I've only owned my Patriot for a few months ('09, bought with under 60k miles on it) and everything I read beforehand indicated that the CVT in the Patriot is as good or better than comparable transmissions in terms of reliability. Consumer Reports, for example, gave the Patriot drive train (major engine components and transmission) their highest reliability rating. So I don't think its something where its junk.

The downside is that since nobody actually repairs them, when they do go bad its pretty much a full replacement scenario. You are not going to find someone doing the kind of relatively cheap rebuild of the CVT you have the option of pursuing with a traditional automatic or manual transmission. So that is the trade-off.

 

The CVT is like any other auto, it depends on how it was taken care of, I've bought cars with 4 and 5 speed autos that were very very broken, and they had well under 100k miles on them.

The CVT is the same as the one out of several nissans, so some people have found success at nissan dealers with getting repairs done, instead of replace when out of warranty. I know that part of the agreement between chrysler and jatco (the maker of the cvt) is that they would just replace the units vs chrysler techs having to learn how to work on them for just one platform. (under warranty that is).

as far as fluid change intervals, it depends on how it was used. I go off roading a lot in mine, so I will gladly replace the fluid at 50k, vs the 100k, if all you do is highway driving, you are probably OK at 100k miles. But I ALWAYS change all the fluids on a used car I buy, just so I have on record of when they were last changed. The CVT seems to be very sensitive with fluid level, so its important to have somebody do it who knows what they are doing (like an indi shop that works on nissans regularly)

 

yes
they are a horrible choice

 

Worthy choice in the 4x2 from our experience. There are CVTs here that have over 200k miles on them, and neither of us have had ours serviced.

The CVT in the dirt is a real kick over the 5-speed many tranny.

We do it in the dirt!

John, the number of failures has been minimal here on this site. Nissan, Subaru to mention a few, use CVTs in many of their vehicles.

I understand the FDII is a great rock-crawler, can't do that with a manual.

Drive it and get a service report if it's dealer certified. They have a 100k drivetrain warranty.

A tranny for my old '97 GC Limited was $2400, but it was under warranty, so it can happen to any gearbox.

 

My CVT has been acting wacky lately. I'm going by the dealer as soon as my schedule allows it...


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

You log off and take Jeep patriot to dealer now. You on here at all time.

 

120K miles on mine, CVT is fine. I like it better than standard autos for several reasons, one being it never does a hard down-shift on a hill, which can be bad when going up a snow and ice covered hill.

 

We just bought our Pat's a week ago and I weighed this subject out for a very long time....months, prior to buying. If MPG is a huge factor to your daily driving, (like our super-commute) the 6 speed auto or the manual are the way to go. If the need for a low range and more serious travel conditions are in your future, the CVT/FDII is the ticket.

As said in so many threads here, dive them both and see. I will say that the 6 speed auto is awesome. A Low-ish 1st, 4 normal gears and them a relaxed highway gear. Acceleration is far better than I was expecting also.

What I absolutely don't understand is the mags and reviews for YEARS have hammered the Jeep for the CVT...and now that all the Japanese manu's are running them, they rant and rave about them. WTH!?

 

i've bought 2 patriots with cvt's. All good so far. Yes, you'll have to got somewhere and get the fliud changed at some point in time. Hardly a deal breaker. If you're looking at a used patriot with between 30-80k miles on it... it might not be a bad ideo to negotiate a fluid change before you take ownership.

 

Oh and, mine is for sale too, if you're looking.

 

Worrying about the CVT in a Patriot (specifically) or any major mechanical function of any vehicle breaking down is like worrying that your next jar of peanut butter will kill you from broken glass in it.

Does that happen?
Sure...but the statistical odds are that it won't happen to you.

Do you worry that you will get hit by lightening every time you step out your front door?
I'd say no but it happens from time to time.

Any Nissan dealer can fully service/repair/replace the CVT.
Go to the Escape and/or Liberty forums...you will find nervous Nellie worrying about something about them too.

 

I have had two different vehicles with CVT transmissions. One car and the Patriot. A total of 6.25 years of CVT driven vehicles under my belt. Not a single mechanical issue in that time. (I better go knock on wood, now). They take some getting used to driving-wise. They will change the way you drive, and force you to develop new driving habits. Once that initial learning curve is over, they get great gas mileage and, at least in my personal experience, give great reliability. As posted before, the CVT in the Patriot is a Jatco unit. They are used (or have been used) in Nissan's, Mitsubishi's, Kia's, and Hyundai's. I'm sure one of those has a dealer near you. Ask you dealer friend if you can take the vehicle to one of them and have them check the fluid. They should have the calibrated dip stick, and can tell a lot by the condition of the fluid.

 

Thank you maybe not so angry now ok. I sorry you got angry and everything ok and thank you.

 

I wasn't angry :smileythumbsup:

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

Our Patriot only has about 30k miles on it but, I gotta say I do like the CVT - it makes a normal automatic seem so primitive/thrashy

 

I've grown to like mine a lot over the last 9 months of ownership. I would still have preferred a 5 speed, but it's near impossible to find a Latitude or Limited with a manual transmission.

Certainly was difficult to get used to at first. Auto stick and cruise control smoothness are the best parts of the CVT!

 

Two things. Is the CVT heavier than a conventional tranny. Also, which tranny is faster 0-60 mph.

Which tranny has less moving parts?

 

CVT has way fewer moving parts than a typical transmisison. No idea which is heavier, I would assume, a cvt, just for the lack of parts would be though.

I would guess the CVT would be faster to 60, but in something like the patriot, that is anything but aerodynamic, with only 175hp, the difference is a few thenths of a second at most. but the engine is able to get into its best power faster, and just stay there while the transmission does all the work, vs the transmission having to switch gears, and rev through the power range.

 

The cvt has fewer moving parts. If you get a chance, check out a snowmobile transmission.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

Our CVT looks small so I'm thinking it might weigh less than a similar automatic. I'm curious how much our CVT and the new optional 6 speed auto weigh.

 

My 2011 has 64000 miles on the CVT. I really like my CVT, the only issue I have found is that going up my driveway at less than 10 mph the cvt has to rev the engine way up to do anything. That is easily avoided though if I just go up the driveway normally. In terms of highway driving it is amazing, it's so smooth and predictable. My mother drives a 2006 Chrysler Pacifica that has a HORRIBLE 4 speed transmission that clunks and hesitates that has been replaced twice and still acts like it's going to fail at any time. My CVT has put up with my abusive driving and still runs fine.

 

I live in phoenix az and to get out of phoenix u have to go up big hills for about an 1 hour of driving. my FDII can make it up there faster then some bigger truck. when doing 40 up a big hill to pass that big 18wheeler that's going 40 up it. never have to push it to the floor to get back up to 75

 

The4WDPatriot and Patroit07 -- Peace brothers!

Now to the topic at hand. I'm on board with Sarkus and Metaxa. In all honesty my CVT failed at 110,000, but if I were to buy another Patriot, I'd prefer the CVT. It has the advantages of both an automatic and a standard -- the best of both worlds. The same CVT is made by Jatco for a number of other companies including Nissan. Overall its a reliable machine.

 

I wouldnt say reliable at 110,000 miles. who would agree?

esp for someone like me that is looking for a used one. many of the used ones have 70-120,000 miles on them that been browsing that are in my budget range. Makes me second guess a patriot , due to the cvt

 

I've had traditional autos go at 75k miles. This unit is the same used in many nissans and other cars, and they have proven to be very reliable. The MK line just hasn't been around that long to have a ton of high mileage cars.

 

what we're saying is that a cvt is no more, and no less reliable than any other transmissions. some have had them last 70k miles, some 110k, some 250k.

when buying used, the most important thing is to have it checked out by a mechanic. and I would also be sure when the last fluid changes were. The CVT's seem to be sensitive to fluid conditions. (low, over filled, and too old all seem to cause issues) so that's something to keep in mind.

 

the fluid changes in the cvt?

or oil change?

I assume the cvt fluid adjustment. Yeah carfax would usually show if there was a fluid change in the cvt, no?

most used patriots I see with 70-120 k miles havent had a fluid/filter change?

 

I would say: not horrible, but...

PROS :

- Very nice to tow heavy load, always uses the HP/TQ at its best
- No "kick" between gears, Chrysler's regular auto transmissions are reputed to have hard and "non-smooth" shifting between gears, CVT doesn't do that
- Very pleasant for long trips on cruise control because it never "kick down" suddenly like regular auto


CONS :

- Very poor accelerations, there's a LONG delay of reactivity in a CVT
- Absolutely no driving pleasure (I mean "sport" driving feeling)
- Engine always run at high RPM, hurt gas mileage instead of improving it
- CVT transmission always "hopping", very annoying...
- Based on many mechanics comments I heard, CVT transmission have a shorter life compared to regular auto transmission. They are not less reliable at short term, but lasts less
- Are more expensive to replace than regular auto (in most of cases)


If you give me the choice right now between a CVT and a 6-spd auto, I take the 6-spd auto for the every day's driving pleasure... But otherwise the CVT is a good choice!

 

I would say: not horrible, but...

PROS :

- Very nice to tow heavy load, always uses the HP/TQ at its best
- No "kick" between gears, Chrysler's regular auto transmissions are reputed to have hard and "non-smooth" shifting between gears, CVT doesn't do that
- Very pleasant for long trips on cruise control because it never "kick down" suddenly like regular auto


CONS :

- Very poor accelerations, there's a LONG delay of reactivity in a CVT
drive a Nissan Sentra SER CVT and try and say that. You are talking about Jeep programming in a CUV that is NOT aimed at the sport market as if it is a negative. It is not.

- Absolutely no driving pleasure (I mean "sport" driving feeling)
I drive mine over 200 km per day, five days a week and each day is a pleasurable drive. I, however, know it is not a sports car and drive it accordingly.

- Engine always run at high RPM, hurt gas mileage instead of improving it
Then you don't know how to drive it. My RPM rarely gets over 2,000, almost never over 2,500 and I am more than keeping up with traffic and get 32+mpg, combined tank in and tank out.

- CVT transmission always "hopping", very annoying...
Use the Internet, look up throttle tip in and learn how to drive it. Roll on and roll off the throttle and your problems will go away.

- Based on many mechanics comments I heard, CVT transmission have a shorter life compared to regular auto transmission. They are not less reliable at short term, but lasts less
CVT's are banned by Formula 1 as they feared the richer teams would institute a "CVT arms race" and benefit over the other teams.
Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Jeep, Subaru, Audi, Fiat, BMW, GM, Ford and Suzuki (among others) all offer or have offered CVTs in recent production.
But we;ll believe you over all those engineers and auto execs who professionally run multi billion dollar world wide businesses, eh?

- Are more expensive to replace than regular auto (in most of cases)
Got any proof of that? Because my son works at a Nissan dealership and I have spoken directly with the service manager there and his exact words are that CVT's are quicker to work on, cheaper to work on and they don't see any alarming number of failures, certainly no more so that any vehicle with a transmission.


If you give me the choice right now between a CVT and a 6-spd auto, I take the 6-spd auto for the every day's driving pleasure... But otherwise the CVT is a good choice!

GAH!!!

 

I had a 2011 patriot with the cvt tranny and the only thing i found was when you start from a dead stop you would get a little hesitation until you got up to speed but it was fine after that . Other people i know have said the same thing . I now have a 2014 with the 6 spd tranny and i like it better , i guess it's a matter of personal preference. A local woman bought my trade in Patriot from the dealer and she loves it.

 

Not having any real miles in a CVT, other than a quick test drive (or a long day in a golf cart), I can't really say whether it's good or not. That's best left to the CVT owners. It's obvious they have their upsides. There are many fans of the CVT here.

What I will say is that many of the comments I've read here (on the entire forum, not just this thread) about the new 6 speed are either guesses, assumptions or broad brushing about a normal automatic transmission (shushbox)...or the particular transmission that may not be acting right may have something wrong with it.
I'm in sheer amazement at the performance, smoothness of shift and function of the new 6 speed. Even where I live that's hilly, steep and tight, it almost seems to predict when I begin to roll up a steep grade. Just a slight sense of me barely pressing harder on the gas and it drops a gear, maybe two to maximize RPM's without having to bury my foot into the little 4 popper, while still maintaining speed.....and when it is shifting up or down, your get a far better sense of RPM change than actually feeling a solid shift. Very smooth. It's probably the best auto I've ever driven and I rarely, if ever, need auto-stick. It makes the NAG1 tranny in my Challenger look like a slow, sloppy old man.

 

. . . barely pressing harder on the gas and it drops a gear . . .

That is exactly my problem with automatics in hilly terrain, particularly with smaller engines: they are forever changing gears. IMO a nuisance.