Slow Take Off?

[Pit Viper]

OK,I know that I've read some on here about the sluggish takeoff in the Patriot.My question is.....Is there anything you can do to get more pep short of gear change? Mine is an 07 with the CVT.

[Davecat]

While it will never be a sports car, I find the 5 speed manual is adequate. I originally test drove the CVT and eliminated it as an option immediately.

[SteveReject]

The occasional delay of power when hitting the gas from a standstill gets annoying. I'm still not 100% used to it. Lucky I have the 2.4L with more low end torque. I wish I would have gotten the 5 speed with mine.

[dixiedawg]

Maybe it's the lower gears in the FDII, or maybe I'm just used to the CVT now, but I never felt it was sluggish off the line. Of course I'm comparing it to other 4 cyl vehicles too.

[EastBeach]

Not sure I like it very much but have gotten used to the fact that u can't just stand on the gas pedal.

With the cvt there is a sort of "sweet spot" in the middle of the pedal travel. To feel some nice acceleration you have to find and feather it

These lil'bitches will pep up and show u 'what they're workin with'....if u catch my meaning. It's not great but as stated: it will never be a sports car tho it IS a jeep.

[todde702]

Jamming it to the floor is definitely not the way to go. I find 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, then roll it to the floor gives the best off the line. Also, if you might hit gravel or a ledge that may cause wheel spin, hit the ESP button to partial or full off before you launch. This keeps the ECM from killing engine power because a wheel slipped a little during launch.

[MrJeepR44]

Originally Posted by dixiedawg

Maybe it's the lower gears in the FDII, or maybe I'm just used to the CVT now, but I never felt it was sluggish off the line. Of course I'm comparing it to other 4 cyl vehicles too.

Ditto... mine seems to have plenty of pep. I want to say I have seen 0-60 times, and the FDII is a little quicker, but I don't really know how accurate that was

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AutoGuide App

[SteveReject]

It took me a little while to get used to the throttle by wire system with CVT transmission in a brand new vehicle. I was probably just used to how sensitive my 20 year old 5 speed Chrysler was with it's upgraded throttle body, exhaust, ignition, plenum spacers, etc, etc.

When I get on it with about half throttle or more, the 2.4L comes to life and really moves this 3300+ lbs beast! Usually with a little tire spin and stability control. I still haven't really gotten on the pedal and full on floored it since I haven't even racked enough miles for the first oil change yet! Most likely putting in full synthetic asap.

[Metaxa]

Its not a zippy peppy vehicle, it is purposefully peppy.

Once you spend a little time (as others have pointed out) figuring out how to get the most out of the CVT you can make it do most whatever you want.

Mine corners so flat and while carrying such good speed that I love to fling it around a corner, little chirp on my way out and gone...

Alternately leave the traction control on and just sort of ooze around corners, away from stop lights, down the road, never getting over 2,000 RPM and even at that I've never noticed me holding up traffic and those in the other lanes don't seem to pull away or pass behind with any regularity.

I will say this...get it rolling about 10 kph, use the slap stick and get the RPMs up to red line and use the stick to hold them there while shifting up and you will surprise the person trying to race you in the next lane.

A coupe or three months ago I had some punk in a hot car attempt to box me off the end of a merge lane. He was deliberately pacing me...I just red lined it and took off and he couldn't kick his big motor and regular auto down fast enough to keep up. You could hear his motor rev up, saw the squat in my rear view and there I was, popped out the end of the merge well in front of tuff guy racer boy.

Think of the CVT like dating a hot red head...its gonna be great if you can figure it out but you have to put some time in.

[ctherrien]

I bet you have a picture of that hot red head ... ??

[Pit Viper]

Thanks for the response! I'm new to the 4cyl,actually new to a Jeep the 4cyl and the CVT. I'm sure that like you have all said,I just haven't got use to the power curve. I'm use to driving a V8,but I gotta say,I'm loving the gas mileage! On a side note; I am glad I found this forum and I appriciate the responses.



OlllllllO

[glocktistic765]

If you move it over to auto stick I notice a pretty huge increase in power. I'm not sure if it's just me or if it is actual power increase. I usually get the most power around 4,000 rpms. I some times notice a little bit of sluggishness while driving in auto from the start but if you find the sweet spot you can get some power out of it.

[JRomig]

I believe it feels sluggish due to the adaptives of the pcm... The pcm learns your driving habits and adjusts accordingly... IE if u drive like a grandma thats what it sets as your driving style... If u drive it like u stole it then it will learn that... In my magnum I would pull the pcm fuse every so often and let it relearn my driving styles... Its always really noticable right after resetting the pcm... (pulling the neg batt cable does the same effect) also one more thing, if the patriot has the same feature as the magnum does, try and recalibrate the throttle...

[JRomig]

These were the steps to recalibrate in my magnum not sure if itll work in the patriots:

. Stop your car and turn it off
2. turn your key to the ON position, just the ON position not start.
3. wait for all of your lights to go off on the dash. You should not see any of your idiot lights
4. mash the peddle to the floor and hold in for 10 seconds then let it up.
5. turn your key to the OFF position
6. Start your car and you have now recalibrated your throttle position.

[kds]

Originally Posted by Metaxa

...like dating a hot red head...its gonna be great if you can figure it out but you have to put some time in.

I wish someone had advised me of this before. I'm guessing I haven't put enough time in her yet...