2008 Jeep Patriot 4X4

ON A RETURN TRIP BACK HOME ON THE INTERSTATE, THE TRANSMISSION STARTED MAKING A "WHINING" NOISE. ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE A VACUUM LINE IS LOOSE, OR HAS COME OFF. ONLY HAPPENS ON ACCELERATION OR DECELERATION. STILL SHIFTS PROPERLY AND SMOOTHLY, BUT NOW MAKES NOISE. SEVERAL DAYS LATER, AND THE NOISE IS STILL THERE, BUT NO LOSS IN SPEED, MPG, OR SHIFTING QUALITY. AS LONG AS YOU KEEP A CONSTANT SPEED, THE NOISE ISN'T THERE, BUT IT APPEARS ON ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION. VERY PERPLEXED. *TR

I LIVE AND DRIVE IN THE NEW YORK AREA. OFTEN WHEN I GO ON DRIVES OF 20 MILES OR MORE IN THE SUMMERTIME MONTHS, AND IT COULD BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 70 TO 90 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OUTSIDE, THE 2008 JEEP PATRIOT BECOMES A DANGEROUS VEHICLE TO DRIVE. WHEN TRAVELING WITH THIS VEHICLE ON A FREEWAY OR INTERSTATE AT A LEGALLY HIGH RATE OF SPEED, THE VEHICLE OFTEN EXPERIENCES SOME MALFUNCTION THAT CAUSES A SHUT DOWN. THE VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY REDUCES ITS SPEED TO BELOW 30 MPH WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR SIGN OF STRESS. IMAGINE DRIVING DOWN I-95 WITH HUGE TRUCKS BEHIND YOU AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPS RESPONDING TO THE ACCELERATOR BUT RATHER AUTOMATICALLY SLOWS AND THERE IS NOTHING I (OR ANYONE) CAN DO TO PREVENT IT BECAUSE THERE IS NO WARNING. MY FIRST INSTINCT IS TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO I DON'T GET REAR ENDED FROM LARGE TRUCKS, BUT SOMETIMES THIS OCCURS WHERE THERE IS NO PLACE TO PULL OVER. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME AT LEAST 10 TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THE JEEP IN SEPTEMBER OF 2008. I AM FEARFUL TO DRIVE THE JEEP LONG DISTANCES ON WARM DAYS, ESPECIALLY ON HIGHWAYS. THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THE JEEP IS GOING TO SHUT DOWN FROM WHAT IS APPARENTLY AN OVERHEATED TRANSMISSION BECAUSE THE "TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT" ILLUMINATES AT THE SAME TIME THE VEHICLE BEGINS AUTOMATICALLY SLOWING DOWN. FURTHER, THE MECHANICS I HAVE BROUGHT THE CAR TO DO NO??T UNDERSTAND WHY IT HAPPENS. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE ON THE WEB AND LEARNED THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF OTHER JEEP OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE. THIS VEHICLE SHOULD BE RECALLED AS IT PROVES A DANGEROUS HAZARD TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE AS WELL AS OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD, AND BECAUSE IT POSES A SERIOUS RISK TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY. THE MANUFACTURER TRIES TO COVER UP THE ABOVE DANGERS OF THE CAR WITH A LINE IN ITS OWNER'S MANUAL, PAGE 174. *TR

OVER THE PAST YEAR MY JEEP HAS BEEN VERY SLUGGISH, ACCELERATES AT HIGHER RPM'S THAN NORMAL, "SHIFTS" ROUGH ( EVEN THOUGH IT IS A CVT AND DOESN'T HAVE GEARS). FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I SLOW DOWN TO MAKE A TURN AND THEN PROCEED TO ACCELERATE AFTER THE TURN, MY JEEP HESITATES TO ACCELERATE, THE RPM'S PLUMMET AND THEN REACH TO OVER 3000 RPM'S BEFORE IT SLAMS/JERKS INTO GEAR TO RETURN TO AROUND 2000 RPM'S. TWICE MY JEEP HAS SHUTTERED AND STALLED WHILE AT RED LIGHTS. LAST WEEK AFTER BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY, AS SOON AS I PUT IT IN DRIVE THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL LIGHT STARTED FLASHING AND DINGING AT ME. MY JEEP WENT INTO "LIMP MODE" AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO TRAVEL 8 FEET FROM MY DRIVEWAY. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND ATTEMPTED TO RESTART MY JEEP 3 TIMES, AND EVERY TIME I HAD THE SAME "LIMP MODE"/ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL ISSUE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT COME ON AT ALL. THE MANUAL STATES THAT "IF THE LIGHT IS FLASHING WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING YOU MAY EXPERIENCE POWER LOSS, AN ELEVATED/ROUGH IDLE, AND INCREASED BRAKE PEDAL EFFORT, AND YOUR VEHICLE MAY REQUIRE TOWING. IMMEDIATE SERVICE IS REQUIRED.". THIS DOES NOT SOUND SAFE. I HAD IT TAKEN TO A CERTIFIED AUTO MECHANIC WHO SAID IT WAS A THROTTLE BODY ISSUE AND THAT I WOULD NEED TO HAVE IT REPLACED. HOWEVER, CHRYSLER/JEEP HAS 1,500-2,000 THROTTLE BODIES ON BACK ORDER AND I WAS TOLD IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS TO EVEN RECEIVE THE PART. I'M GLAD THAT MY JEEP DID NOT STALL OR GO INTO "LIMP MODE" WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AS THIS COULD CAUSE A FATAL ACCIDENT. I CONSIDER MYSELF LUCKY, EVEN THOUGH I AM NOW MAKING CAR PAYMENTS ON A VEHICLE THAT WILL NOT RUN. THIS IS ALSO MY ONLY VEHICLE. THERE MUST BE A MAJOR ISSUE WITH THE THROTTLE BODY TO HAVE 1,500-2,000 ON BACK ORDER AND SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO. *TR

I WAS LEAVING WORK AND THE CAR STARTED JUST FINE BUT THEN AS I WAS STARTING TO DRIVE IT STALLED OUT. IT STARTED BACK UP JUST FINE AND THEN DID THE SAME THING. THIS WENT ON SEVERAL TIMES. AND WHEN IT STALLS OUT, MY POWER STEERING IS GONE AND IT IS HARD TO GET IT TO A SAFE STOP. I AM WORRIED IF I TAKE IT OUT ON THE ROAD IT WILL STALL OUT AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE READ SEVERAL REVIEWS OF THIS PROBLEM WITH RECALLS ON THE 2009 MODEL BUT NOT THE 2008. *TR

WE PURCHASED A USED JEEP PATRIOT 2008 AND WITHIN A FEW MONTHS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE STABILITY LIGHTS COMING ON WHEN WE SLOWED FROM HIGHWAY AND CAR NEEDING TO BE RESTARTED TO REGAIN POWER. THE TRANSMISSION KEPT DOING A WEIRD KICKBACK. THE VEHICLE WAS CHECKED ON THE COMPUTER REPEATEDLY AND DID NOT SHOW A CODE. ALSO ,THE OIL CHANGE LIGHT KEPT COMING ON EVEN AFTER OIL CHANGED. WE REPLACED ARMS , BEARINGS, STILL ISSUE NOT CORRECTED .( THE BEARING REPLACED TWICE BY DEALERSHIP A YEAR AGO IS STILL MAKING LOUD NOISES.) RECENTLY THE KICKBACK IS INCREASING AND THE DEALERSHIP HAS ADVISED US WE NEED AN ENTIRE NEW TRANSMISSION. THIS IS A 2008!!!!! 5 YEARS OLD!!! THERE WAS A RECALL ON SOME 2008 PATRIOTS , BUT I AM BEING ADVISED NOT OURS AND SO FAR CHRYSLER IS REFUSING TO DO ANYTHING FOR US ON THE TRANSMISSION. *TR

WHILE DRIVING CROSS COUNTRY FROM OHIO TO NEVADA THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY, WITHOUT ANY WARNING QUIT RUNNING. THE ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT COME ON; THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS NORMAL; I WAS CONTINUALLY WATCHING THE DASH TO TRY TO KEEP THE RPMS STEADY (WHILE CLIMBING GRADES) AT APPROX. 3000 RPM MAX. FOR FUEL ECONOMY. THIS OCCURRED ON I-80 IN THE MIDDLE OF WYOMING. FORTUNATELY ( LUCKILY) I WAS IN THE RIGHT HAND LANE SO I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE BERM. WHILE WAITING 1.5 HOUR FOR A TOW TRUCK I OCCASIONALLY TRIED TO START THE ENGINE. IT WOULD TURN OVER BUT NOT START. AFTER A 30 MINUTE DRIVE ON THE TOW TRUCK TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP, APPARENTLY THE PROBLEM COOLED AND THE ENGINE DID START. THE NEXT DAY WHILE DRIVING UP A STEEP GRADE THE VEHICLE LURCHED. I TOOK IT THE DEALERSHIP IN RENO NV. THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ALREADY IN EXISTENCE TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE IN THIS VEHICLE'S COMPUTER AND TO INCLUDE A NEW FLASH DRIVE FOR THE TRANSMISSION SOLENOID. THEY WOULD NOT GUARANTEE THAT THIS WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE DRIVEN NEARLY 3000 MILES SINCE THEN WITHOUT A PROBLEM. HOW COULD MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP ( BRUNSWICK OHIO) NOT HAVE ALERTED ME TO NEEDING A SOFTWARE UPDATE? I HAD THE JEEP THERE 4 DAYS BEFORE LEAVING ON THIS TRIP FOR THE "LIFETIME POWERETRAIN WARRANTY" INSPECTION. THEN, 300 MILES AFTER THE SOFTWARE UPDATE IN RENO. THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILED. WHY DIDN'T THAT DEALERSHIP CHECK FOR WHEEL WOBBLE WHILE THEY PERFORMED THEIR COMPLIMENTARY 22 POINT SAFETY CHECK? WHAT'S UP WITH JEEP? MY 2000 CHEROKEE WITH 170,000+ MILES HAS NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS LIKE THIS; ONLY NORMAL WEAR REPAIRS. *TR

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON & I TOOK IT TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC. AFTER TESTING IT HE SAID THE ERROR WAS FROM TOO MUCH VOLTAGE GOING TO THE O2 SENSOR HEATER. HE RECOMMENDED TAKING IT TO A DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. HE ALSO NOTICE THE SAFETY COVER OVER THE REAR BRAKE LINES & FUEL LINE HAD CAME LOOSE AND USED WIRE TIES TO FASTEN IT BACK IN PLACE. *TR