mje22

I've heard of a ton of people who have a deep hatred for the Dodge Journey. I have no idea what they are talking about.
 
I bought my 2011 Journey LUX for my wife's birthday in 2014, and I have never been disappointed. Apart from normal maintenance like oil changes,  brake jobs, battery, tires and plugs, there have been no major malfunctions except for a recall that Dodge put out. At around 90K miles cylinder 2 shut down. Like SHUT OFF. I brought it in, they gave me a rental for a few days and had my DJ fixed right away. All paid for my Dodge. The car now has almost 130K on it and I feel 100% safe hauling around my wife and 1 year old son in it.
 
We took our DJ to Las Vegas in last June. It was roughly a 3,000 mile round-trip from Iowa. I ran it harder than what I probably should have (I usually go 8-10 mph over the speed limit). Going through the summer heat of the desert, that would punish any vehicle. My DJ handled it like a boss. Las Vegas was HOT. The highest the car read was 133 degrees. Iowa winters can be extremely cold. The lowest it read was -22 degrees. She never skipped a beat. Not once.
 
My work is 48 miles form my house, 96 miles round-trip every day. Most of it is Interstate 80, where I rack up most of my miles. I average 21 MPG in the Journey. Not great, but not bad for a 3.6 V6 AWD heavy machine. The ONLY gripe I have about this vehicle concerns the Uconnect 8.4. It has problems reconnecting my phone when I leave the vehicle and come back. (Like running in to a gas station and coming right back while I leave the car running) Does anyone else have this issue??
 
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with my 2011 Dodge Journey LUX. For someone who is looking in to investing their hard-earned cash in to a new or used crossover, I urge them to roll the dice on a Journey. Of course there are lemons with every vehicle. My Journey had a couple. But the vast majority of DJ owners regret nothing after buying their sweet ride. (Did I mention the DJ looks badass?!) I'm not saying this because I'm paid to by Dodge. I'm saying these great things about the Journey because I genuinely believe the DJ is the best car I have ever owned. Hands down.
 
I hope this helps a future buyer with their research. Drive safe!