Shifts from d to 1st on its own: from a stop, the 2016 jeep patriot semi-automatic transmission drops to first gear on its own. There is no indication until the driver has pulled into traffic and has no acceleration power. The dash light indicates the vehicle is in 1st gear, but the driver was not expecting this and must either gun the engine and take rpms off the chart to avoid a crash from oncoming vehicles, or manually shift the vehicle to n or p and then return to d for a type of "reset". The issue is intermittant. The dealership where we bought the vehicle cannot replicate the problem (in to shop 3x for this issue). They replaced the stick sensor and opened two separate staron packs with jeep engineers. But the problem continues. I suspect its transmission ($$) related or electrical ($$). Moving on to new dealership service. Fingers crossed. Cruise control: when cruise engaged at 70-75 MPH on open hwy, had to slow for traffic. Speed dropped down to about 60-65. When reengaged cruise, the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably--rpms shot through the roof. Had to tap the breaks to disengage cruise and whole family experienced a hard lurch. Reported issue to jeep service as perhaps related to issue with downshifting to first. Response was that this was normal. Seatbelts: when a person weighing more than 230lbs sits in the front seats, the seat belt warning sound dings as if the belt is not engaged. The dealership replaced sensors in both front seats. Problem resolved.
2016 Jeep Patriot transmission complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 74 of 74, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving on a busy 5 lane main road through the center of town and depressed the clutch and brake preparing to stop at a red light. The clutch popped loose and was disabled. It no longer had any force against it but could be freely moved throughout its range of motion with no engagement or disengagement of the transmission which left the vehicle in gear as I was trying to stop. This caused the vehicle to stall and left it disabled in the center lane of a very busy 5 lane road approximately 40ft from a busy intersection. The failure was due to an improperly installed fitting in the wall forward of the driver pedals through which the clutch rod passes. This was a manufacturer installation as the car had 20 miles on it when purchased and the failure occurred at 150 miles. The fitting must be seated to allow the clutch rod to engage/disengage when the pedal is pressed. A misalignment of the hole in the wall and the clutch rod caused upward pressure on the fitting which was enough to hold it in place temporarily but eventually came loose. The proper installation of the fitting is to protrude fully through the wall and then be clocked 45deg so the tabs seat, keeping the fitting in place. A police officer was able to assist with the traffic obstacle while waiting for a tow truck and there were no injuries as a result. The loss of the clutch on a manual transmission vehicle at any given time can cause a serious safety issue. The inability to change gears or move to or from neutral can be a potentially very dangerous situation depending on the circumstances. This seems like a simple recall to inspect the installation for a likely limited lot of vehicles, however, the manufacturer, fia llc, disagreed.
Drive for 6 hours and 400 miles at 65 MPH on higway, the transmission overheat light comes on suddenly and the vehicle lose speed rapidly and stops on highway. The vehicle becomes unmovable forward and strands passengers dangerously stuck in the traffic lane.
Driving down highway vehicle had sudden loss of all power. Headlamps flickered and everything shut off. Unable to put hazard lights on or use horn to warn oncoming traffic.
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