Exclusive: The 2026 Jeep Wrangler Might Have Doors You Can Remove Without Tools
It looks like Jeep is going to try to blow the doors off of the competition with a new feature.
After an era of dominating the topless SUV segment as the only vehicle in, the Jeep Wrangler has been losing sales to the rebooted Ford Bronco in recent years. Bronco deliveries increased 43.5% in the first half of 2025 to 72,063, while Wrangler deliveries were up just 11% at 85,613, which is less than half the pace it was selling at before the new Bronco arrived in 2021.
Jeep updated the Wrangler last year with a few new features, including power front seats and side curtain airbags, and regularly releases new trims and limited edition models to keep things fresh, but its next big move could be a game-changer for owners looking to change the look of their truck.
A source familiar with the matter has told American Cars And Racing that Jeep dealers have been informed that the 2026 Wrangler has doors that can be removed without tools. Both the Wrangler and Bronco come standard with doors that are designed to be taken off by their owners, which sets them apart from other SUVs.
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The current Wrangler and related Jeep Gladiator pickup’s doors are suspended by basic external hinges designed with pins on the doors that slip into barrels attached to the vehicle.
Torx screws are inserted through the bottom of the barrels to secure the pins. The vehicles come with tool kits and storage bins for the pins for when they are removed. It is a simple, but time-consuming process that can be done by one person, but involves a lot of little parts that can go missing.
The Bronco’s hinges are internal and its frameless doors are heavier than the Wrangler’s, which makes removing them a trickier and more cumbersome two-person job, as Ford advises in its official instructional video. Jeep apparently isn’t satisfied with this advantage, however, and has come up with a “quick release” hinge design that only requires the flick of a lever, according to our source.
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American Cars And Racing hasn’t seen images of the new hinges, but al recent patent application reveals that Jeep has been thinking about doors without screws.
The filing for a “Vehicle Door Hinge” uses the Jeep Wrangler as an example vehicle in the included drawings and describes a hinge that allows the doors to be removed without tools.
The key difference is that a second leg has been added to the part on the door underneath the pin, which slides under the barrel when the door is closed, preventing it from being lifted. It only clears the barrel when the door is fully opened, which the patent says is the optimal position, as various parts can be damaged or scratched if the door is removed when it is only partially opened. It would be impossible to remove the door when it is closed and presumably locked.
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It doesn’t mention a lever or latch, abut that could be an additional security feature that was added since the application was filed in 2023. The design also looks like it may allow for it to be compatible with the old style hinge, which would accommodate the many half, tube and fabric doors offered by Mopar and the robust Jeep aftermarket parts industry.
The production hinge design may be entirely different and still secret, however. American Cars And Racing has reached out to Jeep for comment on this report and will update it if it responds, but the 2026 Jeep Wrangler’s official reveal will likely be in September.