPASS 4X4 and COMPASS FWD. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: COMPASS, COMPASS 4X4 and COMPASS FWD.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2012 Jeep Compass questions
How many miles will a 2012 Jeep Compass last?
NHTSA holds 28 owner complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass that list a mileage past 100,000 miles: 3 past 150,000 and none past 200,000. Of the 129 complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass that list mileage, the middle half came between 30,000 and 92,000 miles; 28 (22%) came after 100,000 miles, 3 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2012 Compass that never had one.
What are the most common 2012 Jeep Compass problems?
NHTSA's file holds 184 owner complaints on the 2012 Jeep Compass. Owners named the engine most often: 36 complaints, and half of the 27 that list a mileage came after 89,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 184 complaints, 3 report a crash, 5 report a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2012 Jeep Compass a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2012 is a good or a bad Compass: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2012 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 184 complaints, the 2012 ranks 9th of the 19 Jeep Compass model years from 2007 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2018 (951). The fewest: the 2025 (30).
How many recalls does the 2012 Jeep Compass have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2012 Jeep Compass. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2012 Jeep Compass before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2012 Jeep Compass.