The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2026
Jeep's steel wheels: 641 Wranglers and Gladiators with thin walls
Steel wheels made too thin can crack and separate without warning. 641 vehicles from ten days of November 2025 production; wheels replaced (Jul 2026).
Jeep · 2026-07-16
What happened
Jeep recalled 641 vehicles — 606 Wranglers and 35 Gladiators, model year 2026, built within ten days in November 2025 — on July 16, 2026: the steel wheels were produced with a thin-wall condition and can crack and separate, losing control of the vehicle without warning.
Jeep inspects and replaces the faulty steel wheels and valve stems (NHTSA 26V456).
The wheel chosen for toughness, made too thin to be tough — ten days of production, all of it suspect.
Why it happened
- Thin-wall steel wheels can crack and separate — 641 Wranglers/Gladiators from ten days of Nov 2025 build; recalled 16 Jul 2026
- A steel wheel's whole selling point is that it doesn't crack — the wall thickness is the product
- Ten days of production define the recall's boundary — the defect is a window, not a model
The lesson
A steel wheel is a thickness specification with a tire on it. When one roll comes out thin, the toughest wheel becomes the weakest part under the driver — and ten days of output define the bill.
Sources
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
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