Yahoo Autos 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited tips over in IIHS crash test
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just tested the 2019 Jeep Wrangler, marking the group’s first test of the latest generation JL Wrangler. It released a couple videos of the test online to depict what happened.
The headline does most of the explaining. Yes, the Wrangler Unlimited tipped over onto its side in the driver-side small overlap front crash test performed by the IIHS. This is the first time the new-generation JL Wrangler has been tested by the IIHS. It previously received a one-star out of five rating from the Euro NCAP test. However, it also received a four-star out of five front crash rating from NHTSA.
The risks of a vehicle tipping onto its side in a crash are fairly obvious. If the occupants aren’t wearing their seatbelts, the risk of ejection or partial ejection is very real. Your odds of being ejected are higher if you happen to have the roof and doors off your Wrangler, too. Basically, be smart, and wear your seatbelt. Other than the car tipping, the IIHS was actually quite satisfied with how the Wrangler performed in the test. “The driver's space was maintained well, and the dummy's movement was well-controlled,” the IIHS says. This partial success combined with the tipping earned the Wrangler a “Marginal” rating for the specific test. That’s one step above “Poor,” which is the institute’s lowest rating.
There’s a bit of a discrepancy between the test results that FCA provided the IIHS and what the IIHS found in their independent testing. According to the IIHS, in the test that FCA submitted, the Wrangler did not tip on its side. FCA initially questioned the results of the first test run by the IIHS. Here’s how the IIHS describes it:
“After the vehicle tipped over in the audit test, Fiat Chrysler questioned whether this outcome was related to the method that IIHS engineers had used to attach the vehicle to the crash propulsion system. IIHS agreed to conduct a second test using a different method, which was approved by Fiat Chrysler. The second test also ended with the vehicle tipping on its side.”
We asked FCA for comment on the test and received this statement in response:
