What 548 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Jeep Patriot

The vehicle was parked in front of my house, completely away from all traffic or other probable causes. The driver's side head rest deployed for no apparent reason. My vehicle had no scratches or dents. If you need to come see it, let me know. Now if I do have an accident, I'm at risk of head and neck injuries. I spoke to a certified Jeep dealership mechanic that told me replacement parts were no longer available. He did not inform me of any recalls or issues with this make and model and made it sound like an expensive repair. After looking this issue up on the internet, it seems to have happened to others. The deployment did not activate the airbags or turn on the warning light on my dash.

NHTSA ODI 11719225

The headrest exploded while I was driving down the road, and it hit me in the back of the head

NHTSA ODI 11671274

The head rest on the drivers seat and the passenger seat deployed while parked. There was a broken piece of plastic on the seat that looks like it broke off sometime during the day while the car was parked at work. They did not happen at the same time. The passenger seat happened about a year ago but no one usually sits in that seat.

NHTSA ODI 11609240

On July 25, 2024 the front passenger headrest randomly deployed while the vehicle was parked. I was seated in that seat when it happened. Because I was leaning to the side I was not injured. Today, July 26, 2024, I brought the vehicle in to a Jeep service center to confirm that is what happened, it was confirmed that this is a problem.

NHTSA ODI 11604738

Head restraint on passenger side deployed while not car. There was no collision. The car was parked in my drive. Chrysler avoids responsibility. My car has under 64,000 miles. It could have hurt a passenger if I was traveling. There should have been a recall. There are class suits on the problem with Chrysler vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11557575

The contact owns a 2014 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side headrest unintendedly deployed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed and determined that the headrest needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact had not received a callback. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA ODI 11557583

On 5-19-23, while driving slowly in a residential neighborhood, (without any warning or prior incidence) my driver side headrest suddenly popped open hitting the back of my head. There is now an approximately three inch gap or opening at top of headrest. I was the sole occupant in the vehicle. I continued driving without incident. Additionally, I was wearing my seatbelt at the time. I plan to visit my dealership Monday to question why this occurred and to gather information about repairing the headrest (or closing it back up, if that is the solution).

NHTSA ODI 11523044

The headrest of the driver deployed on its own without a coalition and some inside plastic parts were chattered. The headrest isn’t working anymore to be reset.

NHTSA ODI 11521250

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

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

NHTSA ODI 11489053

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

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

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

NHTSA ODI 11472659

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

NHTSA ODI 11458661

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

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

Customer Report: Initial report from customer to GSA Field Service Rep on May 18, 2021. Active head restraint deployed not due to accident. Per customer: "One employee was injured and filed a workers comp due to the head restraint inadvertently deploying." Note: Stellantis and its Special Investigations unit are involved. Consumer stated manufacture has been contacted.

NHTSA ODI 11419500

I WAS SITTING IN MY CAR GETTING READY TO LEAVE A PARKING SPACE I BACKED OUT AND THEN I HEARD A POP I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM I LOOKED AROUND THE VEHICLE I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING ONCE I GOT BACK INTO THE VEHICLE I NOTICED THAT MY HEADREST HAD POPPED OUT I WAS NOT HIT BY ANYTHING IT JUST POPPED OUT

NHTSA ODI 11408642

PASSENGER SEAT ACTIVE HEAD HEADREST (AHR) DEPLOYED ON ITS OWN WITHOUT ANY ACCIDENT. PLASTIC 'PIN' THAT HOLDS SPRINGS SNAPPED OFF. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, UNOCCUPIED AND PARKED IN DRIVEWAY WHEN DEPLOYED. SOUND COULD BE HEARD OUTSIDE CAR ALERTING ME TO THE DEPLOYMENT.

NHTSA ODI 11399525

THE DRIVER SEAT HEADREST DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING OR CAUSE. THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY OVERNIGHT, NO CAR OR OBJECT HIT THE CAR. WHEN I GOT IN THE CAR AND PUT IT IN REVERSE I NOTICED THE HEADREST HAD BEEN DEPLOYED. IT WAS POSSIBLE IT HAPPENED OVER NIGHT OR AS THE CAR WAS STATIONARY AND PUT IN REVERSE. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND IS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM ONLINE. THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THIS AND THIS WILL APPARENTLY COST ME $800 OR MORE TO REPAIR, OR I CAN DRIVE AROUND WITH NO HEAD REST.

NHTSA ODI 11395974

BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER HEAD REST BUST OPEN WHILE DRIVING - ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT

NHTSA ODI 11386618

THE ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT (AHR) IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SELF-DEPLOYED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED (ENGINE WAS OFF) IN THE DRIVEWAY -NO COLLISION OR EXTERNAL ACTION INVOLVED. THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WAS UNOCCUPIED WHEN THE AHR WAS ACTIVATED. IT APPEARED THAT TWO PLASTIC TABS POSSIBLY USED TO SECURE THE DEVICE IN POSITION HAD SHEARED OFF. AS A RESULT, THE AHR COULD NOT BE PLACED BACK IN ITS ORIGINAL POSITION.

NHTSA ODI 11377622

THE PASSENGER HEAD REST POPPED PUT WHILE BEING PARKED IN THE DRIVE WAY. IVE SEEN MANY COMPLAINTS ON LINE AND NO RECALLS FOR IT. BUT APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH THE PLASTIC PIN BREAKING INSIDE OF THE HEAD REST AND IT DEPLOYING WITH OUT ANY IMPACT. NO ONE WAS SITTING THERE THANKFULLY OTHERWISE THEY WOULDA GOT WHACKED BY IT.

NHTSA ODI 11374103

PASSENGER FRONT ACTIVE RESTRAINT HEADREST DEPLOYED UNEXPECTEDLY WHEN PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. THIS WAS DUE TO A BROKEN PLASTIC PIN RETAINING PIECE IN HEADREST. DEFECTIVE HEADREST DEPLOYED CAUSING PASSENGER TO BE STRUCK IN BACK OF HEAD WHILE PARKED, NO ACCIDENT OCCURED.

NHTSA ODI 11354789

AFTER BEING PARKED FOR THREE OR FOUR DAYS, I ENTERED THE VEHICLE AND IMMEDIATELY THE DRIVER'S SEAT AND HEADREST FELT WRONG. WAS NOT DRIVING YET. JUST SITTING IN SEAT. A QUICK INSPECTION SHOWED THAT THE DRIVER'S HEADREST HAD SPONTANEOUSLY ACTIVATED WHILE PARKED, LEAVING IT SPLIT IN TWO PIECES. THE VEHICLE, OF COURSE, IS FIVE YEARS AND ONE MONTH OLD, SO OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS WILL BE AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR OF THIS MANDATORY SAFETY EQUIPMENT THAT IS DEFECTIVE. ALSO DANGEROUS IF IT HAD DEPLOYED WHILE DRIVING OR SITTING IN SEAT. SHOULDN'T THIS BE SUBJECT TO AN INVESTIGATION AND POSSIBLE RECALL?

NHTSA ODI 11244463