Home · 2014 Jeep Patriot · Complaints

What 548 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 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 (548)Crash / fire / injury (48)Engine (156)Airbags (149)Seat belts (104)Electrical system (89)Transmission & drivetrain (70)Speed control (60)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (51)Fuel system (41)Seats (33)Brakes (23)

Newest first · 548 complaints · page 3 of 22

Oct 14, 2022Seats1 injury

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated while stopped, the driver’s side seat headrest deployed without warning. The contact suffered a concussion and sought medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 128,000.

NHTSA ODI 11489274

Oct 12, 2022Seats

The headrest deployed without accident and will not reset. No impact to the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11489053

Sep 27, 2022AirbagsSeats

My driver and passenger headrest deployed for no reason. They deployed at separate times. It is a safety concern because I am not able to position my neck properly when driving. Due to the head rest being deployed my head is positioned forward making it difficult to see my surroudings. Had I not been parked when my driver side headrest deployed, I stronly believe that it could have caused an accident. I am not able to fix this issue on my own due to the actual pieces that would allow you to reset the head rest are broken.

NHTSA ODI 11486778

Sep 19, 20222 injuries

Deep cut on fingers due to flaking paint on interior door handle. The chrome on the interior door handle is starting to chip away and is equivalent to a sharp aluminum can.

NHTSA ODI 11485264

Sep 16, 2022Fuel system

I believe the roll over safety valve inside the gas tank is faulty, and have noticed many others having the same issue in forums. The vehicle will not accept fuel, and acts as if it is full. Sometimes if you hit the bottom of the fuel tank with a rubber mallet, the valve will unstick and accept fuel again for a short while.

NHTSA ODI 11484744

Aug 22, 2022Fuel System, Diesel

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that the fuel tank failed to accept fuel when refueling. The contact mentioned that the fuel pump clicked off when attempting to refuel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the turn-over valve failed however the year vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V142000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

NHTSA ODI 11480552

Aug 21, 2022

While I was removing groceries from my car the passenger seat active headrest system deployed. When I looked inside I could see broken pieces of plastic and knew that this was unable to be reset. Thankfully I was not driving the vehicle but would be terrified that something like that could happen while the car was in use resulting in a collision. I am now worried and suspicious that this could also happen to the drivers headrest system

NHTSA ODI 11480379

Jul 29, 2022Airbags

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the driver’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the driver’s side air bag was faulty and needed to be replaced. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 108,000.

NHTSA ODI 11476482

Jul 28, 2022Seats

The passenger headrest with the active restraint system popped open yesterday 7/27/22. This vehicle has not been in any accidents or any reason for it to open. When investigating, the plastic piece that holds the latch was broken. The safety concern is if it happens on the driver side while the driver is actually driving the car, it can cause injury to the driver as well as potential for car accidents to happen.

NHTSA ODI 11476248

Jul 16, 2022Engine

While traveling at approximately 45 mph the engine light came on my jeep decreased on speed and it wouldn’t go any faster than 30 mph. The engine started shaking/jerking then the engine light flashed on and off very quickly. Was able to Pull to the side of the road car completely stalled out just as I put it in park. This incident also occurred 2 weeks after having the catalytic converter replaced due to emissions recall and it was jerking. I had to have emit towed

NHTSA ODI 11474239

Jul 7, 2022Seats

Passenger head rest popped out hitting passenger while car was parked, active head rest deployed without cause or warning.

NHTSA ODI 11472659

Jun 13, 2022SuspensionBody & structure

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for routine maintenance, he was informed that the subframe was rusted. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 63,045.

NHTSA ODI 11468940

Apr 24, 2022Engine

My jeep has revved up and lunged forward scream times over the past 4 months. I’ll have my foot on the brake and it’s trying to lunge forward. Today the engine light came on and it wouldn’t go any faster than 30mph and it was jerking. I had to have emit towed.

NHTSA ODI 11461970

Apr 14, 2022Electrical systemBody & structureEngine

The Electronic Throttle Body has failed 3 times in 3 years. Each time it caused issued with the traction control, stability control, and precrash systems and others that require torque management, causing us to pull and making it unsafe to drive. . 2014 Jeep Patriot bought: 1/10/2015 | Electronic Throttle Body Assembly (Chrysler) first replaced/purchased: $385 1/19/2021 | Warranty replacement: August 2021 | purchased replacement (Techsmart/Standard Motor Products): $494.88 4/14/2022

NHTSA ODI 11460816

Mar 28, 2022Seats

The driver headrest inadvertently deployed - looks like the plastic clip inside broke

NHTSA ODI 11458661

Mar 6, 2022EngineFuel system

As my wife was heading to a doctor's appointment the electronic throttle body failed while she was on a busy highway during rush hour. The car had 51,524 miles on it. This is the second time that this part has failed. The first time was a little less than 40,000 miles. When this fails the vehicle loses power and becomes a rear-end collision hazard. I also own a 2016 Jeep Patriot and its throttle body failed at a little less than 40,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11455390

Jan 10, 2022Electrical systemLights

Vehicle occasionally makes a clicking sound in the dash by steering column. Only lasts few seconds. Happens when you either use key fob to unlock door (not even in vehicle yet) or when you start vehicle. Vehicle is usually not running when this happens. Also, several times my headlights came on for no reason the past few weeks draining the battery. Keys were hanging up in house when it happened!

NHTSA ODI 11446931

Jan 10, 2022Seats

Active head rest deployed while the car was sitting unattended and unoccupied in my work parking lot. Came out of work to drive home and found my driver's side head rest had deployed. No signs that the car was hit. No warning signs previous to this. Scary to think it could've happened while I was driving, especially after reading stories of people facing concussions. Taking it to a dealer tomorrow but otherwise no inspections yet.

NHTSA ODI 11446975

Dec 9, 2021Engine

My patriot keeps shutting down on and off while driving. It is really unsafe, I did some research and there are multiple complaints since 2014 from other people about the same problem. The steering wheel won't even move when this happened. I believe this is a manufacturing issue and I am reporting it. I had taken my car to the mechanic over and over again and they do not know why this is happening.

NHTSA ODI 11443291

Nov 11, 2021AirbagsSeats

The active head restraint on the passenger side spontaneously deployed while parked. There was no impact leading up to this event. The head restraint appears to have failed due to a faulty plastic clip that split in half. The head restraint is at the height of my passenger's head and, if they had been seated in the chair, the deployed headrest would have hit them at the base of the skull or delivered a blow to the left or right cheekbone and eye. I took the vehicle to my nearest Jeep dealership (Rhythm Jeep in Madison, TN) and they confirmed that the clip holding the release pin in place spontaneously failed. They documented the damage and ordered a new headrest which has not yet been fulfilled (a 9-month wait so far). There were no warning signals or any other indication that the head restraint would fail. Our concern is that the driver's side head restraint will also fail and cause the driver to crash the vehicle or suffer head and neck injury.

NHTSA ODI 11440110

Nov 1, 2021Airbags

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the passenger’s side headrest air bag exploded without warning striking the contact’s son on the back of the head. There was no injury sustained. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

NHTSA ODI 11438956

Sep 15, 2021Electrical systemLightsCrash

The "gate" light will come on and off and so will the all the lights in the vehicle and it will do it off and on. I am not paying to fix it. I never had a problem with it before and I've had this Jeep for almost a year. I was in a hit and run in August and my Jeep didn't do this until I got it back about a week afterwards.

NHTSA ODI 11433012

Aug 27, 2021Engine

I have a 2014 2.4L JEEP PATRIOT. I first noticed the problem when I was driving at 75 MPH between Mertzon Texas and Barnhart Texas, where there is no cell service unless you are on top of a hill. Then suddenly the check engine and the oil light came on and the vehicle began to lose speed no matter how much I pushed the gas peddle. The engine felt like it was running out of power and i was unable to accelerate, the engine began to stall and would not allow me to go over 15mph. The problem continued to get worse, while I pulled over and stopped, the engine would idle very heavily and sound rough. When I tried to proceed, the engine would stall, and my foot would be presing down on the gas pedalbut the car would not accelerate. Then after about a minute or the with the gas pedal down to the floor, the vehicle's rpms would jump and the it would go. But it continued the same pattern for about 15 miles, then it just died and would not start again for a few hours, but the issue was still the same, it would start but not move. Another issue is when the vehicle would be in park position and I would try to go in reverse, the engine would sound like it went into reverse, but it would not move, it would stall out and die. I have taken it to so many shops and they can not give an answer, they just say that the motor is blown. The problem is consistent with the NHS Recal-13V552000, so why does it still say that my vin in not affected when actually it is, but nothing is being done.

NHTSA ODI 11430786

Aug 21, 2021Engine

On 7/15, my sensor showed I needed a usual oil change. I have had no prior issues with my oil. I drove it to my brothers and there was a loud knocking sound, and my dad checked the dipstick showing zero oil in my engine. I took it down the street about 2 miles, and the engine was stalling the whole way. The engine completely failed. It wouldn’t take oil, it was completely failed. As of 11/2013, I did some research and my particular model of the vehicle has an open recall that apparently doesn’t affect my VIN, however, the recall 13v552000/N52 states that abrasive debri in the balance shaft bearing causes loss of engine oil pressure, causing the engine to stall and or fail. I’m at a loss, and it’s been open as of 11/2013.

NHTSA ODI 11429997

Jun 16, 2021Equipment

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot with Champion Spark plugs (Part Number: 318) installed in the vehicle. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, there was a loud sound coming from the engine before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. the contact was informed that the spark plug had imploded and damaged the engine. The contact indicated that the spark plugs were installed approximately 9 month prior to the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

NHTSA ODI 11421132

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Working with the data? Download all 548 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 2014 Jeep Patriot verdict →