I've had 2 CVTs, the first had a bad bearing at 110,000 miles; transmission replaced under warranty.
Replacement CVT went to 283,000 miles then began slipping; also replaced under lifetime warranty.
No other significant problems with my Patriot. I sold it to a friend and its still on the road.

 

If you consistently replace the fluid every 20-50k miles with the right amount of quality fluid, you can most likely get 200k out of it, though there is ONE fatigue part that no number of fluid changes can mitigate.

The right level is critical. Too much fluid and the rotating parts churn it to foam, it doesn't do it's job, and boom goes the pushbelt.

Quality fluid is next most important. From best to near-best it goes; Amsoil, Valvoline, Castrol, Nissan. Those aren't just anecdotal favorites, those brands publish the specifications and test results of their products, and they rank in that order.

Mopar/Pennzoil should be avoided (Penn supplies Mopar), they don't publish any specs or test data for their CVT fluid, and there's plenty of reason not to trust it, or their recommended service interval. FCA used the Jatco CVT with the agreement that FCA doesn't touch them and Jatco replaces them. FCA has no interest in the longevity of these CVT transmissions, especially now that they no longer use them AND only a fraction of a percent of them are still under any kind of lifetime warranty. 99+% of blown CVTs at this point create a customer in need of a whole car.

Now, that fatigue part is the steel bands around the pushbelt. You can only bend metal, ANY metal, so many times before it breaks. The steel bands that hold the pushbelt plates are constantly bending. Since all the CVT failures that have been documented enough for RCA indicate lubrication failure*, I have no idea what the serviceable life for the pushbelt is. It might make it to 200k, it might not.

*Very early versions had insufficiently small ball bearings in the driven variator which would crack under load, seize the variator and then catastrophic failure of the pushbelt. No 2010 or newer vehicle has that version, but it warrants the asterisk footnote.

 

IIRC, member DangerAaron has a 2012 FDII used as a DD with around 190K. Only transmission issue so far was one instance of whine/overheat/limp mode that was corrected with fluid changes.

 

Sorry, been busy.... I have a 2014 FDii as a daily driver that is getting very close to 190K now. I have no doubt the trans can make it to and past 200K miles but you will have to either pay someone or learn to do the service on a regular interval. I recommend 50-60K for a drain and refill on the CVT. There are two filters, one in the pan, and one on the side of the trans, under the battery tray, under a top hat style cover with several hoses connected to it.
As Redone posted, foamed fluid is the death of the CVT. It will foam if overfilled or if overheated. The only resolution is to change the fluid. Once the fluid foams up it's lubrication and viscosity properties are done. It cannot do it's job. I had the trans overheat event at 55K and had the dealer so the first "service". After paying 300 bucks for it, I learned to do it myself. The dipstick costs 20 bucks on Amazon and after that it's no harder than a regular oil change, with the exception that you are removing the pan. A pan with a plug can be had as well, but then you are not removing it which gives you a good opportunity to inspect the magnets in the pan for metal chunks (I have found the some "hair" is normal) and changing the "screen filter" inside the pan.
The metal links in the belt should not be "bending" anymore than a bicycle chain link bends.
The CVT was a poor choice for this vehicle. Make no mistake about that. The vehicle is too heavy, with not enough power. The weight of the vehicle is hard on the CVT, and the fact that it is underpowered makes owners rev them high to move in and out of modern highway traffic. No doubt this was done to offer a vehicle that people wanted while still trying to stay within the EPA regs for average gas mileage across their range of vehicles. The hyundai 6 speed auto that they switched to in later years is a much more robust unit that is often paired with over 300HP v6's. However, the FDii package can only be had with the CVT.
I do like my Patriot and plan to continue using it as my daily driver until it literally falls apart. But a regular disciplined preventive maintenance schedule is mandatory if you plan on having it around for an extended period of time. This is true of any vehicle, but the Patriot/pre '18 Compass with CVT are a little more intensive than most vehicles.

 

Terrific info". Recommend a fluid change kit brand? Can't actually flush correct.? Parts and hours to replace CVT unit with crawl?
Very light knock at start 33. Degrees outside temp. Went away quickly...any concerns? 2.4 L as a reminder. Thanks a million.

 

Terrific info". Recommend a fluid change kit brand? Can't actually flush correct.?

AFAIK there's no off the shelf kit, the fluid, filter, gaskets, etc are purchased separately.

You don't need to do a flush, just a drain/refill with a filter change. If you do drain/refills at short intervals, that's as good as a flush.