What breaks most · 2002 to 2017 model years
Jeep Patriot problems by year
Owners have filed 2,785 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Jeep Patriot across model years 2002 to 2017. Three years stand out: 2014 for engine complaints, 2016 for engine complaints and 2012 for engine complaints. The quietest years are 2002, 2007 and 2013.
- Years to check closely: 2014, 2016, 2012
- Fewest complaints: 2002, 2007, 2013
- Complaints on file
- 27852002 to 2017, all trims
- Worst year
- 2014548 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 12240 fires · 123 injuries · 6 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 62kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 16Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Air bags (2) | |
| 94 | 1 | 0 | Fuel system (57) | |
| 184 | 1 | 0 | Body and structure (44) | |
| 191 | 3 | 1 | Body and structure (48) | |
| 136 | 7 | 2 | Fuel system (31) | |
| 325 | 20 | 4 | Engine (66) | |
| 354 | 9 | 4 | Engine (114) | |
| 120 | 5 | 1 | Air bags (33) | |
| 548 | 31 | 2 | Engine (156) | |
| 313 | 14 | 1 | Engine (103) | |
| 458 | 24 | 1 | Engine (224) | |
| 59 | 7 | 0 | Unknown or other (15) |
What fails on the 2014 Jeep Patriot
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 28% |
156 | 3 | Shop engine parts for the 2014 Jeep Patriot |
| Air bags | 27% |
149 | 20 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Seat belts | 19% |
104 | 8 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 16% |
89 | 4 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2014 Jeep Patriot |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 13% |
70 | 2 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Unknown or other | 11% |
63 | 3 | — |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 11% |
60 | 3 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2014 Jeep Patriot |
| Stability controlABS and wheel speed sensors | 9% |
51 | 1 | Shop stability control parts for the 2014 Jeep Patriot |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
My engine light and traction light and red lightning bolt light is on and it’s making the vehicle run really hard and shake and almost stall out and won’t go over 20 miles per hour
-
Vehicle stalls when idle at stop signs or stop lights. When restarted while driving engine stops running. Idling is sporadic.
-
The exhaust manifold has multiple cracks on it and some are around actual welds. This caused a permanent catalyst failure. It caused a loss in power and the vehicle would surge at times during acceleration.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Jeep Patriot years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2014, 2016, 2012 carry the most filings on the Jeep Patriot. The 2014 alone has 548 complaints, led by engine.
What is the most common Jeep Patriot problem?
On the 2014 model year, the most-reported component is engine with 156 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Jeep Patriot problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Jeep Patriot complaints that include mileage is about 62,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.