bfurth

ABS bleed procedure ought to be: Bleed brakes per usual procedure. Computer-actuated bleed of ABS module using scan tool. Bleed brakes again to clear hydraulic lines of air. This is the order for a T&C/Grand Caravan, and they share almost the entire brake system. I replaced the calipers in my T&C (2010) on all four corners and didn't have to do anything more than a typical brake bleed (ABS module wasn't involved, so an ABS bleed wasn't required). I would be hesitant with a thinner rotor on the 2009 - thin rotors + 4,500 pound vehicles with already smaller pads and rotors = asking for trouble. That being said, a thinner rotor would only increase the amount of fluid necessary to get the caliper to press in on it (to a point). Once the pads are set, you'd would be fine (unless the rotors are paper thin, and then you have other problems). I agree with the sentiment that someone missed something somewhere - I've never had a brake pedal go to the floor that wasn't dealing with air in the lines (and I have yet to experience a leaking brake line). The bleed order does matter. Pliers on the flexible piece of the brake line (that connects directly to the calipers) would isolate the issue. If they pinched off the brake hoses near the calipers on all four wheels and got proper resistance against the pedal, that narrows down your issue real quick - it's 1 or more caliper causing the problem. Proper isolation troubleshooting at that point would be to remove one clamp at a time until the problem re-appears. That implies a defective caliper and it should be replaced. And then bled properly.

Have you had the R03 (WIN module) recall completed yet?

Spark plugs won't be covered under the powertrain warranty - they're a maintenance item at 30k miles. It's also an $8 fix for 20 minutes of your own time. And don't change them out when the engine is hot - you run the risk of damaging the threads.

If you want an SUV with true 4WD, get a Jeep. AWD is not 4WD. The third row doesn't give up that much cargo space (unless an extra 6 inches or so of cargo space depth is make or break territory for you). As stated above, the 3rd row will open up the rear climate control options, which you can't get with a 2 row version. If rear passenger comfort is a concern, get the 3rd row (even if you leave the third row stowed for the entire time you own the vehicle). Bluetooth is a must. It integrates so well into the Uconnect radio. It's intuitive. It works (99% of the time, and most of my issues are from my cheap phone).

The timing belt on the 3.5L has a service life of 100,000 miles. It's also an interference engine (when the valves are open, they occupy the same physical space inside the cylinder that the piston will occupy at the top of the stroke), so changing it before it breaks is critical. If that timing belt breaks, you run the risk of major engine repair, if not outright replacement. There are lots of write-ups for changing the timing belt on the 3.5L/4.0L engine as the engine has been around for a while. Also, if you do change the timing belt, replace the belt tensioner and water pump while you're there. The water pump probably doesn't need to be replaced, but you've already done 90% of the work to get to it, and at the absolute most expensive for DIY, it adds $110 (plus coolant, so flush that while you've got everything disassembled) in parts if you use Mopar, or about $50 is you use Gates. If you don't replace it when you do the timing belt, you're just asking to have to do the job all over again. Rockauto.com has timing belt replacement kits (multiple manufacturers) which include the water pump and associated gaskets and seals in the $140-$180 range.

For the love of all that is internally combusted - JUST SAY NO to electronic PARKING brakes! When all else fails, a cable-driven brake that runs actual service brakes (even if they are only the rear brakes) is infinitely more useful than a secondary parking brake (see: drum type brakes inside a disk brake rotor like the old 4th gen Grand Caravan). And I wouldn't trust an electrically driven parking brake to function when I need brakes 3 seconds ago.

With 30,000 miles on the tires, assuming they are the OEM Kumho Solus, they are probably close to end of life (or will be within the first year of ownership) anyway. Don't just use the tread wear indicator - get in there with a tread depth gauge and measure what's there with accuracy. At 5/32" or less, I would ask for new tires, or a substantial discount ($500 - $1,000) off the asking price because you'll be replacing those tires in less than a year.

Glad to hear everyone is ok. Any car seats in the vehicle, occupied at the time of the collision or not, must be replaced. The only manufacturer that allows for re-use after a collision is Britax, and even then only under specific circumstances. The at-fault party's insurance carrier will be more than happy to reimburse you for actual expenses for replacing the seats you had, and they usually do so with logical replacements. For a 1 year old child, I assume they were either at or near the height/weight limits for the typical infant carrier, and it was probably getting close to moving them up to a bigger rear facing seat anyway. Now is the time to get a good convertible car seat (if they didn't have one already). Either way, replace it with something "similar" If the van wasn't moving when it got hit, and it got hit from behind, airbags in front of the passengers would be of little use. Air bags will assist in more gently slowing you down. from a stop with impact to the rear, you would be suddenly accelerating forward. The seatbelt pre-tensioners would be the restraint that protects the occupant, not the airbag. In the case of newer Grand Caravans, it would also involve the active head rest.

The frame for the Trico and OEM are almost identical - the only difference I can find is the texture of the plastic on the top of the frame. The big difference I noticed between the OEM and the Trico is the metal piece of the wiper blade itself, or more accurately, how the rubber is molded around it. The Trico version just has two strips of metal, one on each side, that are the exact same length as the rubber. The OEM wiper has the rubber extend just beyond the length of the metal. As such, the metal sits perfectly inside the rubber and has no room to slip. I suspect that what is happening is that the metal pieces on the after market blade is slipping on the rubber (which will lead to eventually cutting through it) because there is too much play between them. The OEM blade has no room for movement, and as such the blade maintains contact the way it's supposed to.

Just as a public service announcement, be wary of the cheap rear wiper blades available for the Journey. They may not provide full coverage for clearing the rear window as the OEM blade does. I bought a Trico 12-A Exact Fit rear wiper blade (it is nearly identical in appearance to the OEM), and seriously disappointed in its inability to remain in contact with the glass for the entire stroke of the motor. When it reaches the top 3rd of the wiper path, the highest 3 inches of the blade lose contact with the glass. OEM is more expensive, but remains in contact for the full wiper blade pass.

But alas, many of us are stuck with a backup family hauler. They don't sell a 7 seat Jeep (yet). The Grand Wagoneer should take that role nicely. But for the price? I'll take the Journey, thank you very much.

Copper plugs are about 1/3rd the cost of platinum or iridium plugs, but only last about 1/3rd as long. If you're changing the plugs on your own (and for this engine, unless you are REALLY bad at turning a wrench, you should be), the only difference is the 20 minutes every 30,000 miles it should take to change them out. Also, by using "not what is listed as an OEM part," you run afoul of the powertrain warranty and any future issues with engine performance or emissions can be blamed on a non-factory-approved part to void a warranty claim. Many engineers spent substantial amounts of time determining what the best spark plug is for this (and any other) engine. Unless your level of education in engineering exceeds theirs, it's probably best to stick with what they recommend. Or do what you want, it's your car.

Go to your local optometrist and get a cleaning cloth and solution for anti-glare coated lenses - if it costs $5, I'd be surprised. The manufacturer of that coating recommends against things so abrasive as cotton t-shirts. If those cleaning cloths won't scratch that, they certainly won't scratch the instrument cluster plastic. And, if the cleaning solution clears up well enough for glass that sits less than an inch from your eye, it will certainly not leave any residue on the plastic.

I only clean mine (and the speedometer/tach lenses, and EVIC screen) with the same cloth I use for my glasses (which have an anti-glare coating). No scratches from that yet.

I get the hatred towards minivans - they're not "cool." Now that I'm a father of three, I've wised up. You know what's "cool?" Pure functional practicality. And Vipers. And Challenger Hellcats. But I can't afford either of those.

The F-150 will fare just fine - until it gets hit. They can be repaired, but it's a new vehicle structure compared to traditional steel frame or unibody. Like anything else, make sure you know your body shop.

That's not "all the 1's." Do it again in 100,000 miles...

You'd be surprised at how much damage can be done by a "minor" hit to the front corner. Last year, I got hit while stopped at a light in the front left corner, and the final repair list included: front bumper cover driver side fender driver side headlight radiator core support mis-aligned hood paint for all affected parts time spent on a frame rack to re-align lower frame rail 4 wheel alignment All told, it was about $4,000 worth of damage (I insisted on OEM parts and refused to allow the shop to use anything else - someone else was paying for it, and my car was 27 days off the dealer lot). Does Georgia have (and do you carry) uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage? If so, did you get a police report/witness accounts of the collision?

Not the least of which is that the manufacturer is listed as Ford... (I kid, of course.) As for 5 versus 7 - it depends on installed options. Some are 5, some are 7. As for a vehicle with a larger 3rd row in the price range as the Journey, look no further than it's brother, the Grand Caravan. A new Grand Caravan SE (AVP doesn't have stow-n-go seating, so no one should ever buy it) can be had for about $20k, give or take a thousand or two. A Journey SE is around the same price point, but you get more out of a Journey SE than you do out of a Grand Caravan SE (aside from sheer cavernous interior volume). Oh, you wanted a CUV/SUV with a larger 3rd row than the Journey for the same price? Such a beast does not exist. Sorry, be ready to shell out an additional $10k to get another brand of vehicle with similar trim level and larger interior dimensions.

Guess what potentially low-budget vehicle FCA already has that can carry 7 passengers... And yeah, the Volvo looks vaguely reminiscent of every other mid-size SUV/CUV on the market, just as the Journey does. They all have their own face though - I prefer that of the Journey. And the price tag.

Lemon Laws for US Pacific Coast (obtained through links from www.lemonlawusa.com): California - 18 months/18,000 miles Oregon - 1 year/12,000 miles, specifically applies to leased vehicles Washington - 24 months/24,000 miles (of which at least one repair and/or 15 of the 30 days out of service must be within the first 12 months/12,000 miles), specifically applies to leased vehicles Lemon Laws are very specific and are not a catch-all when your mechanic of choice can't figure out your issue. The most recent vehicle in question is a 2011. There is no lemon law in the USA that will cover that vehicle. Even if it sat on a California dealership lot for 3 years before first sale, it's still beyond 18 months. Your options are to continue hunting down the cause of the issue (utilizing dealerships or independent mechanics), report the issue to NHTSA and hope they open an investigation (which may still result in you paying for the repair due to it not being an inherent safety defect, pending the outcome of their investigation), or sell it/trade it in - you will get current market value for that vehicle and no more.

The 2009/2010 Journey (and a few other Chrysler vehicles) had an NHTSA mandated recall regarding the FOBIK keys and WIN (wireless ignition) module. The physical mechanism that holds those FOBIKs in the WIN socket were not physically strong enough to keep the key from turning from RUN to ACC under certain circumstances. Starting in 2011, all Dodge Journey vehicles were sold standard with Keyless Enter-N-Go. Any ignition issues once the vehicle is in operation is something completely separate from that recall.

This x999,999,999!!! I just ordered a new can of wax, so once the weather clears up enough on a weekend, it's getting clean to my standard of shiny.

Your dealership already opened a case with the FCA engineering team. That means they expect an update, regardless of the outcome of their troubleshooting steps. I manage an IT help desk, and help desk work is help desk work, regardless of what it is you support. When you escalate an issue to the point of corporate engineers throwing parts at the problem, they want to know what fixed it and why, specifically so that they can adjust any TSB that already exists on that issue. NO ONE likes wasting time or money. Sure, we all rag on dealerships for this stuff (and those that do it repeatedly should not get your business), but a good dealership will try to get the problem fixed correctly the first time. If they can't, the next repair is on their dime, and no business likes that. Getting it right the first time = satisfied customers = repeat customers = more money/business for the dealership.