Hi, welcome to the site.

2.4l engines as a whole are fairly solid; one of the more common issues we've been seeing is problems with throttle bodies. Fortunately, replacement isn't too hard.

On the manual transmissions, there have been issues with bearings, and the 4x4's seem to have more issues than the FWD's:

Input shaft bearing NOT Clutch

Hey everyone, I have been searching for a month for info on the input shaft bearing in the manual transmission patriots. I have a 2011 sport 5 speed. It has 81k miles on it and started making a terrible noise when in neutral and clutch released. The noise went away when clutch was pushed in. I...

www.jeeppatriot.com

The slave / clutch cylinder sometimes leaks, and since it's inside the bell housing the transmission has to be removed to replace it, so be sure to check for trans fluid leaks.

Check for sub-frame rust. I wouldn't expect to see much of it on a 2015, but it's worth looking at.

 

Welcome! I've had a 2008 2.4 CVT and still have a 2014 2.0 manual. We liked the 2008 so much that we bought the 2015. Happy with both.

I sold the 2.4 to a friend. I saw him last night and his daughter is driving it. It is about 315,000 miles and it's throwing codes but giving no problems. The engine gave me absolutely no issues to 280,000 miles, though I did replace the water pump, alternator, and as @Sandstone mentioned, the TB just before I sold it. However, that was the original TB. Also did the struts around 250,000 and sometime before that the front wheel bearings. (CVT was replaced twice under warranty.)

The 2.0 is at 185,000 and has been flawless, though modestly powered. The clutch chatters in Reverse since it was new -- I can live with that. I don't drive it as much as my Wife, but when I do I think I hear a slight hum from the drive train. Nothing to worry about yet. This Patriot has given me so little trouble I wouldn't be shy about spending something on repairs at this point. I'd trade cars with my Wife, but She prefers our Patriot over our 2019 Compass that I usually drive. Frankly, I do too, even though our Compass has half the miles as the Patriot.

Granted some Patriots have had premature rust, but mine have been fine. Mostly driven in northern New England so rust wouldn't surprise me, but so far so good. 🤞

 

Biggest problem plaguing the engine is the danged linkage between the seat and steering wheel

 

I had a 2008 4x4 with a manual. The 2.4 is very unrefined, but can be very reliable if it is serviced correctly. The manual transmissions are extremely weak and over complicated. Very expensive and difficult to rebuild, if you can even get the parts. Mine was warrantied 3 additional times after I had it replaced then rebuilt. I got rid of the car and replaced it with a Forester with a manual. The difference in build quality, and design is night and day. The jeep looked better (subjectively) but the Forester has more ground clearance and the AWD is far superior to the AWD the Patriot has. Decent tires are a nightmare to get for the Patriot also.

 

I mostly agree, but Subarus have had their share of Achilles heel also. Oil consumption and head gaskets come to mind. In 2013 when I bought my Patriot, the Subaru oil consumption problem was significant enough to steer me away from them.

 

I had a manual Forester years ago, it was OK. The patriot is OK. They both are OK. Most problems I witness on both of those platforms are preventable or par for any car, neither car is remarkably good or bad.