Definitely take that back to the dealer. 30 days or not, you just got it, they need to take care of it. I found out Carfax doesnt tell the whole truth. When I was at a dealer recently they ask me, while getting info from me to assess what theyd offer in a trade, if my car was ever in an accident. I told them if they pull the carfax it should all be there (I thought it would). The not at fault accident I was in 2 years ago, which I did make an insurance claim on, was not on the report. Granted it was just body damage, nothing mechanical or structural, I kept my mouth shut. Its likely your Patriot was in an accident. If a claim was never made then it wouldnt be on there. If a claim was made, turns out it might not be on there still. So I now take carfax with a large grain of salt.

 

A 2012 has tip start...there is no such thing as "starting the car wrong" anymore.

After it didn't start the first time did you check out and fully charge the battery? If not that could be why it again did not start. Just driving around the block or even to town and back won't fully charge a depleted battery.

You want to figure out what is in that pool of water...is it antifreeze, oil or just water?
Colour will tell you some, how it feels like if it is more slippery than water alone, etc. Smell it. No one can diagnose pool of water but figuring out that there is antifreeze in it helps. Or oil. Whatever.

 

yea I waited 30 minutes , let it sit fpr 15-20 and drove it another 15-20 to destination.

looked like regular water to me, after about an hour or hour ana half I got down and smelled it, and it was almost dried up by then

 

Have you used A/C?

 

. I switched the hot/cold thing from hot to cool bc was a bit hot sweaty after a workout, didnt press in the ac though

 

how big was this puddle? If its a large puddle I wouldnt say its the AC condensing. Have you checked all your fluid levels, including washer fluid?

 

not that big because after about an hour and a half after I came back, id say 12-2/4 was dried up and the stuff that was wet, I got down and didnt smell anything. No havent check them , they were checked when I bought it

Carfax is VERY unreliable, with some states worse than others. I had 3 very extensive accident repairs ($10,000+ each) done on my Caravans at the dealer. None of them ever showed up on Carfax.

Take your Patriot to the dealer and make them fix everything. Your starting problem could simply be battery related.....dirty terminals or worn out battery.

The hood thing might simply require adjustment of the hinge and/or the front stops.

Thank you

Yeah, we've got tip start, so these things basically start themselves, but also the key doesn't turn backwards. Instead of the older-school one click backwards for electronics, on click forward for run and a second click forward for ignition, it's now one click forward for electronics, two for run, and a third for ignition. Either way, take it back to that dealer. If they don't wanna fix it, maybe ask for your money back and get a Patriot from a dealer with a good reputation, if that's an option.

good information here, Thank you

Got an appointment at 9:30 tomorrow

 

Carfax is VERY unreliable, with some states worse than others. I had 3 very extensive accident repairs ($10,000+ each) done on my Caravans at the dealer. None of them ever showed up on Carfax.

Take your Patriot to the dealer and make them fix everything. Your starting problem could simply be battery related.....dirty terminals or worn out battery.

The hood thing might simply require adjustment of the hinge and/or the front stops.

 

Yeah, we've got tip start, so these things basically start themselves, but also the key doesn't turn backwards. Instead of the older-school one click backwards for electronics, on click forward for run and a second click forward for ignition, it's now one click forward for electronics, two for run, and a third for ignition. Either way, take it back to that dealer. If they don't wanna fix it, maybe ask for your money back and get a Patriot from a dealer with a good reputation, if that's an option.

 

I dont know why the batteries dead, but it wouldnt start

left side of the hood(passenger side) is bent

pool of water is under my vehicle

Well you're not off to a good start.

I's say the serious problem is a short-circuit somewhere. That will drain a fully charged battery in hours, certainly overnight. Shorts can be tedious to find and therefore expensive to repair. A mechanic can spend hours finding a spot that takes an inch of electrical tape to fix. However a franchised dealer has a much better chance of finding it faster than an independent mechanic, and certainly better than you or I. They've seen lots of Patriots. If its a 1% chance to have this problem and he's worked on 500 Patriots, then statistically he's see the problem 5 times -- maybe more if he's the shop electrical guy.

The flapping hood is a typical Patriot problem especially in the early years. I thought by 2012 they'd solved it. Mine jiggles a little. Oh well.

The puddle, this time of year, should be no surprise. I have a puddle under mine every night because I build up snow in the fender wells as I drive and most nights my garage is above freezing so the snow drops off on the floor. Sometimes I even need to shovel it out of the garage.

One more thought on your puddle/battery problem. Might you have a hole in your battery that's draining a cell completely dry? Once jump started you can drive all day, but it will not restart after you turn it off. A leaking cell will drain onto the ground under your vehicle and probably have no discernible odor. Even a half-pint of water looks like a lot when spread out on the ground. Your problem could be as simple as a screw under the battery that has worn a hole in it.

Finally, Carfax can only report what they know. If an accident isn't reported, or is reported late, or mechanical work isn't reported, what they don't know will never find its way into a report.

 

Im voicingmy concerns tomorrow , and I wrote them down so I dont forget them

mp started you can drive all day, but it will not restart after you turn it off. A leaking cell will drain onto the ground under your vehicle and probably have no discernible odor. Even a half-pint of water looks like a lot when spread out on the ground. Your problem could be as simple as a screw under the battery that has worn a hole in it.

Finally, Carfax can only report what they know. If an accident isn't reported, or is reported late, or mechanical work isn't reported, what they don't know will never find its way into a report.

the hood, the passenger side is loose and the driver side is somewhat well secured. again, my friend the 80 year old mechanic, he adjusted the hood twice for me, so its better than it was.

It drove fine today so appears to not be a battery with a hole in it?

Any auto parts store nowdays will do a free battery system check and tell you what, if anything, shows up as not working right. Not starting is usually due to either the battery, alternator, or generator.

As others have noted, don't trust Carfax. The Saturn I traded in on my Patriot had $5000 worth of repairs done to it when I hit a rock and it messed up the underside of the car. Went through my insurance to fix it. I looked up my car at the dealer after I traded it in and they had a free Carfax report attached to the online info - no mention of that damage.

The best thing to do when buying a used car is to get it inspected ahead of time by a mechanic you trust. If you don't have a mechanic, there are online services now that will send an inspector just about anywhere and tell you what they find for a reasonable fee. The one I used before buying my Patriot even asked me to specify things I was particularly interested in.

Thank you . I already bought it and figured their people would inspect it well enough. dont really have any friends that have a shop to put it on a rack. my neighbor whos 80 is pretty much retired, ten years ago id be a different story, id go to him and another friend thats inspected mine before, but he retired full-time as well, and sold his shop

 

Any auto parts store nowdays will do a free battery system check and tell you what, if anything, shows up as not working right. Not starting is usually due to either the battery, alternator, or generator.

As others have noted, don't trust Carfax. The Saturn I traded in on my Patriot had $5000 worth of repairs done to it when I hit a rock and it messed up the underside of the car. Went through my insurance to fix it. I looked up my car at the dealer after I traded it in and they had a free Carfax report attached to the online info - no mention of that damage.

The best thing to do when buying a used car is to get it inspected ahead of time by a mechanic you trust. If you don't have a mechanic, there are online services now that will send an inspector just about anywhere and tell you what they find for a reasonable fee. The one I used before buying my Patriot even asked me to specify things I was particularly interested in.

 

After the fact now, but indeed its nice to have a known mechanic look it over before you buy. Many dealerships won't let you take a car without a sales rep on board just for that reason. Dealer will say its to prevent abuse or to give you the sales pitch. They also turn up the radio if its making funny noises. "How 'bout that sound system, eh?" as you go over the RR tracks.

 

This morning on my way to dealership started up "slow" while I was in town with a lot of traffic, my patriot completely went out- scared me, luckily I was at stopped at a turn , when it went out. I tried turning the wheel and it was super difficult, like power steeling went out. I got it started the next startup and while I was driving , the engine revved while keeping my foot steady on the wheel like I normally do-the rpm's went up and down, which has me concerned, - does this sound battery related? I thought it could have been the cvt and expressed my concern?

They replaced the battery and said it was the battery. they said a normal battery tests out as 525 and mine was 284 (I wrote what they said down) They said fluid was good , meaning power steering fluid, and belt was tight.

As far as the loose hood, esp on passenger side, they referred me to a body shop, which I guess ill go when I get time , bc they dont do body work

 

As far as the loose hood, esp on passenger side, they referred me to a body shop, which I guess ill go when I get time , bc they dont do body work

Bullsh*t. They expect you to pay for this? Tell them you just bought this. They need to take care of it. They can bring it to a body shop and foot the bill.

 

Update- its been seventeen days since I bought this , and it is under a thirty day warranty

I got it inspected by a Jeep dealer and here is word for word what is on the paper

"Hood and Right Fender have been painted, Body silencer missing,,,,,
right fender, needs front and rear motor mounts, hood twisted and will,,,,
not adjust properly, possibly needs hinges"

I went directly over to the dealership where I bought it, showed them my papers. The guy in the service department contacted my salesman, and the salesman made a copy of this inspection report from the Jeep dealer, and said, the two guys who handle it arnt here today , and they'll call me.

hindsight 20/20 I bought it too fast on emotion and needed to get this inbspection done before I bought it. Car fax says it wasnt in a wreck; however, it does have body damage on the side that has been re-painted, and the Jeep dealership said the hood and fender has been painted and hood bent

 

A lot of Patriots have the hood flap. My hood wiggles a little at idle, but I don't notice it driving along at speed. Maybe the wind holds it down. As for yours, it seems to me that yours might have been in a wreck in the past. If it was a do-it-himself repair job it was likely never reported to carfax so not on their report. Heck, my Dad's car got hit by the mechanic's father in the parking lot and he didn't want his Dad to lose his license so he took out the dent as a freebie. Obviously it wasn't a major collision, but no way it ever got reported.

 

Just went down the dealer again today, after talking to them on the phone again so I have an appointment monday 2:30. aid they would check the front and rear motor mounts

as far as the body work, if I wanted to I could bring it to higher authorizes , in the company, and try for it, its not that bad, They should have known it have body damage and been repainted and such- if they were a good company, and should have either
1. lowered the price
2. let the customer know

and I will try for what I feel I deserve, which is a good patriot that runs well, and in great working condition

I told them I want everything fixed that can cause an acident or cost me money down the road ( besides the regular maintenance, good keeping)

 

Just because something has been in an accident doesn't mean its the end of the road for that vehicle. My 2001 Grand Prix got hit when it was only a couple months old. The body shop did a good job and I got 250,000 miles out of that car. At 10 years that fender was the first to show rust, but I'm not complaining. It was never rough on tires, it never leaked, and the mechanicals were fine.

 

Like you said, I needed to get it inspected before I bought it, I new this and somehow trusted the dealership SELLING ME IT TO INSPECT IT .

I made a mistake, and they took advantage, live and learn. On top of that Tennessee doesnt have lemon laws, so its a loop-hole for them.

i already knew this, Never trust anyone untill you highly research them and still research them over and over and over untill you get trust

 

The Nisson dealership(one I bought riot from) looked at it today, put it up on the rack, and said front and rear motor mounts are okay

The Jeep dealership I got it inspected at says it needs front and rear motor mounts one is saying one thing and the other, another

I go down to the body shop tomorrow

On a side note I went across town and totally lost contro, slide half a street, thought 100% for sure I was going to slide into some cars coming across intersecton or hit a ditch or house, was scary. Somehow God came in and I stopped literally in the nick of time

go real slow on ice or take the big roads, I went out of my way to see the pretty snow down an all ice street and slide half the street

 

John, ice is as bad as it gets for traction. Give me snow any day.