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How do you like your Jeep Patriot?

11K views 35 replies 24 participants last post by  safaribabe 
#1 ·
How do you like your Jeep Patriot? Have you had any mechanical problems with it or is there just something in general you don't like about it? I've got a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but I am looking at my next vehicle and wanted to spend around 18k. I think I can get a silver 4x2 Patriot Sport for around that price. It kind of resembles my 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, so what do you have to say about it? :D
 
#3 ·
Most Patriot owners will tell you that they are very happy, however, your best bet is to go test drive one, since we don't know exactly which features may make(or break) the deal for you.

For instance, the Patriot is a 4 cylinder, and while it has plenty of power, some people want to tow more than 2000lbs or want to have a SUV 'racer', which you won't get from the Patriot.

I have been extremely happy with the Patriot. I have no regrets except I bought it 3 weeks before they announced the Lifetime warranty! So the deal is even better now.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Check out the link in my signature for a bunch of Patriot info. Including some video reviews.

I have an 07 Limited 4x2.

Purchased in late June 07.


Likes:
-Size,
-ride, much more like a car than any other jeep(if thats a good thing....)
-look
-color
-price
-Leather seats very comfortable.
-fold flat seats,
-bright headlights,
-The single CD unit and stock 4 speakers sound REALLY REALLY good. Tight and powerful.
-Nice tow rating for a 4 cylinder.
-Nice manueverability in tight spots.
-Gas mileage. I am averaging 21mpg in pure stop and go in over 90 degree heat with less than 1k miles on it.
-Slight recline in rear seats aids in comfort for tall folks.
-Sirius radio is nice

Dislikes -
-No handle to open hatch from inside,
-CVT is a bit of a dog off the line and takes a little getting used to.
-NO(?) interior light over rear seats. Very dark in there, I had to add my own.
-Interior is a bit utilitarian. Not horrible, but certainly not plush.
-Need fold down center arm rest for rear seat.
-Need cushion on door armrests for elbows.
-I replaced the single CD with a Chrysler REC Navigation unit.
The audio quality is much less compared to the single CD, and the navigation
unit does work, but is a bit primitive on options, and the interface is lacking
ESPECIALLY in audio mode.
-Rear view mirror is a bit of a stretch to reach.
-Steering wheel should be telescopic.
-Wish Fog Lights remained on when Brights are on. But they auto-off
-Head restraints are a bit uncomfortable, although leather seats are nice.
-EVIC should give more info on Sirius stations ie name of song and artist


Bout all I can come up with for now....

Cheers,
Jim
 
#5 ·
My only added complaint to above is that the front doors feel a bit "thin." They make a loud sheet metal type bang even when I try to be gentle with them. My girl slams the door every time she shuts it.
 
#6 ·
Depending on what options you wanted, you may even be able to get the 4x4 for around your price...most big dealerships have a feature on their websites listing what vehicles they have in their inventory...it should tell you what options they have and their prices.
 
#7 ·
Just bought a 07 patriot yesterday for the wife. its the 2.4 CVT 4wd version. it has the 26E package with a/c, keyless entry, power locks and windows, YES seats, 17 inch tires, cruise control and tilt wheel. cant really say much from just a day but here are my impressions:

roomy, drives more like a car than a regular jeep, smooth ride. love the fold down seats, especially the fold down front seat. stock stereo is pretty decent. we have the steering wheel package which includes wheel mounted stereo controls - very nice. like the cherokee styling (I have a 2000 cherokee sport.. they look nice parked side by side heh). great gas milage for a jeep that size.

the cvt takes some getting used to and it has the fwd torque steer under hard acceleration but not too bad. havent tried 4wd locked yet.

ride is fairly quite but with some road noise from the tires.
only a couple dislikes - the center arm rest is too far back and too short for my tastes, even when slid all the way forward. my wife doesnt like the headrest (Im ok with it I think its very good) and she doesnt like the knee bolster (again I have no problem with it - maybe she has the seat too high).

Ill post more when Ive driven it more.

all in all we are very happy.
 
#8 ·
me and the wife just test drive a patriot and liked everything EXCEPT the CVT. I can't stand that, it always seems like the motor never stops up in rpms. liked the way it drove and all though....the tranny was the deal breaker for me and the wife. :rolleyes:

the upside of all of this though, my wife in considering a JK Unlimited:2thumbsup:

so we just might have 2 Unlimiteds in the garage.:thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
been driving it more and now Ive also decided I dont like the headrest. it wont go high enough for my or my wifes head to fit into the "hole" and the top, due to the way it angles in, forces our head forwards too much. not comfortable at all. flipping it backwards gets it out of the way but then there is no support at all. we both like the 2000 cherokee sport seat/headrest so we are spoiled.

the solution was to use our Sqush Lumbar Cusion pillow (a small micro-bead pillow) and stuff it into the headrests hole while its flipped backwards and adjust it to stick out in the front for support. its perfect and very comfortable. but it looks Fugly and on a brand new $22K car seems crazy.. dunno why the stock headrest is so bad. hopefully aftermarket headrests will be around soon.

also, depending on the front passenger seat position its headrest tends to block a lot of the view out the passenger rear window for lane changes etc. my solution is just adjust the front (and rear) passenger seats either to reclining or folding flat.

other than that, its great :)
 
#10 ·
I have a Compass, so I hope you don't mind me chiming in on this one...but these comments will apply to the Patriot, as well.

The MK platform seems to be strong and quiet...much quieter than the Pontiac Vibe (same as a Toyota Matrix) I traded for this vehicle. Lately I've been making four to six hour trips in it, and it's both comfortable and economical to operate, delivering between 22 and 25 mpg, depending on the terrain. Given the vehicle's mission - it's neither a racer nor a stump puller - the power is more than adequate. Insurance for this vehicle is significantly less than what I paid on either my Vibe, or on my Nissan Maxima - about 40% less, if I remember correctly.

The primary gripe I have centers around the quality of the interior. The plastics - particularly in the cargo area - are a bit soft, and scratch (actually gouge) easily. I'm going to see if I can polish out some of the light scratches a bit with a Mr. Clean Magic eraser, but after hauling a dog carrier and some angle iron, it really looks somewhat shabby back there. I also miss having a rear window that opens...it's a nice feature for short hauls from the home center to the house.

Other than that, I'd buy it again if faced with the same decision at the time I bought it. For me, it was a great "entry point" into the Jeep family. My plans are to buy a Wrangler Unlimited when the time comes to replace this vehicle in a couple of years, but if this one were destroyed today I'd be shopping for either a Patriot or another Compass.

Hope this helps...
 
#12 ·
'07 Patriot Limited - full loaded but need more power to the 4 - Engine

I picked up my Patriot on April 1, 2007 and love the way it looks and feels. It has some serious off-road capabilities and my only complaint or wish rather is if it had a V6 engine instead of a 4. It really lacks in power speed to accelerate on highways and passing ….. and not as good on gas as I expected. It takes a 4 cylinder more gas to get up those big hills and speeds for passing, etc. I have put in over 10,000 km since April 1 and the tank empties very quickly vs. a V6. I have also recently noticed knocking sounds from the brakes when I come to a dead stop only sometime. The whole Jeep continues to shake and vibrate like it still wants to go, and unless I throw it in "N" the banging continues or I put my foot very hard on the brake pedal and HOLD - bizarre.. I am going to have the brakes looked at very soon as they need obviously need adjusting.
I have come here and joined this Forum (my first) on advice from a new Caliber owner I bumped into at the dealership recently for the purposes of getting info re more power from my Patriot's engine. Please is anyone able to advise me as to what codes I need to know to legally modify this Patriot? To be able to take it back to the dealer with codes - I have little knowledge of this matter??? I have was told by this new Caliber owner that they have done this recently and it has made a big difference to their car - it now has more umph so to speak!!!
By the way, my next vehicle will not be a 4.
Help.
New Patriot Owner
 
#13 ·
By the way, should add I see I am the only one that lives in Canada - is there another Jeep Forum I should be at? Oh the prices of vehicles are not as cheap here the base starts at $18K but find one that price they are averaging about $24K Cdn. here mine was $29K ouch.
 
#14 ·
Ooh, we have LOTS of Canadians! Including NaeKid one of the admins. You're more than welcome here. I'll try and lead you on to some posts that will answer some of your questions but I'm at work right now :shhh:
 
#15 ·
#17 ·
Just picked ours up!

We just bought one the night before last. I drove it to work yesterday and really liked it. Hubby drove it last night and I sat in the back with the baby who was in her car seat. I thought the back seat was a bit rigid and forced you to sit upright. While that's a good thing! I can see on long distances it might get a bit tiring. For the most part, the adults will be in the front seats but for anyone who plans to have passengers in the back, the back is a bit unconfortable. The lounge capability of the Limited is a bit odd... even in it's loung position it is straight up. The non-lounge position is even worse... can't imagine when you would use that position other than to maybe get more cargo room? Odd. I would like to see the lounging back seat go back even further.

It was a great ride yesterday though I need to see about resetting the mpg averaging as we are only getting 18.5 MPG and that's NOT very good. We expected much more. But I am not sure how the averaging works and if it can be reset. I am sure it's figuring in alot of folks test driving it and really punching it. It came with 100 miles on it but we got a good deal.

Also would like to see more information available in the EVIC so you dont' have to turn to look at the console. Haven't used the Nav just yet.

Will report more later.. overall, pretty nice. Certainly a step up from my Honda Civic though that was a darn good car! Only one problem in 13 years and I am just afraid that the Jeep is not going to be able to meet that competition in reliability so we shall see.
 
#20 ·
Diesel patriot or compass

There are people on this forum talking about seeing disguised turbo diesel jeep compasses driving around. Has anyone else seen these or heard about these? I would like to know if they are actually thinking about producing them in the United States. They have them in the UK (MK Compass). Build them here I will buy one next week :)
 
#22 ·
nearly.normal said:
-Wish Fog Lights remained on when Brights are on. But they auto-off
Simply because Fog Lights are not driving lights. Fog lights by design are mounted low to cut under the fog and reduce the glare reflecting back on the driver. High power on the fog lights is not recommended either. If they worked with the high beams on, you would be defeating their purpose.

Here is another discussion on Fog Lights http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334005. I'm still looking for some "dark amber" bulbs myself.
 
#23 ·
We've had ours since April 4th and have around 8k on it now. The CVT with the TSB done is much better. We love the vehicle and think it performs as we expected.

Only two things that bother me are 1. I'm just a little too tall for the tailgate and hit the top of my head 2. I really wish the gas tank was bigger than 13 gallons we get 23-24mpg but still have to fill it every week. It makes it seem like it gets worse mileage than it actually does.
 
#25 ·
+1 for larger tank volume! Speaking of fluids...it needs more drink holders, too!

For the most part, I will second what others have mentioned. The following things standout in my mind.

Dislikes:

The "oh sh*t" handles are a joke! Even my girlfriend cannot wedge her dainty little paw into this thing. Ridiculous! Hopefully, after I install my Strut Tower Brace, these handles will be rendered (even more) useless. :laugh:

The CVT is quirky for me. Gutless low-end torque and the engine sounds like a vacuum cleaner with an overstuffed bag at high RPM. The power train seems to be the weak link here, for me. However, it does get the job done but I won't be racing for pinks anytime soon. What's up with the big honkin' muffler? Looks like it should hold the extra fuel capacity I wanted.

I love the removable flashlight, but the mid-cabin area needs illumination. I read a post where someone added their own set of lights, but no more info was disclosed on what they used or where they installed them. Oh well.

My Valentine One radar locator was a pain to wire properly while having it in a location not easy to see from the outside but still being able to function properly. My '01 Strat R/T was a snap in comparison.

Likes:

I love how it looks. I get a LOT of compliments on my Patriot. All of my windows are tinted and I have front, rear & side OEM Air Deflectors & front/rear Splash Guards installed which gives a very nice custom look.

While some people seem to not like the headrests, these are the only ones I can comfortably use and not feel like a dentist is about to start working on me. I can also wear my baseball cap on backwards and the headrest will allow it. I am 6'4" and the cabin has incredible headroom. The seat & seatbelt height adjustments are wonderful. Even though I drive, the backseats are great. My passengers are amazed by the recline and headroom.

Overall, I really like my Patriot. It's roomy & comfortable while giving me a good sense of value. I purchased mine 1% under invoice (Affiliate Rewards), but I still would have paid more for it. Can't wait to see how it handles the Wisconsin snow season.

Side note: While I can't condone speeding, I was OVERWHELMED by how well this Jeep holds the road at 80-85mph. It's not exactly car-like, but much more civilized than a typical 4x4. I have the white-outline Goodyear Wrangler tires too.
 
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