Let me add to this thread- took Pat in yesterday for oil change/tire rotation, then get call that my ball joints are so bad that my vehicle is "unsafe to use". I had been hearing creaks/moaning/pops/etc. over bumps and etc. but thought that I had more time. With 40k and 3.5 yrs old I need to put $933 into control arms/ball joints because they tell me it's all one part and not repairable. Secondly, they tell me they stock these parts because they "see this all the time on Patriots and Compasses". What junk! Guess that $1500 extended warranty wasn't a bad deal after all, as I'm sure something else will prematurely fail here soon- as my transmission, sunroof, and wheel bearings have. And then some of you folks on here are saying you've gone through this more than once! Wow- y'all have a lot more patience than me! Once I get this back I think it's time to start looking for something new...with an extended warranty! With all the low interest deals right now, and the end of the model year soon...
Looks like I'm in the boat now with you guys. I have a ~$1450 from the dealership to replace both front lower control arms (bad ball joints), the driver-side outer tie road end, and my rear-passenger-side "toe-links".
Well still not fixed here. I thought i had it i tighthend everything i could find on the suspension, and it seemed to stop but today it was clunking bad. I did notice that it only clunks on litle bumps. I think its the inner tierods. When i rock the stearing wheel while driving you know like the NASCAr guys do i get clunking. The Clunk sounds like its coming from the middle.
Make sure you get a 2nd opinion. I took my 06 Durango to Belle Tire last fall for new tires. I got a phone call saying my ball joints were almost worn beyond legal limits. I did not bite. Several months ago I had the same ball joints checked at another place. They told me the ball joints are fine.
Got the Clunk fixed. As i had thought sway end links or inner tie rods. Turns out pass inner tie and both end links.
Cost was 500 with an aligment. Now i need tires.
I had the tie rods replaced this past spring. Now I'm told the ball joints are bad. It's a 2008 with 66k miles. Most definitely the last Chrysler product I'll ever buy. It would be different if the company ' manned up' and admitted there was an issue with their suspension parts and had a recall to replace them. But I guess that's expecting too much. I may have to consider a foreign car next time. I also own a 2000 XJ, which like so many other 2000 -2001 models had the dreaded cracked head issue. A lot of those vehicles had heads that had to be replaced but no one with the company ever admitted there was a problem. GM pulled a similar stunt with the Dex-Cool issues in the early 2000's. Try to support American workers and American Companies and all you get is headaches.
Sadly, we didn't want to wait for something else to go wrong with the Patriot so we traded it. It was a decent vehicle except for the front suspension/steering issues. It's truly a shame that companies like Chrysler neglect to correct what appears to be wide spread issues throughout their product lines. I had an '04 Liberty with bad ball joints. But to their credit, in that instance, Chrysler recalled the KJ's and replaced the defective parts. I considered buying a Dakota until I learned that they too had front end issues. A friend of mine has a 2007 Ram 1500 with defective front end components. But so far, Chrysler, whether it's the new or old Chrysler, has turned a blind eye to what appears to be epidemic issues with their products.
Unfortunately, the ones who will ultimately suffer are those who work the production lines. Eventually consumers will grow weary of expensive nuisance repairs and look to vehicles from other companies. No one in management or engineering will admit to their mistakes. It was probably some cost saving measure which brought all of the cheap parts to the product lines to begin with.
In closing, good luck and best wishes to those who still own and operate Chrysler vehicles and those who still support Jeep products. Hopefully the corporate powers that be will learn from their mistakes before they reach the brink of disaster a third time.
Everyone uses cheap parts.To add and not in Chryslers defense that I replace alot of balljoints and tie rod ends on honda's,toyota's,and bmw's alot more then Chryslers.I also work on twice as many Jeeps then any other make but still replace more balljoints/tie rod ends on the others.Just saying from a tech's point of view that works on all makes/models.
Just had lower control arms with ball joints and tie rods replaced in our 2008 Compass with 22,000 miles. Warranty ran out too long ago to help. Hope the new ones last a little longer. We've never been off road with it, but city streets here can be brutal with cavernous potholes.
All I know is that I had a 96 Mazda protege before my compass and other than tires, oil and brakes and other scheduled maintenance...I didn't put a dime into it till 120,000 miles, when I replaced ball joints and tie rods ends!
Seeking warranty at 60k for bad tie rods- advice anyone?
2008 jeep patriot with.....hold on...might surprise some people....bad front tie rods. Call into Chrysler and now have a case manager assigned. I'm looking for a few good arrows to throw in my quiver to get them to pay for this one. I've read the forums but was just hoping to get some specifics from the group on their experiences with this issue and if anyone has been successful in getting reimbursed outside of warranty. Appreciate it!!
So I join the rest of you with new A arm and ball joint assemblies on both sides. 08 Pat made it to 51,400 miles. Still too early I think. Good news is local trusted mechanic did it for $400 less than dealer wanted. Hope these last the life of the vehicle.
I'm sure it does! Parts wear out slowly and you don't notice it until they're almost junk. Then when you get 're done you as yourself 'Wow, they were really THAT bad?' :thumbsup:
I did get about 60K out of my first ones (lucky, I guess) and I'm at 80K now.
any one have these problems with any of the newer models? 2010? 2011? 2012?
I just got a 2012 and hope I don't have any issues... I plan to use mine a good amount on seasonal dirt roads to so hopefully jeep fixed the issue. I haven't read about any issues with the last three year models online as much as the 07-08-09 etc but most people with 2010 and 2011 are not reaching that millage and age threshold so i guess we will see.
I just had the same problem, only I didn't have any signs or symptoms. I took my 2010 Patriot in for an oil change and $1500 later I had my front tie rods and ball joints changed. I only have 21k miles. I am BEYOND angry with Chrysler.
Why isnt anything being done about this?! It's obviously an ongoing issue.
Just an update on my situation.... I contacted Chrysler directly. After a few conversations, they are reimbursing me for my repairs, and also covering the rest of the repairs I need because of this issue (tires from uneven wear, brakes and rotors and rear struts).
I recommend reaching out to them. If enough people bring this issue to their attention, maybe we can get them to issue a recall and save some other Jeep drivers some future problems!
Now Chrysler is contradicting themselves. Case Worker "JEAN" will say one thing to me, tell the dealership another thing, and refuses to confirm anything in writing.
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