Do All Jeeps Have Drain Plugs?

Jeep Wranglers are fully loaded with tons of cool features, which is why it is a choice off-roading vehicle. If you are using your Jeep to its fullest extent, by the end of the muddy excursion, you may need to rinse out and properly drain your Jeep. Luckily, one of the unique features of a Jeep wrangler is drain plugs.

Do All Jeeps Have Drain Plugs?

Do all Jeeps have drain plugs? All Jeep Wranglers have drain plugs. In fact, there are typically two to four drain plugs, depending on the model of Jeep. They are located in the floor pan of the Jeep below the foot spaces. Drain plugs are less necessary in other Jeep models like the Cherokee, Compass or Renegade.

Whatever the reason, should you find yourself needing to locate and utilize your Jeep Wrangler drain plugs, we will guide you through the easy process of finding and using this helpful feature. If you lose a plug, we’ve got a solution for that as well! Read on!

Where can I find the Drain Plugs in a Jeep Wrangler?

The drain plugs in a Jeep Wrangler are located in the floor panel of the Jeep just below the foot spaces. They are located underneath the carpeting, so you will need to remove the carpet for the drain plugs to become visible.

What do the Drain Plugs Look Like?

The drain plugs in a Jeep Wrangler are in the shape of a kidney bean and are about the size of an adult palm (3-4”). Depending on the exact model and year, your drain plugs may have a colorful plastic plug cap (like red or blue), or they may have a black plastic plug cap.

Why Would I Need Drain Plugs?

It is likely that if you live in a sunny place like Southern California, where the weather is generally 70 degrees all year round, your Jeep Wrangler drain plugs may indeed be a moot feature. However, if you have a Jeep Wrangler and live in a wet climate, like Seattle, where it rains 280 days out of the year, it’s likely you may need to utilize these plugs at some point.

Weather

While the removable top of a Jeep Wrangler is made to keep weather out, it is not uncommon for that weather to still somehow find its way in – even if it is just due to a torrential downpour and your backseat passengers taking an especially slow time getting into the backseat. In this instance, depending on how much rain collects in that irritating span of time between your friends opening the door and finally closing the door, you may, in fact, find yourself very grateful to have these conveniently placed drain plugs in the floor of your cab.

Adventuring

As we mentioned earlier, the Jeep Wrangler is the perfect off-roading vehicle that is also highway safe. It really offers something for everyone, but especially for that adventurer in your family. You know the one—the one that takes off into backroads and goes “mudding.”  It’s just what you do in a Jeep—find mud, drive through mud, get stuck in mud, and then get unstuck.  It’s fun and–dare I say it–muddy!

When you do go muddin,’ some of that wet mud sludge finds its way into the jeep. When it does, my goodness will you be glad you can just pull a plug and watching that nasty water drain. As easy as pulling the plug from a bathtub. Bye, bye, murky waters!

How do you Drain a Jeep?

We’re going to walk you through a simple step-by-step of how to properly drain a Jeep Wrangler using the drain plugs. (Go ahead and grab a flat head screwdriver, as you’ll need it for Step 3!)

Step 1 – Remove Carpets

Open the doors of the Jeep and pull the carpets up and away from the floor. Be gentle when pulling the carpets up and out, as some of the carpet is folded under the seats and the inside trim, and you don’t want it to get caught and snag.

Step 2 – Locate Drain Plugs

Since we already know where our drain plugs are, we’ll go ahead and look at the floor panel near the foot area. With the carpet now removed, the drain plugs will be very obvious (remember they’re shaped like 4” long kidney beans).

Step 3 – Pry Drain Plugs Open

Using a flat-head screwdriver, pry the drain plug cap off. It is the same sensation as trying to pry off a paint can lid. However, unlike most paint can lids, the drain plug caps can, in fact, be removed by hand if they aren’t secured super tightly, or can be pushed up and out (from the underside side of the vehicle).

Step 4 – Let the Water Drain Out

Now that the drain plug lid is up and out, the water in your vehicle should freely flow down and out the drains. Be sure to allow this floor panel area to dry before reinstalling the plugs back in.

Step 5 – Wash Carpet

If your carpet got muddy water on it, before you place the carpets back in the water, give them a good wash or shampoo. Be sure to let them dry completely before placing back in the vehicle so mold or mildew don’t grow. Nothing is worse than getting in your car for a long drive to discover your car smells like a stinky old shoe.

Step 6 – Reinstall Drain Plug

Reinstall the drain plug caps by inserting them securely into the drain holes from the interior of the cab by hand (no need to use that screwdriver anymore.)

Step 7 – Reinstall Carpets

Now that the floor panels are all clean and dry, as well as your freshly shampooed (and dried) carpets, go ahead and reinstall them, tucking them back under the seats and into the interior trim.

Step 8 – Go on a New Muddy Adventure and Repeat!

What if I Don’t Want Drain Plugs in My Jeep?

If you do not care about the drain plug feature, are confident you will never ever use it, or are just morally against the idea (not sure why you would be, but there’s a cause for everyone!) then you can always custom make your vehicle at a dealership. However, if it is of any comfort to you, my drain-plug-averse friend, since the drains are hidden beneath the carpet, you never have to utilize this feature if you don’t want to.

If muddin’ is not in your vocabulary and if wet old Seattle is not the place for you, just hide those drain plugs for life! No one will be the wiser.  Even you! After all, what we see can’t hurt us, right?

What if I lost my Drain Plug Caps?

If you recently drained your Jeep Wrangler and misplaced some of the drain plugs, no biggie! If you’ve got a Jeep Wrangler that is a model from 1997-2006, you can buy your round drain plugs in a pack of four here for under $10. If you’re driving a Jeep Wrangler that’s from 2007-2013, you can purchase replacement plugs here for less than $2 each. If your model is a 2014-2019, you can buy new ones in a pack of four for under $15 here.

The Key Takeaway

The Jeep Wrangler is a super fun car that offers something for everyone. Fortunately, it comes with excellent features, like drain plugs, that help to keep your Jeep clean and dry during all seasons (and through all types of adventures). Locating the drain plugs are easy, and utilizing the plugs are even easier. In the event you find the Jeep Wrangler drain plug feature utterly irrelevant, you can simply keep them hidden beneath your carpeting.  However, at least now you know they’re there (and just how useful they can be!)