Our 2008 jeep patriot 4 x 4 has at times cut off completely while driving. When we were getting ready to take it to a local mechanic, we had an even scarier thing happen. Both rear wheels are rubbing wheel wells which means something has rusted through in the sub frame or control arms. We are 25 miles from our mechanic so now vehicle needs to be towed into town to even be checked out. We need to find out if the extended warranty for rust and corrosion will cover our vehicle. There are currently 280,000 miles on the vehicle which has been heavily driven in a "salt belt" state of maryland for work duties.
Jeep Patriot 4x4 ball joint problems
111 of the 402 owner complaints about the Jeep Patriot 4x4 describe ball joint or control arm failure, most of them for the 2007 model year.
- owner complaints
- 111
- worst model year
- 2007
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,000
- typical mileage
- 43,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Harsh shifting 13Stalling 3Transmission failure 1Power steering loss 1Loss of power 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P2110 1
What owners say
While driving on a residential road the 2009 jeep patriot's subframe broke. Because of this my vehicle almost lost the passenger tire. Had it been on the freeway I would have been severely injured. After being inspected by the mechanic he has never seen rust this bad and it's much more deteriorated than any other part of the underbody. This is not normal wear and tear. A 9 year old vehicle should not be experiencing this sort of deterioration. The result of this mechanical failure has caused damage to the tie-rod, the suspension, and the control arm. Vehicle is a total loss.
The front and rear cross bars are severely rusted. My mechanic told me this is rust is not common wear and tear, but a poorly made or chosen part by my manufacturer, jeep / chrysler. He said my vehicle is unsafe to drive until this is fixed. While the cross bars are covered under an extended warranty the bolts and control arms (also severely and dangerously rusted) are not. I am out thousands of dollars because jeep was too cheap to choose a quality part. My VIN is [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Car purchased in wi and driven in tx. Car has been taken regularly to mechanic for maintenance for front suspension problems. At 77k, two outer tie rods and two lower ball joints replaced, at 133k, replaced one lower ball joint and one outer tie rod again. At 136k replaced inner tie rod. At 143k replaced two front control arms. Currently, both control arms and outer tie rods need to replaced again, current mileage is 198k. Mechanic has reported noise coming from front suspension and has noted heavy amount of rust on the front cross member. Structural integrity of the metal in front cross member is weak and further compromised if driving in areas where salt is used to de-ice road. In addition tires have needed to replaced each time due to uneven wear resulting from this problem. Car is main driven in city environment.
Bad ball joints same as many others. Also bad sub frame. Took auto in for maintenance and was shown bad ball joints and a rusted out sub frame. These were issues and earlier patriots but nothing has been done.
Second front lower control arm ball joint separation. This one, drivers side. Recent past was the passenger side. Mileage less than 50,000. Vehicle is just going in for repair -the federal safety agency may want to claim the suspension bolt ~ evidence in mode of failure. Cross bolt appears separated ('over torque' or 'bending flexural failue' or grade (brittle failure). This failure (10 MPH slow turn). Higher speed could have lead to severe accident. Contact [email protected] for information.
2009 jeep patriot 4x4, 20,800 miles bad enough I had to replace the front left lower ball joint at this low mileage, but while in the shop my mechanic calls me to inform me that the k-frame is rotted out and needs to be replaced. A k frame or cross member on a car is the part of the car's frame bolted beneath the underside of the vehicle. The k cross member, which features engine mounts, is used to support a longitudinally mounted transmission. The k frame enables better handling and alignment with respect to suspension. He tells me to call the dealer and that it should be under warranty. I call two dealerships without a return phone call and then call chrysler. Nope, not covered under warranty and they are unwilling to assist in the cost to repair. Did I mention it only has 20,800 miles?
My front crossmember / sub frame is rotted out . Contacted jeep they are aware of problem because they warranted 2007 models but not 2008 . Front engine cradle has huge holes in it . Design flaw cause the AC drips right on frame causing rust . Dealership said no setrvice bulletin issued but they lied . Finally got a good quote to have fixed gonna cost 775 to fix . I have also changed my front suspension components 3 times . Ball joints , tie rods etc and the other parts . Only saving grace is its paid for and lifetime power train warranty .
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 jeep patriot 4x4. While a technician was replacing the control arms and leaf springs on the vehicle, it was discovered that the k-frame split and needed to be replaced before the vehicle could pass inspection. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000. Updated 8/10/15*cn updated 10/17/2017
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Jeep Patriot 4x4 ball joint
Which Jeep Patriot 4x4 years have ball joint or control arm failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2007 (54 complaints), 2008 (47 complaints) and 2009 (8 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix ball joint or control arm failure on the Jeep Patriot 4x4?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,000 (median of 17 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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