2008 Jeep Patriot 4x4: CVT failure

Filed Jun 23, 2015 · Electrical, Fuel system · 106,000 miles · MA

I had just filled the tank as usual and drove about 500 yards to a red light. In the past after a fill up, the jeep would stall and "buck" around 30 MPH, as if it couldn't get into gear, even though this is a CVT. I thought this might happen again, but it didn't this time, which was curious. At the light, upon attempting to accelerate there was no response from the throttle, and the car remained in drive, but refused to move. I could not shift out of gear into neutral. A red light in the upper left corner of the dash came on and began to beep, and the entire dashboard lit up, with every light coming on and making noise. Eventually, I lost all power and waited more than an hour for a tow truck in the middle of a three lane avenue. The mechanic told me a relay was entirely blown and blackened, and this had killed the battery. This was replaced at no cost to me, but he said they could not find what had caused the relay to blow. Essentially, what occurred was a symptom, not the cause, and would happen again. The car is currently sitting, deemed unsafe to drive. I also had lower ball joints replaced at 55,000 miles, which is far too early. I love jeep, but I hate the 2007-2010 patriots. Bad buy.

Filed Sep 5, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 107,000 miles · MI

Vehicle started shaking violently, after evaluations and inspections by certified mechanics, I'm told I need a new transmission. I just bought the car 2 years ago, used from a reputable dealer as is, with clean history. Had them check everything over one final time before purchase. Now I'm reading that many other jeep patriot owners have had the same problems. I highly suggest a recall for the 2008 jeep patriot. It has a CVT transmission, which is a dangerous transmission because if it overheats the vehicle shuts down. My husband was driving it on the highway and the vehicle shut down on the highway, luckily neither he not any other motorist was hurt. In 2014 jeep changed from the CVT transmission entirely, suggesting their awareness of the issue with this type of transmission. We don't want anyone else to go through what we've been through, get hurt or even worse. I do hope you would take this complaint seriously and launch a full investigation into chrysler.

Filed Feb 25, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 98,000 miles · MD

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.

Filed Jul 12, 2013 · Transmission · 57,336 miles · MI

Took vehicle in to dealer to diagnose noise coming from engine compartment. Noise (best described as a whine) becomes noticeable at 20 MPH and increases in intensity with speed. Problem was diagnosed as being internal to the transmission (CVT) and will require that the transmission be replaced. This is not covered by the warranty.

Filed Aug 15, 2012 · Transmission · 103,000 miles · MD

While traveling at highway speed (70 MPH) in michigan, the CVT transmission overheat warning light came on. After a few miles, the jeep would not go faster than about 45 MPH. This is a real safety hazard when everyone on the highway is driving 70 MPH or more. After pulling over for 30 minutes, the light did not reappear when the jeep was restarted, but rpms had to be kept below 2100 to avoid the overheat light coming on again. This low RPM limited speed to about 55 MPH on flat terrain. The light came on again in pa on the return trip, speed was restricted as before, and the warning light did not reappear after restarting the jeep after a 30 minute rest stop. However, keeping rpms below 2100 on the pa turnpike resulted in a top speed of only about 45 MPH, a real hazard when even trucks are going much faster. First dealer found the fault code of 0208 and did a software update to the PCM. The problem happened again. The second dealer could not find the transmission overheat code because it was not saved. The dealer had the vehicle for 4 days and said the transmission was not serviceable and had a lifetime fluid. The dealer said to bring the jeep right back in if the problem occurred again so that the code would be stored. The problem happened again and the jeep was brought directly to the dealer. This time the dealer found the 0208 transmission overheat code. After 5 days of waiting, the visiting chrysler tech said to open the transmission and replace the fluid. The two jeep dealers seemed to be completely confused about whether this CVT transmission has lifetime fluid or whether it could be serviced. The CVT transmission on this 2008 patriot has a lifetime warranty, but chrysler appears to have no interest in replacing it even though this is a safety hazard. Internet searches show other owners of chrysler vehicles with CVT transmissions have had a similar problem.