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What 120 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 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 (120)Crash / fire / injury (7)Airbags (33)Engine (25)Seat belts (23)Transmission & drivetrain (19)Electrical system (11)Fuel system (9)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (8)Speed control (7)Brakes (5)Seats (5)

1 of 120 complaints match · Speed control · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jun 21, 2013AirbagsSpeed controlEngineCrash1 injury

AS MY WIFE WAS PULLING INTO OUR DRIVEWAY AND BRAKING TO PARK THE CAR, THE ENGINE SPED UP AND ALL 4 WHEELS WERE SPINNING EXTREMELY FAST CAUSING HER TO THRUST FORWARD. SHE WAS NOT IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE MODE AT THE TIME. SHE STEPPED ON THE BRAKES HARDER TO SEE IF SHE COULD STOP THE VEHICLE BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO INCREASE SPEED AND LUNGED OUT OF CONTROL .THE ONLY WAY SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD STOP THE WHEELS FROM SPINNING WAS TO PUT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK. EVEN THOUGH SHE PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK, THE WHEELS CONTINUED TO SPIN AND THE ONLY REASON THE VEHICLE STOPPED MOVING FORWARD WAS BECAUSE SHE HIT A TREE. THE WHEELS CONTINUED TO SPIN AFTER SHE HIT THE TREE AND THE CAR WAS STILL IN PARK AND THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THEM FROM SPINNING WAS WHEN SHE SHUT DOWN THE IGNITION. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE FRONT END DAMAGE AND THE AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. THE CONSOLE LIGHTS WERE FLICKERING ON AND OFF AS THIS WAS HAPPENING. MY WIFE HAD CONCERNS WITH THIS BEFORE AS SHE WENT TO SLOW DOWN OR STOP THE VEHICLE AT OTHER TIMES SHE FELT THE ENGINE SPEED SURGE. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10521034

Working with the data? Download all 120 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 2013 Jeep Patriot verdict →