NavalLacrosse

TRIP COMPLETE!

Notable Information:

When the doughnut is on (Because the TPMS system knows there is a problem) Cruise control will not engage over 45MPH !  This is good information not found anywhere else on the Fourm. 

MPG at 75-85 mph: 24.8 mpg

MPG at 60-70 mph: 27.8 mpg

I stand corrected; The rear does fold down. I cannot help. Good luck OP

To my understanding, none of the headrests fold/collapse down. This is by design, and they nest neatly behind the 2nd row seats.

If you're unable to lower the headrest to the 'lowest setting', make sure you're pushing both buttons (one on each plastic bracket)

My 2011's at 82k right now. When I'm done with my roadtrip next weekend I'll be changing the Transmission Fluid.

For me, this time, I see the cost of wear and tear, mixed with that I already have auto insurance that covers collions; 
The cost to rent a 'car' (ironically, probably would be a dodge journey 4-banger) with insurance will be greater than the decrease in value/cost of operation of my personal car. 

As far as cash for buyout goes, I'd still probably get 9k out of mine if they totaled it tomorrow. 

Did some math. Think i did it wrong. TLDR, I think you'll be fine.

Thanks, Ya'll

Solstice;

Thanks for the destination and museum suggestions. Huntsville is one I didn't know about, but I'll keep it in mind. Dayton Air Force museum is on the way too...  Waffle house is defiantly a stop on the way down. (There was one in southern Indiana that I've been to that was absolutely beyond what you'd expect from WH).

Armando;

It's to see my parents in Florida. leaving this Friday to spend 7 days there. We considered flying, and it's still the ideal solution from a sanity sake, but by wife wanted to try the drive at least once. She's always flying around internationally, and hasn't done a real long road trip before ... So, here we go! I've done rentals for shorter roadtrips, but that was when I was driving a car that actively burned oil at 1qt/1500miles.

TLRD:

Road trip to Florida, 20 hours driving. 

Will encounter car issues : Will not encounter car issues. 

Place your bets! 

Any suggestions for a two-person road trip to make it more 'stereotypical road trip fun?' 

I've done this about ten times. 

It will be my wife's first 'American long haul roadtrip' (some of you probably have done longer, but it's not a competition) 

Suggestions to make it more enjoyable for a passenger specifically relating to the Dodge Journey? I'm thinking she'll utilizing the mid row, and kick her feet up on the folded pass seat back. 

Snacks suggestions? 

Sights along I75,  Detroit to Orlando? 

Sights along (I?), Nashville to Indianapolis? 

PS: I think my car will make it. 

Wish me luck. 

I replaced mine once with the walmart's Everstart. Walmart did not do the installation. the battery failed after 6 months, (in -40degF weather). My cost was $79.

I then replaced it the next day at a Goodyear service center. The DuraLast they gave me cost was $120, installed, with a 1yr labor warranty. It's lasted 1 Year so far, no issues. (Because Goodyear took my battery for the core charge, I didn't get a chance to return it to Walmart for a refund.)

The Oil-life-meter of FCA is based entirely on empirical information, not on oil sampling. 

The factors include:

Mileage:  drive too far, you'll need oil change

Manifold Pressure (which relates to engine power output): if you have higher than average oil/manifold pressure, you're either towing or driving in the mountains; change oil more frequently.

Engine Hours: idle for extended periods of time? change that oil sooner.

By default, the clock is set to 7,000 miles- then the driving habits of the operator extend or reduce the time before the next change. 

usually the variance is +/- 1000 miles.

Chevrolet and Toyota does viscosity and quality testing of the oil in the engine (meaning if you use bad oil, the car should notice). FCA does 'close enough' pretty well. I can't complain.

In my opinion, It's not large enough of an issue to circumvent. 

At least it automatically accepts the conditions.
 

When I was a wee-little lad, an extended family member's mom had a Windstar with Ford's best infotainment GPS combo. It required a touch every time to accept the use of the device. 
 

Welcome to the forums.

I was discouraged from buying mine too early on by the internets mob mentality for hating the DJ -- but in the end, it was the test drive (and the price tag) that sold it. My wife likes it a lot too, but she's always thinking it's too long for her to easily park it in reverese (ours doesn't have a backup camera).  Not a bad for the 'only complaint'.

Seems that disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes is like FCA's cure-all fix:

Brake pads shuttering when used at high speed? - - try disconnecting the negative terminal for 30 minutes.
low of wiper fluid? - - just disconnect the negative terminal, the warning light goes out.
That other driver gave you a dirty look? - - tell them to disconnect their negative terminal, and shove it up their bum.

Anyway, dumb jokes aside
Hope your issue is resolved soon. Best of luck OP

I noticed this issue too when I changed my rear brake pads. 

When I bought the car, there were no issues (that I noticed).
 

After I changed the rear pads and rotors, I noticed immediately the same issue- exactly as OP describes. 

I thought the cause to be one of two things:

1) When compressing the rear caliper, I used a c-clamp... and really pressed it hard. it wasn't till later I rented the turning brake tool.

2) after the job, I decided to bleed the brakes with my dad. We ingested air at the reservoir, and re-compressed the caliber to force the air out the top, which seemed to work.

Took the car on the road for the first time and knew something was wrong. Exactly as described- derivable with no issues, but the pedal just slowly sinks to the floor if i press my foot on it while stopped.

I've just learned to ignore it. I'll bleed the whole system one day via a mechanic, but until then it's so subtle I'll just keep driving it.

This very well could be contributing to your other issue regarding the driver's AC not working. Electrical issues are where I just sit it out. 

was this car in a flood?

I'm no expert, and I'm unfamiliar with the 2010. I don't have a solution, but what I'd do is systematically troubleshoot the problem with the following methods to see if you can isolate the issue: 

Assuming you're referring to thermal issues: 
Is the heat fully controllable on both sides (when the A/C is off)?

With the A/C off and the temp selectors both at cold and with a hot engine, are you able to get ambient temp air out of all vents? can the heat be controlled manually at all temp levels levels (when with no-AC, no-Auto). If it's not uniform, then the issue may remains blend valve; maybe there is derbies preventing it from closing all the way.

With the AC-ON and Auto-OFF, can you get all the vents to blow cold air at max setting with a cold engine... how about with a hot engine? try this: with the engine COLD, turn AC-on [max cold], Non-Auto. does it produce cold air at all vents?, - - now, with the engine hot, try AC-on[max cold], Non-Auto: Does this produces uniform cooling? If it's uneven, then it's still likely a problem with the blend valve.

does this issue only happen when AUTO mode is on? if only when auto mode on, then I think it's the driver's side cabin thermometer is faulty or may have cold air blowing on it causing it to incorrectly guess the cabin temp on the driver's side.

Good luck! 

 

Depending on your intended use, consider an inexpensive foam pad, then just sit on it! If you only take road trips with 7 adults once in a long while, this simple solution will likely appease the most tender of butts.

My wife and step mother sat in the third row on a 5 hr drive, with their legs up on the collapsed mid-row. the complained about the seat being un-comfy- then ultimately just ended up sitting on their pillows. problem solved!

Totally normal, (not that it's pleasant by any means) This is the case for nearly all high-quality modern cars, trucks, SUV's Minivans. Older cars did not have this issue because of poorly sealer doors/panels.

Just learn the ideal amount of front window needed to kill the reverberations: 
usually an inch cracked in the front is enough to null out the pressure surges, and provide a mild breeze in the cabin. (opening the sun roof too, has the same nullifying effect)

Cars come with a parking/E brake for this reason. Use the e-brake pedal (left side of driver's foot well) to prevent the car from moving. Doesn't hurt to use brick behind/in-front of  the wheels too.

Can you turn off, and take the key out of the ignition when the shifter's is in park? (with your foot on the brake): Can the car start?
Are you sure the car is in true neutral, and not still in drive? with the engine off, the torque converter will feel like neutral at low speeds.
Does the dashboard indicate the PRNDL changing, even though the car seems in neutral?
is the electrical system working (radio, headlights, ect) 
Just for fun, try the old' trick of disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes; See if this gives the transmission a second wind... 

If it was me, I'd get it on a tow truck and take it to the nearest decent family-owned transmission shop.
Might be big repair, but if the car didn't indicate any issues, it might be a issue with the shift lever, or it's push-rod that move the transmission in and out of gear.
 

I should mention, regarding battery issues: 
I encountered the issue; replaced the battery with a Walmart battery myself (the service team 'refused' to work on the DJ). IT FAILED IN 1 month- same issues as you described again. Replaced the battery with a better one- and the issue has been gone 20k more miles.

Before you go chasing the electrical gremlins, keep it simple:
Does it start when you jump it?  Have you Swapped the battery with a new one?

I was suffering from issues similar to what you described; I feared the worse.

Ultimately, just replacing the battery with a new battery solved all the issues (radio crashing, failure to start, failure to sustain power, fob not detected, BT failure)

Dodge Journey is known for having many electrical gremlins show up when the battery START failing.

12 hours ago, Appalachian Journey said:

Perhaps it's because CAFE standards go up in 2020 and the Dart is no longer there to lower the average.

True. The Federal penalty for going over under MPG requirements must be mounting up. 18mpg combined is pretty low for a 2020 crossover, IMO.

not a solution, but I also have BT issue. 

Although I may be wrong; I'm pretty sure this is just normal finicky Bluetooth operation from a car from 2011,12. Mine fails to pair, lags often, and fails to connect for media 50% of the time.

I found if I leave my phone's BT on, it will always connect if I don't look at it- However, if it isn't connected immediately when the car starts, and the radio boots- it's a 5 minute headache of my phone and car not getting along.

Hope you find the solution.

FCA has their head up their butt, but they've got a plan.

I Think FCA's plan is to make the the DJ insufferable (w/ only 4cyl) is that there is 2 years till the release of their new (2022 jeep?Jouney) CUV.

GM did this with their Equinox prior to the Blazer's release, neutering the equinox with a 4cyl 2 years prior to the release of the V6 blazer.

Jeep is their SUV Brand- and the new DJ-esque CUV they've been testing might take on the profitable Jeep badge. make sense, and I'm not upset they want to make money.

Dodge is their Performance Brand (used to be their economy brand in the early 2000's), and makes sense they want their "beefy" Hemi cars, SUV, and truck on this lineup. The DJ make sense in 2008, but doesn't align with the brand message they want to convey in 2020+. 

Chrysler's badge is holding on by a thread; with only their flagship, the Pacifica Minivan (and it's buck-toothed cousin, the Chrysler Voyager). They should have killed this brand when the 300 died- but they needed a family-oriented badge to sell their minivan they spent a lot of money on developing under - seeing as and the other two brands are not suitable for a marshmallow. Maybe the 2022 CUV will be used to bolster Chrysler's lineup? Jeep surely doesn't need more CUV's 

There's probably some FCA guys laughing at my comment.

I Live/work in Detroit metro,: 
I can confirm Dodge Journey is a VERY popular choice of inexpensive crossover, especially in blue collar metro-Detroit. I'll often find myself in mini herds of DJs while zipping through traffic.

As far as a car goes, It checks all the boxes:

-'American' (this is a pre-req for 90% of car owners in Metro Detroit)

-SUV, so it's presumed safe (this is up to debate)

-Inexpensive to own and repair

-Good Looking exterior (if your sense of automotive style is grounded in 2008, which wasn't a bad time at all)

-Very Very Good looking interior.

GM and Ford's product is more expensive. I think this stems from GM and Ford constantly innovating to better their lineup as far as  safety, efficiency, and style... and FCA is doing what they do- Hitting a home run from the start, and beating the golden goose to a pulp. "Why spend money innovating, if what we've got now is stupidly profitable"

In an Ironic twist, FCA's headquarters is located in a slightly more affluent area, meaning there are fewer DJ, or Chyslers, in general,per person- and more Buicks, Caddys, Lincolns, and Lux imports,...