Loss of Power on Interstate '13 Latitude

[firefuelO2]

Hi All, I've seen different threads on the loss of power issue. That happened to me last night. I'm not sure if maybe I accidentally knocked it into neutral, as I was leaning to grab something that fell off the seat. The tach was up to 4, but very little power. So glad no one was riding my tail. I know this has been an issue with earlier models. Could anyone possibly give me some direction? As always, Thank You!

[Metaxa]

As far as I know, once the Patriot goes into limp mode it stays in limp mode...did you?
If there were no dash lights and you were able to continue your drive normally I would suggest it might have been something other than loss of power.

does the vehicle drive normally now?

[firefuelO2]

There were several things going on at that time. I was on cruise, with someone hanging in the left lane as I was trying to get over. I'm thinking I had accelerated, and then left off the gas because left-rider apparently wanted to catch and admire the Latitude a little longer : ) It all kind of happened quickly and then I felt it gradually lose power, with the tach not knowing where it wanted to be. I pulled over and put it in park. Made sure cruise was off. I think I may even have turned it off and back on. No warning lights or anything during this. Just kind of bizarre. It's highly unlikely that I would have bumped it into neutral, but I'm not ruling that out either. It ran fine the rest of the way home. If it happens again, then obviously there is an issue to look into.

[firefuelO2]

And of course, I'm still getting to know the Pat! Going from the 96 Cherokee to this is definitley a change : ). Please hold the girl jokes ... I'll get there! Thank You!

[Metaxa]

It is an interesting transmission with a few quirks.
Heck, its an interesting vehicle with a few quirks!

Sometimes the fuel delivery goes flat at certain RPMs and you either have to re-program the computer, push through the flat spot or live with it.

Because of how I drive my vehicle for work it is very unwilling to climb over 2,000 RPMs for instance. I know this and can push past it but still I unhook the negative battery terminal about twice a year to start fresh from factory settings.

If you didn't know the vehicle I can see someone trying to merge, for instance, in my vehicle and becoming pretty concerned.

[kds]

Originally Posted by Metaxa

If you didn't know the vehicle I can see someone trying to merge, for instance, in my vehicle and becoming pretty concerned.

When I first got my Pat, I was merging onto the freeway and my then-girlfriend said "I don't think your RPM's are supposed to go that high..." -- I was so used to mashing the gas pedal into the floor with my Impala and didn't really understand the new CVT at the time.

[firefuelO2]

I mainly do interstate driving in my vehicles, and the reason for the Pat was to stay within the Jeep family (having owned the Cherokee), and I need a 4x4 with better gas mileage. I'm under 2k in mileage and still waiting to see if it's going to break-in for better mpg, but I'm not sure at what point to expect that. Some say it's around your first oil change. Speaking of, when is the preferred first oil change for this vehicle, and what type of oil do the Pat owners use? Do you stick to the manual standard?

As for the incident the other night with the person taking their time in the left lane, it all happene too quickly to pick it apart. I was gradually coming up on someone in my lane, so with me being in cruise status, there was some braking, and then some acceleration because I didn't know what the person beside me was trying to do. As I mentioned, so glad that there wasn't anyone directly behind me. And obviously there is more I need to learn about my vehicle. We haven't had much snow since I bought it, but I'm curious to see how well it does. Thanks for the input!

[Blackberrypat]

Firefuel02 is your pat automatic? If so, I might have experience a similar incident with mine and I might be able to give some input.

[kds]

I changed my oil at 3,000 miles. There's no break-in period for modern vehicles now, is what I'm gathering on this board. But I still prefer to change my oil soon after purchase so I know what's in it. I change every 5,000 miles now.

You'll love it in the snow. I had no issues at all during our blizzard in December.

[firefuelO2]

(Blackberry) - yes, automatic. (kds) ... what oil do you use, or does geography come into play? May sound elementary, but I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Thanks All, Have a great day!

[firefuelO2]

The CVT is something for folks like me to get used to! I need to read up on it more as well. Educate Educate, thanks so much for the feedback!

[Blackberrypat]

What happened to me was as following: I was driving and then stopped at red light..while waiting for light to change I believe I hit the gear shift sideways into the - & +, that caused my car to immediately loose acceleration as soon as traffic started moving I was barely able to move forward. I pulled over put the car on park and then re-shift to drive and everything went back to normal. Maybe that's what happened to you as we'll, assuming that your car drives fine now.
As per the oil changes, I got mine done at dealership (coupon), first couple were at 5k and last two over 3k each, but I think after 5-6k might be ok. I am not sure what oil they used, probably standard.

[the_jeep_now]

I'd suggest go with fully synthetic. Mobil1 or Pennzoil Platinum seem to be popular choices as they are readily available in any auto parts store even Walmart. I changed my oil around 2500 miles as soon as the oil indicator came on.


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[Blackberrypat]

For some reason my oil indicator never came on yet..not sure about why, I will probably will need to look into that.

[MrJeepR44]

Originally Posted by Blackberrypat

What happened to me was as following: I was driving and then stopped at red light..while waiting for light to change I believe I hit the gear shift sideways into the - & +, that caused my car to immediately loose acceleration as soon as traffic started moving I was barely able to move forward. I pulled over put the car on park and then re-shift to drive and everything went back to normal. Maybe that's what happened to you as we'll, assuming that your car drives fine now.
As per the oil changes, I got mine done at dealership (coupon), first couple were at 5k and last two over 3k each, but I think after 5-6k might be ok. I am not sure what oil they used, probably standard.

I was going to say, high rpms and feeling weak sound almost like driving with autostick in "gear" 3

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