Owners have filed 2,993 complaints on the Jeep Patriot, covering 2007–2017. The system named most often is Power Train (399 reports). Worst years by volume: 2014, 2016, 2008; cleanest: 2017, 2013, 2010. 118 reports describe a crash, 39 a fire, 6 a death. On average the car was 5.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jeep Patriot
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,993 Patriot complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 399 Read
Sitting at a red light with foot on brake and auto “jumped” happened quickly do not know If any warning lights were on. It seams to now be not not shifting property resulting in a lag in power
While driving slowly (~10 mph) sb I prepared to make a right-turn (wb), in the only lane that turns right. As I neared the intersection the light turned green, enabling me and the (1) lane on my left to go (it goes sb). No car was ahead of me (to turn). The street I was turning onto had one (wb) lane, and two lanes…
The contact owns a 2014 jeep patriot. While driving 35 mph, the contact's vehicle crashed into another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained neck and shoulder injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not…
Electrical System 355 Read
I purchased a used 2016 jeep patriot latitude 11 months ago it only had 32,000 when I bought it less than a month later I started having weird issues with my jeep dying while driving or wind shield wipers coming on by themselves as well as my a/c going off and on and my head lights flickering off and on...took it to…
230am on interstate 25, no road lighting, no traffic nearby. By ourselves, four of us on the way to the airport. Set cruise control to 75mph. Seconds later all lights including dashboard went out. In total dark ness. Guessed side of road. Managed to stop car. Turned off, back on, all restored. We actually grazed an…
2016 patriot with,54,000 miles. No major issues prior. 2 weeks ago however, I was left stopped in the middle of a highway entrance ramp, almost rear-ended by a semi and side swiping a construction sign to avoid being hit. When accelerating the etc symbol (lightening bolt) will display, traction control icon and check…
Engine 345 Read
My son was driving his vehicle on the interstate in Florida when all of the sudden engine stopped working. He was able to navigate to the side and eventually it started up and made back to campus. Codes had came up so took to Firestone and changed spark plugs. We checked NHTSA website for engine recalls and showed had…
The contact owned a 2014 jeep patriot. While driving approximately 65 mph exiting the highway, the contact noticed smoke inside the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, exited the vehicle and noticed smoke under the hood. The engine burst into flames and black smoke appeared. The fire…
The contact owns a 2011 jeep patriot. While driving 45-50 mph, smoke was detected and the vehicle spontaneously caught fire. There were no warning indicators illuminated. There were no injuries. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to…
Air Bags 339 Read
My wife and I were hit head on by a drunk driver, we were both rendered unconscious when we awoke the air bags were on fire. The vehicle was stationary
While driving home from wok in a jeep patriot 2017 on a city street the brakes would not work suddenly and the speed increased rapidly uncontrollably. Two vehicles hit me going thru an intersection and the jeep patriot vehicle ran into a warehouse going thru 2 metal doors and a brick wall without any air bags…
I was at work in a 2017 jeep patriot company vehicle. I am a field worker and was traveling north on schaefer hwy to a clients home. I was t-boned at the cross section of schaefer and schoolcraft when another vehicle driving east on schoolcraft ran a red light- hitting me in the driver door, after hitting the driver…
Suspension 241 Read
My sister was driving my vehicle. She felt car wheels pulling to one side. Vehicle began to veer out of control where she tried to stablize. Picture taken after accident shows that bottom frame of vehicle became unattached from vehicle. The vehicle did not hit another vehicle or anything else solid. The vehicle was in…
I had to have the subframe and cross member replaced on my 2008 patriot in january 2017, it has rusted again and the same parts need replaced, it was replaced oe parts which I feel were faulty. I was making a u-turn on a small city street and my rear cross member broke, I thought I ran over a something then my…
I made a u-turn in my vehicle on a town street , as I completed the u-turn the vehicles rear suspension broke. The broken suspension made the vehicle feel like it was going over a rumble strip, the suspension being broke made the wheels turn in towards the wheel wells where it rubbed and eventually blew my tire. I was…
Fuel/propulsion System 235 Read
Car shuts off qnd stops without warning everytime after filling tank with fuel... Very dangerous on highway
Bought car in nov with clean carfax - 5months later it seemed to have a fuel injection problem. On way to the dealer, car did not stall, but speed dropped to 30-35 mph on the highway (engine light came on) had to drive in breakdown lane with hazard lights flashing, and on exit ramp shoulder . Trying to pull out into…
Toggle body was replaced. My husband had the exact same thing replaced. Same model year, bought a couple of months apart. Suddenly lost acceleration ability. Could not keep driving, as there was no power to keep moving along. Malfunction light and both skid/traction lights came on. We both made it home, towed to…
Steering 194 Read
Power steering cooler line failing and leaking on exhaust and catching fire. We are a leasing company and have 13 of these. One has already burnt to the ground and another caught fire today but was able to be put out. We are grounding the rest of these until we figure something out. *dt
Purchased vehicle less than 6 monthes ago and complained to the dealer that it sounded and felt like wheels were about to fall off. 8 days later I took it to get an oil change and the shop refused. He explained that when they lifted the jeep and inspected tires the wire treads were exposed in the middle of the tire,…
I was driving not far from my house doing between 20 and 25 mph. The road is very windy and being a secondary road there are no guard rails. Both sides of the road are heavily populated with trees. Coming up to another curve in the road I applied my brakes the slow a little more to take the curve, as I started to turn…
Structure 178 Read
Driving at 70 mph, interstate 57, near marion, illinois. Driver alerted by passing vehicle. Driver immediately pulled off the highway onto shoulder when driver saw flames coming from rear of vehicle. When stopped, all people exited vehicle. Driver and navigator immediately began trying to put out flames coming from…
The rear bumper on my patriot caught fire from the exhaust pipe. The exhaust pipe appears to have risen behind the bumper causing my bumper to melt and catch fire. I removed the melted/burned plastic around the pipe to prevent further damage
The contact owns a 2012 jeep patriot. The contact was traveling 20 mph when blue flames and black smoke emitted from the rear of the vehicle. The contact confirmed that the plastic rear bumper caught on fire. The vehicle was not destroyed. A police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was…
Patriot years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 23 | 7 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 13 | 5 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 28 | 7 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 7 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 18 | 3 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 8 | 3 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 5 | 4 | |
| 2007 | Electrical System | 2 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 682 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.4 |
| Worst single series | 25 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.3 years |
A model average of 4.4 hides a worst series at 25. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Patriot?
By complaint volume, 2014, 2016, 2008 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Patriot years are the cleanest?
2017, 2013, 2010 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jeep Patriot have?
2,993 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2017. Of those, 118 describe a crash and 39 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.