In the UK it is a traffic offence to leave an vehicle unattended with its engine running.

 

JF, I just know that you wouldn't do this, but......don't ever, ever think of saving fuel on a long descent by turning off the engine. As I said, I know you wouldn't do it, but you've got a Patriot that doesn't seem to lock the steering wheel, so...... I've told Tiptronic this story already, so he'll be bored, but, what the hell; here goes.
My father-in-law, Frank, was a cop on the west side of London, going out towards Oxford. They have a huge hill, miles long on that road. Once, Frank was called to the scene of a pile-up. The driver of a nearly new Jaguar was heading down Dashwood Hill, weaving and rolling with the curves when he hit on the idea of switching off the engine and saving a few quid over the five or so miles of descent. He hits one of the curves and..click....the steering lock comes on and he's off the road and lying on his side in a wood! Unhurt, but with a wallet that was screaming in pain!

Rocal

 

Thanks for your replies.

So true, it's not a wise idea to leave a vehicle running with the keys in it locked or unlocked. I don't intend to do it again. The main reason that I would have would be if the weather was really really cold and I didn't want t lose any heat that I had in the Pat. In February it's not uncommon to have temps as low as minus twenty Celsius.

Which brings up another issue I have with my Pat. Warming up your vehicle more than three or four minutes is probably a bad idea but I noticed something the other day when I left my Pat idling in the driveway for ten minutes that it didn't even get up to operating temp. Is that typical? It's going to be a cold winter for me.

As for the locking steering wheel, have you ever tried to turn the wheel of a vehicle with the engine off? It seems stiffer than a standard steering box.
By the way as a lad I used to drive a Viva Vauxhall & a Ford Cortina, both had real standard steering boxes & brakes. Those were the days.

 

The main reason that I would have would be if the weather was really really cold and I didn't want t lose any heat that I had in the Pat. In February it's not uncommon to have temps as low as minus twenty Celsius.

-20°C really isn't that cold. I certainly haven't had any trouble staying warm when running errands at those temperatures. As long as the engine remains warm, you can warm up the cabin right quick after making a stop.

Was quite suprising to lose all powered stuff at one moment, usually you do not even remember that they are powered.

My previous vehicle decided to stall once upon a time just as I was coming to a 90° turn, traveling at about 50km/h at the time. I push in the clutch pedal, engine shuts down, no power braking, once I get to the turn no power steering... A vehicle does feel quite different when you suddenly lose all the power assisted stuff. Still, personally, I was mostly just annoyed at my car for stalling like that.

 

Power steering is the answer. If your vehicles engine isn't runnong, the the wheel will be harder to turn due to the power steering system also being off.

Also, I've noticed in mine that even if I let it run for 10-15 mins, that the temp will stay all the way down at cold. As soon as I leave my driveway though, the needle will come.up to normal temp.

 

Power steering is the answer. If your vehicles engine isn't runnong, the the wheel will be harder to turn due to the power steering system also being off.

I once drove to the gas station with fuel tank almoust empty. I had to make a U-turn to get there and I did it as fast as possible, ca 20-30 km/h I would guess. All the fuel that was left in the tank, flow over to one side of the tank and ... the engine stopped in the middle of the U-turn .
And as that was not enough, also there was no power steering no more (and I was passing through a curve at the moment).
First reaction --- slow down fast, but, guess what ... no powered brakes either .
Was quite suprising to lose all powered stuff at one moment, usually you do not even remember that they are powered.

 

Don't know if it's the same for 2010 models, but my 2009 Patriot will only lock the steering wheel when it's upside down - have you tried that? I park up, turn the wheel to show the Jeep logo upside down, remove the key and presto, wheel lock.

 

You scared me there for a minute paul, I thought you meant the Jeep upside down! LOL!

 

Makes you aware of just how dependent we've become on all this bolt-on stuff, doesn't it? If power assisted brakes failed, there's no way, despite all the BS from the various manufacturers, that we'd pull up in time in an emergency. Sometimes it even feels that, despite pushing yourself back through the driver's seat, that you're actually going faster, doesn't it?
I had a belt break on me on the power-assisted steering pump of a LandRover Discovery once. Steering my way home was like wrestling Giant Haystacks into a submission on the canvass.

Rocal

 

I had the power steering drive belt come off a Leyland DAF , 16 seat school mini coach once . I was 8 miles from the depot----That was the hardest work I did that year & the sweat was rolling off me when I got back !!

 

It makes a huge difference if the car was designed to be power steering/brakes or not. Old cars like my Willys wagon perform just fine without any of the power assist stuff. The Patriot is about twice as hard to turn of brake than the Willys if the power assist isn't working. But the Patriot is twice as easy to steer and brake if the power stuff is working.