Common Problems with the
2007 Jeep Patriot

The Patriot's manual gearbox can suffer clutch slip, particularly on diesel examples used for towing. Practical Caravan advises finding a hill and driving up it in a high gear — if the engine revs rise without the car accelerating, the clutch is slipping. RAC prices a clutch assembly at around £300 for a 2009 Patriot 2.0 CRD Sport. A slipping clutch left unattended can damage the flywheel, raising the bill further, and towing aggravates the wear.

The Patriot's alloy wheels are prone to corrosion and lacquer failure. Practical Caravan reports the lacquer coating is not high quality and water gets underneath, which is unsightly and costs at least £250 to refinish a full set. RAC warns the wheels are easy to scratch during enthusiastic off-roading and that excessive wheel damage should act as a warning of the car's history. While cosmetic rather than structural, corroded wheels are a common and visible issue on UK Patriots and add to the cost of putting a used example right.

The Patriot's interior is built to a low cost, and its electrical switches and air conditioning are a recurring source of niggle. Practical Caravan warns that air-conditioning failures seem quite common and tells buyers to check everything electrical: windows, central locking and anything else with a switch. Parkers describes the cabin as poor quality with cheap plastics and flimsy switches. A switch that sticks, works only intermittently or fails entirely, and an air conditioner that blows warm, are cheap to put right individually but add up on a low-value used car. Test every switch and the air conditioning during the viewing before handing over money.