5 Best And Worst Years For The Jeep Patriot

The Jeep Patriot came to the market in 2007 and received quite a lot of attention because of its small form factor as an SUV.

The Patriot is among some of the smaller SUVs available on the market. In this sense, this vehicle is comparable to the Jeep Compass and the Dodge Caliber.

Over the next decade, as Jeep released newer models of the vehicle, the Jeep Patriot saw a lot of problems and faced quite a bit of backlash in the form of complaints.

This ultimately led to the discontinuation of the vehicle in 2017.

However, not everything was always bad with this SUV, so I will be ranking year models, which I think are some of the best and the worst years for Jeep Patriot.

Best Years for Jeep Patriot:

1. 2017
2. 2007
3. 2013
4. 2016
5. 2010

Worst Years for Jeep Patriot:

1. 2008
2. 2015
3. 2014
4. 2009
5. 2011

Along with these ratings, I have also discussed some of the common problems this vehicle faces, so be sure to read the article completely.

List Of The Best Years For The Jeep Patriot: What Years To Buy

Among the few models released for the Jeep Patriot, some were quite good.

Here are those year models below:

#1 Best Year: 2017 Jeep Patriot

The best model for the Jeep Patriot is ironically the last model to release for this model, as after this 2017 model, the Jeep Patriot would be discontinued.

This is sad because this model made it look like the vehicle would be saved, but Jeep had already made its decision.

Anyways, coming to why I have placed this model on top of the list of best years for Jeep Patriot.

First of all, this model, like pretty much all other models, had a very attractive price tag. This model even came with optional flip-down tailgate speakers.

The interior for this model saw some improvements as well. However, you still should not expect anything super luxurious because this is not the vehicle.

And lastly, this model did not face any major problems and had a very small number of complaints about otherwise unrelated issues.

This helped solidify the 2017 Jeep Patriot as the best one on this list.

#2 Best Year: 2007 Jeep Patriot

Missing out on the debut year of the Jeep Patriot would be a disservice to it. Jeep released the first model of the Jeep Patriot in 2007 as a very budget-friendly mini SUV.

Though not being able to beat its competitors in terms of luxury and comfort, the vehicle was still among the cheapest mini SUVs on the market and grabbed a lot of attention from buyers.

This model came with some really good handling on the road and was not very loud when it came to engine noise.

Given the price of this vehicle, this model had some really good off-road capabilities as well.

So, overall, the debut model in 2007 was a great start for the Jeep Patriot and deserved 2nd place on this list.

#3 Best Year: 2013 Jeep Patriot

Coming on number three on this list is the 2013 model of the Jeep Patriot. This model is an interesting one because this came in three separate trims.

This model had the sport, latitude, and limited edition trims available. The limited variant of this model comes with rear disk brakes as well.

Another optional safety feature with this model throughout all the other variants is the front side airbags.

These, plus the standard airbags that come with every variant, make the unfortunate accident situations quite safe.

This model is not higher on this list because the legroom for the back seats is not good. You might find yourself feeling uncomfortable on long trips.

#4 Best Year: 2016 Jeep Patriot

Next up is the Jeep Patriot’s 2016 model. This model is placed in fourth place because of the major change made to the variants of the vehicle with this model.

This model was released with only two trims instead of three trims. The Limited variant was discontinued this model leaving behind just the Spots and the Latitude variant.

This might seem like a bad thing. However, the options specific to the limited trim were now available on the other two variants.

These optional features include features like a rearview camera for both variants.

This model also had a sports SE package, allowing for some more add-ons for the vehicle, thereby enhancing the vehicle even further.

#5 Best Year: 2010 Jeep Patriot

Lastly, the 2010 model of the Jeep Patriot will be making this list.

This model comes last place in this list because there is nothing particularly interesting about this model other than the fact that it fixed a lot of the major problems introduced in its two predecessor models, the 2008 and 2009 models of the Jeep Patriot.

I say this because this model had a significantly lower number of complaints compared to those two.

Other than that, this model had a relatively nice fuel economy, which is rare among the Jeep Patriot models.

Safety features like anti-lock disk brakes, whiplash-reducing head restraints, and traction control were made standard in this model.

List Of The Worst Years For The Jeep Patriot: What Years To Avoid

Within a short period, this vehicle’s new models became very problematic.

Here are those years below:

#1 Worst Year: 2008 Jeep Patriot

Coming on top of this Worst Years list is the second model, right after this vehicle’s debut.

After garnering a lot of positive feedback from the 2007 model, Jeep seems to have gone lax and left a lot more slide with the 2008 model of the Jeep Patriot.

This is evident from the myriad of problems that this vehicle faced. This model is the one that faces the most number of complaints out of the few models that were released for this vehicle.

I honestly cannot be more disappointed in a vehicle than I am with this.

With the lack of variants or trims for this vehicle, the focus was entirely on the one available vehicle, and it did not lead to a good impression when the problems started to show up.

These problems included windshields and windows, body and paint, fuel system, transmission, suspension, engine, and even electrical problems.

#2 Worst Year: 2015 Jeep Patriot

Taking second place on this list is the 2015 model of the Jeep Patriot.

This model was placed right after the 2008 model because although it did not have as many problems as the 2008 model, the problems there were quite severe.

The main problem faced by this model was its issues with the body and paint of the vehicle.

Specifically, the problem was the sealing of the vehicle. There were widespread reports of water leaking into the vehicle’s interior due to rain.

This damaged the interior of the vehicle and caused a lot of noise, even without rain, when driving at high speeds.

The main reason I think caused this was that there was some mismanagement when it came to the design sizes of the vehicle, which were not caught until it was too late.

#3 Worst Year: 2014 Jeep Patriot

Coming up on number three, right after its successor, is the 2014 model of the Jeep Patriot.

This model comes after the 2015 model in this list because it did not have the major problem of water leakage into the vehicle’s interior, as widespread as the 2015 model did.

However, that does not save this model because this model had more complaints overall regarding other issues.

In terms of the body and paint issues, the aforementioned interior water leakage problem was present to some extent.

Other than that, some users complained that the vehicle’s doors were out of alignment. There were also issues regarding the engine and the vehicle’s electrical components.

#4 Worst Year: 2009 Jeep Patriot

The 2009 model of the Jeep Patriot comes in fourth place on this list.

Although with this model, there were more complaints regarding the transmission and the brakes of the vehicle, there were a few complaints regarding the vehicle’s sunroof leaking in the rain.

This is because the major problem that would plague this vehicle till the end started small here with this model. This problem was the leakage above of water into the vehicle’s interior.

The most common complaint when it came to the vehicle’s transmission was the high-pitched whine that came from the transmission system of the vehicle.

These complaints were linked to the problems of the transmission overheating or slipping on occasion.

#5 Worst Year: 2011 Jeep Patriot

Finally, you get the Jeep Patriot’s 2011 model in last place. Among the other “worst years” on this list, this model had the smallest number of complaints.

However, the problems that these complaints were about were quite severe, so I had to include this model in this list.

First of all, this model saw a lot of problems with the vehicle’s engine.

These problems included difficulty in starting, the engine stalling or randomly dying while driving, or the engine cutting off while turning.

Other than that, this model also had some complaints regarding the transmission of the vehicle.

The transmission tends to overheat and also slip from time to time. There were some reports of problems regarding the suspension of the vehicle.

What Are The Most Common Problems With The Jeep Patriot?

That time has not been kind to the Jeep Patriot. This vehicle has faced many different issues, ranging from small annoyances to some very serious problems.

All these slowly built up to the point that Jeep discontinued the vehicle. Here are some of the most common problems below:

1. Water Leaking Into The Vehicle’s Interior

This is a problem that has been present from the beginning when it comes to this vehicle.

The problem was most likely related to engineering oversight, so the windshield and sunroof seals do not work very well.

Other than that, the interior is made of quite poor material, which is why this problem can cause major damage to the interior in a very short amount of time.

2. Engine Stalling With Air Conditioning

The engine would stall when the air conditioning was on most of the time. This was prevalent for a few consecutive years before it was properly addressed.

I was quite disappointed with this even existing because this is generally a problem faced by vehicles that do not have strong engines.

Jeep Patriot, despite having a relatively strong engine fails to stack up in many ways, and this is one of them.

3. Engine Cutting Off While Turning

Honestly, this problem’s main reason could be the same as the last one mentioned above.

However, it could also be completely different. After a while of usage, the engine of this vehicle tends to just completely die at times.

This mostly happens when the vehicle is turning. However, it can also happen while just driving normally.

In either of the cases, this means losing accelerative control over the vehicle while driving, which can be extremely dangerous.

4. Check Engine Light Always On

This is quite a big annoyance. This usually happens within two years of using the vehicle.

With this problem, you will never truly know what is wrong with the vehicle or if there is anything wrong with it at all.

This may cause someone to ignore a serious problem in the vehicle’s engine which can be dangerous because they might not even know what to expect in terms of something messing up with the engine.

5. Poor Interior Design

Seeing the relatively low price of this vehicle, you can tell where the Jeep cut most of the manufacturing costs.

It was the interior of the vehicle. The whole thing is designed to look good on the outset. However, just a little bit of usage, and you will be able to immediately tell what’s wrong with it.

The materials are cheap and hard plastic, and the legroom is bare enough, if not at all.

Related: Why Won’t My Jeep Patriot Start?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What Is High Mileage For A Jeep Patriot?

The answer to this question is highly dependent on the amount of maintenance that the vehicle is provided.

Given that a Jeep Patriot has a good maintenance schedule and regular oil changes, you can expect it to last about 200,000 miles of usage.

Make sure to keep a check for any problems that may show up and have repairs done as soon as possible because they can hinder the vehicle’s life expectancy.

Q2. Are Jeep Patriots Good In Snow?

The short answer is yes; the Jeep Patriot performs very well in the snow.

Thanks to the Freedom Drive II drivetrain present in most Jeep vehicles, the Jeep Patriot can perform well in all types of terrains.

There are good traction and a relatively high SUV design, which also helps the vehicle in the snow.

Q3. Is The Jeep Patriot A Girl Car?

I don’t particularly know if assigning a specific gender stereotype to a vehicle is right.

Since the Jeep Patriot has been given the signature Jeep look, it can be considered more of a guy car than a girl car.

However, statistically, men tend to go for vehicles that have a design and look similar to the generic Jeep design.

Q4. Which Is Better, Jeep Renegade Or Patriot?

Speaking in terms of size, both vehicles are essentially the same. They both offer about the same seating space and storage space.

This is where the similarities end because, in terms of engine strength, performance, and interior design, the Renegade comes out on top.

The Renegade’s design is a lot more stylish than the Patriot. However, this is something that can be labeled as personal preference.

Do keep in mind that the Renegade is more expensive than the Patriot.

Q5. Are Jeep Patriots Expensive To Insure?

Since the Jeep Patriot is relatively cheap, getting it insured is cheaper. You can get a Jeep Patriot insured for around $1,085 per year.

This rate is lower than what you would expect from other mini SUVs. Keep in mind that this price will go up with time, and it can vary from one company to another.

Conclusion

When discussing the best and worst years for Jeep Patriot, it is hard to mention any model without talking about the 2017 model, the last car in the lineup.

Had more vehicles like that be produced and less like the 2008 Jeep Patriot, which was extremely problematic, maybe the lineup would be here today.

Since the series has been discontinued, you can get your hands on the best models the lineup has to offer and avoid the bad and challenging models listed above as they are not worth the price you can buy them for and are not worth the amount of headache and issues they will bring to the table.