My grandma just bought one of these

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
02/25/2015 at 17:04 • Filed to: None

30,000 mile 2014 Jeep Patriot. Meh. She got $1500 for her Town and Country with hideously large amounts of miles on it, so that's nice.

No idea what color/trim level/transmission/anything is in it, but I don't really care.

Opinions on these?

DISCUSSION (35)

jkm7680 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:07

Probably a good car for her.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:07

It's a Dodge Caliber.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > jkm7680
02/25/2015 at 17:07

Another mediocre Chrylser product, yay

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:08

Is it 4wd? If so, it's like a 4WD Lancer.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:08

I like them. Honest and cheap to buy. I've sat in a couple and the interior isn't bad at all. I'd own one as a simple daily driver.

I just hope the one she bought at least has the 2.4L engine and 6-speed auto instead of the CVT. Oh, and 4WD because it's a Jeep after all.

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:09

Good enough, but I can almost guarantee you with it being a 2014 with 30,000 miles, that it was a rental car.

Coty > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:09

My grandfather is on what I believe is his second. Hopefully she got the 2.4.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
02/25/2015 at 17:10

Close. It was a lease car.

jkm7680 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:10

Another probably an old rental car. Double fun.

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:11

On a 2014?

HammerheadFistpunch > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:13

Meh, the interiors are so so (the 2014's aren't too bad) and the engine is a bit trashy but its a decent car.

Ram_Riot_6 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:20

I own and DD one of these and have for nearly 7 years. They are not as bad as people make them out to be. They get great gas mileage and are quite reliable, I have had no repairs during my ownership. Sure the CVT (6 speed autos starting in 2014) may not be everyones favorite thing, I actually like how it drives, but they are great at being inexpensive and reliable transportation.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:23

My family had one of these as a rental on our vacation. It was pretty damn pitiful. But it should work great for your grandmother.

Twism > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:40

It's... Eh.

the major problem of these were the interior, and the 2014 has that solved.

Chances are, it's a 2.4L with a CVT driving either the front or all-wheel drive (these were the volume sales). The 2.4 is an okay engine, but the CVT is absolute garbage. unless you are forced at gunpoint to drive it, find something better.

...actually, scratch that. I'm willing to take a bullet before owning a CVT patriot/compass/caliber of this era.

Firewrx234 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:47

I doubt it. Too many miles for a lease. It might have been a fleet vehicle though.

mazda616 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 17:58

They're not the best but they aren't as bad as everyone says. Just an honest little trucklet thing that will do fine in shopping mall parking lots and stop and go traffic, like all the other cute Utes. :)

GeorgeyBoy > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 18:05

Better than the Compass.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 18:06

Dude, the newish Patriots are actually pretty nice when somewhat loaded. My grandmother has one. A 2013 with 4x4 and a manual. Its actually pretty fun to drive too!

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 18:17

It's the car you buy only because you didn't bother to look at/test drive any others.

and 100 more > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 18:35

Resident Patriot owner here...

The '14s, so far, seem relatively solid from every account I've heard, especially with the regular, non-CVT automatic (which they should have had instead of the CVT back in '07). Mine is an '08 w/ over 100k miles on the clock, but the design has hardly changed in that amount of time, so here's the rundown:

Ball joints will likely go bad at about 40k-50k miles. This is reality. Mine have lasted thus far, but are starting to give up now. My Patriot is the exception in this case. Easiest solution: get the Moog or Mevotech LCAs, and replace the whole unit. You can press out the balljoints themselves, and Moog makes replacement press-in balljoints, but for the cost and effort to get the old ones out, you may as well just do the whole lower control arm on both sides, since the rear in-board bushings will likely need replacement a few years later anyway.

Will probably need new rear wheel bearings by 80k; OEM units are horrible. Fuck Chrysler and they're OEM bearings. Replace w/ less-expensive Timken units that last 10 times as long.

Manual tranny is good overall, but wear items like slave cylinder and clutch are shit. Also, slave cylinder is inside the bellhousing, so replacement necessitates removal of tranny, which equals about $1200 USD.

Interior can be a little loud, but a 3'x3' (or so) chunk of carpet under the spare tire will help with road noise. Most of it is transmitted up from the back, FYI.

The seats aren't great for support, but they're fine for short trips. I took mine across country a few years ago, and i would've loved better seats after Day 2, but they got the job done.

Good cargo space behind the rear seats. The trick is to stack tall. There's seriously about 3 more inches of headroom inside above the door & hatch openings.

Your grandma likely got the 2.4, 2wd automatic combo. Gas mileage is probably between 22-28 mpg, as high as 32 if you drive with a feather foot. I average about 23-24 with a bad bearing and winter gas. The engine is actually quite torquey, which is nice, at the cost of some gearing at the top end.

Sunroof models tend to have a lot of roof leaks; nobody has really traced the source of the leaks, Jeep included. Mine doesn't have a sunroof, but will leak around the rear hatch opening in heavy rains.

The ride comfort makes me think the Patriot is a car doing its best truck impression. Handling is decent, but the front end likes to give up grip in the rain, and traction control steps in very often. you can partially disable skid protection, but if you spin the tires you'll feel the brakes grabbing at the wheels to slow them down regardless. Pro tip: removal of the ABS pump fuse disables traction control and skid protection entirely.

Also, speaking of ABS; the wheel sensors are iffy. Mine have been great. Other people have had problems in as little as 10k miles. If you have a 4wd model you must replace the wheel bearing and sensor together, and front and rear units are not interchangeable.

Overall, it's a decent boxy wagon. It's not great at anything, but it's good enough at most things. It reminds me of that line from "Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms: "and if you don't expect too much from me/ you might not be let down."

and 100 more > GeorgeyBoy
02/25/2015 at 18:42

It is a Compass. There is literally no difference aside from exterior aesthetics. Every mechanical component is the same. Interior amenities are the same.

and 100 more > Twism
02/25/2015 at 18:46

FWD and low-end 4WD models came with a 6-speed auto option in 2014. The high end FD2 4WD still came with the CVT, since it allowed lower gearing (19:1 crawl ration vs 14:1 for the auto or manual).

GeorgeyBoy > and 100 more
02/25/2015 at 18:47

I know. It's a cheaper better looking Compass.

and 100 more > GeorgeyBoy
02/25/2015 at 18:47

There ya go. The only real difference.

Tina Corbett > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/25/2015 at 18:55

I sold my brother a 2009 which I had our mechanics check it over from top to bottom. However, last week, the alternator went out! No warning at all.

Is this a common thing? I couldn't really find anything online other than paint issues. What should he bee looking out for?

Twism > and 100 more
02/25/2015 at 19:24

Wow I need to brush up on my FCA product knowledge.

So with the better interior and a 6-speed auto, the patriot might actually be a good vehicle...

and 100 more > Twism
02/25/2015 at 21:03

To be fair, the Patriot/Compass was never meant to win hearts, exactly.

Twism > and 100 more
02/25/2015 at 23:05

I'm actually amazed at how well it sold, even when it was genuine crap.

People are not interested in quality or reliability. They want a low price for a vehicle that can get them from A to B for the next few year.

...And yet, a lot of people bought patriot because ''it looked like their old Cherokee''.

and 100 more > Twism
02/25/2015 at 23:25

Well, the timing and the pricing were just right. It started selling in 2006, just before the market crash, just long enough to establish some recognition in the market. Then when nobody could afford their Excursions and Suburbans, it offered just enough utility (to be fair, probably still more utility than they really needed) to those same folks in a smaller, cheaper, more efficient package.

Think about it, hatchbacks weren't nearly as popular before 2006. Sedans, fullsize pickups, and big SUVs were in. Modern hatchbacks are now the SUVs of their era.

To be fair, the Patriot is really not as bad as everyone thinks. They just need to stop expecting a mini-Cherokee, from the Patriot or any of Jeep's small cars. Those days are gone, but we have some semi-decent little hatchbacks and wagons now instead.

Robert Jones > and 100 more
02/26/2015 at 00:01

Take my Patriot experience with a grain of salt because I (A) bought the super-base model with AC and radio as the only options unless those were actually standard and (B) I never took my patriot off road.

After 77,000 miles I never had a problem with it. It was 100% reliable. Granted with 2wd, manual locks, roll up windows, and manual seats I didn't have a whole to lot to break.

For a $10,000 (I got "9000 dollars" trade in for my POS Comanche that was worth a few hundred.) new car I was pretty satisfied. I don't think I'd ever get another one though. I'm a big guy and the interior got claustrophobic over time.

and 100 more > Robert Jones
02/26/2015 at 02:02

I got mine used with about 20k miles, also the base 2WD model, and I'm similarly satisfied. There's stuff that's broken on mine, but all in all, with the wear and tear I've put on it, none of it has been exactly "premature". Annoying, yes. Expensive, yessssss. But not premature.

I'm part of a Patriot-centric forum, and there's a lot of horror stories there, unfortunately. The Patriot/Compass has a very inconsistent level of quality; some folks rarely have an issue, and some folks ditch theirs after short time because of issues that either can't be resolved by a dealer, the dealer refuses to accept as a warranty issue, or problems that keep coming back. And then, of course, there's folks who thought they were buying a baby Wrangler, and now complain because it's not one.

The Patriot has a surprising amount of space inside, but it's just too small in certain critical areas, like the knee area especially. We have one guy who's about 6'4" I believe, and all leg I guess, because he had to have custom seat rails made for his Patriot. Which is fine, because he's completely customizing his anyway.

Robert Jones > and 100 more
02/26/2015 at 03:40

I can believe that Chrysler may not have the strictest quality control. My brother's Cherokee xj (keep in mind that's a simple design with little to mess up on) had the water pump completely disintegrate into rusty sludge, paint just erode, and I believe it's gone through two oem alternators.

And, yeah, if someone bought a patriot expecting a baby wrangler they should take a much longer test drive next time.

It would be like wanting a a juicy steak (NY strip or flat iron for me) and then picking up a quesadilla from Taco Bell because it said "steak" on the sign. There's nothing wrong with taco bell, but they don't have NY strip, outside of "Demolition Man" .

The knee room didn't bother me, at first. It's a big reason not go back though. Window roller stabbing one leg and the hard G. I. Joe plastic center console crushing the other.

A custom interior would make a giant difference on the patriot. Have you ever got drunk and tried to find comfortable way to sleep in there?

and 100 more > Robert Jones
02/26/2015 at 10:41

Ha!! Drunken sleeping, no, but I did spend a couple nights roughing it in the back. Even with the rear seats folded flat, I found I still couldn't fully stretch out my legs, which sucked.

It was a bad time for me, so I think I deserved that little discomfort. That said, never again will I try to use the Patriot as a bed. It'd probably be somewhat better with an air mattress and the optional fold-flat passenger seat, but that's not an option on the base models.

The steak was a perfect analogy for the Patriot, btw.

Tapas > and 100 more
02/27/2015 at 09:52

Thats probably the most Jalop comment on this page :D

NavyMercedes > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/27/2015 at 22:45

my only comment is that I was shocked to read that's a 2014 model... Talk about a dated design... For some reason it looks at least a decade older than it is