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Clutch, suspension, electrics, what more?

1K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Afmcronnie 
#1 ·
Poor, poor, poor! I am a very unhappy uk citizen who bought a brand new jeep patriot with just 7 miles on the clock. This was the first brand new car I have ever bought and after careful consideration and much deliberation decided to buy this car funded partly on finance from a jeep dealership in 2008. Thinking I was doing the sensible thing; buying a brand new car that looks good, has brilliant fuel economy and is practical I signed in the dotted line.

Little more than a year later the ordeal began. First, what I thought was a headlamp bulb out, turned out to be a very expensive electrical fault which may I add still is not corrected. If you flash the main beam three times whilst the dipped headlights are engaged both switch off to sidelights automatically. A very dangerous occurrence I experienced driving home late one evening.

Not long after this, the dealership I purchased the car from closed down and never notified me of the impending closure neither did they inform me of another jeep dealership that would be taking care of customers who had previously been dealt with by themselves.

Trying to rectify the electrical fault I enlisted the services of a vehicle electrician who also could not correct the fault.

During the following 18-20 months, my jeep patriot lost use of AM radio and frequently would have what I can only describe as clutch spasms where I would be driving, carefully and normally and suddenly the car would shudder as if it was about to stall.

Soon, the car was 3 years old and ready for first MOT. After using a jeep dealership over 30 miles away (I know in the states this is a small distance for you guys but here everything is pretty much on our doorstep) the car was serviced to what I thought would be an acceptable standard however the car failed the MOT. Suspension springs on the front of the car. Another £400+ job that the warranty wouldn't honour fixing.

Only two months after the MOT the most major fault yet. Something I still have no idea what is wrong. Clutch. So far master cylinder changed, valve between master and slave changed and currently in the process of changing slave cylinder. Problem... Loss of pressure in clutch which can be regained through serious excessive pumping of clutch however the pressure can be lost as quickly as 30-40secs during a journey meaning that approaching a junction can be very dangerous.

Not to mention that the inside off my tyres wear out quickly or brake pads diminish after 10K, I can deal with this but a brand new car, using what should be a great engine, built by Americans who claim better engineering than Europeans...I am not convinced.

I have read lots of similar reports, very unhappy jeep owners experiencing faults however not all on one car. I know that also there are many happy patriot owners who will not have a bad word said. I say to you, can I have your patriot in exchange for mine?

To conclude, I don't think anyone who is thinking of buying a patriot will come to this forum but in my opinion I strongly advise DO NOT BUY A PATRIOT. I am so disgruntled by the experience I endeavour to stop as many people as I can from buying a patriot by reviewing it badly on every car site I can and by word of mouth.

Sorry to all you patriot lovers but something must be done for all the patriot owners like me.
 
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#2 ·
petrol or diesel.?

The headlight sounds like software, not an electrical problem. Do you mean flashing three times in succession or three times on a journey.

Your warranty should be national , even in the Uk.

Suspension springs sounds a bit vague ....was it ball joints /tie rods? These have failed on some cars.

Clutch shudder is a feature of diesels if engine revs get too low.
Loss of clutch pressure should be easily disagnosed ...either master, slave or wheel cylinders.

It sound like your mechanical advice has been wanting , and it might be worth travelling further for more professional know-how.
It seems to be all three problems should have been solved more quickly.
Cheers Mike
 
#4 ·
He posted the same thread twice. This was actually the original.
 
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