Trade in the Patriot?

cody0707 · Sep 5, 2011

Should I be thinking or looking at other vehicles to trade my 2011 Jeep Patriot in on?

I have been reading several forum post about ball joints going bad. Seems like it is a flip of a coin on if it will happen sooner or later. My jeep has about 9,000 miles on it. I have a little bit of time before this time bomb may go off on me.

I have been thinking about potentially cutting my loses and running away from this. Now this isn't an easy pill to swallow. I bought this jeep thinking I was going to drive it till the wheels fall off. I didn't expect the wheels to start falling off at around 40,000 miles. My first vehicle was a Jeep. I loved it. This one not so much. I like it but not love it.

I have already purchased new wheels, lift, and a nice stereo. Some of this I can take out and transfer to another vehicle, more than likely a truck of some sort.

What do you think should I cut my loses before I lose more money on this vehicle and get a different one now to potentially have it paid off about the same time?

NHPATRIOT · Sep 5, 2011

You are thinking of selling/trading a 2011 and taking a big hit financially because you think you might have a ball joint problem down the road? Please tell me you are not serious.

You have a minimum of 3 years or 36K( whichever comes first )during which time any ball joint problem would be repaired free via warranty( might be an issue due to the lift - I would remove it if you are concerned about BJ's ). If you have an extended warranty that time frame is longer. No extended warranty? Then go buy one and it will be along with countless other items and you can put your mind at ease. It would make far more sense financially to buy an extended warranty than to take a huge depreciation hit selling a 2011 model right now.

If you don't have any warranty past 3/36 and do not wish to purchase it ball joints are not the most expensive item to replace in the world. If, and it is "IF" not 100% when, you have an issue you can replace the OE ball joints with quality aftermarket ones and avoid any such problems down the road past that.

Just have the vehicle inspected prior to that 3/36 expiring so if they are getting bad they can be replaced under warranty. If they are ok then you don't have to worry about it.

There is not a single new car out there on the road that does not have some kind of problem - period. Don't get rid of the Patriot if you like it because it has an issue. Whatever you replace it with will have it's own issue I can assure you.

Orion6 · Sep 5, 2011

Sounds like you're just trying to come up with a reason to get something else.

ALL cars (even Hondas and Toyotas) have issues at some point. As stated by NHPATRIOT, ball joints are not the most expensive thing in the world. Also, a 5 year 60,000 mile Added Care Plus warranty from Chrysler, which covers suspension parts (including ball joints, A-arms, tie rods, etc) is like $560.00.

If you're not happy with it, fine, but I wouldn't trade it over the fear of ball joints failing. You're axles won't snap and your wheels are not going to come flying off.

the_jeep_now · Sep 5, 2011

It just not financially smart to trade in a "new" vehicle unless you have money growing on trees which I doubt. If you replace your front suspension with Moog, you'll be trouble free down the road and it'll be no more than $1000. If you don't like Patriot period, I don't understand why you bought it in the first place. Please no offense as I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind your thoughts.

todde702 · Sep 5, 2011

As others have stated it would be a bad financial move. You'll likely lose just as much trading it in as all of the repairs would cost, which gets you a net $0 dollar gain. When I bought my 2008, I also bought the 60k mile extended warranty and it has already paid for itself. At 49k miles, they had to replace both lower control arms and both rear struts. I've also already had one tie-rod replaced and the power steering cooler assembly.

Some examples of other vehicle issues:
One of my old co-workers had a MazdaSpeed 3, great little car but Mazda had to replace both front struts on his @ 22k miles. Both were leaking oil profusely (they had stained his brand new concrete driveway and he wanted Mazda to pay for the cleaning too. They apologized and said no.

Almost all of the late 90's to early 00's GM 4.3L V6 engines suffered a catastrophic intake manifold leak due to the Dexcool anti-freeze. Apparently it ate away the gasket material and GM had to extend the warranty out 7 years on that part due to a class action lawsuit. My Wifes GMC Sonoma developed the problem about 4 months past the 7 year deadline. GM would not honor the extension so I had to do it myself. It has 104,000 on it now and the lower ball joints are starting to get loose. I'll be doing that job before the winter hits. The AC compressor is growling too, so I suspect I'll be replacing that before next summer.

My friends 2003 Camry had the belt tensioner assembly grenade, leaving her stranded on the PA Turnpike with only 50k miles on the vehicle. The tow cost was more then the repair, but the total was almost $400.

mrg455 · Sep 5, 2011

Cody,
Don't listen to them!!! sell it....for around 4k,but call me first!!!!
on a serious note, I agree with the others, it seems it would be a waste of money to get rid of it already. My suggestion differs from the others though as it seems to my you are not getting enjoyment driving it (the ball joints as well as any other problems will be coverd by jeep for the next couple years therefore are non issues). My advice is get another vehicle for a toy. Yes its an extra expense, payment(maybe),insurance,tags and gas, but in the long run would be better then trading your pat in. look at a wrangler or silverado from the early 90's. they are relativly inexpensive, you could take out on trails, back yards or just more power on the street, but keep the pat for a daily driver, you will have the reliability of a new car, the mpg of a 4 banger(especially when gas goes up again) and an overall nice car to go out in. obviously this is just my 2 cents and it means nothing, but I would hate to see you loose out on a few grand when you could spend about the same and have the best of both worlds!

ti-claude31 · Sep 5, 2011

Cody, i just had the ball joints replaced on my Pat, it did not cost me a penny ,the warranty covered all the bill and there is no way i would trade my Jeep just for a minor repair, warranty or no warranty.

cody0707 · Sep 6, 2011

Question about the ball joints. Once they are replaced are they only good for another 40,000 or so miles or does the factory use a better product that should keep them from going out as quick as they do?

Anyone have a clue as to why they go out?

Also, I never meant to give the impression I wanted to get rid of the jeep due to dislike. I do like my jeep just not as much as my first one. I have done several modifications to it to make it my own. It is an enjoyable ride with a nice system.

Is there any proof the ball joints go out quicker on Patriots that have a lift installed?

MrJeepR44 · Sep 6, 2011

Allegedly, they upgraded the front end parts on 2011 models. I don't know what those parts are, but I would assume that was in response to all of the complaints about the ball joints and lower control arms going bad. You may be trying to trade in to avoid a problem that has already been corrected...

cody0707 · Sep 6, 2011

mrJeepr44 said:
Allegedly, they upgraded the front end parts on 2011 models. I don't know what those parts are, but I would assume that was in response to all of the complaints about the ball joints and lower control arms going bad. You may be trying to trade in to avoid a problem that has already been corrected...

This is good to know. I guess time will tell. I need to dig up my paperwork and see what kind of warranty I took out on it too. I know I threw around the idea of taking the lifetime warranty but I can't remember if I did or not.

Does anyone know if jeep did fix the front end parts? Did a google search but didn't really find anything.

audio-neon · Sep 6, 2011

2007-2010 Jeep Patriots/Calibers/Compasses Sold approx 536,000
Approx number of Lower control arms sold 71760
Approx 7.4% of all of our chassis owners have replaced lower control arms, for any reason.

Doesn't seem like an epidemic.

Yes you can pm me if you are curious where my numbers came from.

Captaincog · Sep 6, 2011

Control arms were issues on PT Cruisers also. Rough roads and the like do have an adverse affect on any vehicle these days. Frankly if the Stage 1 PCM had not gone out on my 5 speed PT GT I would not have a Patriot now. The only issue came down to there be no replacment PCMs made and the rest of the go fast goodies would have set off check engine lights and codes like crazy. I still got 140k without anything major until the last 8k miles when everything started to go at once. Should you get to that then that might be the time to move on to another vehicle, but until then you would be wise to set aside some repair cash. Now, just drive and enjoy!

goguadi · Sep 6, 2011

cody0707 said:
Question about the ball joints. Once they are replaced are they only good for another 40,000 or so miles or does the factory use a better product that should keep them from going out as quick as they do?

Anyone have a clue as to why they go out?

Also, I never meant to give the impression I wanted to get rid of the jeep due to dislike. I do like my jeep just not as much as my first one. I have done several modifications to it to make it my own. It is an enjoyable ride with a nice system.

Is there any proof the ball joints go out quicker on Patriots that have a lift installed?

if ball joints are your worry,just let them go and when they do,just get greasable moog ball joints in.
i replaced my front end with moog ball joints(greasable),moog control arm bushings,moog tie rod ends(greasable),and all for vehicles's sway bar bushings(greasable,from energysuspensionparts)
none of them needed replacement (only had a very small play in the right tie rod end),but as i took it into my friends repair shop(very highly professional,they prepare their own rally cars there),i decided it was a good thing to do,and not very costly.
overall i paidaround 200 bucks for the parts and another 200 to get everything in and get the alignment done.
now i don't have to worry about ball joints and the pat is driving better than it did when new.
i'm happt i did it.
btw,i drive a 2008 2.0 crd that was sold to me new in feb 2009 (got a substantial discount as it was on stock) and that i lifted last year (stucoils).
according to my friens at the shop.the lift offered by stu will not affect ball joints,cv joints or anything else,as it is within the margins all these parts are tested to work.

todde702 · Sep 6, 2011

cody0707 said:
Question about the ball joints. Once they are replaced are they only good for another 40,000 or so miles or does the factory use a better product that should keep them from going out as quick as they do?

Anyone have a clue as to why they go out?

I think when Jeep said they improved the suspension on the 2011 models, I think they simply increased the spring rates and changed the strut dampening. I don't think they changed or improved the control arms, so, sadly, I think the replacements will also wear out prematurely. But at least you'll get 80-100k miles out of two before you have to pay for them yourself.

As for why the go out, one of the overseas UK members stated the boots allow water in that rusts the components. He stated this is what the dealer told him. It makes sense since the mileage difference in failure could be based on how wet the local environment is. England is a pretty damp place.

Patriot Fan · Sep 6, 2011

todde702 said:
I think when Jeep said they improved the suspension on the 2011 models, I think they simply increased the spring rates and changed the strut dampening. I don't think they changed or improved the control arms, so, sadly, I think the replacements will also wear out prematurely. But at least you'll get 80-100k miles out of two before you have to pay for them yourself.

QUOTE]

I can´t remember where, but I read that Jeep also change some stuff in the suspension, not the spring / struts... I mean, we can use from 2007 to 2010 the same parts, but not in the 2011.

NHPATRIOT · Sep 6, 2011

I did some checking and it appears 2011 uses the same control arms and ball joints as earlier models. Not bad though as a complete assembly is only $98.

cody0707 · Sep 7, 2011

Well I am going to keep the jeep around at least until my 5 year warranty is up, who knows maybe even longer. If my jeep is ever in the shop I will just ride my motorcycle to work on those days.

Trade in the Patriot?

cody0707

NHPATRIOT

Orion6

the_jeep_now

todde702

mrg455

ti-claude31

cody0707

MrJeepR44

cody0707

audio-neon

Captaincog

goguadi

todde702

Patriot Fan

NHPATRIOT

cody0707

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