Hey all!
After several really good years with my 93 ZJ it was time to let it go. It carried me all the way from Denver to Eugene and back twice and was pretty good around town. Took it to Ouray last year and stretched it's legs a bit. I really enjoyed that Jeep, but the last 6 months or so it made itself hard to stay in love with. First time it "crank-but-no-start-no-code"ed, it was easily identified as the crank position sensor after a cursory google search. Man, is that thing a PITA to replace. Few months later, it did it again. Started in the driveway, backed out into the street then died. Crank/no start/no code. That one hurt. Replaced the CPS again, no change. Started replacing all the sensors one by one, then used the warranty to change them all out again. Also did the fuel pump twice, first with an airtex and then with a Bosch. Also tried a new computer, but took it right back out when it wouldn't talk to the code reader at all. Nothing worked. I was quadruple checking voltages so often I knew what I was going to see before I stuck the probes on. Wound up spending $400~ in parts just to pay $80 for a 5-block tow, to pay a mechanic $400 to beat his head against it for a week. He doesn't know what got it running again either, but after a week it fired up and passed his test drive. $400 might seem like a lot for not finding the problem, but all those hours of beating his head against the same problem I gave up on, it's worth compensating.
Needless to say, that steals confidence in a vehicles reliability. Coming home from the zoo with my daughter two weeks ago, I hit a pothole on I-70 that sent it into the worst death wobble I've experienced. I've had some little shimmies before, but this one just about jerked the wheel out of my hands. Tried slowing out of it (I was in the fast lane headed west right by the Purina plant, for those that know the area), then tried to power out of it and neither worked. With a semi right on my butt I had to brake all the way down past 30mph before it stopped.
The cause of death wobble can be a real bear to identify. Sometimes it just takes a damper, sometimes ball joints, sometimes you have to replace every bushing in the links. I'm at a point in my life where I just don't have the time to deal with all that, and if I did, you can bet your butt I'd spend it on Money Badger! It was time to say goodbye.
At first I was torn about what to get as a replacement. I've been pining for an Excursion for a while, because I don't commute often, I mainly either run errands or take long trips. I got a train pass and use public transportation to get where I need to be most of the time. With an Excursion, I can either haul anything or carry a freekin' basketball team, depending on the need at the time. But in practicality, I can rent a van or pickup to do either of those things too, and with as rarely as either of those situations are, an Excursion would just be another monument to American Excess, which is the opposite direction I'm trying to live my life these days.
So then I thought in the other direction, and when my wife and I first met she had a Honda Fit. We LOVED that car! It lives up to it's name, too. Parking spots? it Fits! IKEA trip? It Fits! We only traded it in because Colorado roads were just beating the living snot out of the poor little thing. So I got to thinking, what's the closest thing to a Honda Fit that Jeep ever made? The Patriot!
I'll admit, I liked them when they first came out so I was excited to go look at a couple, and I was not disappointed. I don't believe Jeep should have ever made a vehicle without 4x4 so I was only looking at the "trail rated" versions, and they were last updated in 2011 and stayed the same until the end of production last year.
First thing I really liked is that the Freedom Drive II is a real deal. You turn on 4x4 and shift into "Low" and it crawls. The term "simulated" gets tossed in front of "low range" when talking about the patriot, but the end result is the same and that's what matters. Besides, the Trailhawk is and will remain the family adventure-mobile, this is just daddies run-around car...that might go sightseeing down some dirt roads from time to time.
It's obvious in hindsight, but there really is no good time to say to your wife "Look how much bigger your butt is than mine".
Following up with "I mean curvy!" does not absolve the offense.
The second thing I really likes is that the front passenger seat folds down so you can stick an 8-foot ladder or 2x4s in it, matching the Fit-iness of the Honda Fit, haha!
Somethings take some getting used to though, and that's mainly because I'm switching from a luxury car that's twice the weight. I miss my leather seats, but like the fact that the Patriot seats are heated. The suspension doesn't float over all the bumps like the ZJ, and I'm wholly un-used to torque-steer. All-in-all, these are normal things for a car of this size and price range, so I'll suck it up, haha!
I researched the common problems and looks like I dodged the bullet. Carfax shows complete maintenance (12 services in 6 years) and with 100k on the ticker, if it had a problem with the CVT, it should have puked by now. Fluid is worn but not worn out (still slightly green) so I'll change that and the filters here soon. Fresh fluid would have worried me that the dealership changed it to hide a problem.
Been driving it like crazy since I picked it up a week ago and really like it! I've started joking that I got it because I wanted a street legal UTV, and that I'll start modding it with Polaris parts once it's half paid for.