I've had my 2013 patriot sport for a year and a half now. I bought it used w/ 49,000 miles and it's now at 79k. Recently, I've noticed that no matter how often I change my oil or how high quality of oil I use, i'm still blowing through my gas quicker than I used to. It's also as if some of the power was taken out of my engine when I accelerate. when the RPMs go past 3, my jeep feels like it's struggling to take off and the engine and wines loudly. It's also much more "jerky" than it used to be. Any help? Thank you!
Itsmaggiemay
The spark pugs in this 2.4 engine only last 15,000 miles (or should be replaced at that interval...) This is an inexpensive repair, the plugs are about $10, and it would take an average person about a half hour to change. There are links/threads on this forum that detail the operation--everything is on top of the engine, so it's quite easy--even this 75 year old can do it!
I would start with the basics like plugs as jack mentioned
Also airfilter simple dirty filter can really bog down the engine also try some fuel additives cleaner
Then would look into more costly options like cvt fluid change
Scheduled cvt change is 60k or 120k mile
You might be due
I wouldnt wait to long though if it is cvt fluid an easy fix like change of fluid can lead to costly damage if that is indeed the problem
Also airfilter simple dirty filter can really bog down the engine also try some fuel additives cleaner
Then would look into more costly options like cvt fluid change
Scheduled cvt change is 60k or 120k mile
You might be due
I wouldnt wait to long though if it is cvt fluid an easy fix like change of fluid can lead to costly damage if that is indeed the problem
when is the last time you had your injectors cleaned ??. run some seafoam through it one full can each tank full and do it twice in a row
My 2013 was doing same thing and it's a 5 speed stick. Eventually the etc - electronic throttle control - light would flash at times. Turned out to be the throttle body. Replaced under my lifetime warranty with 100$ deductible. This happened around 55k miles.
If you are somewhat mechanically inclined (can work on cars) then changing the spark plugs on the Patriot is the simplest thing to do to make it run better. If you don't know when the spark plugs were changed last time then change them.
Change Your spark plugs whenever you want to If you don't want to change spark plugs then don't change them. This Website has been here for many years and many misdiagnosed problems were from bad spark plugs plain and simple.
Newt, the Patriots come from the factory with conventional spark plugs, not the high mileage platinum or iridium plugs found in nearly all other vehicles. The nickel electrodes of the conventional plugs don't last as long no matter how high efficient the ignition system is. When I change my conventional plugs at 30,000 miles the gap has usually grown from the original .043 to over .055 +/-. The computer ignition system will adjust to the worn plugs, but it is harder on the coils to generate the spark and I imagine performance in terms of optimum combustion starts to degrade a bit - i.e., flame kernal. The performance is probably not perceptible, but who knows, maybe things like the catalytic converters work harder/wear out more. Maybe valve deposits get worse? Just speculating. The computers will adjust to a dirty air filter also, but just like the plugs you WILL reach a point where performance will not be optimal no matter how much the computers compensate and adjust.
Conventional spark plugs like the Patriot came with were state of the art... back in the 1930's. Don't believe that they need to be replaced every 30k miles or so??? just pop one out of your engine and take a look at it. If it's been in there for 30k, it'll have build up on it and the gap will be significantly erroded. If you don't want to change them so often, then get a set of these: (or something similar)
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
