chadb1 Posted September 9, 2010 Report Share Posted September 9, 2010 I have a Journey SXT AWD and it is terrible in the snow! My front wheel drive goes farther up my driveway than the AWD Journey! I had a Subaru Outback before this car and regret trading that car in on the Journey. The Subaru had 150,000 miles on it and had far fewer problems. I even had all season radials on the Subaru that look like the tires on the Journey and the Subaru was 100% better in the snow. I had to spend extra money to get wheels and snow tires for my Journey to go in the snow! I like how the Journey rides and that is where it ends for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inuvik Posted September 10, 2010 Report Share Posted September 10, 2010 I have a Journey SXT AWD and it is terrible in the snow! My front wheel drive goes farther up my driveway than the AWD Journey! I had a Subaru Outback before this car and regret trading that car in on the Journey. The Subaru had 150,000 miles on it and had far fewer problems. I even had all season radials on the Subaru that look like the tires on the Journey and the Subaru was 100% better in the snow. I had to spend extra money to get wheels and snow tires for my Journey to go in the snow! I like how the Journey rides and that is where it ends for me! My Journey SXT AWD is awesome in the snow. I had no issues at all last winter and I drove through snow up to 1 feet deep with no issues. I would have your system checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dupont Posted November 27, 2010 Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 I have a Journey SXT AWD and it is terrible in the snow! My front wheel drive goes farther up my driveway than the AWD Journey! I had a Subaru Outback before this car and regret trading that car in on the Journey. The Subaru had 150,000 miles on it and had far fewer problems. I even had all season radials on the Subaru that look like the tires on the Journey and the Subaru was 100% better in the snow. I had to spend extra money to get wheels and snow tires for my Journey to go in the snow! I like how the Journey rides and that is where it ends for me! I have a 2010 journey AWD R/T and its great in the snow. We just had a major snow storm and I seen a lot of people with two wheel drives getting stuck on hills, or in parking lots. The Journey just kept going. I can't wait until I get my snow tires to see how much better it gets. Get your system checked, maybe something is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryon Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) My AWD Journey is a bullet in the snow with a set of Michelin X Ice tires on me , everytime i drive it in the snow it impresses me. Factory Kumo tires were ok in snow but not that great for canadian winters. Edited January 25, 2011 by bryon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvanish Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 Also pleasantly surprised for the performance of the stock Kumho's in the snow here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FleshWound Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 I have a Journey SXT AWD and it is terrible in the snow! My front wheel drive goes farther up my driveway than the AWD Journey! I had a Subaru Outback before this car and regret trading that car in on the Journey. The Subaru had 150,000 miles on it and had far fewer problems. I even had all season radials on the Subaru that look like the tires on the Journey and the Subaru was 100% better in the snow. I had to spend extra money to get wheels and snow tires for my Journey to go in the snow! I like how the Journey rides and that is where it ends for me! I hope you realize that when the taction control is working that it applies the brakes to the wheel that is losing traction, thereby slowing your vehicle. Perhaps that has something to do with the symptoms you are experiencing. Our Journey just loves the snow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadb1 Posted February 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Now that I have winter tires it is alot better in the snow. The traction control feature is useless! Even when I turn it off it still kicks in coming up my driveway and stops the car. I have had the AWD checked and they say everything is fine. As I said before, my old Subaru was a better car even with 150,000 miles on it. I was thinking of helping an American car company when we got the Journey, I will go back to Subaru when we are done with this car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmttoxics Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 My 2010 FWD SXT just TORE through snow. I loved it. Traction control blinked now and then but never caused me any problems. I had Blizzack DM-v1s on it and will be putting them back on the new 2011 I get next week - great tires. Sorry to hear your AWD isn't what you were expecting! Take the car back and get the 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggit Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 ... my old Subaru was a better car even with 150,000 miles on it. You do realize that Subaru has one of the best all wheel drive systems around, don't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank b Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 I find that very odd, sorry to hear that. However I dont believe you should evaluate a vehicule's awd performance in the snow on stock all season tires. You're bound to get it stalling uphill when that traction control kicks in. And if those oem A/S tire treads are somewhat not-so grip oriented, they will slip. Then TC kicks in all the time because it detects major wheel slip and it stalls. I outfitted mine with toyo observe g0-2 open country which are fairly good tires. I live in QC city, we get a lot of snow, often, and thus far the truck delivers in the snow. I also own an 09 4x4 Jeep Patriot, and if I'd leave A/S tires on there, giving the conditions we live in, it would suck. If yours sucks in the snow to a point where it doesn't feel like it's an awd at all even w/ winter tires : must be an awd defect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadb1 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I have had it in the shop for the transmission leaking and told them to check the AWD while they had it. They had to replace lines on the tranny and said the AWD was working. Since the addition of the winter tires is does a lot better in the snow. I am saying all this to let people know my experience with this car. As I have stated many times the Subaru we had went up my driveway with no problems with A/S tires on. I am just really dissapointed with this car as a compairison of AWD systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmwoodie Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 My 2010 Journey does laps around the subaru in the snow. In reverse. Uphill even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2011mainmango Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 front wheel drive cars are a piece of cake to drive in the snow, the journey just plows through it like no other, awd is not necessary. rwd is where its at, i recommend everyone drive a rwd car in the snow before they say anything about the journey, it's not easy and my charger is a prime example of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geer Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 (edited) front wheel drive cars are a piece of cake to drive in the snow, the journey just plows through it like no other, awd is not necessary. rwd is where its at, i recommend everyone drive a rwd car in the snow before they say anything about the journey, it's not easy and my charger is a prime example of that. I bought a FWD V6 Equinox brand new in '07 and regretted, every day thereafter - not buying AWD. AWD will outperform FWD and RWD any day there's water, snow, or ice on the road - guaranteed - it's straight physics. RWD is great if you're driving dry streets year round, but if you have icy roads 5-6 months of the year like we do- forget it! I've had my share of RWD cars I've driven in the winter - forget about power hook-ups. Furthermore late-model Traction Control is pretty much a joke in my books, I turn it off in my Equinox any day it's slippery because I can control the acceleration better than the computer, which does nothing more than apply the brakes and cut throttle when wheel spin occurs. The only benefit RWD provides on slippery roads is maintaining steering in absence of traction at the drive wheels. RWD has its place in fair-weather performance cars. I have a '69 Dodge w/ 335 horse + 410 ft.lbs torque big-block 383 which I only drive in the summer - it's awesome. But I'd hate like hell to drive it in a winter setting, even with a posi rear end. Corollas would be passing me at every light. Edited April 17, 2011 by Geer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank b Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I so agree... Throughout the years I've driven fwd, rwd, 4x4 and awd in pretty harsh conditions. Fwd is second best in the snow, rwd is to avoid at all costs and awd / 4x4 should be on every car lol. You grow weary of rwd after a week of sliding, not moving forward and getting passed by toyota echos with no TC. Imagine 5 months. Once you drive an awd vehicule in the snow, it's like a revelation. The downsides of awd and 4x4 ? Fuel consumption ( I can live with that). Some people grow overconfident, hence the number of suvs & pick ups you see stuck in the snow banks and medians on the highway during a winterstorm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richo Eng Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have a 2010 R/T AWD. Put on aftermarket 17" rims with Michellin Lattitude Alpin snow tires and the car handles terrific in the snow. Been through 2 winters. Much better than my Intrepid or SX2, or any other car before that. Try letting your wife drive the Journey and then take it away on a snowy day and let her drive the SX2 and you're in trouble! Wife loves it and feels very secure with the Journey. If you plan on keeping the vehicle and live in areas with lots of snow, invest in the rims and snow tires. Makes it easy to change over with the season. You are going to use rubber anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadb1 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 I will say this again. I had a 2001 Subaru Outback with $50 a piece A/S tires on it and it made it up my drive way with no problems at all. This Journey has to have winter tires put on to do the same. Traction control is worthless, it stops my car coming up my driveway with the A/S tires. I NEVER HAD TO PUT WINTER TIRES ON THE SUBARU, A/S IS ALL WE EVER HAD ON THE SUBARU AND CHEAP ONES AT THAT. I have had this car back to the dealer so many times to look at other issues, and always had them look at the AWD because of the way it goes in the snow. I have a FWD Stratus that will make it farther up my driveway better than the Journey with A/S tires. The winter tires did make it better, but I never had to do that before. Hell I have A/S on my truck and it goes just fine up the driveway in snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPollard Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 And as was pointed out, Subaru is the undisputed king of AWD. If AWD is what you want - or demand in a vehicle - they should be your first choice! I'm curious to see how the stock Hankook's on my DJ handle this winter vs. the Tiger Paws on the Sebring I traded in. A/S vs A/S. Also curious how often I'll find myself turning off the traction control. Never having had it before, I'm not sure if I'll find it a hazardous distraction to my driving or not. But I'm sure my wife will like it. QuarterSwede 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBee79 Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 I just went down to Houston to pick up an 09 SXT AWD from my friend's dealership for my wife's birthday, and it still has the wet weather tires on it which worried me about the winter coming up. We just got our first big snow here in Salt Lake City, UT and I was truly impressed with how well it did on the highway and in the mountains with a couple inches on the road. I intentionally went out before the plows cleared and salted the roads so I could get a good feel for it in the snow since all my snow experience is with full size 4x4's, and even with the completely wrong type of tires it hugged the road with no problems and did not get away from me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armendegga Posted November 20, 2011 Report Share Posted November 20, 2011 So... It snowed about a foot and a half the other day... And I gotta say... AWD worked AWESOME... Both in the deep snow (where other vehicles were getting stuck all over the place), and also on ice... Worked awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Sixspeedrt Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 The AWD system on my 2012 Journey seems flawless. Had one good blast of snow last Thursday and got to drive a couple unplowed back roads. I've had two previous 4wd vehicles, a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, and a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 - this is by far the superior vehicle for acceleration from a standing stop in the snow even with the factory tires. It appears to be true 4wd, no open differential spinning like with conventional 4wd. You give it throttle, it just goes. I experimented with driving with the tires on one side in the snow, the others on pavement and giving it the gas - no slip. You really have to push hard on the throttle when in snow to get the traction control to activate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrxz24 Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 I have both a subaru wrx and a Journey and with good winter tires, the Journey does fine in the snow. Subaru are great and that is what they are known for. I have a fairly steep and winding driveway and the Journey makes it up that even with the TC on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destination Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 there's no beating a Subaru in crappy conditions. We have a Forester too, but the Journey is very close. I am quite pleased with it's abilities and I'm only using the stock Kumhos. The first test was the huge Halloween storm we got - 18" of snow, and trecherous conditions. I was driving from Pittsfield, MA to central CT during that storm. I felt safe the whole way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geer Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 The AWD in my '11 R/T has exceeded my expectations. It performed OK with the OEM all seasons, but when I put on good winter tires, wow that thing is a real winter performer. I told myself 'never again' will I buy a FWD suv, after not getting AWD in my last- an '07 Equinox. Regretted that decision instantly. But the R/T has made up for that. It will leave everyone else behind at a slippery intersection and with good winter tires pulls down equally fast in stops. I do have one small complaint - the ESP is slow to respond - I find the vehicle is into the start of a skid too long before ESP applies brakes and throttle reduction. Chevy's stabilitrak senses and responds to a skid far quicker. What I love about the Dodge AWD programming is how efficiently it engages the rear axle in cornering. You can apply throttle midway into a corner to bring it around and follow through nicely because the PCM is engaging AWD in a corner. Try that with FWD and all you'll get is plowing (understeer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmerpowell48 Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 live in indina and my 2010 awd is awsome in snow and ice i just love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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