Home · 2011 Jeep Patriot · Complaints

What 325 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Jeep Patriot

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (325)Crash / fire / injury (24)Engine (66)Suspension (55)Transmission & drivetrain (53)Body & structure (51)Airbags (43)Fuel system (32)Electrical system (31)Seat belts (25)Steering (19)Speed control (18)

2 of 325 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Nov 27, 2024Electrical systemAirbagsSeat beltsCrash

No dash lights, in my way to work someone cut into my(crossed solid line) lane and my vehicle hit the rear end of the vehicle that cut into my lane. Going around 55 and wearing my seatbelt, slammed on the breaks, couldn't go around without flipping my car so we collided. The front end of my car was completely destroyed and the airbags did not deploy. I am this cars second owner after my father bought it new & if he knew it would almost kill his daughter in 12 years he never would have bought it. It had no accident history and had been told the recall was fixed when it very obviously was not. We had a rep from Chrysler come and pull the crash data, and he tried to tell me there was no reason for the airbags to go off. The entire front of my car was crushed, there is no possible way they should not have triggered for the severity of the accident I was in. I smashed my head so hard on the steering wheel that I blacked out, broke my eye socket and suffered a severe concussion. I have photos/accident reports and Chrysler has the data from my car. I also think my dad has a copy of this data. I'm so so lucky I didn't die, this is absolutely a defective airbag component and something absolutely needs to be done. It's so incredibly dangerous and at this point with all of the similar incidents it would be neglectful not to open an investigation as people have died as a result of this defect.

NHTSA ODI 11627697

Jun 27, 2017Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngine1 injury

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 JEEP PATRIOT. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35-40 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED BOILING HOT WATER COMING FROM A CLOGGED AIR CONDITIONING DRAIN TUBE, WHICH OVERFLOWED BETWEEN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND THE FIREWALL. IN ADDITION, WATER DRIPPED DOWN ONTO THE LEG OF THE DRIVER AND CAUSED A BURN. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT REQUIRED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE CLOGGED AIR CONDITIONING DRAIN TUBE CAUSED WATER TO IMMERSE TO THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE FLOORBOARD, WHICH CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION MODULE TO BECOME WATER LOGGED AND FAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000.

NHTSA ODI 11001648

Working with the data? Download all 325 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 24, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Jeep Patriot verdict →