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CVT Transmission noise?

96K views 124 replies 64 participants last post by  Juiced97Mustang 
#1 ·
Hi,

Is anyone experiencing noise coming from their transmissions, or what seems to be the transmission, at low speeds? I am hearing a rattling/grinding noise that occurs when you are decelerating and going very slow, just barely rolling forward and applying gentle on/off pressure to the gas peddle or just before
coming to a stop when braking into a red light/stop sign. The noise seems to come from directly under the vehicle.

By the way, I have the 2008 4x4 limited FDI version Pat if that helps.

Thanks.
 
#27 ·
Noise Normal

I dropped off my Patriot at the dealer this morning and took it for a ride with the technician. He heard the noise and said he would test drive another one to
compare.

The conclusion is that this is normal. He test drove another Patriot and it did the same thing. He also called the Service Technical Assistance Resource (STAR) Center and they are aware of this noise. It comes from the differential and there is no fix to date. Replacing the tranny will most likely not resolve the noise since it's an issue with the transmission design.

I'm not holding my breath that there will be a fix anytime soon since the Patriot line is a three year old with no solution to date.

I love this Patriot otherwise. Hope it does not make me regret buying American.
 
#28 ·
I love this Patriot otherwise. Hope it does not make me regret buying American.
i wouldn't use the Patriot's quality as judgment on the rest of the American-made vehicles out there from Ford, GM, and possibly even other vehicles in the Chrysler line-up. i would put the Patriot on the lower-end of the quality/reliability spectrum when compared to similar models...but its quality is still acceptable, just not in the top tier. it's an economy SUV that has feature packages and an off-road package to spice it up a bit, however the quality (design, manufacture, and assembly) that went into it is that of an economy vehicle.

whenever my Honda Civic craps out (which it probably won't for several more years) i will be buying American. it's hard to tell what i will buy, since i think we will see a drastic shift in technology within the next half a decade as manufacturers rush to comply with the new 2016 CAFE standards.
 
#29 ·
You work for CR or one of those other car reviewers jgg204?

whenever my Honda Civic craps out (which it probably won't for several more years) i will be buying American.
I'll believe that when it happens.
 
#31 · (Edited)
You work for CR or one of those other car reviewers jgg204?



I'll believe that when it happens.
nope, i do not work for CR or one of those other car reviewer websites.

many people have said things for the sole fact that i own a honda civic and if i make any criticism of the Patriot. if i lied and said that i owned a Patriot and then made those criticisms, you wouldn't judge me and sarcastically ask if i work for CR. just wanted to point that out to you. but also i say many great things about the Patriot if you read all of my past threads and posts, but having been a member on this forum for 10 or so months, i have noticed that there is a quality issue with the vehicle (not just related to the leak issue).

at the time when it was purchased there was nothing that the big 3 could offer that could compete. the 1st generation ford focus...no thanks! the chevy cavalier...nope! throw in the fact that honda was running a 0% APR financing deal, it was something that i had to jump on due to my limited finances of the time.

the compact car type of vehicle is not suiting my needs anymore. i need to get an SUV. i didn't want to go out and buy a big gas guzzler either, but i didn't want to get one of those lame cross-over vehicles that the japanese auto-makers make. i found out about the Jeep Patriot and that's why i joined this site, in order to learn more about the vehicle. it seemed like the perfect fit, and the price wasn't too bad either considering all of the rebates and incentives that have been going on (employee pricing ++, etc) this past year. well, i had to switch jobs and i ended up having to relocate since my commute would have been 6 hours a day. thus, the finances are not there to get the Patriot which is unfortunate...but heck, if every American exercised financial judgment like i do then we wouldn't be in this mess that we have. in about 2 years i will be a GS-12 and i will be able to afford to purchase an SUV and while the Patriot may not be around anymore, i hope that Jeep offers something that's comparable.

when i found out that the 2010 Jeep Patriot would no longer come with the lifetime power-train warranty, i pretty much gave up on getting the Patriot. that lifetime warranty was the tipping point for me in bypassing the chronic issues that the Patriot has, b/c it gave me reassurance that mechanical failures with the power-train would be covered. their 6 year/100,000 warranty isn't bad...but the fact that it's not lifetime is now a deterrent for me. i'm guessing it was a move on Fiat's part.
 
#33 ·
jgg204,
It just comes across as the usual "my vehicle will never have problems because it is a HONDA". Nothing drives me more nuts than those people out there that look at a badge and make a determination of that vehicle's worth, reliability, etc.

Thank you for your explanation it has set me straight on the situation.

when i found out that the 2010 Jeep Patriot would no longer come with the lifetime power-train warranty, i pretty much gave up on getting the Patriot. that lifetime warranty was the tipping point for me in bypassing the chronic issues that the Patriot has, b/c it gave me reassurance that mechanical failures with the power-train would be covered.
What chronic failures? Yes, there have been a couple CVT failures but by no means is it an epidemic (the old definition not the way it is used with H1N1)... yet.

This vehicles hasn't even been on the road yet for 5 years. How many of them have been anywhere near 100,000 miles?
If the long term data doesn't exist how can a verdict be made? (Another irritaing part of CR etal.)

Yes, I am glad that I have the lifetime warranty but I would still buy it with the 5/100,000 warranty. Realistically, there will only be a handful of us lifetimers that ever go past the new warranty mark as the original owner. More people will benefit from the 5/100,000 than probably would have under the lifetime. Now a used Patriot would have a trans warranty beyond 3 years.

08BlackPatriotgirl said:
My husband and I drove into Dallas today (we dont usually drive this far) anyway.. and he said the CVT trans in my Jeep feels like it is slipping bad. So now I have a bad vibration problem and now this... whats next?
Describe this "feeling"... is it revving at 4000 RPM just to maintain 15 MPH? If you try to get on the interstate does it never reach 60 MPH? Are you getting run over by traffic? A slipping CVT would be a dead CVT.
 
#34 ·
Latest Update

I was having a hard time accepting the diagnosis that the tranny/differential noise was normal and no fix could be offered. I decided to get a second opinion from another dealer and they have ordered a new transmission for my Patriot. I will post again to let you know if this resolves the noise issue.
 
#36 ·
Pat is Fixed!

Well the new transmission is in and the noise is gone. :banana:

For as much anguish as this caused me, I couldn't believe how simple the issue was to resolve at the second dealer. I really don't understand why there is so much inconsistency to resolve car problems on vehicles under warranty.
 
#37 ·
i have the same noise i only hear it going real slow like in a parking lot and even then don't hear it every the time ,first thought it was a shock rubbing or something it has been doing it since new i don't think its got any worst and since it only does it sometimes i don't think the service guys would ever hear it
 
#38 ·
That's the noise I heard too. The first dealer told me it was not normal but would not be detrimental to the transmission or vehicle performance according to the Chrysler STAR center. The point is they acknowledged that it was not normal and other vehicles don't do this so I wanted it fixed.

My advice is to take it in.
 
#40 · (Edited)
2007 Pat power transfer unit

:doh:I noticed a constant while under load scraping sound on my 2007 Pat, took it to the dealer today. It has 114,000km which is now out of warranty and they tell me I need to replace the power transfer unit for $1,371.00 + taxes Canadian. To bad this didn't show up under the warranty period. Has anyone else had this same problem resolved? And is there a better fix or price out there for the PTU. Perhaps replacing the fluid could be an option, I'm at sorts on what to do next. The dealer informed me that the PTU are on back order and might be a while for them to be in stock. That kind of makes me wonder if there are allot of other Pat's experiencing the same problem I have.
 
#44 ·
I have a 2007 Patriot Limited with CVT (30k miles) and I am experiencing a metal to metal vibration around 1800 and 2800 RPM especially under load when traveling up hills/ mountains. I had it at the dealer and they were unable to pin point the problem. I did a little more investigating when I was home. I believe it may be a welded surround/ shield on the engine side of the rear driveshaft just after the U-joint. It is the only exposed metal that made a similar noise when I would knock on it. I will have to investigate a little further when not so cold out or take it back to the dealer and let them figure it out. I am quickly losing patience with it. I purchased in May of 2007 before the July lifetime warranty. If I don't have this resolved before 36k, I will explore all options of getting rid of it.
 
#45 ·
FYI - I finally took my Patriot in to the dealer last week; it's approaching 35k miles and I'm having trouble with a rain leak (again), so while I had it in I also asked them about the grinding noise at crawl speeds. As of the end of the week they were still working on the rain leak issue, but had duplicated the noise problem but hadn't begun to address it yet. I'll post an update when I have one; driving a Liberty 4X4 in the meantime (rental, at my expense), though I may have to downgrade it to something less expensive if they keep my Patriot much longer. One thing I don't understand though from some of the comments posted above is how the CVT can be an "unserviceable" item...so there's no way to work on these when they go bad, you can only bolt in a new one?
 
#46 ·
As a follow-up I just spoke to my service rep; he says they found a loose heat shield that was rubbing on the CV axle on the right-hand side, and once they fixed that the noise went away. I have my doubts as to it being something that simple (why would it only do that at crawl speeds, but not at other times?), but it should be fairly easy to duplicate the conditions when I've heard the sound in their parking lot before I take it home later today.

Also as an FYI on the rain leak, they've supposedly ordered new weather stripping for both front doors, so I'll have to take it back to have those replaced when they arrive (back-ordered, I guess they're in high demand!). They replaced a door weather strip the last time around, though I thought/assumed it was the back door on the driver's side...so we'll see what happens. I do know after driving a 2010 Liberty for the past week that I really miss my Patriot!
 
#47 ·
My wifes Pat with the CVT recently started making a grinding/rubbing noise as well, but only at speed. It drives fine, but there is a high pitched whine that was not there before. Loose guarde, or something internal? Anyone have any ideas? It's an 07 with 25000 miles.
 
#48 ·
Different noise attributed to CVT

My 2008 Patriot started making this whirring noise after having about 20K miles. The whirring accelerated with driving speed almost disappearing at low speeds. Went to the dealer and they said my transmission "had gone crazy." Dealer ordered a new transmission. They are installing it on Tuesday. We'll see.
 
#51 ·
I probably have the same issue, the grinding noise at crawl speeds. I had the dealer check it and said it was the gas pedal making the nosie and it had salt in it or something. The noise did go away but came back in about a weeks time. I really need to get this resolved before the warranty is over.
 
#58 ·
The GAS PEDAL? Are you for real? They told you the GAS PEDAL? The pedal is electronic.
 
#52 ·
Hey you described it exactly. I was experiencing the same thing. It almost sounds like a wheel in the cvt grinding as it adjusts itself. I took mine in and had to ride with the tech to show him the sound. He was able to make the 08 Patriot Limited 4x4 do it over and over. They called later and said it was the doughnut gasket on the exhaust. We will see if this fixes it.
 
#53 ·
My '08 has this same problem; I took it to a dealer (not the one I bought it from, since they're no longer in business :( ), and they kept it for a week (while they were also supposed to work on fixing my roof leak again, and change my oil w/materials I supplied). They claimed they tightened a heat shield that fixed the noise at crawl speeds, but it's still there. I was verbally told they ordered the seals to fix the leak, and would call me when they came in, but after a few weeks I went back to my paperwork to see how long it'd been, and on the official paperwork they say they were unable to find a leak, and there was no problem! Then to top it off, when I picked it up they tried to charge me something like $30 for an oil change, when I provided them synthetic oil and a filter!! They credited me for the oil change materials, but there should have also been a 1/2-quart of oil left over that I never saw (and now I'm wondering if they just dumped the full 5 quarts in there!!).

I was miffed at first, primarily because I'd a fair amount of money on a rental car (they kept my Pat for like 8 days), and basically all they did was change the oil (which I typically do myself anyway). I'm almost at 36,000 miles, which was the reason I took it in to have these things addressed before the main warrant expired, but I finally decided that A) the power train has a lifetime warranty, so if the problem becomes a costly issue I have a record of bringing it to their attention early on, and B) if the leak continues to be an issue, I can probably get it taken care of myself cheaper than I can rent a car for a week, and C) I will NEVER do business with this dealership again. During the time they had my vehicle I'm not sure they ever called me; I was always having to call them every couple of days to see what the status was, since I kept having to extend the rental car contract every couple of days.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but just bummed that the dealer I bought my Jeep from was only a few blocks away from my office, which was one of the reasons I bought it...now I have to drive 15+ miles to another town to get any work done, which becomes a major scheduling problem.

I'm also discouraged because of the huge variety of diagnoses that are given for this problem; as common as it seems to be there ought to be a confirmed cause/repair sorted out by now. At this point I'm just going to treat the noise as "normal" since it seems to be so prevalent, and be sure to take mine in for it's 5-year checkup to keep my lifetime warranty up to date, so if it does become an issue that requires repair it'll be covered.
 
#54 ·
I had the same thing!

Hey Guys,

My '09 Pat North Ed. had the same noise that appear around the 10k km mark. Did the same thing...went to the dealer and got the "we don't hear anything unusal" line. After taking the service mgr out, then I got the "how did you hear that!?" question. They kept it for another day only to be told that this was a normal "selenoid" sound. Funny?? I never heard this before! Anyway...if you look back through the threads here on JP.com...you'll see that many of us have been is this situation before. After three unsuccessful trips to the dealership, I finally went to another Jeep dealership who immediately stated that this sound was not normal. They said they needed to keep it and they would let me know ASAP. Ninety minutes later, I got a call stating that a new tranny has been ordered. I had my Pat back by noon the next day!:D Although they could not give me a concrete reason for the noise, their own research with the component manufacturer revealed there are some bad bearing systems out there. The mfr gets the tranny back and does their own autopsy. Ever since the new tranny went in, that low speed scraping noise is gone! If you continue to get the run around, try another dealer. It solved my issue right away...and I have a new service dept now! Hope this helps. I found the information gained through the members on this site gave me the knowledge and "ammo" to go in and state facts...yup...made them listen!
 
#55 ·
I have a 2009 Jeep Patriot with just 16,000 kms...I bought brand new in Sept. 2008. I started having this grinding/rattling noise as well when driving at slow speeds. I took it in to the dealership...they told me they too could hear it. When they called me to come back in and pick it up they said I needed to bring it back in when the foreman was in. So, I did. They then told me the noise had to get worse before they could figure it out. The noise got worse so I brought it back in. The foreman apparently took my car home over night and said he couldn't hear the noise. The minute I got in the car the noise was there. I then took it in to a different dealership...they told me the noise is a characteristic of the CVT transmission and that they couldn't do anything about it. The noise has gotten louder and now my car almost stalls out when idling (at a red light or waiting in a parking lot). I took the vehicle back in AGAIN. They again told me that the noise was normal and that it didn't stall out for them. I feel like I have gotten the run around from both these dealerships and now have sent in a letter to Chrysler Canada just this past Friday. Hopefully they will offer me some assistance, especially now reading that several other people are having the same problems.
 
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