| Issue ID | 1308688 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10895741 |
| Manufacurer | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| Brand | JEEP |
| Model | PATRIOT |
| Model Year | 2016 |
| File date | 23/07/16 |
| Component | POWER TRAIN |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | I was driving on a busy 5 lane main road through the center of town and depressed the clutch and brake preparing to stop at a red light. The clutch popped loose and was disabled. It no longer had any force against it but could be freely moved throughout its range of motion with no engagement or disengagement of the transmission which left the vehicle in gear as i was trying to stop. This caused the vehicle to stall and left it disabled in the center lane of a very busy 5 lane road approximately 40ft from a busy intersection. The failure was due to an improperly installed fitting in the wall forward of the driver pedals through which the clutch rod passes. This was a manufacturer installation as the car had 20 miles on it when purchased and the failure occurred at 150 miles. The fitting must be seated to allow the clutch rod to engage/disengage when the pedal is pressed. A misalignment of the hole in the wall and the clutch rod caused upward pressure on the fitting which was enough to hold it in place temporarily but eventually came loose. The proper installation of the fitting is to protrude fully through the wall and then be clocked 45deg so the tabs seat, keeping the fitting in place. A police officer was able to assist with the traffic obstacle while waiting for a tow truck and there were no injuries as a result. The loss of the clutch on a manual transmission vehicle at any given time can cause a serious safety issue. The inability to change gears or move to or from neutral can be a potentially very dangerous situation depending on the circumstances. This seems like a simple recall to inspect the installation for a likely limited lot of vehicles, however, the manufacturer, fia llc, disagreed. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 150 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | NORTH HAVEN, CT |
| VIN pattern | 1C4NJRBB8GDXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 15 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |