Capture time: ~2 minutes
Vehicle: 2014 Jeep Patriot Sport 2.4L
Workflow: 6 organized passes (3 front + 3 rear)

Just a Quick Look Underneath

This 2014 Jeep Patriot Sport wasn't inspected because of a specific complaint.

It was simply a good opportunity to take a quick look underneath an older daily-driven vehicle and see how it was holding up.

The complete capture took approximately 2 minutes using our standard passenger-car workflow:

• 3 front passes

• 3 rear passes

Overall, the Patriot shows the kind of underbody aging we expected to see.

There is visible surface corrosion, with rust beginning to develop around several seams and exposed areas. Nothing we saw suggests an immediate structural concern, but there is enough progression that an owner planning to keep the vehicle would probably want to start cleaning, treating, and protecting these areas rather than waiting several more winters.

So far, pretty much what we expected.

Then one of the front passes showed something much more useful.

Front Inspection

Rear Inspection

The Unexpected Find

Fresh grease was visible around the front passenger-side wheel and suspension area.

That immediately deserved a closer look.

The source turned out to be a torn CV axle boot.

Grease was already being thrown out of the boot and distributed around the surrounding components as the axle rotated.

The interesting part was that the owner didn't know there was a problem.

The Patriot was still being driven normally. There was no inspection planned specifically for the CV axle and no reason to expect that this particular two-minute look underneath would find anything beyond the visible corrosion.

But there it was.

A torn boot is a relatively simple problem when caught early. Leave it unnoticed, however, and continued grease loss combined with dirt and water entering the joint can eventually turn it into a much more expensive CV joint or axle repair.

All detailed inspection images were saved and shared with the owner so the condition could be reviewed and addressed.

Final Thoughts

The rust was expected.

The torn CV boot wasn't.

And that's probably the best summary of this inspection.

You don't always need a symptom, warning light, strange noise, or known problem to have a reason to look underneath your vehicle.

Sometimes you take a quick look just to see how things are doing.

And sometimes, two minutes underneath finds exactly the thing you didn't know you should be looking for.

Captured with the Raccoon Machines Underbody Inspection Kit — an easy way to see what's happening underneath your vehicle without a lift or jack.