NHTSA Complaint #10551726 — 2009 JEEP PATRIOT 4X4

MY JEEP PATRIOT HAS A VERY UNUSUAL PROBLEM OF GOING INTO "LIMP" MODE UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS--EVEN AFTER AS LITTLE OF 15 MINUTES OF DRIVING. THE "TRANSMISSION OVERHEAT" LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE VEHICLE'S ON-BOARD COMPUTER FORCES THE VEHICLE DOWN TO SLOW, SUB-HIGHWAY SPEEDS--EVEN AS SLOW AS 35 MPH. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN VERY DANGEROUS FOR US (ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAY) AND OCCURS UNDER NORMAL (AND EVEN COLD TEMPERATURES). IT IS NOT REMEDIED BY REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION OIL OR EVEN INSTALLING A TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER (BOTH WHICH I HAVE TRIED). I HAVE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO NUMEROUS MECHANICS--INCLUDING THE DEALERSHIP AND A TRANSMISSION SHOP--WHICH HAVE ALL BEEN STUMPED BY THE ISSUE. AFTER LEARNING ABOUT AND THOROUGHLY DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM, THE TRANSMISSION SHOP CONCLUDED THAT SOMETHING VERY UNUSUAL WAS WRONG WITH THE TRANSMISSION, AND THEY WROTE A STATEMENT TO THAT EFFECT. AFTER EXPERIENCING THIS DANGEROUS, FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH MY JEEP PATRIOT, I STARTED A WEBSITE TO COLLECT RESPONSES FROM OTHER JEEP OWNERS. IN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THE WEBSITE HAS BEEN UP (JEEPPATRIOTTRANSMISSIONOVERHEAT.COM), I HAVE RECEIVED MANY SUBMISSIONS FROM OTHER OWNERS WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM (AND ALL OF WHICH HAVE ATTESTED THAT THE DEALERSHIP WAS ULTIMATELY STUMPED BY THE PROBLEM). THE PROBLEM IS FOUND ON VEHICLE YEARS RANGING FROM 2007-2014. SOME OWNERS BELIEVE THE KOHO BEARINGS ARE THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, BUT IN ANY EVENT, A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT IS THE ONLY KNOWN REMEDY. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM THOROUGHLY, AS WELL AS REVIEWING EXISTING RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE, I AM NOW CONFIDENT THAT THE PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD (EXISTS ON 1,000+ PATRIOTS), IS FOUND ON NEW AND USED PATRIOTS OF ALL MILEAGES, IS VERY DANGEROUS, AND HAS BEEN IGNORED BY JEEP. IT IS MY OPINION THAT A SAFETY RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED BY THE NHTSA, AFTER CONDUCTING ITS OWN RESEARCH. *TR