1.8

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
91,857 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2008 Jeep Patriot engine problems

engine problem

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2008 Jeep Patriot Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #30

Jul 192023

Patriot

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car stalls after fill up. NUMEROUS online Jeep forums have noted this issue for years. There seems to be an issue with the -??vapor canister-??. Recall was apparently issued for 2011 model - but not older models. It is intermittent yet consistent problem over past few months. Please note that an Engine stall leaves steering wheel LOCKED and unable to maneuver car for a period until can restart. Can leave driver on a VERY DANGEROUS situation traveling at speed !

- San Francisco , CA, USA

problem #29

May 072022

Patriot

  • miles
UNKNOWN After I fill up on gas at different stations I had the car sputter and die after filling up til the nozzle stopped itself went to go start the car the first time it happened I got maybe half a mile down the road and stopped at a light and the car died. The second time I was at another gas station and I forgot to shut the car off because it was freezing cold felt like a negative 10 I went to go leave and thought oh crap let me shut it off for a second so the gas would register faster of what I had then if I left it on. I went to go drive away then and the car wouldn-??t move I thought great what could it be well I looked down and I wasn-??t -??on-?? so I restarted the car and I could tell the car started and I sat for a few and it died. I waited a few seconds and started it again and sat for a few and then was able to go about my business. The third time I filled up and didn't think anything of it because it had been awhile since it happened but I pulled out on the street and it was at a T intersection and I was coming up and to the left well when I turned I died and the light had changed to green I was barely able to make it into the turn lane from when I coasted I shut it off and turned it back on again and we were good. Well this is what happened last night I went to the gas station filled up and sat there for a second and went to start car and it died I wait a few did it again it died. I did this like 4-5 times and I wasn't far from home so I said let's just hurry up and get home. So I got it started and I was pushing the gas as little to keep it from dying and it made it about a mile down the road and acted like it was about to shut off. I made it home sat in the driveway for about 20 mins and it acted fine.

- Portage, IN, USA

problem #28

Jan 012012

Patriot

  • 55,000 miles
Car stalls within the first minute or so of driving after filling gas tank to shutoff. When the engine dies, so does the power steering, creating a very dangerous situation. Happens consistently. Began several years ago but I lived with it by not filling tank to full. Now my son drives the car, and I am concerned that it may happen when he is driving and cause an accident. This is very dangerous. Many people have complained about it, and NHTSA must do something about it and hold chryslter/Jeep responsible

- Newberry, FL, USA

problem #27

Jan 012021

Patriot

  • 178,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Every time I refill my tank with fuel, the first several minutes of driving the engine will hesitate and almost stall (or will stall if driving at slow speeds). While stopped in idle, engine will completely stall. Once some fuel is burned, the engine will no longer stall. This issue has been ongoing for years.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #26

Oct 072020

Patriot

  • 112,000 miles
When the gas tank is full the service lights come on engine stalls out about half a mile down the road. The steering wheel locks up when the engine goes out so you cant even coast over to the side of the road.

- Webberville, MI, USA

problem #25

Jun 012013

Patriot

  • 30,000 miles
This issue started a few years ago when our 2008 Jeep Patriot was approximately 5 years old. Almost every time we fill the tank with gas, immediately to within the first couple of hours the car will shudder and stall, then it has a hard time restarting. We have had the vapor purge valve and canister changed 3 times which seemed to fix it the first 2 times, but only temporarily. This has been quite disturbing since it has stalled in traffic, usually when coming to a stop at a light or to make a turn, but a couple of times it stalled while driving home from the gas station. It is usually ok after sitting over night, but it has had the same issue the following day a few times. None of the dealerships or repair shops that we have talked to seem to have any idea what the issue could be. I have found that not topping off the tank fully, the issue seems to occur much less often, but the fear of it stalling while driving is constant, and is still a major issue to this day.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #24

Oct 282019

Patriot

  • 160,570 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After filling up my gas tank this morning, my car sputtered and stalled in the middle of an intersection immediately after I left gas station. I was yielding to turn left to enter the northbound lanes of I-69. I have had this issue for quite awhile now and my mechanic hasn't been able to find an issue since it only happens when I fill up the gas tank. I decided this morning to look for other Jeep owners with the same problem and found a forum that dates back to over 3 years ago with people having the same problem. Apparently, their findings have led to the gas tank needing to be replaced in part to a faulty part that sits on/in the gas tank. In the past, I've had to time traffic lights in order to make it through without stalling but obviously that didn't work today. Typically, this is only an issue when I'm driving at slower speeds or in stop/go traffic. Also, the steering wheel locks up and is very hard to turn to get out of the way of traffic. Often times, the Jeep doesn't start right away. You have to rev the engine and then put in drive quickly and take off or it stalls again. In the forum, several people have tried to replace parts for quick fixes without any success. This should obviously be something the car makers should fix without passing the cost along to the owner.

- Martinsville, IN, USA

problem #23

Sep 072019

Patriot

  • 140,000 miles
I'm able to put my 2008 Jeep Patriot in gears bit when I put it into drive my veichle won't move forward. Before this happens my thermostat transmission O2 heat sensor came on and was difficult to gain speed. I would have to pull over and shut my Jeep off and let it cool off before starring it back and was fine after the sensor went off.

- Fitchburg, MA, USA

problem #22

Jun 202019

Patriot

  • miles
My complaint is that a week later after we bought the vehicle the check engine light came on. We went to a mechanic to read us the signs and has so many issues wrong with it and the miles are low on the vehicle but really high on history. Water comes inside my vehicle making it flood. Also when we drive we try to accelerate and the speed stays at 20mph and makes ticking noise. This is not safe especially when I'm with my kids. I try switching lanes and it takes time to switch lanes or make turn because of how slow the acceleration is.

- Burbank, IL, USA

problem #21

Apr 152019

Patriot 4-cyl

  • 80,107 miles
Brief summary: I purchased the 2008 Patriot in 2014 with 70K miles. First occurance of vehicle stalling and shutting off occured in 2015 with 80K miles; when the throttle body light/ esp began flashing and sputtered a few seconds before it shut off while in motion. The vehicle restarted with in 10 minutes. I had the throttle body and gasket repaired. Since then there has been other random occasions of stalling where the throttle light/ esp and engine light flashes precedding a stall. Now 2018-19 (107K miles) I went in for diagnosis because my car stalled agin this time was in busy traffic and throttle light, esp lights, engine light came on before the engine shut off. I have been advised that there is a crankshaft issue that causes the engine light to come on and stall the vehicle intermittently. I had crankshaft replaced the spark plugs changed, the throttle body cleaned and the electical harnesses serviced to yet have the same issue occur when the vehicle stalled 24 hrs after repairs. The engine, throttlebody and esp lights came on again with in 24 hours before shutting off in the middle of a busy intersection of traffic. I am now having a 3rd independent mechanic look into the issue and see if there is anything else that could be causing the intermittent stalling. I spoke with Jeep customer care and they stated that my particular VIN doesn't have a recall although other Patriots of the same class have had same occurence and recall yet there is nothing that they can do for me in this case to address the safety issue or repairs since I am out of warranty. I strongly reccommend that the dot investigate this matter and require Jeep to either recall the vehicle or require Jeep to repair these vehicles to safe performance on the roads and/or refund me the purchase price as I am still in contract paying for a non functional risky vehicle.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #20

Mar 162019

Patriot

  • 108,400 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Just bought used Jeep 2 days ago, filled tank up with gas, pulled out onto highway, stalled out and Jeep died, almost hit by on coming vehicle, thankfully she had enough time to stop and give me the finger. Sat there for a few minutes with hazards on, cursing my luck as I've only had this Jeep for 5 hours and had to be in work in 20 min. Prayed and started the Jeep right up and on to work. Coming home same night decided to take on interstate to see how it would do at 65-70 mph and holy moly the steering wheel was vibrating like one of the massage chairs in the mall. Come to find out on forums that Jeep owners are aware of the gas issue (dealer doesn't know or neglected to tell us) as we are first time Jeep owners. The vibrating steering wheel --- well that seems to be a known issue too, but our VIN doesn't seem to be on the recall list even though I live in pa and fall into the covered years. I am bringing car back to dealership I purchased from to have them correct the issues. We have a 30day 1000 mile warranty. Lets see how much of a fuss I have to make over this. Filling gas tank and stalling out on highway I'd say that is a safety issue. Vibrating steering wheel could fall under the X69 extended warranty---will know more on Monday.

- Pocono Summit, PA, USA

problem #19

Aug 012018

Patriot

  • 118,000 miles
My vehicle stalls every time after a gas fill up and has been happening every single time for about a year. The wheel locks and the car cuts off in the middle of the road. This is an extremely dangerous problem and happens 100% of the time after I put gas in my car. I did research and it is clear that this is a common problem (see attached link) and there is no solution for it except for a new tank. I do not think it's right to not recall this. It is expensive and not all of us can afford to fix it or buy a new car thus putting our lives and innocent drivers' lives in danger. Please recall this. Jeeps are incredible cars that last 200K+ miles and I'd hate for this problem to seriously harm anyone. Https://www.cargurus.com/cars/discussion-T29898_ds631498

- Trumbull, CT, USA

problem #18

Jun 192018

Patriot

  • 112,401 miles
After filling up the gas tank the vehicle jerks wildly, several times the vehicle has shut off in the middle of the highway and almost caused a wreck, I am terrified I'll end up causing an accident or possibly killing someone. The issue my mechanic said is in the vapor/fuel separator valve that goes to the charcoal box.

- Monessen, PA, USA

problem #17

Jun 072018

Patriot

  • 85,000 miles
Anytime I fill my gas tank completely, the engine stalls while I am driving, within less than a mile from the gas station. Steering wheel locks and I have to turn off the car, wait 10-20 seconds, then restart the car in order to continue driving.

- Holbrook, MA, USA

problem #16

May 162018

Patriot

  • 136,568 miles
After filling my tank, everytime I leave the gas station the engine sputters and will stall. Luckily I'm able to sometimes get over on to the side of the road before being in an accident. This is very dangerous. During the winter months when it is cold outside, I am only able to put in a few cents at a time. It can take over 20 minutes to slowly fill up the gas tank. Max it will fill is a few cents at a time before you have to release the handle and then press it ever so lightly to fill up the next part. The engine will often sputter as it feels like it is going to quit running as I'm driving down the highway or interstate similar to what happens after you fill up your tank. The va the only time the Jeep is stationary is when I'm filling it up or after it dies after a fuel philip. The vehicle is always in motion either in the city highway city road when it kills after filling up. When it sputters and pills after filling up you are unable to use your wheel as it locks up, very dangerous. My life and my family's life is at risk.

- Slayton, MN, USA

problem #15

Apr 192017

Patriot

  • 148,000 miles
After filling gas tank at any gas station, the vehicle starts and drives approximately 100 to 200 feet and stalls. This is normally in traffic while starting out at an inter-section. This happens every time I fill up with gas.

- Fontana, CA, USA

problem #14

Apr 032016

Patriot

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Patriot. The contact stated that the air conditioner leaked onto the engine cradle and caused severe corrosion. The dealer where it was confirmed that the air conditioner discharge on the engine cradle caused the corrosion, and the engine panel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

- Rome, NY, USA

problem #13

Aug 242016

Patriot

  • 126,000 miles
Summary: While driving my car will still in the engine dies the car lots of Iowa city it doesn't matter where you're going after you put gas in the car he usually doesn't start but now it has started not letting you fill up with gas at stopping the fuel pump like your tank is full and it didn't put any gas in it but it's very dangerous and scary when you're driving down the road and your engine shuts off in the car stalls and locks up. The traction control will come on and it's an able to be turned off after it locks up and stalls and shuts off while you're driving it any speed it doesn't restart request research help very scary it's going to lead to something horrible happening this problem cannot get fixed

- Cedarville, OH, USA

problem #12

Jun 282016

Patriot

  • 108,000 miles
My vehicle was in motion in a 45 mph zone when, twice today, the brakes on my 2008 Jeep Patriot sank to the floor and braking was significantly reduced. I didn't even have to pump the brakes to get them to regain pressure after letting off the pedal; brakes worked on second attempt. Later down the road the failure occurred a second time. When I attempted to pump the brakes to build pressure, it was unnecessary... the brakes worked on second attempt. My vehicle did not display any warning indicators at the time of the failure; neither the brake like, ABS light, or any other lamp on the dash was illuminated when the brakes failed. Usually in the rain, my Patriot suffers from a stuttering and stalling issue that is reported by many Jeep Patriot owners, and has not been solved due to the irregularity of the problem. A direct cause for the issue is unknown and cannot be identified by the dealership or my regular mechanic.

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #11

Jun 172016

Patriot

  • 94,000 miles
The vehicle was driven to a gas station and was filled up with gas. The fuel was not "topped off" and fueling was stopped when the fuel nozzle shut off. Upon leaving the gas station and driving less than 1/4 mile, the engine stalled and shut off while the vehicle was in drive and driving on the highway. The vehicle would not start for approximately 5 minutes. The vehicle was able to drive after this.

- Matthews, NC, USA

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