Try doing the MOT at your Jeep dealer,they should be authorised.
And see how they react to this.

 

hi Ash
I am about to take my Patriot for its first MOT next month. Its worrying coz i do get some knocking noise over certain bumps. I will have to see if mine passes. But £300 seems a bit steep for ball joints. Have you tried looking on ebay? I think I have seen them for sale on there.

 

If it is ball joints, replace the crap factory ones with Moog parts, They have a lifetime warranty, and are stronger. Well, unless the dealer does it under warranty.

 

Seems like this is going to be a major Issue with UK Pats , I know our MOT is one of the hardest in the world ( Next to the Japanese) , but no car in this day & age should fail its first one !! Cheap & cheerful front end components are not acceptable in this day & age!!I just hope that this fault does'nt extend to the Avenger.

Maybe I swapped my Patriot at the right time.......

 

Unfortunately, this is normal. Chrysler needs to issue a recall before someone gets in an accident, but they haven't yet.

 

Ball joints, control arms, and tie rod ends seem to fail early way too often. Although some have gone over 100K miles with no problems, some need then way too early, like Ash now.

Makes me wonder if there are several suppliers of those parts, and one has quality issues????

 

I have 40K miles on my 2008 built in January, 2008, with no issues. I drive 99% on pavement, but do drive from time to time on a poorly maintained rocky dirt road which is sometimes muddy.

I expect dixiedawg is correct about a bad supplier or bad batch(es) of ball joints. Chrysler should be tracking the ball joint problems as to which cars built when and proactively advising owners with suspect ball joints.

That said, for those out of warranty, and with Chrysler not stepping up to the plate, this thread describes installing the better supported Moog ball joints.

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52900

 

Interestingly I just found this site;

http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls.jsp?modelID=A6&modelName=Compass&makeName=Jeep&makeId=B9

Item two looks like there genuinely is an issue and that there was a recall

 

Ash, good find.

It looks like an European recall, but a recall is a recall and it seems that Jeep dose not really know how many are really affected with this
problem. (or maybe shades of Toyota )

 

I had my lower control arms and tie rods replaced under warranty last week (37,000 KMs, built February 2007). 99% of my driving's been on pavement.

FYI - the prices listed on invoice are $309 Canadian for a lower control arm and $69.65 for a tie rod and nut.

 

At over £300 per ball joint this sounds

...ridiculous, is what you meant to say I think. You can get ball joints from Moog for fraction of that cost.

And yes, ball joints have been discussed many times before. It's a known trouble spot in these Jeeps - as well as many other Chrysler vehicles, if I've understood correctly.

 

I mean to ask, what is MOT, not a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) I'm familiar with?

Here we have PenDOT who manages our state inspections, which are required yearly here. That was when I found out I needed a tie rod end on the passenger side at 52K miles.

 

I mean to ask, what is MOT, not a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) I'm familiar with?.

MOT stands for Ministry of Transport. It's a UK mandatory annual road worthiness test for cars that are over 3yrs old.

 

The trouble is that the UK MOT is very strict. EVERYTHING !!! is tested !!! A fail could be a simple thing like a lamp out ,a chip on the windscreen in the area of the drivers wiper or a worn wiper blade. Bad tyres , bad emissions & badly aimed headlights also fail.

Thats why you dont see Bangers, Clunkers & Smokers on British roads .If you see a suspect rust bucket on British roads , the first thing people say " How the hell did that thing pass its test?"

 

Our inspections could be failed by the same things, plus emissions tests are required in most areas. They mostly focus on safety items, brakes, front ends, tires, etc.

 

Ok, some good news. I spoke to the local dealership today and they said that the items should be replaced under warranty.

I asked if this was a common occurrence and they said that due to the design the ball joints suffer form 'weathering' more than wear and tear. So, they could fail at any time...they've seen these go in less than twelve months in some cases.

So, they will replace them with Chrysler approved parts which come with two years warranty, and should they fail within that time...they will get replaced again.

The Pat is booked in for Wednesday of next week and then I need to get the MOT retest done on the fix...fingers crossed.

 

Ok, some good news. I spoke to the local dealership today and they said that the items should be replaced under warranty.

.

Great news.
My local main dealer changed the lower arms as part of a aervice, but now the pat is 3 years old I took it to a local garage for an MOT and got an advisory on the ball joints. I'll be looking to import some Moog parts soon :0(

 

Ash can i know where the dealership that you go to is? They seem quite fair. I have a feeling i will have to do the same next month.

 

Sure, it's

Kings Bristol
Lysander Road
Cribbs Causeway
Westbury-on-Trym
Bristol
BS10 7UB

0117 9506000

www.kings-chryslergroup.co.uk

 

Nearly all the Kings dealerships seem to know their stuff . I am more than happy with Kings Cheltenham & Gloucester . Staverton. Glos.

 

Great news, I took the Pat in today to the dealership and they have replaced the Ball Joints under warranty. The new ones also have a two year warranty on them as well.

 

Good news Ash!! well done mate . Good for your dealer too!!

 

Is this problem mostly affecting just the UK pats?

 

I have had my control arms replaced as well. I had just under 20,000 miles on my patriot at the time.

 

No, front end parts are weak in all of them, and wheel bearings are an issue too.

I've come to accept these short comings. Would still be a lot more money for another vehicle with the Pat's capabilities, and mileage would be much worse too. None of mine were covered under warranty. Believe it or not, the rear wheel bearings are not covered under the lifetime powertrain warranty. But the fronts are covered????

 

Believe it or not, the rear wheel bearings are not covered under the lifetime powertrain warranty. But the fronts are covered????

That is very interesting. It makes sense for FWD models, but those of us with 4wd should have the rears covered as well. Sounds like an oversight by Chrysler.

 

Hopefully they fixed this problem in the 2011 pat

 

That's what my dealer told me, so I went to my local mechanic for the wheel bearing. I thought it odd too, for a 4wd vehicle.

 

Yea, when I bought mine, they told me the lifetime powertrain covered the engine, trans, front to rear drive shaft and rear diff mechanicals, but not the CV joints. If you read the warranty though, it says it covers the axles (except the CV's), and a wheel bearing is part of the "axle".

 

Hello Ash.
I to have the same issue. My Patriot 2.0 CRD Limited – 15k miles (First Registered End Dec 2007) has just failed its first MOT due to dangerous ware to the near side front ball joint.
I have contacted my local Chrysler dealer and due to the warranty expiring (3yrs) I will not be covered for repair / replacement. The warranty department are suggesting that I could submit a complaint forward and that they may look at my case as a “customer relations goodwill scheme”. If they approve my case, I may be entitled to some costs toward the replacement.
Would the buggered ball joint have been picked up during any of the servicing prior to the MOT?
I would like as much “AMMO” as possible from anyone who may be able to help me with this…….

 

Has anyone had any 2010s do this?