2026 Wrangler and Gladiator steel wheel recall, NHTSA 26V-456

NHTSA campaign 26V-456 was filed by FCA US LLC for certain 2026 Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Wrangler vehicles. It sits in the wheels category, and the filing describes a problem with the walls of the steel wheels. On the platforms this site covers, that is the Wrangler JL and the Gladiator JT, model year 2026 only, and only vehicles built with steel wheels.

The remedy is that dealers will inspect and replace the steel wheels and valve stems, as necessary, free of charge. The 'as necessary' wording means an inspection comes first. The filing says owner notification letters are expected to be mailed in September, so at the time of writing many owners will not yet have heard from the manufacturer. Do not wait for the letter to run the VIN.

The campaign is not stop-drive. But a wheel is a wheel, and a defect in the wall of a steel rim is the kind of thing that shows up as a slow leak first and something worse second. Steel wheels are popular with owners who plan to beat them on rocks, which makes this campaign relevant to trail use.

Confirm your vehicle is included. Run the VIN through the manufacturer's recall lookup and cross-check on the NHTSA recall page. If your 2026 Wrangler or Gladiator came on alloy wheels, it is almost certainly outside the campaign, but the VIN check is the authority, not the wheel style. If the campaign shows open, contact a Jeep dealer and quote 26V-456.

Until the inspection, keep an eye on tire pressures. Do not rely on a number from this article; the correct pressure for your vehicle and load is on the door placard and in the manual. What you are watching for is a wheel that loses pressure faster than the others. If one does, stop airing it back up and get the vehicle to the dealer, because a rim that will not hold pressure is the failure the recall is about.

Owners who air down for trails should be a little more careful than usual on affected vehicles until the wheels have been inspected. A low-pressure tire puts more of the load through the rim wall and the bead seat, which is exactly the area under scrutiny. Airing down is a normal part of trail driving, but it is a reasonable thing to defer for a week on a vehicle with an open wheel recall.

If you have already swapped the factory steel wheels for aftermarket ones, tell the dealer. The recall covers the factory parts, and the campaign should still be closed against the VIN so the record is clean for the next owner. If you kept the factory steel wheels as spares or for winter, bring them in for inspection, because a recalled wheel in the garage is still a recalled wheel.

The JL platform runs from 2018 to 2026 and the JT from 2020 to 2026. This campaign covers the 2026 model year only on both. Owners of earlier vehicles are outside 26V-456. A VIN check once a season catches any other open campaign at the same time, and it remains the single most useful safety habit for any Jeep owner.