2008 Jeep Patriot Issues

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Good Morning,

I recently took my 2008 Jeep Patriot in because the ESP light comes on when trying to accelerate and basically keeps the rpms from getting above 2000. I pretty much have to turn the ESP off every time I start the car in order to have the thing work at all. When I took it to the mechanic they said the error codes indicated both rear wheel speed sensors needed to be replaced. $400 later the car has the EXACT same symptoms. I took it back to them, they said that all the codes are gone so it must be a wiring issue and they it could take them weeks to track down. Obviously weeks worth of labor costs are more than the car is even worth.

Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing before? Anyone have any recommendations on what to do to get this fixed, or do I just need to take the thing apart and go at this alone? I really don't have any more time to waste on this thing since every hour I spend on this is less time I can spend at home with my 4 month old.

Thanks for any thoughts!

-Greg

PS, If you feel you are mechanically inclined and want a project let me know. I'm trying to sell the Jeep. I've got an add on Craigslist that needs to be updated since I now know it isn't a wheel speed issue. I already had it well below blue book because of the problems but now I would be happy with even less. So if you think you can fix it you might be able to make some money on this Jeep. I've recently replaced most of the front suspension and catalytic converter. Other than this insanely frustrating problem everything else seems to be in great shape. Oh and the rear needs to be aligned and probably new tires soon due to the uneven wear.

http://virgin.craigslist.org/cto/3917691310.html

I believe there's a splice that corrodes under the driver door sill plate. The wires are red or pink or both wrapped in a cloth looking electrical tape. That may be where the codes originated from.

Just don't take the thing to Caribbean Auto Mart.

It's highly unlikely that both rear sensors failed at the same time. Unless the light was on for a while and ignored. In other words, they failed one at a time and you didn't get it looked at until the second sensor failed.
I think Tiberius might be onto something. They have something in common.

You bought a Jeep product? Silly you.

This is a perfect example of how the trouble code is not always the problem. Everyone thinks "who needs a qualified tech"? I can buy a code reader and fix it myself. This "mechanic" took it for granted it was the sensors. There was probably nothing wrong with them. There's a wiring problem somewhere. So he wasted $400.00 and it still is not fixed.