Has anyone else noticed that the silver armrest on the doorpanel scratches very easily? I have babied my new patriot, but it seems that the paint/plastic just is proned to scratches. They are minor now, but I can see how it won't look so hot in a few years. I don't want to have to tell everyone to take off all bracelets and watches! :p Does anyone make vinyl/leather replacements? Is it possible to replace just the silver armrest portion or is it one piece with the panel?

If there is a seperation between the regular door and the armrest, it'll come off. You'll have to uninstall the whole door panel to get access to the back side.

You could wrap the doors with a vinyl foam yourself as an option too





PS the silver paint on my KJ (interior) is scratched all over the place. :)

Yes, and as I type, our Pat is in having the drivers side replaced. The vehicle we bought had a noticible scratch on the arm rest from one of the test drives it took.

Has anyone else noticed that the silver armrest on the doorpanel scratches very easily? I have babied my new patriot, but it seems that the paint/plastic just is proned to scratches. They are minor now, but I can see how it won't look so hot in a few years. I don't want to have to tell everyone to take off all bracelets and watches! :p Does anyone make vinyl/leather replacements? Is it possible to replace just the silver armrest portion or is it one piece with the panel?

dont have the silver armrest,
but did notice the little silver 4x4 lever is already scratched up,
simply by putting keys, cellphone, Ipod, etc down in that area,

It's a Jeep!

It's a Jeep!

but rather have it scratched up due to branches and offroading,
than because of pocket items,
also with every scratch, that new car feeling slowly fades away

for all the folks that say "its a jeep" in response to a Patriot owner's complaint please realize that jeeps don't roll off the line in olive drab with canvass tops anymore, if they did then folks probably wouldn't make a fuss. If its shiny it should stay shiny, if its painted it should look good, and if its plastic then it should be semi rugged and still aestheticaly pleasing.

It's a Jeep!

I'm not sure of this response?

Because it's a Jeep it's OK to use inferior cheap plastics that scratch with the brush of a key?

Has anyone else noticed that the silver armrest on the doorpanel scratches very easily?

Yes. Mine already has a couple scrathes and I have babied it also.
I also noticed the plastic in the cargo area gouges very easily with cargo being loaded in and out.

Jim

I'm not sure of this response?

Because it's a Jeep it's OK to use inferior cheap plastics that scratch with the brush of a key?


Yes. Mine already has a couple scrathes and I have babied it also.
I also noticed the plastic in the cargo area gouges very easily with cargo being loaded in and out.

Jim

Thanks for the info, when I get my Jeep I may take the door panel off and clear coat the silver painted piece now that I have this info.

Jim,
I thought about using hard board (the stuff they make most peg board out of except with no holes) and cutting a piece to fit the back. I would use vynil trim like this ( http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2008662/p-2008662/N-111+10201+600003824/c-10101 ) to cover the edges and to protect from rub marks and rattles. The underside of hard board is kind of anti slip so I would make that the top. What do you think? (I know there is a ready made rubber custom piece out there but I like to do things myself, not to mention save the $90 the mat costs.)

I saw this website http://www.wooddashexperts.com/customer/home.php?cat=5341 in another tread. If you want to cover the silver, there are these dash kits you can get in different colors. They even have silver. At least it will keep your silver untouched, but I don't know about the adhesive they use to put it on either.

"It's a Jeep" means that the dollars and attention went into more structurally and mechanically significant stuff than minor cosmetic stuff. No, I don't want my new Patriot to look all scratched and worn because it's cheeply made. But, the reason I chose it over the competition is simply because, while some of the other trucks might have armrests that hold up better, I dare any of them to take the pounding that I know the Jeep is engineered to absorb.

That's why the streets are still LOADED with beat-up Cherokees with wear on their under-engineered cosmetic trim, and I haven't seen an S-10 Blazer, Bronko-II, Hardbody Pathfinder or first-generation 4-Runner in months. Perhaps this weekend I'll go down to Pick-A-Part and admire their armrests.
:p

The silver on the driver's side of mine is already scratched up, as well. :(

I'd love to replace that entire plastic assembly with something softer on my elbow...

I'm sorry you folks are seeing such early wear on those surfaces. I might go for the wood grain kit if it gets to a point where the car is looking too beat up. Has anyone tried these kits?

here's a kit on ebay for the patriot:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JEEP-COMPAS-PATRIOT-07-08-TRIM-KIT-DASH-BOARD-STYLING_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ40017QQihZ018QQ itemZ280148411718QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Yes, and as I type, our Pat is in having the drivers side replaced. The vehicle we bought had a noticible scratch on the arm rest from one of the test drives it took.

Mine came scratched too. When I test drove it, there was no scratch and when I went to pick up there was. I don't wear a watch or anything so I don't think it was me who scratched, and I am the only one who test drove it. My only guess is the dealer did it when they filled it up.


Im just glad I did not get the 08 with the chrome door handles. I don't like the chrome shift knob, I feel like I have to polish it before i get out of my car.

for all the folks that say "its a jeep" in response to a Patriot owner's complaint please realize that jeeps don't roll off the line in olive drab with canvass tops anymore, if they did then folks probably wouldn't make a fuss. If its shiny it should stay shiny, if its painted it should look good, and if its plastic then it should be semi rugged and still aestheticaly pleasing.

I agree with Dmentd_Dan. :smiley_thumbs_up: Listen, I've owned nothing but trucks and have no problem in having them beat up, dented, dinged, scraped, chipped, etc. It just concerns me that a new vehicle would have interior components that scrape up so easily... especially given the clientel that would buy a Jeep.

We aren't the most gentle on our vehicles as it is (even when we try to be), so why not put something a little more wear tolerant instead of soft plastic painted in a very thin coat of paint. If they simply used the material used on the door panel I think it would have made a world of difference. I have kicked and scraped the speaker cover a million times and it cleans up and shows little to no wear. Thanks for all the feedback!

Yes, and as I type, our Pat is in having the drivers side replaced.

This might be a good path - complaining at the dealership that is. All of the Patriots running around are less than a year old. So this paint problem at such an early stage is a huge issue. Everyone should complain to Chrysler about the piss poor quality of the paint and lack of scratch resistance.

It's a Jeep!

If its shiny it should stay shiny, if its painted it should look good, and if its plastic then it should be semi rugged and still aestheticaly pleasing.

I agree. But with this kind of wear so early in the stages of ownership... well it's disheartening.

Because it's a Jeep it's OK to use inferior cheap plastics that scratch with the brush of a key?



I think this "it's a Jeep" comment usually refers to the exterior "pin striping" and dents that a vehicle aquires over the course of its lifetime out on trails or in the woods.

I'll try to post up some pictures of my scratches later tonight. One is really big, but I did that pulling a drill press out of my cargo area. :p

The other scratches are from my shop vac rubbing on the PRNDL bezel but I've acquired them over 5 years, not 6 months. :(

Has anyone tried these kits?

I've had luck with them on previous vehicles. The best results are foundl in the prep time and cleaning of the interior parts to ensure proper adhesion.

I agree with Dmentd_Dan. :smiley_thumbs_up: If they simply used the material used on the door panel I think it would have made a world of difference. I have kicked and scraped the speaker cover a million times and it cleans up and shows little to no wear. Thanks for all the feedback!

from day one , was kicking that speaker panel,
first impression, thats gonna be black and scuffed in no time,
1 month and 3000 miles later, barely notice a scratch

1 month and 3000 miles later, barely notice a scratch

I'm glad I'm not the only one on their way to putting on those type of miles! Thank god for mileage reimbursements!

I'm glad I'm not the only one on their way to putting on those type of miles! Thank god for mileage reimbursements!

last car, my neon
is a 1998 with 200K miles on it,
still on the road, brother is using it
and while i put the 200K miles on it, it wasnt my only car also had a 1990 cherokee sport,
averaged 22K miles/ year on the neon, and about 10K miles a year on the cherokee,

Mine was scratched even before I took delivery. Since then, I've also scratched the silver trim piece around the stick-shift. These seem to scratch just by looking at them. I could start replacing them, but when does it stop.

I hope someone comes out with a better replacement for these panels.

I noticed mine was scratched a day or so after I took delivery. I feel certain I didn't scratch it since I don't wear jewelry or a watch and it hasn't been scratched since the initial scratch. No biggie though, stuff happens.

I've done a thorough inspection of all the silver components and have found areas where the paint is completely missing exposing the plastic on the rear passenger arm rests. I haven't had anyone in the back seat, so I'm left to believe that it is from the factory/dealership.

I called my sales person, only to find out they no longer work there. Good grief, I just purchased it from him 2 weeks ago. In any case, I spoke with the dealer's service rep and told him the problems and asked if it was something covered under the normal warranty. He stated that he had not heard of similar problems, but they would be more than glad to look at the silver arm rests and order the replacement parts as it should be covered under the warranty.

My only fear is that they replace them with components that are proned to wear just as easily. :doh: I'm begining to wonder if I should just install one of those interior accent kits spoken about earlier in this thread. At this point, it looks like those might be more durable than the factory installed parts! Any thoughts?

.....My only fear is that they replace them with components that are proned to wear just as easily. :doh: ..... Any thoughts?

When the new parts come in get them clear coated maybe. Heck even a rattle can will give you more protection than not, just do the prep work. prep is everything (well, almost) when it comes to painting.

Yeah mine was scratched when I got it also, I was kinda sad about that, but didn't want to make a huge deal about it, besides, I'm sure I would've scratched it eventually anyways no matter how careful you are! At least I wear my watch on my right wrist.

Hopefully eventually they come up with better ones and I can replace them all at once when they get bad.

Most of the plastic parts in the Jeep scratch way too easily, even the bezel!!! I scratched my new bezel just putting it in! Or sliding things in and out of the back such as a cooler, that plastic scratches easily!! :(