Jeepers Creepers! (Jeep Patriot)

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Reg# 43897
Okay, so we had one. Wife's DD. A silver one loaded, Limited, I think. Had that horrible CVT in it, AWD, leather seats, sun roof. Best part of it was a not-too-bad stereo system. Of course it needed that sub-woofer to cover up the HORRIBLE FREAKING ROAD NOISE... I cannot over-emphasise that last sentence. The road noise was terribly bad. My old POS Mercury Lynx was comparably a paragon of solitude twenty-odd years before this abomination.

We dumped it for a crazy-good deal on a Grand Caravan when Chrysler was going through the fits back during it's belly-up phase in 08 - 09. Good bloody riddance.

Do not buy it. Get a Mazda CX-3.

John.


What year was yours??? My 2011 was not noisy to drive at all( i.e. road noise ).

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: Reg# 43897
Okay, so we had one. Wife's DD. A silver one loaded, Limited, I think. Had that horrible CVT in it, AWD, leather seats, sun roof. Best part of it was a not-too-bad stereo system. Of course it needed that sub-woofer to cover up the HORRIBLE FREAKING ROAD NOISE... I cannot over-emphasise that last sentence. The road noise was terribly bad. My old POS Mercury Lynx was comparably a paragon of solitude twenty-odd years before this abomination.

We dumped it for a crazy-good deal on a Grand Caravan when Chrysler was going through the fits back during it's belly-up phase in 08 - 09. Good bloody riddance.

Do not buy it. Get a Mazda CX-3.

John.


What year was yours??? My 2011 was not noisy to drive at all( i.e. road noise ).


Strange...there was a little bit of road noise when I test drove one...not bad though....

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: Reg# 43897
Okay, so we had one. Wife's DD. A silver one loaded, Limited, I think. Had that horrible CVT in it, AWD, leather seats, sun roof. Best part of it was a not-too-bad stereo system. Of course it needed that sub-woofer to cover up the HORRIBLE FREAKING ROAD NOISE... I cannot over-emphasise that last sentence. The road noise was terribly bad. My old POS Mercury Lynx was comparably a paragon of solitude twenty-odd years before this abomination.

We dumped it for a crazy-good deal on a Grand Caravan when Chrysler was going through the fits back during it's belly-up phase in 08 - 09. Good bloody riddance.

Do not buy it. Get a Mazda CX-3.

John.


What year was yours??? My 2011 was not noisy to drive at all( i.e. road noise ).


Strange...there was a little bit of road noise when I test drove one...not bad though....
My mom's 2012 doesn't have that much road noise either.

 

[atikovi]

Road noise is a function of tire tread. Mine has summer tires and rides quiet.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I considered buying one of these instead of the Focus. No A/C model, manual transmission, front wheel drive. Wanted just a front drive station wagon. Due to a printing error in the owners manual, it had timing belt listed as a service interval on the 2.4L engine so I did not buy it. I didn't realize the engine was a chain engine.

It seems that they do have a lot of balljoint problems. I would probably get a Mitsubishi Outlander sport 5M if I wanted something on this platform

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I considered buying one of these instead of the Focus. No A/C model, manual transmission, front wheel drive. Wanted just a front drive station wagon. Due to a printing error in the owners manual, it had timing belt listed as a service interval on the 2.4L engine so I did not buy it. I didn't realize the engine was a chain engine.

It seems that they do have a lot of balljoint problems. I would probably get a Mitsubishi Outlander sport 5M if I wanted something on this platform


I think the ball joint issue( lowers )got fixed. Seems to be more of a pre 2010/2011 thing. Maybe a different supplier started making them or something to fix the early failure? I know when I had my 2011 I had no problems with them and I read a lot of old threads on the Patriot forums about the issue, and saw a lot of new threads from people with older models, but nothing really from the people with the newer models( 2010/2011+ )unless they went off road a lot.

With that said, if it is still an ongoing issue( been a while since I was a regular on Patriot forums ), if they go while under warranty just have them replaced free. Once they are out of warranty MOOG offers excellent replacements that solve the issue on a long term basis( suspension components are not lifetime service so eventually they will need replacing ). You can get the lower ball joints for approx $110-$120 for the pair and have them pressed into the lower control arms(LCA) and then no more problem. Others elected to buy the LCA assembly from Moog that already has the ball joint pressed in for about $250 for the pair. Very quick and easy to replace the LCA as an assembly so labor was very cheap. Once done so was the issue. Either way fixes the common problem long term for a very reasonable fee.

* NOTE - a main part of the problem with the OEM ball joints was/is they were not greaseable. The MOOG replacements are.

 

[FutureDoc]

Excellent example of why I put guarded significance on other's judgements about my choices. You put looks over, what I consider, substance.
...
However, to each his own. I respect other's choice to buy what they like. And yes, shame on me for being defensive about my choices. I must be mentally deficient. [/quote]

A like-minded individual... if I could, I would ditch the phone (smart or flip) completely. Although, in full disclosure, I have a smart phone for work so I can get email etc in the field. There is a difference between being able to afford something and actually accruing the cost.

Unfortunately, we will never be a targeted consumer group. There is not enough of a market for the pound-wise consumer as most markets know it is all about the shallow-style consumers that drive the product margins. The we realized why there is always a race to the bottom but with "sparkles".

When I was car shopping, I told the salesman I don't car about the infotainment. It is all about the 2+2 (sportscar for the baby-seat), suspension (GT cruiser for mountain roads, not a trackday car), gearbox (manual), and engine (GT-ness). If it has an AM/FM radio, there are two features I don't need. Anyway, after saying that, he continued to talk about the infotainment controls for 15 minutes. I was like, [censored], What did I just say? Well, no sale for him.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Have an appointment tomorrow with my mom's Patriot for the CVT whine and the A/C being dead. I'll update everyone what the outcome is lol.
Ok got her Patriot back today. A/C compressor died. Extended warranty covered it ($1200). Whining noise was diagnosed as transmission, they wanted to change the fluid and filter to start the diagnosis process, I gave them the go ahead ($180) and the noise is now gone. For now. I'm very surprised.

I'll take it back next month for the motor mounts vibrating and the sway bar bushings squeaking a little bit.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Have an appointment tomorrow with my mom's Patriot for the CVT whine and the A/C being dead. I'll update everyone what the outcome is lol.
Ok got her Patriot back today. A/C compressor died. Extended warranty covered it ($1200). Whining noise was diagnosed as transmission, they wanted to change the fluid and filter to start the diagnosis process, I gave them the go ahead ($180) and the noise is now gone. For now. I'm very surprised.

I'll take it back next month for the motor mounts vibrating and the sway bar bushings squeaking a little bit.


Jeep is out of their mind with their 120K service interval on the CVT fluid. Should be 60K for normal and 30K for severe service on that fluid. It wears out fast and those transmissions are very sensitive to fluid. Has to be the correct stuff and in good shape.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Have an appointment tomorrow with my mom's Patriot for the CVT whine and the A/C being dead. I'll update everyone what the outcome is lol.
Ok got her Patriot back today. A/C compressor died. Extended warranty covered it ($1200). Whining noise was diagnosed as transmission, they wanted to change the fluid and filter to start the diagnosis process, I gave them the go ahead ($180) and the noise is now gone. For now. I'm very surprised.

I'll take it back next month for the motor mounts vibrating and the sway bar bushings squeaking a little bit.


Jeep is out of their mind with their 120K service interval on the CVT fluid. Should be 60K for normal and 30K for severe service on that fluid. It wears out fast and those transmissions are very sensitive to fluid. Has to be the correct stuff and in good shape.



What I heard as well. Thinking if I got one with the CVT, it would be like the 50k ones I do on my current cars now...

 

[harbor]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
New wagon/SUV for 12-14k? AWD too? Seems like a winner to me.
I don't even know if I'd bother driving the competition, if its 10k more but better, you don't need to know what you are "missing"... They all get you down the road in reasonable comfort.


Noticed they killed the rebates....looks like they are going to lease out the remaining 16s...

No hurry though...waiting to see what they do with the 17s...


If there is a 17 Patriot? It has been on the chopping block now for like 3 years. It always seems to make the next year though. They are working on a replacement for the Patriot/Compass however and it is in the test mule stage( they are using a stretched Renegade body on the chassis ). The new Patriot( or whatever they call it )will be larger than a Renegade but smaller than a Cherokee.


http://www.allpar.com/news/2016/06/patriot-compass-live-on-31935

Looks like the Pat/Compass have 9 lives and will be around for another year. As FCA searches for a partner, their product plan is in a constant state of flux.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: harbor
http://www.allpar.com/news/2016/06/patriot-compass-live-on-31935

Looks like the Pat/Compass have 9 lives and will be around for another year. As FCA searches for a partner, their product plan is in a constant state of flux.

They are doing similar things with their minivans. The new Pacifica is out, but they are continuing production of the Grand Caravan.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/detroit-auto-show/2016/01/11/dodge-grand-caravan-naias-detroit-auto-show-detroit-auto/78613028/
"The vehicle was scheduled to be discontinued this year with the introduction of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which will replace the Chrysler Town & Country nameplate when it arrives in U.S. dealerships by March.Tim Kuniskis, Fiat Chrysler-North America head of passenger car brands, said the Grand Caravan is a “good car that sells extremely well,” so the company will continue to produce it until market demand fades.“Why not let the market decide?” Kuniskis said. “So we’re going to bring the new one out and keep the old one at the same time, covering the price classes and let the market decide how many they want to buy and how long they want to buy them.”

Back to the Patriot/Compass, its tough to figure out whats going on at FCA. How can they squeeze another SUV in between the Renegade and the Cherokee? I imagine FCA is grasping for profit, justifying keeping the Grand Caravan and Patriot/Compass, whose tooling is already paid for.

Imagine if an auto maker actually acknowledged that there is a market for basic, unadulterated, low cost vehicles , instead of whats happening, for instance, to pick up trucks.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: harbor


http://www.allpar.com/news/2016/06/patriot-compass-live-on-31935

Looks like the Pat/Compass have 9 lives and will be around for another year. As FCA searches for a partner, their product plan is in a constant state of flux.


Not that I own one, or plan to, but to me this is a great thing for the used buyer, lower insurance rates, etc.

 

[daves87rs]

Kinda figured it might live on....since the journey is making it into next year as well. Still have that choice now...

 

[daves87rs]

Throwing a question into the fray...would it be wise to choose a base model?

(Less things to break...)

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Throwing a question into the fray...would it be wise to choose a base model?

(Less things to break...)


Well, the expensive things like engine and transmission will be in base and highline models. If you're going to live with it a few years might as well enjoy it and get it equipped as you like it.

 

[dishdude]

I've found most options to be pretty reliable. I'd equip it the way you want.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Throwing a question into the fray...would it be wise to choose a base model?

(Less things to break...)
My mom's 2012 is a base model lol.

It might be worth it as long as you get the automatic transmission, not the CVT. I don't think they have the 2.slow anymore, my God is it underpowered.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Throwing a question into the fray...would it be wise to choose a base model?

(Less things to break...)


Not too many fancy options even available honestly. one option I highly recommend getting is the upgraded sound system with the rear tailgate speakers, woofer, and amp. I had it in mine and it is a HUGE improvement over the regular setup. Upgrading speakers to make it sound even better is easy too( PM me if you get there and I will help you out with more info ).

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Throwing a question into the fray...would it be wise to choose a base model?

(Less things to break...)


To me, the only advantage to going with a base model is it will cost you thousands less than one with options. This isn't going to help you with resale, but then again, you paid less for it in the first place.