NHTSA Complaint #10703167 — 2014 JEEP PATRIOT

ON NOVEMBER 1, 2014 I PURCHASED A NEW JEEP PATRIOT FROM A CHRYSLER/JEEP DEALERSHIP. SHORTLY AFTER THAT I NOTICED THAT THE OWNER'S INFORMATION (A DVD OF THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND U.S. WARRANTY) AND THE USER GUIDE (AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF THE OWNER'S MANUAL) DID NOT MATCH MY VEHICLE IN MANY WAYS. ALSO AT THAT TIME I NOTICED THAT MY 2014 JEEP PATRIOT DID LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE 2015 PATRIOTS BEING SOLD, AND MATCHED THE 2015 PATRIOT OWNER'S INFORMATION. APPARENTLY CHRYSLER/JEEP STARTED MANUFACTURING 2015 PATRIOTS, BUT TITLING THEM AND SELLING THEM AS 2014 PATRIOTS, LONG BEFORE THE PUBLISHED MODEL YEAR CHANGEOVER DATE OF THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUAT, 2014. HOWEVER THE OWNER'S MANUAL, USER GUIDE AND WARRANTY INFORMATION WERE NOT REVISED, EVEN DOWN TO THE OLDER PATRIOT MODEL COVER PAGE PICTURES! WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP AND CHRYSLER/JEEP ABOUT THE ISSUES THEY SAID THAT THEY DEEMED THE VEHICLE TO BE A 2014 BECAUSE IT WAS MANUFACTURED BEFORE AUGUST AND THAT THE DIFFERENCES IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND USER GUIDE WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT. I WENT THROUGH THE 2014 AND 2015 OWNER'S MANUALS, COMPARING THEM PAGE-BY-PAGE AND COMPILED THREE PAGES OF OMISSIONS AND INACCURACIES, SOME SAFETY RELATED, IN THE UNREVISED 2014 OWNER'S MANUAL AND USER GUIDE. THOSE DIFFERENCES INCLUDED 12 MISSING WARNING! BLOCKS AND SIX MISSING CAUTION! BLOCKS IN THE UNREVISED 2014 OWNER'S MANUAL AND USER GUIDE. WARNINGS! ARE "AGAINST PROCEDURES THAT COULD RESULT IN A COLLISION OR BODILY INJURY". CAUTIONS! ARE "AGAINST PROCEDURES THAT COULD RESULT IN DAMAGE TO YOUR VEHICLE...OBSERVE ALL WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS." THE 2014 JEEP WARRANTY INFORMATION BOOKLET DOES NOT CONTAIN THE NOTICE THAT CALIFORNIA EMISSION STANDARDS NOW APPLY IN 11 OTHER STATES IN ADDITION TO CALIFORNIA. THE 2015 WARRANTY INFORMATION BOOKLET DOES CONTAIN THAT NOTICE AS A SUPPLEMENT. REVISIONS, SUPPLEMENTS, OR RETITLING ARE NEEDED. *TR