Armando G

Whatever happened to a bag of ice? 
 
Two bags are cheaper than a new battery... just saying ? 

Whatever happened to a bag of ice? 
 
Two bags are cheaper than a new battery... just saying ? 

Geezzzz.... these responses seem to be worse case scenarios. How about starting with the basics. Home install of the alternator, could be a loose screw that isn't making good contact (we've all done it). Are the battery terminals nice and tight, and clean? Is the battery itself good? Again, just because it's new, doesn't mean there isn't an issue.
Verify what you have done before assuming what it could be. Hopefully it isn't a major item... good luck. 

To be honest, it was probably one of the worst projects I have ever undertaken for my vehicle; and I have done plenty in my lifetime. I have never came across wires from 3 seperate harnesses using different color schemes. Not to mention, not even follow the color codes of what each wire is in the actual manual. That just baffles me.
 
Anyway, as far as what I will be towing? HaHa TBH, I initially wanted to only put up a hitch to put on a bike rack ROFL For some stupid reason, I decided to do the works, the entire wiring apparatus. I guess I thought it would be an interesting project; only thing is, it turned out to be hell HaHa.
 
Honestly, I don't even know if I will ever put a trailer on it? How sad is that? This is despite going all out and even installing an electrical braking switch.
 
I guess parts of me found this interesting, the whole install hitch and wiring the harnesses. I missed working on cars. Last time I worked on cars was back in 2013 when I had a heavily modded Mustang with a supercharger. Mind you, some of the work was not done by me so I can't take all the credit but the projects back then were fun. At least the wires and colors matched up! Ha
 
So yeah, most likely just a hitch and a bike rack HaHa 

Well, after an unexpectedly short time with our 2013 Journey R/T AWD, we had to say goodbye to it a couple of months ago. It had served us well, taken my spouse and I to and from work, hauled our two granddaughters to numerous functions and sports activities, and taken us on trips over three Canadian provinces. This year, it hauled hundreds of items to our new condo [and a lot of recyclables, and junk to our local depot before we moved].
 
Sadly, we had been experiencing shuddering and grinding noises since 2020. Despite a front-end repair under our extended warranty and another front-end inspection and work this past May, the problems continued. A diagnosis in June was that the electronic clutch control system had to be completely replaced, about $5,000 including labour [this is an assembly, not parts]. On a 9-year-old vehicle with about 60,000 km, my spouse and I debated what to do, and decided it had to go. After researching various makes and models, we traded it on a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. We were not looking for a Jeep but the model approximated what we wanted in an SUV.
 
I miss the Journey’s interior room [7-seater]; our new Grand Cherokee is a five-seater. I miss the underfloor and under passenger seat storage. I miss the wide-opening rear doors and the standard roof rack. I don’t miss the Journey’s AWD system; it was the source of a number of in-warranty repairs over the years and it just shuddered when going through snow or backing up a grade [this should have been a red flag to what occurred as described above]. I don’t miss its electrical issues (three batteries in the last 5 years, necessitating removing the left front wheel and wheel well cover each time to get the batteries replaced – I never understood why FCA could not find a place in the engine compartment to place the battery). It was also short on convenience items, safety features, had an old Uconnect interface with a terrible Garmin-based NAV system (more inaccurate than not, even after updating the software), and FCA never manufactured it with a power liftgate; the latter was important as my spouse is short and found it very difficult to pull the Journey’s hatch down to close. We don’t have regrets buying it, just keeping it as long as we did.
 
I appreciate the time as a member of this forum and the numerous posts regarding owners’ experiences. This will obviously be my last post and I will eventually cancel my membership. Good luck to everyone and I hope that you continue to enjoy your “journey with your Journey.”

Geezzzz.... these responses seem to be worse case scenarios. How about starting with the basics. Home install of the alternator, could be a loose screw that isn't making good contact (we've all done it). Are the battery terminals nice and tight, and clean? Is the battery itself good? Again, just because it's new, doesn't mean there isn't an issue.
Verify what you have done before assuming what it could be. Hopefully it isn't a major item... good luck. 

Geezzzz.... these responses seem to be worse case scenarios. How about starting with the basics. Home install of the alternator, could be a loose screw that isn't making good contact (we've all done it). Are the battery terminals nice and tight, and clean? Is the battery itself good? Again, just because it's new, doesn't mean there isn't an issue.
Verify what you have done before assuming what it could be. Hopefully it isn't a major item... good luck. 

Had it up on a lift today.  Gave a good look over, engine mounts and exhaust hangars and connections all good.  Talked to the mechanic that runs the shop and agrees that it is the ABS self test based on my explanation.   Thanks again!

Random moment which made my week. 

So, if you're not familiar, (I don't blame you if you're not), There is an event in Detroit called the Woodward Dream Cruise, which is basically a really long(15 miles of road) cruise/car show/expo of all things car. Every genre, every scene, every car- A celebration of cars in the motor city-
One of the 'things' that happens is the spectators on the side will have megaphones and will yell at the drivers "REV IT UP!" "BURN OUT!" and the drivers will do a short burnout for a few feet and then keep driving.

Anyway:
I'm in my Dodge Journey, we're watching the cars while driving in the 'thru lanes' of the highway. I was trying to get off the main drag, so I'm 'in the cruiser lane trying to turn right' amongst the classics, the Hellcats, the rat rods, and the rest.... that's when I hear it on the loudspeaker: 

"Dodge Journey.... Dodge Journey!! LIGHT IT UP DODGE JOURNEY..."

and I did it: 
Neutral Gear: REV to 4k Dump it in Drive Pedal E-Brake on 1/2 way.  I left about 4 ft of tire mark(s?) on the road, and got a massive cheer from the crowd. 10/10 will take my Journey to the Dream Cruise again XD. Probably took 6 months of life out of the fwd driveline...

Anyway. moral of the story, I made about a dozen day-drinkers lose their minds for few seconds, and made my week. I'd not recommend doing that with your Journey.

Problem, and solution... nice. 
 
Thanks for posting what could possibly help others. I like these posts 

@OhareFred, well that sucks. Sounds like you got some changes going on (move and now new car - for your son i guess). In any case, been a pleasure, peek in every once in a while and good luck to you. 

Well everyone adding a GRAB ASSIST HANDLE is possible on the DJ (Dodge Journey)!! I finally installed it at a local upholstery shop close to home. Between parts, installation/labor, total: $125
• Support Bracket $29 on eBay 
• Handle $16 on eBay 
• Labor $80 at a local upholstery shop
if anyone is interested, I can provide p/n’s 
Good Luck!

@Armando G Yeah, the WTF moment was from the 55774 to 56229 to 56330. The colors for all those do not match. What I did realize after 4hrs scratching my head is that the wires on 56330 do not even conform to the color codes identified in the actual Curt manual hahaha ...so needless to say, that did not help. Eventually, the mismatch in color wires between 55774 and 56229 was irrelevant as I discovered because the wires line up correctly at the end of 56229 (if that makes any sense). In the end, connecting 56229 to 56330 was simple. As for the battery, it is currently on the same battery. I have yet to install a 2nd one. Honestly, I doubt I will ever need it. Initially I just wanted a hitch to lug a bike rack in the back. However, my friends own a shop so they did all the work for nothing for me as they said 'let's do the works'. I did help but most of the work they did. The wiring was the only pain we encountered as the hitch was on the car within 2 hrs if not less. Also, the power is fused based on the 56330 harness, no cutting was done to that harness other than cutting off the 4 wire plug so I can connect it to the 56229 harness extension. We did run 3 cables from the back of the car to the front for power. One cable for when I eventually will add hitch lights in the back, another for the blue cable, and the third for the 56330 harness fused power.. The wires were connected as such from the 56330 harness to the 56229 extension: Black to Black, White to White, Yellow to Yellow, Brown to Brown, Green to Green, Blue to Blue,. The last and final wire, purple, is for the reverse light which connects into a wire in your left rear tail light, I believe it was a beige type wire. The blue one I have yet to connect as its for the electrical brakes. So if anyone has pointers where to find the connection i'm all ears. My understanding is its somewhere under the dash?

I will be doing it all myself yes.
She does not keep on top of maintenance as she should but at 112k miles not too far off on some of this.  I dont know maintenance schedule but did download the operator manual and assume its all in there but these are things I would assume need done.
 
The car drives good so not too nervous but AAA only tows 100mi so anytime further away than that I want to try to make sure vehicle will make it fine. I had idea to rent but all that is available is cars...as they sold all vans/suvs and cant buy more...
I do not want to drive my car that far until do a lot more work to it so taking her car is best option.
 
The one issue that worried me is when reversing it has hesitation/slight bucking (to me feels like tires spinning but they are not) at low RPM but read that others experience this so not too worried. I read just low pressure in trans causes it as does go away when hit gas but then go too fast...
 
She appreciates it and that is big for me...but this is just what I do.
 

Thanks for all of the specs. Are you saying you will be doing all of this work before your trip? Has she not been keeping up on the regular maintenance, which makes you need to do all of this work? Hopefully she appreciates all of this work (if you are doing it). If you're really nervous, I'd suggest going and renting a car for your trip - I do that every once in a while. 
 
In any case, good info... good luck on your trip. 

just got back from` a trip to Biloxi Ms, and got 27 + on the way there and 26+ on the way home ,cant complain

yes everything is fine ,yes there was a mix up, they corrected the problem gave us free install, every time my daughter has had a flat or ruined tire they have went out of there way to get her back on the road even working after closing time to do it once, they are such a great company to do business with, i dont have a cosco membership so i cant comment on their service, but discount tire has went over and beyond for our tire needs,,, and as far as time wasted was only when the tires had too be remounted   ....as i said she got her Michelin defender th   tires with an  85 k mile warranty mounted and balanced out the door for a total of 109. per tire i would bet cosco would not have matched that price

Welcome aboard! Sounds like a great "game plan" to me!   

so how old is the battery?  journeys like a good battery, just because the radio will work or the lights come on doesn't mean its good enough to start it,also after you get it fixed MAKE sure your alternator is checked to make sure it is putting out enough to keep the battery going...good luck    P .S. i have a 2014 as well and i already replaced mine at least twice already..i live in AL and heat can be hard on batteries as well

I would suggest getting roof rails installed and then your options of crossbars will open up immensely. Something you can do yourself or have the dealer install. 
 
https://www.jeepchryslerdodgeramparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-roof-rail-right-5116318ac?origin=pla&gclid=CjwKCAjwi9-HBhACEiwAPzUhHL1LOqpRGcekyekhIwkRsFbfmKVXDc-kg6uKzxk2Gvk3lYk1OmuQfRoCPXsQAvD_BwE

You will need to pull the wheel off and inspect. It could be, or it could be something else entirely. You can also get the code read and that should pinpoint the issue instead of guessing. 

What he said ?
 
In addition, go back to that mechanic and tell him to stop guessing at what it might be and to really figure out the problem (there are ways to test the system). You can get guesses from a forum... for free. 

Problem, and solution... nice. 
 
Thanks for posting what could possibly help others. I like these posts 

just bought my daughter a set of Michelin tires ( defenders rated at 80 k)  from discount tires online instead of going to their store to order them..... well they had a great deal of 110 off instantly and if i used my discount tire credit card i will get and extra 60 on a rebate master card... now the local store will match that price but by ordering on line, the warranty for the tires are about $5 cheaper than the store charges so that is a $20 savings and also buying on line the tax is cheaper by about $20 ...so all that said i ordered them last sat and they were supposed to come in Monday but never got a email on the tracking so i called them and they said there had been a mix up somewhere, and said they were going out Monday nite and should be at my house on Tuesday and to make up for the problem they said as soon as i get them mounted and balanced to send them the invoice on the cost and they would reimburse me up to $ 22. per tire,,, so for a total of $498.40 and free install she is getting a great deal on a set of tires....Discount tire is a great store to trade with if you have one near you give them a try as they rebuild the tpm for free and treat you right every time an d if you dont have a store in your state buy them from discount tire direct online they ship them to you and then they have authorized installers near where ever you live,,,one thing is the offer the best deals at every holiday weekend so try to catch them at that time and also their credit card is easy to apply for and easy to get...MAN i sound like i work for them BUT NO i dont they are just a great honest company for a great deal

Hello. Wanted to share my battery replacement experience on my 2018 Journey. Battery was 3 years old and failed to start the car about once a week usually on a Monday morning after not being used over weekend. Thought it might be a parasitic drain so I checked for that and found only short term drain so I replaced the battery with a DieHard Group size 75/86 650 CCA. From Advance Auto even though the size chart said it would not fit it fit perfectly . It had 650 CCA compared to the recommended battery only having 525 CCA. It’s been in the car for 6 months now and is working great in both hot and cold weather. Thought this might be helpful to some of you.