2011 clutch.. FAILED

[Burly Rez Goat]

the story goes like this....i was in northern AZ visithing my parents. After the awesome visit we headed back to cali. I was traveling South on Hwy 89 toward flagstaff and was in the passing lane. I was coming up on a slow car, so i down shift to 4th and passed the car. After i passed the car i shift to 5th and pressed the gas pedal...but nothing happened. The RPMs roared..but i was not going anywhere. I was losing speed, so i coast to stop at some junction. Lucky i had phone signal and called chrysler towing and 3 hours later they came towed me away.

It took 2 damn weeks to repace the clutch at jeep world flagstaff. i asked the tech what? how? He simply replied ...the clutch failed.

[MrMischief]

learn to drive a manual!


i keed. Seems strange that the clutch would go out so soon without you noticing it smoking, even if it was out of adjustment it'd still be smoking to actually get the clutch to fail I'd think.

[Burly Rez Goat]

[QUOTE=MrMischief;328679]learn to drive a manual!

hahaha thats what my brother said. i have been driving standard all my life...auto is just not as fun...but when i was waiting 3 hrs for the tow truck, the smell of burnt clutch fill my nostrils and will haunt me for as long i own the pat.

my brother owns a 09 pat standard, with no problems, and let me borrow it so i can go back to cali...big difference between the two.

[Afmcronnie]

What differences? Could you explain that some?

[Burly Rez Goat]

the difference i notice ...
1st was the power..his jeep had better response and could stay in 5th gear going up long steep hills without the need to down shift. all that was probably due to lower weight, and all his power going to the front wheels (his was 2wd),

2nd was the steering.. his steering was not all that stable at hight speeds vs the 2011...it was kinda twichy..at lower speeds it was good.

3rd was his superior gas mileage...his pat was consistantly getting 30-33 hwy..also due to it being 2wd

4th was his pat was not aging all that well...this was due to driving on ugly rez roads everyday..the roads up there are unforgiving. his doors squeaks..clutch pedal squeaks..the shifter knob fell apart (the chrome top)...the plastic part on the driver seat was coming off......but ..but.. besides all that, in my eyes it seem very reliable...his pat breaking down never crossed my mind

[Afmcronnie]

Sorry to hear about your clutch problems. Barring gross driver abuse, that is very unusual to blow out the clutch on a brand new vehicle, as evidenced by Jeep being willing to replace it. I think those parts only have a 1 yr warranty. Likely it was a defective unit and not anything you did. I never even considered buying the manual trans model. I drove sticks for years, and dont miss shifting all the time around town. Fuel mileage be damned! Besides, I dont even want to THINK about having to change out that clutch myself.
You are the first person I have heard that noted a power difference between the 2011 and an older model. I had a 2009 FDI, but cant make a comparision because my 2011 is an FDII, the lower gearing makes it feel more peppy. I suspect the change in the airbox/filter on the 2011 is robbing some power, and this may be what you are noticing.
The 2011 has a different steering ratio, spring rates, shock valving (compression and rebound damping) and a bigger rear anti-sway bar. I noted quite a bit of difference in the steering/handling from my 09. It seems to have an understeer tendency. The ride over the bumps and in the turns is much better, but it seems to require more effort to hold a line in a turn.
I didnt have any really notable problems with my 09. The flashlight went dead and the splashshield lost a couple bolts. I have found the Patriot to be a very reliable, economical vehicle. Thats why I bought a second one. Keep us up to date on that new clutch and if you have any other problems!

[Burly Rez Goat]

yeah the premature failure was disappointing..this all happened at 9000 and something miles...since i returned my brother pat and picked up mine the trans has been flawless. I was not really upset that it broke down in the middle of no where and waited 3 hrs smelling burnt clutch haha....but it pissed me off that the dealership took 2 wks to fix it...I dont think it will happen again (knock on wood), and it wont stop me from taking it off road.
I think the power robbing is from the FD1 AWD...its sending partial power to the rear vs just the front..and the extra 200 something pounds.

[noomi]

yeah the premature failure was disappointing..this all happened at 9000 and something miles...since i returned my brother pat and picked up mine the trans has been flawless. I was not really upset that it broke down in the middle of no where and waited 3 hrs smelling burnt clutch haha....