Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 11/15/2012 | 93500 | 1 | |
| At 62k miles i had to replace my driver side lower control arm assembly costing me $300 and no help from chrysler or my dealership. now at 93k miles and a year and half later, i need both lower control arms replaced. the estimate for them both replaced is $715. that's over $1000 for something that chrysler knows about and does nothing to assist their customers. i purchased this car brand new, even ordered from the factory, using the discount my company has with them, we get the preferred price being a supplier for their bearings and this is the quality i get? why even put the best bearings in the world on the jeep if you use garbage to support the wheel? *tr | |||
| 11/15/2012 | 93500 | ||
| At 62k miles i had to replace my driver side lower control arm assembly costing me $300 and no help from chrysler or my dealership. now at 93k miles and a year and half later, i need both lower control arms replaced. the estimate for them both replaced is $715. that's over $1000 for something that chrysler knows about and does nothing to assist their customers. i purchased this car brand new, even ordered from the factory, using the discount my company has with them, we get the preferred price being a supplier for their bearings and this is the quality i get? why even put the best bearings in the world on the jeep if you use garbage to support the wheel? | |||
| 07/02/2012 | 61000 | 1 | |
| Severe steering wheel vibration at elevated speed. front ball joints shot and cannot be serviced due to design. replaced front left and front right lower control arms, plus 2 tires with only 11k miles. problem appears to be sudden/rapid deterioration and catastrophic failure since all 4 tires were replaced at 50k miles with zero evidence of abnormal wear and no steering issues. vehicle has not been wrecked or driven off-road. numerous jeep forums and blogs with complaints about the 2008 jeep patriot front suspension. local jeep dealer service manager claimed never seen this issue before or replaced any lower control arms on this year, make and model. had work done at independent garage since dealer service manager was apparently not telling the truth or withholding facts. *tr | |||
| 07/02/2012 | 61000 | ||
| Severe steering wheel vibration at elevated speed. front ball joints shot and cannot be serviced due to design. replaced front left and front right lower control arms, plus 2 tires with only 11k miles. problem appears to be sudden/rapid deterioration and catastrophic failure since all 4 tires were replaced at 50k miles with zero evidence of abnormal wear and no steering issues. vehicle has not been wrecked or driven off-road. numerous jeep forums and blogs with complaints about the 2008 jeep patriot front suspension. local jeep dealer service manager claimed never seen this issue before or replaced any lower control arms on this year, make and model. had work done at independent garage since dealer service manager was apparently not telling the truth or witholding facts. | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 32952 | ||
| I purchased a used jeep patriot with 32,952 miles on it. previous owner had been told to replace front lower ball joints. i was told the front wheels could fall off at any time. dealership replaced them for me along with rotars. original tires had had to be replaced because of defective ball joints, but the new ones are already showing wear.the dealer & 2 other shops said with such low mileage it should not have this problem. after ball joints/rotars were replaced the problem was worse. not only was a ball joint still bad but i was told that both control arms are bad and need replaced. now, after being replaced once (now just over 33,400 miles on the jeep) i am told it is not safe to drive over about 40mph because still a wheel could fall off. | |||
| 09/23/2011 | 97000 | ||
| On 9/23/2011, i was driving 15-20 mph when a dodge charger struck my jeep on my driverside door causing my jeep to lose control and roll completely. my side airbags did not deploy causing a concussion. i have some memory loss and back and neck injuries. my jeep rolled onto a median causing the roof to cave in from the center of the car to the passenger side during the roll over. | |||
| 09/20/2011 | 37228 | ||
| Failed tie rod ends and balljoints causing premature tire wear and loose steering. | |||
| 07/25/2011 | 20058 | ||
| Our vehicle had been making creaking/groaning noises for a few weeks. we took it to pepboys for it's annual inspection, when the mechanic determined that both lower ball joints were bad, along with the driver-side outer tie rod. the vehicle only had 20,058 miles at the time of inspection, and i've read multiple complaints on various websites as well as here on safercar.gov regarding these premature ball joint failures, and the related parts that have subsequently failed. i opened a case with chrysler customer care, and after having their own people inspect the vehicle, they've replaced only the passenger side ball joint and the failed tie rod. after picking up the vehicle (and paying for a portion of the repair service, which included $150 for the 'extended warranty' co-pay and a $69.95 alignment) the vehicle is still making some squeaks, indicating that the driver-side ball joint may also be failing. i guess someone has to die before a safety recall is issued, otherwise there'd already be one based on the current level of complaints. i hope that the nhtsa will take the steps required to implement a safety recall of all mk49 chassis code suspension parts (jeep patriot and compass, and dodge caliber) before the sudden failure of one of these prematurely failing ball joints causes any deaths due to wheel disconnection and loss of control. | |||
| 07/19/2011 | 47000 | ||
| 2008 jeep patriot front ball joint needed replaced at 46,000 miles | |||
| 07/11/2011 | 66231 | ||
| Severe ratting in the front end of my 2008 jeep patriot. i took it to a garage to have it looked at and they said the ball joints were bad the vehicle has 66000 miles. after reserching it online and over a 500 complaints in chat forms for the same thing i found that chrysler had a rrt 08-070 for improper torque on the lower a arm bolt. i further reserched it and found that this bolt is an mvss bolt that was incorrectly torqued. i called the dealership to confirm the rrt and the said my vin was not included. i called chrysler and got the runaround that the vehicle milage could of been the issue. there were many posts on jeep patriot.com stating they had the same problems on the same year and make models. one post stated they pulled out of the dealrship after the vehicle was repaired and the front tire fell off. my wife and grandson do alot of traveling in the vehicle and i would hate for them to be traveling and hit a pot hole and the bolt shear off because of chryslers not wanting to make a recall on the vehicle. i worked 14 years as a quality engineer in the automovtive business for a teir 2 supplier and chrysler would have no problem on making a recall on a part that was produced by our company and make us pay for it. i think there should be a recall on this issue because of the safety issue at hand with the front wheel assembly a arm bolt breaking and the assembly falling off. | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 07/25/2011 | 20058 | ||
| Our vehicle had been making creaking/groaning noises for a few weeks. we took it to pepboys for it's annual inspection, when the mechanic determined that both lower ball joints were bad, along with the driver-side outer tie rod. the vehicle only had 20,058 miles at the time of inspection, and i've read multiple complaints on various websites as well as here on safercar.gov regarding these premature ball joint failures, and the related parts that have subsequently failed. i opened a case with chrysler customer care, and after having their own people inspect the vehicle, they've replaced only the passenger side ball joint and the failed tie rod. after picking up the vehicle (and paying for a portion of the repair service, which included $150 for the 'extended warranty' co-pay and a $69.95 alignment) the vehicle is still making some squeaks, indicating that the driver-side ball joint may also be failing. i guess someone has to die before a safety recall is issued, otherwise there'd already be one based on the current level of complaints. i hope that the nhtsa will take the steps required to implement a safety recall of all mk49 chassis code suspension parts (jeep patriot and compass, and dodge caliber) before the sudden failure of one of these prematurely failing ball joints causes any deaths due to wheel disconnection and loss of control. | |||
| 07/15/2011 | 54000 | ||
| The car was on the lift for a routine oil change when my mechanic checked the tires to see if i was having any issues with the ball joints. he has another jeep patriot in the garage with problem ball joints, that car has just slightly less miles than mine does. he then called me notifying me that ball joints were bad, one he considered dangerously bad and he would not allow me to drive the car home. he has since replaced the severely damaged one, but was unable to replace the other as there were no parts available to do so. this is the second suspension problem i have had with this car. i had to have tie rods replaced at 15000 miles ( covered by warranty). i do not use the vehicle off road and i am rigorous about keeping up with all scheduled maintenance. i spoke with the dealer and was given the run around, so i called chrysler and am waiting to hear back from them. my mechanic feels that this is something that should absolutely not have to repaired at this stage, given the mileage and the condition of the vehicle. due to this issue i have some pretty serious wear on tires i just replaced in september of last year. | |||