2012 Jeep Patriot Common Problems & Recalls: Here's What You Need To Know
The first commercially available Jeep was the CJ2A, which evolved from the light troop and gear carrier built by Willys Overland for the U.S. Army during World War II. The Jeep brand has changed hands several times since then, and since 1987 has been the property of Chrysler, which joined with the Peugeot group to form Stellantis a few years ago. The Jeep lineup is headlined by the Wrangler, which is now in its fourth generation. In recent years, though, Jeep has expanded its offerings to include a range of more traditional SUVs in various sizes and degrees of trail-readiness. The Jeep Patriot was one model that debuted in 2007 alongside the Compass, but the two had significant differences.
The Compass was smaller and handled more like a car or crossover, while the Patriot was designed to handle off-road duties along with grocery runs. It had a full nine inches of ground clearance, which was even two-tenths of an inch more than that year's Jeep Wrangler. The Patriot's one and only generation lasted through 2014, but late in the production run, the model was susceptible to some significant issues. Let's take a look at the 2012 model in particular and highlight some well-documented problems with that year's Jeep Patriot.
There were four safety-related recalls
The 2012 Jeep Patriot was the subject of four National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recalls, and all four could potentially impact driver and passenger safety. Owners could unintentionally disable the air bags and seat belt tensioners, putting occupants at greater risk of injury in a crash. A software issue caused delayed deployment of side curtain air bags, and a faulty rollover fuel shutoff valve could leak and cause a fire in the event of a collision. There was also an issue with the fuel transfer tube that could impede fuel delivery, causing an unexpected stall.
The NHTSA also launched an investigation of the 2012 Jeep Patriot's Takata brand airbag inflators, which could rupture during airbag deployment — sending fragments of the inflators toward the occupants at high speed. The Takata inflator issue has affected millions of vehicles over the years, and made news again in 2022 when the driver of a 2006 Ford Ranger was killed by debris from a ruptured Takata inflator.
Owners have reported transmission problems
Problems with the 2012 Jeep Patriot haven't been limited to safety-related recalls. RepairPal has logged almost 900 complaints from owners for issues with the Constant Variable Transmission (CVT) alone. Many of them reported whining or grinding noises, and several experienced loss of power when driving. Dealership service departments were often unable to replicate or properly diagnose the problem, and many owners ended up having their CVTs replaced.
Other common issues with the 2012 Patriot include failure of the Security Key Remote Entry Module (SKREEM), which rendered the vehicle temporarily immobile. Close to 150 owners also reported roof leaks on RepairPal, and other issues cited frequently by owners include a blocked coolant passage in the thermostat housing, vibration from the front end during braking, and a noisy air conditioner compressor. JD Power gives the 2012 Jeep Patriot an overall rating of 79 out of 100, and a 78 out of 100 for quality and reliability. Just exercise some caution if you're buying any high mileage used models of the Patriot, and make sure recall fixes have been performed.