Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2015 Jeep Patriot owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
April 2017, while driving on the freeway Jeep started to shake. Etc and engine light were lit up, car would not accelerate. Pulled over at nearest exit. Shut off car and tried to restart, car would not start. Dealership determined that throttle body needed to be replaced. August 2018, while waiting at stop light I started to make a right turn. Car was shaking and did not want to accelerate. Traction control and engine light turned on. Had to shut off vehicle and restart in the middle of a city street. Car restarted, the next day only engine light stayed on. While at stop light and foot on the break the engine shut off. All lights and radio stayed on. Restarted car, driving fine. Took it to dealership, they replaced the throttle body again (and wanted to do so at my expense). While attempting to return my car, it shut off on them. They returned it to me saying it had been fixed. …
While driving I made a right turn and then the "tire light" began to flash and a warning sound was heard then the "traction control light" began to flash and alert sound was heard and then a "red lightning bolt" warning light was flashing on the dashboard and the "engine light" turned on, all lights were lit up and the engine stalled and couldn't get passed 20mph even thought the accelerator was almost to the floor. The vehicle has only less than 32000 miles, and has had its regular maintenance. I've seen several similar complaints on Jeep Patriot forums and seen that the 2014 and 2016 had recalls for this or related issue. When stopping the vehicle idles high and still moves even though the brake is fully pressed, and the temperature rises fast. I was driving at night on a city street so luckily the wasn't much traffic. …
On 11/5/18, my fianc was driving on the freeway, about 65 miles an hour, when the car engine completely shut off. This caused the power steering to stop working. She was barely able to coast off of the freeway, struggling to steer it, without hitting other vehicles on the busy freeway. It sat for four hours, and then it started again. It has shut off while driving at least four times in a week, on city streets and stop lights, and wouldn't start numerous times the car only has about 35,000 miles on it. It was taken to the Jeep dealership in woodbridge va., for a sensor chip replacement on 11/10/18. That evening, after taking it home, it wouldn't start. It will be towed back to the Jeep dealership on 11/12/18. There seems to be numerous complaints about this vehicle shutting off while driving. This is an extreme safety concern, especially on the freeway or with children in the car. …
The vehicle randomly started dropping to 0 RPM during different speeds and situations (some 30mph, some 60mph, some turning, some going straight, but never stalled while stopped) on and off for a week with no check engine light or fault codes present. Driving on the freeway 8 months pregnant going 65mph the Jeep stalled out and then the check engine light came on. It showed up as a crankshaft sensor fault, we replaced the crankshaft sensor and now it is stuck in tip start mode and will not start! This is the 3rd brand sensor that has been tried. This is very similar to the 2016 recall issue (safety recall s89 / NHTSA 16v-907 crankshaft camshaft sensor wire harness) there have been numerous safety complaints about the 2015 Jeep Patriot having reoccurring similar issues and nothing has been done. …
2015 Jeep Patriot high altitude; complete power loss while driving @ 45 MPH. Vehicle shut down and lost all power while in motion. While driving straight down a local road, my vehicle shut off & lost all power. The radio went off, my dashboard warning lights illuminated, all gauges went down as if the vehicle was in park & not in use. This vehicle is a danger on the roads. Dealership has said vehicle, but will not reveal if vehicle is infact defective. I purchased this vehicle in June 2015, brand new. This vehicle has been to the dealership for repair nearly 10 seperate times. This vehicle is unsafe & shut off on me while moving. There are many reports of " engine failure " for the 2015 Jeep Patriot. My vehicle is one of many that is unsafe, and shut off while in motion. Extremely dangerous. FCA llc, should have all 2015 Patriot jeeps recalled. …
I was driving when all of sudden my Jeep Patriot started slowing down, limp and a bit out of my control. 3 lights turned on simultaneously. I pulled over to the side of the road. My engine started shaking and my Jeep sounded odd so I turned it off. I waited a bit and turned it back on. I was able to drive it back home safely as I was less than a mile away. I started doing research and found that many Jeep Patriot owners have gone through the same thing. Apparently it's a throttle body issue that Jeep has failed to recall or take acrion on. I had to pick up my son from school and this time the Jeep went limp after less than half of a mile of driving. I struggled to take my car back home and had to keep turning on and off my car. This is very dangerous I was very lucky to just be in my neighborhood. I bought this car in July. These sort of issues shouldn't already be happening. …
I was on my way to take my son to school, when while on a busy city street my car started to jerk, and suddenly I was no longer to acceralate. I was literally scared for my life and my child, as the speed of my car slowed down so fast, that I almost got rearended. When my car slowed down and could no longer acceralate, my check engine, electric throttle control, and traction control lights all came on. It was very odd as this has never happened before. I read and seen that there are hundreds of people having this same issue. This is very concerning. I'm surprised that no one has been killed due to this, I could not imagine if I was the highway behind a big rig and my speed quickly dropped like that or if someone was riding my tail, there is no way they would have been able to slow down quick enough to prevent from hitting me. …
In dec of 2017 I started driving my car and all of a sudden while driving I lost power and wouldn't accelerate. I had it towed to the dealer and the dealer notified me it was the etc control. Today 02/05/20 I got in my car to leave for work and 5 mins into driving again lights turn on check engine light, etc light (lightening bolt), and stability light came on and again lost power and went from 25 MPH to 5 MPH. I had to pull over and turn off my car and start it again to be able to get it to my house but had to do this 3 times to get it to my house which was 5 mins away. This is the 2nd time within 2year that this is happening to me. There is so many complaints regarding this on this vehicle. We buy a car for it to be reliable to go to and from work instead im constantly driving nervously wondering if ill be on a high way going from 60 MPH to 10 MPH and if someone will crash into me. …
Jeep Patriot converter recall my 2015 Jeep Patriot completely shut down on me and was unable to be put into either a drive or reverse option. The Jeep shut down and could not be driven due to the Cadillac converter. The transmission on the Jeep became physically torn into pieces while it was overworked due to the converter issue, and my exhaust system was overworked. Acceleration became an issue as well. Had to have the Jeep towed, and repaired with high costs due to the serious problem of it not being driveable. I had the converter replaced, the transmission replaced, and other small repairs in order to fix it and save it. I have not had any issue with the engine as of yet, and am hoping to avoid any in the future. I just became aware of the national recall for Jeep patriots and their converter malfunctions. …
Since June 2018 I've experienced on going issues with the engine/transmission. While driving the entire front end starts to shake, all the lights on the dashboard come on and then the car stalls. I loose the ability to accelerate and steer during this time. First time this happened I was in delaware on the highway, they replaced the throttle body. Since then the car skips during deceleration mostly when the gears shift in traffic, going on rotaries or attempting to come off /on ramp.. Went to my usual mechanics ran codes ended up replacing sensor in the engine. The car again starts to skip and has ongoing issues accelerating. This is incredibly dangerous I've almost been in a couple accidents from when it decides it's time to accelerate, random engine shut off and inability to accelerate when it matters. I called Jeep apparently they are having lots of issues related to this.
Traction Control complaints in other Patriot years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2015 Jeep Patriot?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2015 Jeep Patriot, 9% of the model year's 315 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2015 Jeep Patriot traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2015 Jeep Patriot, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2015 Jeep Patriot traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 62,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.