Do you always fill up at the same gas station? if so, maybe try another one. I don't have this issue with my pat, but it A) isn't cold here, and b) I don't drive it more than once or twice a week... But I've had it on a saab I owned, and it ended up being the gas. The station I went to was putting extra ethanol in their fuel, and so it caused hesitation. A different station/brand, and I was all good.

 

Could be condensation in the fuel tank effecting the gas also.

 

I got 6 full years and 213k km on the OEM battery but the Patriot was getting hard to start so I replaced the battery a couple of days ago, problem solved.

 

man, I'm lucky to get 2 summers out of a battery...

 

I've never had an issue starting my Pat in the cold. The past 2 weeks have been no warmer than -20 degrees c (-4 f)... Although we had some relief today :smiley_thumbs_up: I generally plug in, but sometimes I'm lazy. I think the coldest I've started it (not plugged in) was -27 c (-16 f) and it turned over relatively easy. Not sure if this helps any, just sharing my experience.

 

What do you mean by plugged in if you don't mind sharing. My patriot gives me alot of problems starting in Temps under 40f my mechanic don't even have an answer for Mr of why. When it finally does start alot of white smoke comes out of the exhaust

 

Haven't had any issues like that in mine even when the temp is below zero.

 

Over 5 years old, and over 120K miles, and mine sits outside every night, and no issues at all starting. Of course clean oil and air filter help, I think.

 

142K miles
only time i have ever had a problem starting is when i had bad alternator/starter
starts right up even after below 0 nights,
this morning was about 20 when i got in the car and no problems

 

You're right on the coast? Heavy dew overnight on the mornings you have trouble starting? Have you tried drying the ignition harness? (Or even finding the ignition harness under all the plastic?)

 

Ignatz is usually in the garage where its in the 20s. Never a problem starting. He's been outside and started at -25F, but it wasn't as snappy as 25 above. I debated getting the engine warmer and decided not to. I think its recommended for starting at temperatures belose -20. At +40 you shouldn't be having a problem at all.

Is it damp or rainy? Chrysler products were notorious for hard starting in wet weather. The old joke, "a Chrysler product willl stall if you spit in front of it." That was in the pre-electronic ignition days.

 

I have the same problem when I'm starting my pat in the cold. It tries to start for a 1/4 of a second stops for 1/2 a second then starts up. I was also wondering about this as well.

 

sounds like possibly weak battery
how old is the battery?

 

They most likely were referring to an engine block heater. You plug it into an outlet to keep your engine warm when it's cold AF out.