Jeep Patriot problems: recalls, complaints and what they cost
The Jeep Patriot was sold in the US for model years 2007–2017. Pick a year below for its open safety recalls and the components owners complain about most — then, for each of those, whether it is safe to keep driving and what the repair should cost.
Model years with their own breakdown
Other years — look up live
Searched but never built
There is no 2023, 2022, 2021 or later Jeep Patriot — US production ran 2007–2017. Those pages explain what a listing showing that year is likely to be.
Choose a year to load recalls and complaints.
What goes wrong with the Jeep Patriot?
Across model years 2014–2016, NHTSA records 4 recall entries — one campaign counts once for each model year it covers, so the number of distinct campaigns is lower — and 1,321 owner complaints for the Jeep Patriot. Counts track how many were sold as much as how good the vehicle is, so the useful signal is which components the complaints cluster on and which years stand out against the rest of the run.
Where complaints concentrate
| Component | Owner complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 212 | 16% |
| Engine | 208 | 16% |
| Air Bags | 189 | 14% |
| Power Train | 181 | 14% |
| Unknown or Other | 109 | 8% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 88 | 7% |
Electrical System draws the most reports on this nameplate. That is a starting point rather than a verdict — a component can dominate because it genuinely fails or simply because it is the part owners notice. Match it against what your own vehicle is doing before spending anything.
By model year
| Year | Recall entries | Complaints |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 458 |
| 2015 | 1 | 315 |
| 2014 | 2 | 548 |
Older years accumulate more complaints simply by being on the road longer, so compare a year against its neighbours rather than against the newest one.
Recent safety recalls
Seat Belts
The Occupant Restraint Control (OCR) module may short circuit, preventing the frontal air bags, seat belt…
Free remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the OCR, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners that parts are not available yet were mailed on October 26, 2016. The recall began on August 15, 2017.
Engine
Due to abrasive debris in the balance shaft bearings, these engines may have a loss of engine oil pressure.
Free remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the engine balance shaft module, free of charge. The recall began on December 24, 2013. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753.
Steering
During assembly, the power steering hose retention clamp may have been installed at an incorrect location.
Free remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the return power steering hose clamp, repositioning the clamp as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2016.
Engine and Engine Cooling
The crankshaft or camshaft sensor may only work intermittently, causing the engine to stall.
Free remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the crankshaft or camshaft sensor connector, free of charge. The recall began February 8, 2017. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403.
Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit. Take the campaign number to any franchised dealer. How recalls work.
Recall text above is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice, affected VIN ranges and dealer instructions.
Source: NHTSA (US Department of Transportation), public domain, retrieved 2026-10-08. Use the year selector above for the current live figures.
How does a sedan or hatchback typically fail?
High-volume sedans and hatchbacks produce the largest complaint counts of any segment, and that is mostly an artefact of how many were sold rather than how good they are. Read concentration, not totals. What genuinely distinguishes the segment is that these cars do a lot of short urban trips, which is the hardest duty cycle there is for oil life, exhaust components and batteries — engines never fully warm, moisture never boils off.
What should I check first?
For a sedan or hatchback, the systems worth ruling out before anything else are short-trip wear: oil condition, battery age, exhaust corrosion. Match what the vehicle is actually doing to the guide below — each one opens with a safety verdict, not a parts list.
- Check engine light steady
- Rough idle or stalling
- Won't start — clicking
- Grinding when braking
- Shaking at highway speed
What is the difference between a recall and a complaint?
A recall is a defect the manufacturer must fix free of charge, forever, with no mileage limit and regardless of how many owners the car has had. A complaint is one owner’s report filed with NHTSA. One complaint is an anecdote; two hundred naming the same component is a pattern, and patterns are what you want before you buy or before you authorise a large repair. Read the complaint list by concentration, never by total — a model that sold three times as many units collects roughly three times as many complaints while being no worse.
What should I check before buying one?
Short-trip history matters more than mileage here. A 90,000-mile highway car is usually in better health than a 45,000-mile one that never got warm. Ask what the commute was, and weight the service records accordingly.
Beyond that, the checks that find expensive problems are the same on any vehicle: see it started from stone cold, look under the oil cap, smell the transmission fluid, and scan it for stored and recently-cleared codes. Our used car inspection checklist walks through each one, and why cars fail explains how systemic defects emerge in the first place.
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Does the Jeep Patriot have any open recalls?
Open safety recalls for the Jeep Patriot are listed on this page, pulled live from NHTSA's public database. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, so an open campaign is money the manufacturer owes you rather than a repair you pay for. Check by VIN for certainty on one specific vehicle.
What are the most common Jeep Patriot problems?
The complaint list on this page groups owner reports by component, which is the useful view: one component dominating the list is a pattern, while complaints spread evenly across many systems usually just means the model sold in volume. For this class of vehicle, short-trip wear: oil condition, battery age, exhaust corrosion are the areas worth checking first.
Is the Jeep Patriot expensive to repair?
Cost depends far more on which system fails than on the badge. Each symptom guide linked from this page carries a parts-and-labour range for US independent shops, so you can price the specific fault rather than the car in general.