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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)

51 of 548 complaints match · Electronic Stability Control (esc) · clear filters · page 3 of 3

Aug 19, 2013Transmission & drivetrainElectronic Stability Control (esc)

ON WELL TRAVELED MINING ROADS IN 4WD, WHEN ONE TIRE SLIPS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT EVEN PULL ITS OWN WEIGHT AND THE ENGINE WOULD NOT REV OVER 2,000 RPM. I BACK UP, PUT THE VEHICLE IN 4X4 LOW AND IF ANY WHEEL SLIPS, IT WOULD STOP AT 2,000 RPM AGAIN. ALL I CAN DO IS BACK DOWN A DANGEROUS ROAD AND TRY TO FIND A SPOT WHERE I CAN TURN AROUND. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES, BEEN TO 2 DEALERS IN 2 STATES 4 TIMES. THE VEHICLE STRANDED ME ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS DOING THE SAME THING IN DANGEROUS AREA WITH CLIFFS OR STEEP DROP OFFS TO RIVERS AND ROCK OUT CROPS ON ONE SIDE. CHRYSLER HQ SAID THEY WILL NOT WORK ON MY VEHICLE ANYMORE AND THAT THE TRUCK IS PERFORMING AS DESIGNED! DESIGNED TO STRAND SOMEONE ON A WELL TRAVELED MINING ROAD THE OTHER PICKUPS CAN GET TO WITHOUT 4X4? I BOUGHT THIS 4X4 WITH THE OFF ROAD TRAIL RATED PACKAGE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE SELLING DEALER SAID I NEEDED FOR MINING. IT HAS NOT BEEN OFF ROAD. I CAN'T EVEN GET TO WHERE I WORK AND THIS VEHICLE HAS EVEN FAILED ON VERY SMALL HILLS WITH DEALERSHIP PERSONNEL IN THE VEHICLE. ANOTHER DEALER TEST DROVE IT, FAILED AND WOULDN'T GO OVER 2,300 RPM. THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. THEY DUPLICATED THE PROBLEM IN 4X4 DRIVE, 4X4 LOW, WITH AND WITHOUT TRACTION CONTROL. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE VEHICLE WILL NOT PULL ITS OWN WEIGHT AND NO WHEELS ARE EVEN SPINNING. VERY DANGEROUS DESIGN AND CAN'T EVEN GET TO MY JOB! WHEN I HAVE TO BACK DOWN BECAUSE IT WILL NOT GO FORWARD I HAVE TO MAKE SURE IT'S A PLACE PERPENDICULAR TO THE SLOPE OF THE INCLINE OR YOU ARE STUCK DIAGONAL TO THE ROAD AND THE VEHICLE WILL NOT GO FORWARD AND THERE IS NO MORE ROOM TO BACK UP WITHOUT GOING OFF A CLIFF, FALLING INTO A RIVER OR SLIDING INTO A CANYON. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10536144

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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 →