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no throttle responce almost caused an accident

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19K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  maineiac  
#1 ·
i was leaving work today and from a stop turning right on a hill, i gave it gas trying to pull off into traffic and there was very little throttle response. By the time i got out into traffic i was lucky to be doing 10 then then if finally started to take off. By then the guy on the motorcycle had to go around me in a hurry and I'm sure he was mad, thinking i pulled out in front of him.
I'm taking the jeep in sat for a hesitation / jerk sensation when accelerating and now it looks like I'm adding no acceleration and loss of power to the list. I'm just surprised no check engine light has come on and that I'm still alive. Its bad enough this thing cant pull a string out of a cats but , now it wont go at all at times. I'm just glad it was not a tractor trailer that was coming up on me.. i might not be here to tell you guys about it. :mad:

i hope they start putting a Hemi in this thing. lol
 
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#2 ·
I think it has more to do with the CVT; it doesn't select a ratio all that quickly.

You eventually learn not to get yourself into those situations in the Patriot, but yeah, it is all kinds of annoying. It would be nice to have a bit more get up and go when you mash it. Instead, you tend to get better results by easing into it, eventually getting to full throttle.
 
#3 ·
I had a weird experience on the freeway once when we had to stop in a hurry, then there was almost NOTHING from the pedal. Took it to a lot, ready to call a tow, put it in reverse, then back in drive, and it was good as new... Electronics are definitely shady for something so crucial.
 
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#4 ·
I've had this happen if I try to come off a concrete apron or hit a pot hole or something. Basically anything that causes a little wheel slip while punching the gas pedal to scoot out into traffic causes the ESP/BAS to activate and kill the engine. I got into the habit of pushing the ESP Off button (for partial off, not holding it for full off) now when I need to do this kind of maneuver. A lot less scary now and no worries of the engine power dying.
 
#6 ·
Ditto. It's a new system to learn, as much, or more, electronics as mechanical.

This forum has been a much better resource for me than the dealer too. Which is a damn shame, they really should drive these and learn more in order to help folks. The salesman told me about the ESP, "you should never need to touch that, unless off road". But never told me anything more, or even how to turn it FULL off, which I use a lot off road.
 
#7 ·
thanks for any input guys. My Jeep is a 5 spd. and I didn't dump the clutch or anything to get out in traffic. I have taken off like that before and no trouble. Something tells me there is a communication problem between the electric gas pedal and throttle body motor. All i know is if they come back with " we can duplicate the concern" I'm trading for a 5.7 liter Commander. I need more power. Gas millage from the patriot is not worth my life getting killed pulling out into traffic.
 
#12 ·
I'd be real surprised if the Commander has an actual throttle cable. If your problem was electronic, there is no gain in buying a Commander. Get an old Cherokee.
 
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#8 ·
gotjep, I have the same problem pulling out with my 5 speed into traffic when the engine is not up to operating temperature and running the a/c. Might try to turn off the a/c as that helps me a little. I also will blip the gas pedal to get the revs up. That said it is a problem.
 
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#11 ·
gotjep said:
i was leaving work today and from a stop turning right on a hill, i gave it gas trying to pull off into traffic and there was very little throttle response.
Click to expand...
I'd be willing to bet that the uphill right hand turn caused the inside wheel to slip/spin, even though you didn't hear/feel it and the ESP kicked in and killed the throttle on you. Try it again with the ESP partial off (with way less traffic) and see if it does it again.
 
#14 ·
Todde, the problem is, you never know when it's going to happen. What I noticed, is even after straightening out and flooring the gas pedal, there's almost no torque for 3 or 4 seconds, then it crawls up and accellerates as if there was no problem.

For me, it was a longer delay than after a wheel slip on a pot hole fileld with gravel... I've felt both. Something odd happens - to me, four times in two years.
 
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#17 ·
well i tried the same situation today with and with out the esp button on and it did fine. Gave it gas and it accelerated no problem. I even tried revving the engine up and then taking off and it did fine. Never did get the wheels to spin. I do believe a major malfunction happened the other day when i experienced the " dead zone" just glad I'm not dead. lol

I was told today by a source that Jeep is getting ready to have a recall on there accelerator pedals. There made by the same co that makes Toyota's. Has anyone else heard this?:confused:
 
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#18 ·
Jeep is having a recall on some accelerator pedals. None of the Patriots are affected; only the early Calibers and a handful of Compasses. The Patriot came along after the pedals in question were made.

I still think it may be partly the CVT trying to figure out a ratio. With a fixed cog gearbox, first gear is first gear. That's where you start. With a CVT, the computer has to pick a ratio and get to it; that just takes longer. My sister and her husband have a Nissan Rogue, which is also equipped with a CVT- I asked if they had the same full throttle from stop hesitation; they did.
 
#20 ·
Took the Patriot to the dealer today. Told the advisor about the concern and he didn't seem concerned . Looked like he was just pissed about working on Saturday ,and i under stand.
While i was there i test drove a Islander Wrangler that was loaded and it was nice. I cant do it this year but maybe next year I'm trading for a Wrangler Islander or the new Mountain edition. With the knobby tires and tow package / lower gears it makes a good combo.

http://www.jeep.com/en/2010/wrangle...did=%eaid%21&pid=%epid%21&KWNM=jeep+wrangler+islander&KWID=102516098&channel=PS
 
#21 ·
Mine has done this to me a couple times recently. I usually don't floor it pulling out, but I found myself in a similar situation where I pulled out in front of some traffic, and I wasn't accelerating as fast as anticipated. Once I noticed the drag, I punched it, and even then, it took it's sweet time.

I suppose there may have been gravel or something that caused ESP to engage, but yy guess is the A/C. It was a hot day, and I was pulling out only about a minute after starting the engine. The cab was hot, and the compressor was surely running at that point (or maybe just starting up, causing even more power drain). It has only done this to me on hot days with the A/C running.
 
#22 ·
picked up the jeep today after the service dept said eveything checked out normal and they could not get the jeep to act up. no fault codes and they reset the computor. seemed ok driving home tonite and i did not notice the surge ..??? ill see how it does the next couple of days and see if the computoer reset did anything to help.
 
#23 ·
Interesting note - I was pulling out over some gravel today, purposely giving it more gas than I probably should, and it allowed the front inside tire to spin a little (heard the scrape of the gravel), and there was no noticeable power loss. So it seems like the ESP did it's job - transferring the power to the tires that grip.

I think the slow start may be an engine power problem, like maybe running the A/C or something else that takes away H.P.
 
#25 ·
still doing fine.. funny, the only thing i can think of is that the day i took it to the dealer i had to put gas in it because it was on empty and i put a different brand in. The dealer could not get it to happen and i can't, now that i have it. Maybe it was the gas? I have always used Sheetz gas sense it was new and the day i dropped it off at the dealer was the first time it had a diff brand in it. I am going to try using Shell , Exxon. and or any good name brand and see how it does. If it is the gas , ill have to apologize to my Patriot for accusing it of misbehaving. lol
 
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