I’ve had my Patriot FD-II for going on four years now, and it’s all been positive. I like the old Cherokee-look body styling much better than the ovoid SUV/crossovers of today. I agree that Jeeps should have round headlights and seven-slot grilles. Mine is a great size for urban commuting while doing what I need it to do on weekends & hunting trips.
I’ve kept up with maintenance, changed the CVT fluid around 50,000 miles, bought real A/T tires, and I have no complaints. I hope to have it for many more years.

 

I bought one for my daughter (2013). she wants more rugged tires than the originals. What size did you put on yours.

 

My Patriot experience has been mostly positive, and I still love it after 4 years of ownership. I love how it looks and drives. Being FD2 it can take me everywhere that I want to go. I also find it to be very comfortable. I'm a tall guy and have more than enough leg and headroom. I do wish it was more reliable though.

 

Thank you for your service. I was a Seabee for 6yrs.

 

I got my first Patriot in 2008. I loved the little creature! The only downer was that it went through two transmissions, but fortunately both were replaced under the warranty. I got nearly 300,000 miles out of it with only a handful of other repairs.

We liked it so much that we bought a 2014 for my Wife. It is now at 150,000 miles and the only repairs have been the front axle bearings. Both are FWD and with good snow tires they perform very well in snow. They are great on the highway putting out 30+ MPG. If they still made Patriots I'd buy another.

 

I've only had my Patriot since election day (got it with 100k already, so its just broken in). So far put almost 7k on the clock and so far no real problems. Did somethings like replaced the tires (Toyo Open Country AT3), and upgraded the headunit (Old Pioneer headunit from the WJ with a Maestro RR). Really impressed with the Jeep. Handles great, and did well in our first snow of the season (20") though additional lighting is in order. Driving through the Jersey Pine Barrens at night is a challenge with stock lights since most of the drive is through a state forest with no overhead lighting. Doing it in a blizzard sucked. I could not see more than 20-30ft in front of me. I took it out on some of the trails in the Barrens. Couldn't do much being solo but the Pat did well around the trails, even some that got partially washed out. The previous owner used to go out to Island Beach SP to go fishing (found a receipt, and explains all the sand in the nooks and crannies). Overall I really like the Patriot. Mine has some quirks but its still a blast to drive.

 

I've owned two, and no complaints! Affordable and does everything I need.

 

A positive newbie here...hehehe. I bought a second-hand 2008 Jeep Patriot 2.4L FWD. First thing I saw here was the leg room space both front and back. It may look small outside but spacious inside and always love the box-typed vehicle. Currently replace all lights with LED, and this version has no fog lights, and so I installed one, wirings to follow. Also planning to replace the car stereo into a 10in touch screen... wish me luck...hehehe... Very satisfied Jeep owner here

 

I had a 2008 Patriot, also FWD. It was a great vehicle, but I had two replacement trannies because I didn't realize that the fluid should be changed every 50,000 miles. Aside from that the ol' boy was totally reliable and made it to almost 300 before I sold it.

 

well my daughter bought a 2016 patriot sport 4 by 4 and had it converted to a right hand drive and is using it for her rural mail route, It has been going strong for her till this yr and 82 k ,of rough stop and go, and also she is not the easy on the pedals as she should be, 3 wheel bearings, 2 cv axles front ,one new rim from the junk yard, and just the normal brakes and 2 new rotors and maintenance, she is also on her second battery and just lately had a bad sound coming from the rear end got loud at 25-30 and would then get quieter as the faster you went but still loud, her regular mech said it was her differential going bad i asked what about the last wheel bearing on the right side rear and he said no its good, well the diff on these pats are $$$$$ like most places wanted 2-3 k well i am a retired chry worker so i get a 25 % discount on parts, so a 1800 unit from the dealership was around 1275 and her mech said he would install it for 400, well if i buy it and some else installs it is a 1 yr warranty on it, if the dealership installed it 2 yr warranty and they wanted 600 for the install so we decided to go with the dealership and low and behold they said it was just the last wheel bearing that was bad so ended up costing 450 parts and labor kind of high but a hell of a lot better than 2k...her reg mech did the other bearings for around 200 each for the fronts and 150 for the rear and he is a great mechanic but here is where the dealership saved us a bid savings, so i ended up taking her pat back in for her trans service which cost us 175, boy they really made it a pain to service the trans, anyways her patriot has cost her a good bit this yr, but she should be set continue to give her couple of more yrs before she moves on to an other vehicle...by the way be nice to your mail carrier if they have to provide their own cars ( they also have to have a back up vehicles as well) if it is a rural mail route, she just made full time last week ,,after being a part time employee for over 9 years.... so she finally starts time towards retirement,,,just a note to others it is actually a pretty good job esp if you can do your own repairs on your vehicles but as it was for her a long time to be made permanent but also when starting out you are only guaranteed 1 day a week but they are always short handed so she always was working full time, it is good money but expensive repairs can hurt you as well

 

And the POSITIVE PATRIOT EXPERIENCE is?

It does sound as if she is a bit heavy on the peddles. It also sounds like she encounters many road (side of road) hazards on her route.

 

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

2007 FD2, original owner. It actually gets driven off road (and on some pretty serious So Cal mining roads to boot). 265000 miles and still going strong. Replaced the trans at 200,000 under the lifetime warrantee they offered in 2007. (I’m NEVER getting rid of this Pat!)

 

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

We have a 2010 4x Limited with 105k on it and a 2017 2x 75th Edition. Very few issues with either. Not luxury vehicles for sure but seem to be solid and dependable. Had to put in a new sunroof seal on the older one and a engine front main seal (under warranty) in the 2017. That’s it. The 4x4 really has great traction, not much ground clearance like a Wrangler of course but it holds its own in sand and snow well.

 

Cool another '17 75th Edition! Recon Green?

 

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

 

I have a 2015. I have had it just over a year. I love mine. Minor issues. Had to replace the crankshaft positioning sensor. Cheap fix. I had a older square body Cherokee years ago. When I test drove my Patriot it felt comfortable to me. I’ve added the RC 2” suspension lift, 18” wheels, Faulken 235/60/18 tires, new rack cross bars, rack, ice blue interior lights, grill insert (and yes angry eyes...lol), new short antenna, weather tech mats. There are still lots of extras I can’t wait to add. I like my lil Jeep so much that I didn’t hesitate when my niece asked if I liked mine before she purchased hers. Hoping to continue to have positive reviews.

 

It looks great. My daughter is 17 and she loves her Jeep. I want to lift it and put larger tires than the stocks.

 

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

positive: i do love my patriot. i have had it for almost 5 years and never really had major issues until recently and it hasn’t even hit 100,000 miles yet.
negative: my patriot stalls out if i get a full tank of gas, just put $2000 into when i wanted to sell it in the summer but i might not anymore. since everything rusted out on my back end, i had to get it all fixed and new tires. and there’s still something wrong, probably another wheel bearing in the front. and when i start my car, it makes a ticking like sound a few times

 

They just handle snow so well.

 

All positive here. 7 years and 130k miles and so far only routine maintenance including tires, brakes and both rear wheel bearings. Today I replaced the original battery, just shy of 7 full years of use. I have drained and filled front and rear drive units and the 6 speed auto transmission. I hope to get several more years of service out of it. Great in the snow and common sense off roading.

 

235k miles on my fdii
Has had its share of problems
But its still my daily driver work truck
Still not ready to part with it

 

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

2012, FDII, 75K

No issues except the trans whine in the summer which was solved by full trans service at 55K. Retired now and with the pandemic mileage has gone way down. Love almost everything about it. Size, looks, incredible tractability in bad weather. Gas mileage, gas capacity and constantly listening for trans whine in warm weather are my only complaints. I'm going to drive it as long as possible in the hopes that it will become a collectors item some day😁

 

Yeah, a collector's item! I remember going to the races as a kid -- I even had friends who raced. They'd take those beautiful pre-war cars, gut them, install a roll cage and new V8 . . . and wreck them before the race was over. Even the cars I had in high school would be collectors' items today. I wish someone could make a car as good as the '68 Impala I had in college -- what a comfortable (and simple!) car.

Today's cars are so complex and they aren't comfortable anymore. Who on earth wants to feel the road in a car? Huh? I think the Patriot was the last gasp of simplicity.

 

Mine has handled in the snow well

Ive seen some suv's spinning and an escalade truck digging and getting stuck at a red light . Patriot did well , mines a fwd btw

 

FWD, good tires and a competent driver beats technology and idiocy every time!

 

This is so true. Driving in the snow is akin to casting a baitcasting reel. You need a sensitive foot/thumb.

 

I'm starting this thread because I have seen so many, including first time single posts, of the negatives owners experience.

This is my positive. The Patriot has true Jeep styling. Coming down road with the round headlights and the seven slot grill, first thought is Wrangler. Then they see it is an urban Jeep, but having their true off road capabilities. I've owned mine for 3+ years and find it to handle any road conditions from hot an dusty to heavy snow,

What are your positive experiences?

After my first Appalachian trail section hike, my 2015 Jeep Patriot was waiting for me at the dealer! I took it half way across the country for my second section hike. I treat it well and it has been a great vehicle for me. Keeping it positive, that's where I will leave off at

 

After my first Appalachian trail section hike, my 2015 Jeep Patriot was waiting for me at the dealer! I took it half way across the country for my second section hike. I treat it well and it has been a great vehicle for me. Keeping it positive, that's where I will leave off at

we want to hear it all, whatever it may be, negative and/or positive

 

My Patriot will be 8 years old next month with about 96,000 miles. I have been very pleased to date. I take care of it well. So far, only basic maintenance for the most part. The front brake pads lasted over 80K miles, the most ever for me.

My biggest problem (sorry Newt) is that it attracts crappy cars to park nearby. When I had some dents repaired by a PDR guy, I went to pick it up and a Porsche was parked next to my Patriot. My son-in-law annoys me all the time by parking his Hellcat near my Patriot. The nerve of him. Get that $50,000 P.O.S. away from my Patriot!!!!!!

 

My biggest problem (sorry Newt) is that it attracts crappy cars to park nearby

I hear ya there. I have only one mark on my '16 Pat to date that happened one week after I picked it up.

 

I am a very happy UK Patriot owner. 2.2L diesel engine, 4WD FDI. 10 years old and 113,000 miles on the clock.

Two previous owners before 60K when I bought it.

In my 50K of driving this car, I've had few problems, although one relatively costly and surprising one - the starter motor went at 85K. Luckily it went at my work yard when I was in no rush at the time. Thank God it wasn't in the wilderness of the Scottish highlands where I have taken my Patriot twice in 3 years!

Only other main problem was an ABS wheel speed sensor went just after I bought the car, which shocked me as the car lurched at a low speed while about to stop at traffic lights. Sensor replaced under warranty and nothing like this since.

Other small issues:

1. Tracking - for the first year or so I was convinced the Patriot had a tracking problem I could not solve. Had multiple garages look at it, track it, diagnose it etc, car still generally pulls left, but I am so used to it now it really is no problem. And tyres seem to wear fairly typically.

2. Clutch squawk - clutch has been "squawking" since about 70K with progressive frequency when pulling away when stopped and at "bite point" in first gear. Happens more so facing uphill when more bite is needed. Whether my clutch will go soon remains to be seen.

3. Possible slow water pump leak - coolant seemed to be draining faster than usual two years ago during a hot summer. Discovered wrong coolant for vehicle was likely in the coolant reservoir though mechanics said this typically shouldn't be an issue. Regardless - coolant extracted, bled, and new correct coolant topped up. Very slow decrease in the last year or two, doesn't worry me. Though I have coolant on hand to be safe.

Other than that, replaced brake pads/discs the other year as routine maintenance. Have new AT tyres on car but tyres don't wear quickly.

Patriot smells a tad increasingly oily these days and have seen a few leaks here and there, but keeps driving.

Engine has been retuned professionally to increase HP from 160 to 200. Great acceleration.

Other than the above ongoing niggles, generally reliable, fun to drive, economical, practical, fairly good off-road in light-moderate mud and great in snow with the right tyres. Have taken on off-road circuits with defenders, wranglers, XJs and more, a number of times, and never got stuck. Wounded a touch each time but never stuck and always lives to fight another day. Hope it lasts me to 200K!

 

Mine has had its share of problems, like OEM Chrysler suspension having to have all sorts of parts replaced, and the CVT failing when I failed to change the fluid on time. But I love it. Tracks down the road great, has exceeded many people's expectations at Rocks and Valleys, Silver Lake Sand Dunes, even Drummond Island. And it's simple!!!! Headlights only come on when I flip the switch, and actually turn off when the switch is deactivated. No annoying remote control, old enough to have a proper radio, and I wouldn't trade the crank windows for anything.

Proper Jeep experience overall, and I love it, which always makes it confusing when I see "I love my Jeep, now I'm gonna ruin it with a touchscreen and remote start? And how about leather seats?" Obviously owner's choice, but.....why not choose a Cadillac or Land Rover if you want that? People call me poor for not wanting electric windows or automatic headlights in my Jeep, but my Impala has those, and I appreciate the electric windows for what they are....in the Impala. Don't want them in the Jeep. Still haven't found anybody to remove the automatic headlight crap from the Impala yet either, as far as I'm concerned that's a manufacturer defect.