After purchasing my 09 patriot on 8/5/09, i read a lot of the threads on here and prayed that the common leak issue would not happen to me. Well, since i received the vehicle, we have had little to no rain until yesterday. I got in the jeep this morning and put it in reverse and a river started pouring out of my front dome light all over my new gps that was mounted on the dash directly below the dome light. luckily i got it out of the way quickly and it seems to be fine. I have already noticed a couple quirks with the radio since this morning as well. I will be heading directly to the dealer 1st thing in the AM along with a copy of RRT 09-044. I'll post again once i'm back from the dealer.
Noticed my first leak today
spy178
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I was hoping the same thing too. My dealer took delivery of my Jeep last October, and it was on their lot for 10 months until I bought it a couple of weeks ago. All seemed well, no stains, no spots, no nothing... rained lightly a few times and I thought I was all set. Then the other day the front dome light turned into a water fountain. Good luck.
Got my Jeep back... dealer says the problem was due to clogged sunroof drain tubes. I did not have the RRT sunroof seal problem and the windshield seal is fine. Let's hope they are right and this is a one-and-done service trip...
Mike, dealer gave me the same exact response, and added in that the sunroof need a little adjustment?? i'm pretty confident that they did not resolve the issue and with a ton of rain headed right for me this weekend, it will be the true test. Good luck to you, i'll let you know how it goes after Danny arrives.
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134 Posts
Bein' as we're in our monsoon season I've been keepin' my eyes out for any leaks & ain't had a single one.
You must live in New England too.
All dry for me as well, couple inches of rain at home plus I took a road trip through some very heavy rain also. I'm confident mine is fixed, as the only time it leaked was much lighter rain than we just had. Hope yours holds as well!
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232 Posts
Have an '07 Pat with sunroof and roof rails, and being in southern Cali and not seeing much rain and also owning a garage, I didn't see the leak for over 19 months. Then SWOOSH, in it came right through the dome lights. It shocked me I must admit.
Warranty was expired and the dealer claimed it was a bad seal on the sunroof: it cost a total of $380 or something to troubleshoot and replace.
I sprayed it down good with a water hose. No leak since.
I can see (though not like) a bad process on putting in the seal during assembly or something silly like that.. but it's really odd that this has happened to so many other Pat owners who DON'T have sunroofs! Different cause, same result? Almost unbelievable.
Also, how could the drains be reasonably clogged when the vehicle is that new?!? ... maybe after 5 or 7 years of parking under a tree. They must have designed them too small.
However, I've heard that no sunroof seal is 100% and that they accept and mitigate this with the drains.
Other than this BAD goof by Jeep, my Pat has been reasonably reliable -- Amen.
Warranty was expired and the dealer claimed it was a bad seal on the sunroof: it cost a total of $380 or something to troubleshoot and replace.
I sprayed it down good with a water hose. No leak since.
I can see (though not like) a bad process on putting in the seal during assembly or something silly like that.. but it's really odd that this has happened to so many other Pat owners who DON'T have sunroofs! Different cause, same result? Almost unbelievable.
Also, how could the drains be reasonably clogged when the vehicle is that new?!? ... maybe after 5 or 7 years of parking under a tree.
They must have designed them too small.However, I've heard that no sunroof seal is 100% and that they accept and mitigate this with the drains.
Other than this BAD goof by Jeep, my Pat has been reasonably reliable -- Amen.
they told me 3 times that my sunroof drain tubes were clogged and finally this last(sixth) time I took it in they completely repositioned my sunroof so that not as much water can get through to the tubes. it's pretty crazy, they raised the glass up some and it almost looks like a whole new sunroof in there....
so far so good *fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed* and in the unfortunate event yours should leak again I would talk to them about repositioning the glass to minimize the water getting to the tubes because, well, they're always going to be clogged!
so far so good *fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed* and in the unfortunate event yours should leak again I would talk to them about repositioning the glass to minimize the water getting to the tubes because, well, they're always going to be clogged!
WARNING
Before you go to Chrysler and request a brand new Patriot, you should take into consideration that you will be getting a 2010 model which does NOT have the lifetime powertrain warranty. If this is something that is a necessity for you, you might want to stick it out and get the Patriot fixed. If it isn't something that you want to deal with anymore, then get the 2010 and as a result you will get a slightly higher resale value.
Before you go to Chrysler and request a brand new Patriot, you should take into consideration that you will be getting a 2010 model which does NOT have the lifetime powertrain warranty. If this is something that is a necessity for you, you might want to stick it out and get the Patriot fixed. If it isn't something that you want to deal with anymore, then get the 2010 and as a result you will get a slightly higher resale value.
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731 Posts
No sunroof seal is 100% Ha tell that to my sister who has a honda CRV with a sunroof and it does not leak one drop. Tell that to one of my coworkers who has a chevy equinox and has a sunroof and also not one drop of water gets past the multiple seals that their sunroof has. Chrysler is just too cheap to make a sunroof that does not leak. Sorry but I can't believe that they cannot make a totally leak free sunroof.Have an '07 Pat with sunroof and roof rails, and being in southern Cali and not seeing much rain and also owning a garage, I didn't see the leak for over 19 months. Then SWOOSH, in it came right through the dome lights. It shocked me I must admit.
Warranty was expired and the dealer claimed it was a bad seal on the sunroof: it cost a total of $380 or something to troubleshoot and replace.
I sprayed it down good with a water hose. No leak since.
I can see (though not like) a bad process on putting in the seal during assembly or something silly like that.. but it's really odd that this has happened to so many other Pat owners who DON'T have sunroofs! Different cause, same result? Almost unbelievable.
Also, how could the drains be reasonably clogged when the vehicle is that new?!? ... maybe after 5 or 7 years of parking under a tree.
However, I've heard that no sunroof seal is 100% and that they accept and mitigate this with the drains.
Other than this BAD goof by Jeep, my Pat has been reasonably reliable -- Amen.
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3,195 Posts
My wife's 2000 Chrysler 300M has no sunroof leaks.
My coworker has a 2007 Ford Freestyle and it leaks.
Is there a spring loaded bar that pushes the glass up against the outer seal on the Patriot?
I ask this, because that is the design in the 300M. The glass closes over this bar at the front and you can actually see it push the glass up into the outer seal.
my parents' Honda Accord doesn't have a spring that pushes it up, rather it's incorporated into the track itself that the glass follows. when you press the "close" button, just when you think it's closed b/c it reached the end of the track and stopped moving horizontally, the glass moves up slightly vertically and is pushed against a seal. this of course is for a sunroof where the glass slides into the roof, but i believe on the patriot the glass is extended and slides above the roof. i could be wrong since i dont own a patriot, but assuming that is the case then there should be an operation that pulls the glass back down onto a seal as a separate built-in operation to the horizontal close, etc. the drain plugs on the sun roof should be an absolutely last resort to preventing a leak...they shouldn't be relied on as the main function of keeping water from getting in. the mating surfaces of the glass and rubber should be good enough...then the drain plugs should be backup in case the seal failed for whatever reason (or the user did not close the sunroof 100%)
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232 Posts
I've heard that from multiple people, including mechanics: the seal doesn't stop 100% of the water. This is on all cars, BMWs included. Who's to say that your sister's sunroof seal hasn't let a little water through, and that it drained away down the drain holes? The bottom line is that you don't want water to get into the cab. Something is up there - Pat's seal is bad, the force to seal it isn't strong enough (someone else here mentions that) or the drain holes aren't big enough, numerous enough or placed in the right spots.
What's particularly disturbing is that reports on this had to have started rolling in to Jeep 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, and they STILL haven't fixed it!? That's a very sad situation !
i can't believe you got rid of 1 patriot just to go back to another patriot. you must have the patience of a saint, and wins the lottery every other week. the car has its positives, but the reliability is near zero, and there is a reason they offered the lifetime powertrain warranty, your engine is going to fall out of your car at like 45k probably. people are like had mine for months, no leak, just wait...and then you'll understand how everyone else feels.
you're going to go to the dealer, and they are going to "fix" it, but give it another couple of weeks or months, and it will return. it will never be fixed. use it for all its worth, and get rid of it before the 3yr/36k runs out. or pay $400 like that other guy to fix his after the warranty runs out...
its a huge shame, because the concept works really well, but the build quality is nonexistent, and the patriot is a glaring reason why the company went ch.11, and will never come close to having any relevant products ever again.
also, had 6 or 7 toyotas/hondas over the years, all with sun/moonroofs, never had a single problem with leaks. and i have relatives with toyotas/nissans/hondas, not a single problem ever with theirs either.
you're going to go to the dealer, and they are going to "fix" it, but give it another couple of weeks or months, and it will return. it will never be fixed. use it for all its worth, and get rid of it before the 3yr/36k runs out. or pay $400 like that other guy to fix his after the warranty runs out...
its a huge shame, because the concept works really well, but the build quality is nonexistent, and the patriot is a glaring reason why the company went ch.11, and will never come close to having any relevant products ever again.
also, had 6 or 7 toyotas/hondas over the years, all with sun/moonroofs, never had a single problem with leaks. and i have relatives with toyotas/nissans/hondas, not a single problem ever with theirs either.
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731 Posts
I think the patriot is a great idea just poorly executed. Today people don't give a crap about anything anymore. Nobody cares about doing a good job especially in union shops where if you screw up the union steps in and saves your job. If I screw up at work they kick me out the door without opening it and that is how it should be. The prospect of losing my job if I screw up means I make sure I do it right. It is possible to acheive a 100% build quality but companies don't want to do it so thats why gm and chrysler went belly up.
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222 Posts
I had the same problem. I bought mine in February and had major leaks every time it rained in April... I was irrate.. Brought it back to the dealer and they did admit this happens a lot and chrysler now believes it is a sunroof seal... Since I got it back in April we have had record breaking amounts of rain this summer in the northeast and not one drop has come in... Hopefully that is the problem and it is finally solved.
agreed. poor marketing, chrysler's lack of response to chronic defects such as leaks, and the leaks and other defects themselves that represent chrysler's lack of quality effort in the vehicle. with how much chrysler has turned its back on the Patriot, i must say it is still fairing very well.
i hope when the Patriot's replacement comes out, that Chrysler doesn't screw up again. i have a feeling that Fiat will fix that
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