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Transmission whining and slowing 2008 Patriot down to 40 mph

28K views 25 replies 20 participants last post by  uhavissues32 
#1 ·
I have a 2008 Jeep Patriot that has 84000 miles. It recently has started making a high pitch noise when pressing the accelerator. It is very evident when I travel longer distances. Last week after 90 miles the light came on for the transmission being too hot. It slowed the vechicle way down and we had to pull over and stop.

I took my Patriot in to have it looked at. The dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong (no codes and they couldn't get the check transminssion light to come on). They said they updated a computer part for the transmission. They said if it happened again (the check transmission light comes on and the transmissions whines and slows you down to 30-40 mph) to bring it in with the light on. I paid my $ on went on my way.

Well it happened again. Only problem was we were 5 hours from the dealership and 4.5 hours from home. We traveled at 35 miles an hour for almost 45 miles. We finally pulled over at the first station and let it sit for 45 minutes. The light did go off and we made it home safely.

I took it back to the same dealer (only one close). Four days after dropping it off they called and said "they finally got a code from the computer", it was part of the transmission that was not covered under warrenty because it did not have fluids involved (?). Does anyone have a clue what they are talking about? I have emailed the service dept. and have asked for a written reply to exactly what they were doing. This was 4 days ago.

I want to give the Patriot to my daughter for a graduation gift, but at this point I am very skeptical about it reliabilty. Worse yet, I am skeptical about it being 'fixed'.

Any suggestions?
 
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#2 ·
A lot of us are experiencing the same with the "07" "08" models. Its probably the CVT. If you search these threads your not the only one. I called Chrysler to complain a week ago and obtained a case #....havent heard from them since, Im only out of warranty for about 2 months
 
#5 ·
The only part of the transmission that does not involve fluids would be the PRNDL switch and the front CV half-shafts. The rest of the tranny is a sealed unit. If it's a 4x4, there is also a Power Take-Off Unit (PTU) bolted to the right side transmission output to send power to the rear, but the PTU is definitely part of the power train. Find out from them exactly what part "doesn't involve fluid" that would cause the transmission fluid to over heat and is not part of the power train.
 
#8 ·
Heard of this?

Finally got fax from dealership (after calling 1-800 number). Paperwork says "Internal Circuit Failure in PCM Circuit to TCM"; Replace PCM program and road test ok at this time."

Anyone get this response? If so, did it fix the problem?

I will find out and let you know...$630 later...
 
#10 ·
Go it back

Okie dokie...going to the ranch this weekend, so will let you know if problem is gone...

I did call Jeep and do have a case number.

The dealership said the warrenty was for 'lubricated parts only in the powertrain"...they replaced the POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM)...I asked how can the part that contols the transmission NOT be int he warrenty? I got the "lubricated parts" speech again.

I am going to fight that. I looked at my warrenty papers and online and could not find the lubricated clause...maybe it was a memo to Jeep service centers???

Will let you know Monday after the trip...
 
#11 ·
Oh dear ...Not another American dealer who shouldnt really be in business----A WARRANTY is a WARRANTY is a WARRANTY----It covers everything!!!!!!!They shouldnt tell PORKIE PIES about it --Its no skin off their nose--they claim it all back from Chrysler anyway. Its just the fact that they are Lazy & cant be Arsed!! Its far easier to Fob you off & hope you go away!!
 
#12 ·
CVT Trans Problems

I have a 2008 Jeep Patriot & I love it, but just recently my family & I were on our way home from Visiting family in Whittier CA. We live In Victorville CA. & on our way up on the 15frw going up the Cajon Pass, & our Jeep started making a winding noise, & started to loose power just like everyone else is experiencing. The Transmission overheating light came on slowed down drasticly. I took the Jeep into the dealership & they told me that it was the CVT going out on it & that it was not under warenty, My jeep only has 76,000 miles on it, & they are telling me that I will have to replace it out of pocket. I took it in to get an estimate & they told me it would cost me $3500 with parts & labor. I just want to know why if this is happening to alot of jeeps, why Jeep won't have a recall on them & fix it for all its loyal Jeep owners??? Did anyone get any help from Jeep Corp. & can anyone help me out??????
 
#20 ·
I have a 2008 Jeep Patriot & I love it, but just recently my family & I were on our way home from Visiting family in Whittier CA. We live In Victorville CA. & on our way up on the 15frw going up the Cajon Pass, & our Jeep started making a winding noise, & started to loose power just like everyone else is experiencing. The Transmission overheating light came on slowed down drasticly. I took the Jeep into the dealership & they told me that it was the CVT going out on it & that it was not under warenty, My jeep only has 76,000 miles on it, & they are telling me that I will have to replace it out of pocket. I took it in to get an estimate & they told me it would cost me $3500 with parts & labor. I just want to know why if this is happening to alot of jeeps, why Jeep won't have a recall on them & fix it for all its loyal Jeep owners??? Did anyone get any help from Jeep Corp. & can anyone help me out??????
Just wondering if you have had any resolution to your issue? I have the same problem with my Jeep it is a 2009 Jeep Patriot 4X4. Same thing happens, going down the road on a hot day the Jeep engine starts whining really loud and starts slowing down, the Jeep sounds like it is going to explode, then the transmission light comes on. I have to pull over and wait for the light to go off. I usually pull over for about 10 minutes. I just got it back from the service center and then said there is nothing wrong with the transmission. It seems crazy that we are all having the same issue. You are right this should be a recall. Has anyone heard anything. I'm located in Grand Rapids, MI and wanted to know of any local dealers that are aware of this issue. I could not believe they said nothing was wrong with the transmission. Who can help??
 
#13 ·
Does it sound like this






If so your cvt is probably on the way out, I traded my patriot off on my current compass before the noise got real bad (wasn't making any sounds when I did my trade in evaluation)

I had 69000 miles on mine when it started making sounds.
 
#15 ·
I took my 2011 pat with 14,365ks to the dealership for them to check out the noise coming from my cvt tranny. And to my surprise I'm getting a brand transmission . I got the call today for a time and date for the install. Hope I have no issues after the repair .


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app
 
#16 ·
Wow!!! it sounds like they are trying to avoid paying for your new tranny, that is weak and jeep should stand behind their customers no matter what jeep model they have. It hurts me to hear all these tranny problems.
 
#18 ·
I have the same whine

So after reading this post and hearing the same whine as in the videos, I'm super bummed - and confused. I purchased this 08 trail rated FDii with 36.5k miles from a jeep dealer. Thank God I purchased it with an extended warranty(3 more yrs/36k mi), as it was 500 miles and 1 month after warranty expiration. 1 week later, while climbing a pass (2k ft vert over 10 miles - pretty mellow) for work as i do every day, i hear that whine. I bring it in, and they say CVT is bad. 2 months later, after the CVT being backordered, they finally replace the tranny for my $50 deductible and give me a new 100k mile warranty on the tranny.
Here's the bad news. I'm now at 47k miles, and the whine is BACK. WTF? I've heard it for 2 days now, and last night on the way home from work over the pass I didnt hear the whine, but actually lost a bunch of power and watched it almost redline as I quickly lost speed... What's going on?
I've got my iphone ready for today's drive to work, and if anything happens, I'll try to post it.
 
#19 ·
re: CVT whine ...

Ugh... these Jatco CVT's are horrible. That's the bottom line. Since mine just died on me with the same exact issue, I started doing a lot of Google searching. I'm finding the exact same complaints from owners of practically every vehicle out there that uses one, including some of the Nissan Altimas and Mitsubishi Lancers, as well as other Dodge/Chrysler vehicles with them like the Caliber.

There do seem to be a couple of interesting "trends" I've noted too, though they're probably not provable as "facts" yet.

1. Over on one of the Dodge forums, one of the Caliber guys claims the model of CVT used in our Patriots is the same model used in the Calibers, and this model is only rated for maximum horsepower/torque loads very close to what our 2.4 liter engines put out. He says there's practically no margin to handle a performance upgrade ... and there's a good chance that such things as towing a small trailer would be enough to prematurely wear one out in our vehicles.

2. A fair number of people who had the transmission whine said they recently had their transmission fluid changed at a Chrysler/Jeep dealer, before the problem started. (I did, in my case, about 8K miles before the whine started.) Interestingly, I saw a comment or two claiming the transmission fluid spec'd by Nissan for these Jatco CVT's is a "higher quality" fluid than what Chrysler sells for it. In any case, it would be interesting if changing the fluid contributes to or greatly accelerates the problem in some way?
 
#21 ·
I have an '08 pat, and I don't have the terrible whine, but I have an insane lurch when shifting, and if you go through the 'manual' gear selection, gear 6 just sits at 2000rpm. you can push that pedal to the floor all you like, nothing happens. I don't have the whirling sound, it sounds like it's struggling at points trying to go uphill and it lurches so bad (the only thing I can describe what its even close to is someone really bad at driving standard) I'm taking into a transmission shop on Wed, but I don't know what to think and it's stumped A LOT of mechanics recently - mind you, I refuse to take it to the dealership.
its just your base 2.4l CVT sport model. I notice that a lot of people reporting the whirling have 4x4.
 
#22 ·
Whining noise and truck slows down to 40MPH

This is the 4th time I will be taking my 2009 Jeep Patriot to the dealership for the same whining noise since I got it in 2009. To make matters worst this is the 3rd time in the last 4 months this has happened. NO ANSWER YET!! I took it in while it was under warranty but nothing came up, now my warranty is up! The first time I let it slide in July 2009 (purchased new Feb 2009)... I was not sure if I did something wrong so I pulled over and let it cool off for 30 min. No problem again until recently June 2012. Every time I'm driving over 2 hours. I have about an hour commute everyday to work and I have no problems. Every time they dealership states they can't find the issue. It happened again June 2012, I was 1.5 hours away so I turned around and went straight to the dealership going 40 miles an hour. It was still on when I got there and they were going to check it however an hour later upon leaving it was off and they had no clue. They kept it for 2 week and still did not come up with anything except my central thermostat needed to be replaced for $800 and that should fix the problem. It did not!! Yesterday it happened AGAIN! Tomorrow we will see what is said as I am not taking the crap anymore.
 
#24 ·
Hey guys... Traded my 2009 Wrangler Unlimited X in about a month ago for a 2010 Patriot 4x4. Luckily I have not had any issue with the patriot but.... I had what you are describing happen with my Wrangler. I would be going down the road and start to lose speed. I would have to press the accelarator more to keep the speed up. Also some of the time when I would start to lose speed I would press the accelarator to the floor with no change in speed. At first I though it might have something to do with the bigger tires but now I know different. I traded it in before I had a chance to have it looked at. Oh and the light never came on for me.
 
#25 ·
Not a Cherokee damn it

Here's my experience with the noise. I had the overheat hit me twice on the freeway with 'limp home' mode. The first time at about 135k or so and the dealer (not my usual one we were about 100 miles from home) said I needed 2 software updates and I was low on fluid. They updated and topped it off and I went to a local dealership to check for leaks.They found nothing wrong. Another couple of weeks and it happened again on the jersey turnpike. We limped to the rest area and then to a dealer who had it for 2 weeks. They replace the trans fluid cooler and the lines to it as they were clogged but never quite got rid of the whining noise. It sounded a bit like a hydraulic system overloading. I didn't really mind it too much. The hometown dealer says it might be transmission fluid needs changing after repeatedly telling me it didn't need to be changed ever. Not only that but it had just been changed with the lines and cooler. Then a month later the engine light comes on and I have a major dip in mileage and power and the whining is getting more frequent and louder. I was getting 27-28 mpg when I cruised it easy on the hiway and it has dropped to 16-18. Now I'm back at my hometown dealership. After several attempts they have finally gotten the noise but my mileage is only 21-22 and Jeep is saying that older engines get worse mileage. I think they didn't fix it right when the engine light came on.:blah: Now my 1996 Cherokee with 240k on it gets the same mileage it always has, about 20mpg so I figure they just haven't finished fixing it yet. Other than that I love the truck, really good in the snow.
 
#26 ·
Hi, i just saw your post, and it's been 7 years later, have you had this issue resolved? Mine has been coming on for the last 3 years... and I've had enough of it. Same issue, Need to bring to dealer when light is on, sadly, i'm never near a dealer when the light comes on, so i'm screwed... please advise.
 
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