Cjtom

The chassis ears seemed to be what did the trick. The dealership I had been working with had to order them, but once they came in and they got to use them, they were able to diagnose the PTC being the source of the problem quickly. Until that point, the dealership was completely lost, as was Chrysler.

Looks like the PTC (transfer case) seemed to do the trick. I've yet to experience the grinding condition since they got the car back to me. I'll keep a very watchful eye out for this, but it seems to have fixed it. The RO stated there were metal shavings in the transfer case that they took out.

Yes. Other than some slightly poor communication (having to call for any updates), they've been good with providing a loaner for each trip back in and doing everything they can to figure this out.

I'm glad to hear that the problem appears to be resolved! Mine is still in the shop (day 16 of the 5th time in service) and I'm awaiting the chassis ears to come in so they can try to diagnose it. Who knows how this will go!

Just got off the phone with my dealership, wheel bearing replacement was unsuccessful in resolving the issue. They ordered "Chassis Ears" to try to further diagnose the problem (coming in Tuesday or Wednesday) and they do not sound confident that they will solve it (been in for 2 weeks now for this most recent set of attempts). This clearly doesn't seem to be a Journey-wide problem, as this thread is the first one I've seen with this problem, but boy is it troublesome. I've had my share of both Dodge and Ford vehicles, problems arise with almost every vehicle, but I've never run into anything like this. Particularly on a vehicle that is all of 4 months old. I've reached out to Chrysler Customer Service, at advisement by the dealership, to try to come to a resolution. I'm sure they're getting sick and tired of seeing this thing in there, automakers "billable hours" never come close to the amount of time a service department actually works on a vehicle, especially with some mystery problem.

One post wonders tend to pop up when there's a problem and someone is searching for an answer they haven't found yet.... I actually bought a 2016 Journey back in August and started experiencing the same issue within weeks of purchasing it. Took it in, dealership couldn't replicate it. Took it back in, said it was defective half shafts, so the dealer replaced them. Immediately found that it did not solve the problem so I brought it back in and they greased the half shafts, no fix. Brought it back and they got with Chrysler Technical, told them to re-grease them (???), no fix. Brought it back in, Technical had them replace bushings for the stabilizer bar, they called me back and said that the noise now almost sounds like its coming from the transmission (again, ????). Technical has them now replacing the wheel bearings, but did not sound confident in that solution and waiting to hear the outcome. 2 weeks in the shop for their most recent repairs/diagnosis. Vehicle with 8,500, mostly highway miles on it. I'm at a loss myself.