bfurth

Their tradeoff is 12 feet of snow every month of the winter (and a requirement that they like hockey - nothing against the sport, just never got interested myself). I'm pretty sure you have it a little better down in NC. What's it like driving a car in February that hasn't gotten a state-funded white/gray "paint" job?

To add, I would not purchase a TIPM until I was 100% convinced that it is the TIPM, and I've had a dealer tell me that they are 100% convinced that it's a failed TIPM.

You should always use the parking brake. The 'park' position for the transmission is really just a pin that locks the output shaft. It's not designed to hold the weight of the vehicle. USing the parking brake puts the entire weight of it on the rear calipers, and they are designed to hold it even on fairly steep grade. If you can drive up it, the parking brake will hold it.

The powertrain warranty is 5 years/100k miles, and it transfers to subsequent owners. This sounds more like it mivht end up being a TIPM problem. I have a bad feeling about that cable you unplugged.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nPRNbn9bdJg
This shows it in much better detail than I can explain.

Turned out to be easier than I was hoping. The passenger light was still factory aimed, so it was a good reference point. When I parked it in my driveway, it lined up perfectly with a panel on the garage door. There is a 12mm bolt head on the back side of each headlight assembly. A 1/4" drive socket fits in perfectly.

It's still a floating caliper, just like the front brakes. There is still a spring loaded cable (spring is on the rear caliper parking brake actuator arm). When you push the brake pedal, the piston is activated mechanically instead of hydraulically. The piston rides on a screw and is adjusted outwards when there is enough movement in the parking break actuator (at least that's how I've been led to believe it works.) That's why you have to screw the rear piston back in.

The Journey shares brake components with the 5th generation Grand Caravan/Town and Country platform. The rear caliper is used as the parking brake (parking brake actuator is integrated into the rear caliper, resulting in the screw-type piston). There is no drum parking brake (like the 4th gen minivans had).
Squealing coming from the rear wheels is either going to be the break wear indicator (though odd if it's happening all the time), something stuck on a pad (either of which will be evident with a scored rotor), or a wheel bearing. They can't be re-greased or re-packed - just replace the whole component. This type of wheel bearing is not terribly difficult to work on (it's just a few bolts that whold the entire assembly to the control arm).

You beat me to it! I was typing that when a "new message" notification popped up.
Only the 2.4L needs to have plugs changed before 100,000 miles (because they're copper). Iridium or platinum plugs (like what is used in the Pentastar engine) are rated for 100,000 miles.

How many miles are on the vehicle? Plugs dont need to be changed until 100,000 miles.

Drive yourself over to an auto parts store and have them check the electrical system on your Journey (they'll all do it for you). A fully charged battery should be in the neighborhood of 12.5V while the vehicle is off. While running, it usually will be around 14.5V (I don't have exact numbers for the Journey, but a lead acid battery is lead acid battery, and it needs that much voltage to charge). Turn on the headlights should drop about 1V temporarily, then come back up as the alternator kicks in enough voltage to handle the load. If you don't have enough voltage to start the vehicle, replace the battery.

I'm going to do my best to never let my Journey go to Virginia. Every time I've driven a vehicle there for the last 5 years, I've gotten a crack in the windshield. That state hates my cars.

I know this is somewhat old, but wanted to add some info for changing out wheel hub/bearing parts. They generally now come as a single assembly (and with ABS equipped vehicles, have a wheel speed sensor built in as well). It also means you don't pack grease into a wheel bearing ever again. It's a single component that, for the front axle, allows the drive shaft to rest in the middle to drive the actual flange with mounting points for your rotor and wheel. The GC/T&C wheel hub has a total of 5 pieces of mounting hardware (4 bolts to hold the body of the wheel hub and bearing assembly to the steering knuckle, and 1 VERY large nut - I think it's a 30mm or 32mm - to hold the axle half shaft end in the hub assembly. I changed out the wheel hub/bearing on my sister's (my old) '05 Cavalier - it took about 2 hours, and was a job I had never done before. They aren't hard to work on (if you have the right tools).
Also, the wheel bearing/hub assembly is the first component in the drive line that is NOT covered by the powertrain warranty. It is covered under bumper-to-bumper warranty, and may be covered by a Chrysler service contract depending on which one you bought, but the 60 month/100,000 mile (or km if you live north of the border) powertrain warranty does not cover them (as far as I remember from the warranty booklet).

For the windows I always use a razor blade, held at 45deg angle or so. Just scrape all along every window. It doesn't scratch at all...like steel wool might.
For paint, I would use any old claybar and get to work...I use meguiars. But, I would let the new paint/clear coat cure for a few weeks before claybaring.

Paint thinner works just as well. I had overspray on my Sebring. I tried the razor blade, tried clay bar, tried rubbing compound...nothing got rid of it completely. Finally I got some paint thinner and wiped it off.

So, finally some news!
NO frame damage. That was my stopping point. Everything else can be repaired properly with OEM parts, but the frame is what it is. Anything that was damaged is a bolt-on component, so as long as they're replacing with OEM (which I have assurances from the body shop that they are), I'm ok with it.
The full damage list is:
Front Bumper:
front bumper cover (replace)
lower air deflector (replace)
reinforcement (replace)
Front Lamps:
driver side headlight (replace)
Hood:
hood (re-allign, re-paint)
Fender:
driver side fender (replace)
passenger fender (re-paint)
Radiator Support:
radiator support (replace)
evacuate/recharge refrigerant
It needs an alignment, and may have some damaged suspension components (which they won't know until everything else is done), but the big news is that it is fairly light (considering what it could have been). The worst theing they can tell me from this point on is that the transmission was affected (so fine, replace it with factory new if that's the case) or that the steering components need to be replaced (again, use OEM, and I'll be satisfied).
The body shop has agreed to provide me with copies of the invoices for every part they install on the vehicle (it's a good shop, but I still want documented proof of all parts being OEM).

Body shop has got it in paint now - they started painting on Friday. Three stage paint = 3 days to paint the vehicle. Fun stuff.
So, one more day of paint (tomorrow), then alignment in the morning on Wednesday, and I should get it back Wednesday afternoon. Then it's off to the dealer to get an appraisal done so I'm loaded for my diminished value claim. Yay - more paperwork!!!

Most companies I've seen around here (Maryland) do accident forgiveness for the first incident of an at-fault collision. After 3 years, they legally cannot hold a claim against you for determining your rate. 1 accident every 10 years? If insurance companies could guarantee that rate of incident for all drivers, everyone's rates would be dirt cheap.

"No fault" means everyone's rates go up as a result of a collision. How wonderful that the lawyers decided to do that for you.
Shop around when it's time for your policy renewal. It won't hurt. If you find a lower quote, go back to your "guy" and see if they can price match. Competition is always a good thing.
Got a quote from my insurance (they will subrogate after fault is determined, but everyone else is moving too slow for my liking) - $2,000 in damage (so far). No evidence that they've seen of frame damage, but they won't know for sure until it's been disassembled. All things considered, it's not as bad as I thought.

The insurance company for the driver who did the t-boning (Liberty Mutual) has at least gotten statements from all three drivers now. They're waiting to hear back from the county police (trying to get to the officer). They told me that right now, they're currently getting 4-6 WEEKS to obtain copies of police reports (which according to the county can only be delivered by mail, and are $15/copy - hello?!?!?!? It's the 21st century!!! Automate this stuff!!!), so they need to speak to the officer directly to speed things up. Ultimately, they all need to talk to the witness (guy who was following the Acura that got hit first) who was ALSO making a left turn. His statement is all that is needed to assign fault, and then the rest of this gets bundled up nicely.
In the mean time, I'm out $500 because I don't want to wait a month to get an answer as to when I'll get my car back.
Lobitz - I understand your point about dealing with a particular person. However, I've been with GEICO for about 6 years now. Before them, I was with USAA. GEICO's service for me has been every bit as good as USAA had been in the past (and anyone who's ever dealt with USAA knows what high praise that is). The reason I switched was GEICO had a rate that was significantly lower at the time due to a university alumni association credit. As it stands now, no one can get within $200/year of what I pay through GEICO (for two vehicles). Good customer service (as good as one can expect from an insurance company), and the absolute rock bottom price available? Yeah, I'll stick with them (until someone matches one and beats the other - it matters little to me which is which).

The collision coverage process through any other insurer would be the same, given the circumstances (3 cars, 3 insurance companies, one car clearly not at fault - me - and the other two blaming each other). I've spoken to reps from all three companies, they all agree I'm definitely not at fault (I was stopped at a red light, my only involvement in this was being in the wrong place at the wrong time). What they don't agree with yet is who is at fault. Ultimately, I'm inclined to believe fault lies with the 87 year old man who did the initial t-boning of the other vehicle (second vehicle was making a left turn, and I'm about 95% certain she had a protected left turn signal), but that's just me.
No insurance company is going to let the deductible go without being paid if the initial payment comes out of their fund. It will eventually be paid back to me through subrogation, I just don't want to have to put the money out up front. I've got another kid on the way (#3), and simply don't have the time or money to have to deal with all of this. Not dealing with vehicle repair nonsense is precisely WHY I bought a new car!
I've used the body shop that my carrier would recomend before - they're good. They also warranty the repairs for as long as I own the vehicle.

It doesn't help that the other two drivers are dragging their feet in getting their statements to their respective insurance companies. I've got a proposal for them - the other companies split the difference and each pay half of what is needed to fix/replace (if necessary) mine, then fight it out between the two of them for who pays back what to each other. I'm the only person involved who is absolutely not at fault, so naturally I get screwed waiting for mine to get fixed.
My insurance company won't even start an inspection without me first agreeing to the deductible! Meanwhile, I'm without my Journey. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy freaking birthday to me! (no, seriously) Not how I intended to spend this week.

I don't know who or what I've angered, or what I may have done, to earn this stretch of impacts to my Journey. I was the third car in a 3 car collision (with me stopped at a light) that probably totaled both other vehicles (first guy's hood is jacked up and it was leaking coolant and oil post impact, front airbags deployed, second car had both passenger side curtains deployed, the entire passenger side is bowed in about 5 inches). My front bumper, driver headlight, and driver fenders re all damaged, the hood is out of alignment, the passenger fender is rubbing the hood, and the steering wheel is 15 degrees off (noticed while backing up to clear the street).
I haven't even made the first payment on this thing, and it's been hit TWICE! This is what I get for washing my car for the first time.

300k is seriously impressive. The body work on that looks flawless. My 2010 T&C just passed 90k. It's getting new plugs and a serpentine belt later this year. It's already got new calipers (but they at least carry a lifetime warranty now). I'd be happy if I coul dkeep it half as long as your 300M!

The owner's manual for the 2015 states to do a tire rotation and oil change when the oil light goes off. I just bought mine 3 weeks ago, so I can't say what I have done yet (I haven't even put gas in it myself yet )
My '10 T&C gets a tire rotation at every oil change due to the 6,000 mile interval that goes off like clockwork (light has come on at 5,500 miles save for one time). That one time, I did not do a tire rotation with that oil change (3,000 miles, and this was the time that it had been dealing with a transmission leak at a dealer, so it was getting a lot of poor usage that my wife and I don't put on it during our typical driving). I changed it early again, and did the tire rotation after the next 3,000 (oil is cheap, and my 3.8 used to burn it like gas - not so much since the valve seal replacement.)
The only thing that a tire rotation will do is evenly wear the tread across all four wheels. If you don't care, don't do it. And replace your front tires much more frequently. If you want to keep all 4 wheels within 1/32nd of an inch, get a gauge and rotate as soon as you see a difference from front to back. It does give you a chance to inspect brake linings at every oil change, so there is that.
Older vehicles with a 3,000 mile change interval had them every other oil change due to the minimal wear you'd get in 3,000 miles. It wasn't enough in that short of distance to make much of a difference. At 6,000 - 10,000 miles, it matters.
The 2012 and up T&C have an 8,000 mile oil change interval, and the tire rotation matches the oil change. The current Journey is "never to exceed 10,000 miles," with a tire rotation at the same time. Severe duty (dusty or off road) is 4,000 miles, so I would imagine the typical time is going to be closer to 8,000. For a 40,000 mile tire (like what you typically get with OEM), it might make a difference to rotate earlier, but once you're past that first set of tires and get to a 60k or 80k tread life tire, it's not going to matter too much.