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Are Jeeps Made Cheaply?

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13K views 76 replies 24 participants last post by  metaliox  
M
#1 · (Edited)
Maybe I'm the only one having these issues, but to me it seems like the Jeep Patriot is made extremely cheap.

I've owned one for just over a year, and while I like it don't know that I will ever be buying another one.

So far I've had the following issues:
* Traction control that fails to maintain traction (tires just spin and spin). Dealership and Jeep (and others in this forum) confirm this is how it's suppose to work. [I've got experience with TC on other vehicles, and I'm not impressed with the Jeep's]. In my Saturn the TC will literally stall the engine to retain traction on the road. I've pulled that thing up snow covered hills going about 2-3 MPH with the TC clicking away the entire time but without slipping or having any problems.

The Jeep in the same situation is all over the road with the wheels spinning and TC just throwing snow. Both vehicles have the exact same snow tires on them.

* Clock that fails to keep time and Jeep doesn't have a software update for it. I lose about 2 minutes every month and have to keep resetting it (how did this even make it past factory BETA testing????)

* Within the last two weeks both driving lights have burned out. Just over a year old! I do take the Jeep off road from time to time, but no more than I ever took my Saturn (and the Saturn is still on all original bulbs 12 years later).

* And now just recently the passenger side rear door has started sticking/closing hard and making a creaking sound.

Yes, I realize some of these are minor, but they shouldn't be happening and leave the question open -- what other larger things might be waiting to happen???

How is it that a $6,000 Saturn is outperforming a $24,000 Jeep SUV in so many ways? I'm really worried that in 4-5 years I'm going to be doing major repairs/maintenance to this Jeep.
 
#2 ·
The only one of those issues I have is the clock thing, which is only a minor annoyance. To answer your question though, the Jeep Patriot is the cheapest compact SUV on the market, corners have to be cut to get the price to where it's at. If you want soft touch interiors, high end lighting or top notch performance/safety...you're going to pay for it. $24k is not a lot for a brand new 4x4 SUV.
 
M
#3 ·
Minor annoyance or otherwise, how on earth does something like that get through quality control and then why has no update been released for it?

Ok... but here's where I'm really having issues justifying things.

The Saturn's only real down fall was the lower clearance. I almost feel like the only reason the Jeep really does any better is because it clears snow/rocks easier.

I have yet to take the Jeep anywhere I can't take my Saturn SL1 when driven properly.

So why is it for $6,000 I can get a quality car that's going on 13+ years STILL with original light bulbs, minor routine maintenance and it goes literally anywhere, and yet I pay $24k for a Jeep and get a car that blows two bulbs in the first year, and has less TC than the Saturn does?
 
#7 ·
Mine is almost 5 years old, over 100K miles, and bulbs are all original, and clock has always been right on, and doors are fine.

I have no idea how your Saturn runs off road, but I seriously doubt it can keep up with the Patriot.

Odd how yours spins the wheels, and mine just will not do that at all, although a little bit if the ESP is full off.

Bring your Saturn up my driveway in the winter sometime.
 
#10 ·
The BLDs kick in and hold back the wheels that spin, and if all 4 spin a lot, they will almost lock up. That's why off road in deep snow on top of a couple inches of ice, I have the ESP full-off, so they can spin a bit.

The only thing that ever stopped my Patriot is getting high centered.

I also drive a 2003 Tracker (210K miles), and it will go just about anywhere in 4x4, but nothing else I've seen (besides those 2) makes my hill in winter, and many have tried.
 
#21 ·
My 430 radio loses time also. My rear doors are making a lot of noise when they are opened and closed. Other than that everything is fine.

I love my tc, sometimes not but it is for the best. My TC actually stops understeer! That was something I didn't expect. I would get yours checked out if warrenty is still up.

What year is yours?
 
C
#24 ·
jeeppatriot.com should have a complaint forum. First off, you sound like you are driving the Pat excessively. Second of all dixiedawg is right on. Until you bring this to the dealer and get answers, how are these guys going to help you. We had a guy roll his Versa coming off a highway ramp and said the Versa had turning problems. BS. This versa idiot could have killed someone and he wants our sympathy. Go get answers mhoppes and come back.
 
#27 ·
Not sure about your experience in the snow either man, that's odd. I just took my 2013 up a series of snowy/icey roads west of my house and it performed flawlessly. It was far more forgiving than my YJ Sahara in the snow too. I had my tires spin a couple times but that was only because I was trying to make that happen, not because it was struggling or anything.
 
#29 ·
Traction control doesn't kick in until it feels wheel slipage... So it's gonna spin a tire or two till it notices the slip and kicks in. If you are really getting stuck, and slipping you should put it into 2nd on the auto shift, and that should quell it. Also be easy on the gas, even the 2.0 is a peppy engine and you could be digging in a hole if you punch it. Tc is reactive not proactive.
 
M
#30 ·
So then, fundamentally IMHO, TC is broken on the Jeep.

On my Saturn when driving in slippery conditions (say pulling up a hill covered in snow) you can just push the accelerator to the floor and watch the TC kick in and pull the car up the hill with no slipping.

With the Jeep in the same situation if you push the accelerator to the floor it will slip and slide all over the place and end up off the road.
 
#31 ·
Push the dealer harder, and if possible make a video of the 2 cars doing the same stunts, and prove the dealer that the Saturn is doing better. I have had maybe 2-3 times the amount of problems you had in 6 months, and I started taking videos and I showed the service manager, and they kept my jeep for a week, tore it apart, and fixed everything that was wrong. I only have one issue, but I haven't back to the dealer to get it updated. It is a cheap truck, I mean it starts at $15,999, but I feel for the same price, its more solid than the Sentra I traded for.
 
#35 ·
With what I have seen on this forum is that when you are going up a hill and 'floor' it the traction control and computer retards the engine and people say the Jeep "bogs".
 
#40 ·
I hightly doubt that Saturn SUV was $6,000 new off the lot
I think your the only one here that has problems with headlamps. It's just not a common issue.
The patriot is a very tiny lightweight SUV. Sometimes heavier vehicles do better in the snow. It's just physics.

Define "cheap".

I have a story similar to your Saturn suv story.
I came from a ford explorer and it looked great inside and out. It was twice as heavy as the patriot and thus did better in the snow because it's weight alone shoved the tires deep into the snow. I spent $6k on that vehicle also.
The seats were comfy and soft and the paint was shiny etc. That thing was an absolute mechanical nightmare. I spent over $4k a year just keeping that crap on the road. So no, my ford was NOT built better than the patriot. It only appeared nice.
Jeep's are typically more rugged than other domestic similarly prices SUV's. Some mistake this for cheap-ness. It's not supposed to be a lexus.... it's supposed to be a jeep.
 
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#51 · (Edited)
My PAT is the least expensive new vehicle I could find w/ 4X4 and heated seats. And yes, I feel it is cheaply made. Crude but effective???

My dash and doors rattle, I have broken plastic on the base of the passenger seat, the soft point on the driver's door contains a large air bubble, both rear doors have air leaks at the frame seal due to the seal coming off the body at the bend radius. Yes, the clock is inaccurate, too.

2011, 20 months old, 33,5XX miles.

Have I taken it in to the dealer, no. I ain't got time for dat!

Maybe the dealer will come get it, drop off a loaner, fix it, return it and pick up the loaner... They ain't got time for dat...
 
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