NavalLacrosse

is the second thermostat stuck? usually there is two, one for the low temp, and one for hi temp. I'm not 100% certain the journey has two, but based on your hypothesis, a stuck secondary thermostat would cause your issus.




 

Update: I had the battery tested this morning (I’ve had it go through the possessed routine twice since I last posted). It was low on cold cranking amps. I bought a new one and put it in. It started right up and the check engine light went away. Maybe I wasn’t blowing fuses after all? Here’s to hoping that was the solution.

Thanks for the replies! Yes I did some searching and saw about the 2 fuses for the SCCM. And I'm familiar with the switch issues also from the many Dodge models that use the same switch(Avenger/200/Sebring/Ram). My friend has at least 3 vehicles to pull one from and try, if it's not a blown fuse. Probably do it Friday as MOM won't need HER G6 and son can use that for going to work.
    Hey for a vehicle rapidly getting to the 192K mile mark, some small things NEED to start wearing out! ...  LOL   

I thought that honor was designated for the cupholder /s

Check it out, OP. 

I'm like a broken record on this topic, but when the battery is anything less than 99% perfect, the gremlins come out. they are symptoms you describe with the wipers, radio, all lights on the cluster, gauges acting weird. Ignition not working. radio and hvac controls out-of-whack. These are common when the battery and the (less frequently) the alternator are bellow perfect operational health. 
 
an easy way to test this is: If the car runs perfectly fine while connected to the jump pack, but then starts acting weird after a few minutes without the jump pack, it might be the battery is 'just' a little too old for the car's liking.

might seem to simple but how old is YOUR battery and have it checked,since you couldn't jump his truck...i would def.get the battery checked or replaced before laying out any more money on this problems journeys act crazy with a low charged battery...good luck and hope its just the battery

That is the location that I was referring to... it was a cool feature... too bad it was phased out with the 3 row seating.
 
Not a big deal... the dog and I both love the Journey.

Any  used car CAN be a lemon, but yes journeys seem to have a bit more of a problem if you read this blog BUT as we all know you always here the complainers but hardly ever the ones with no problems. Myself i really like my 2 journeys ive have had and with only a couple of small problems i would buy another one if they were still making them,,, a lot cheaper than other so called better quality vechiles but with a cheaper price you have room for repairs if you have any,,,funny thing all Toyota and other high cost vehicles  have repair centers as well 

That's a toughy - 

As much as I like the Dodge journey, It's not the worlds most reliable car. - That being said;
What it is, is probably the best value proposition car: You'll be hard pressed to find as large, comfy, *reliable, and *capable car for the price, even with the used car run-up post covid.
 
*Reliable: It's not perfect, but for 1/2 the price of a RAV4, you'll get a car that's 85% as reliable. 
*Capable: It's very roomy, but only can tow 2500lbs. If you don't tow, this won't be an issue

A few recommendations;  
seeing as pretty much nothing has changed at all on the dodge journey in 10 years, get one that its 4+ years old. This will make it much less expensive than CPO's from LaFontaine. 
That's one of the best things about the dodge journey, as it's had such a long run you can pay as much or as little as you want on a used one.
 
1) Get the v6. for the love of all things good in this world; do not get the 4cyl. the v6 pentastar is more powerful, and reliable, and only sacrifices 1mpg for a 100hp gain  over the 2.4 multi-air (and it's embarrassing 4sp auto trans)
2) don't fret about awd vs fwd. both are fine, but fwd will give you less problems, but if you frequently get in heavy snow areas, go for awd.


I've got a 2011 Front-wheel-drive with 98k miles-ish on it now.
bought it with 32k miles on it for $13,500 in 2017
v6 is a trooper. Still hauls ass on the freeway.
Brake pads and rotors every 30k miles. (an issue resolved after 2012)
needed new alternator last year.
needed new fog light bulbs last year too.
The battery needs to be replaced every 5ish years.
Had the rear brake caliper bracket seize, but this is my fault for not greasing it. 
I change the oil with Fram filters, and Quaker State full synth every 7,000 miles. 
Does not burn/consume oil.


TLDR:
I'd recommend this car to anyone looking for a large CUV with low cost of entry, and fairly low/common maintenance issues. Save a few thousand just to prepare for mechanical issues, but odds are you'll not need to spend it.



 

Welcome to the forum! 
 
It really depends on which one you end up with. Journeys are pretty hit or miss. Some seem to have few issues while others may have a lot. It’s definitely worth paying for a car fax or checking the service history to see if it’s been a problem child. They’re typically consistent in the problem areas and most aren’t crazy stupid to be fixed. Definitely poke around the forum and see what others are saying. 

The grinding noise may be a wheel bearing which the sensor is part of. You need to investigate it closer to be sure. Bad wheel bearings tend to be louder with speed or at certain speeds.

so if the car engine runs, 

sounds like you need:
 
1) replace the battery - you said it was leaking, so it means it's probably low health. The dodge journey dislikes any battery that is less than %99 perfect condition, and will have issues if the battery is weak.)
2) assure the negative cable is tight on both ends. there was acid water splashed all around the battery compartment. who's to say some didn't corrode the cables, reducing the voltage.
3) make sure the battery thermal circuit isn't damaged (if the car can start itself, this part isn't damaged)
4) test alternator health (coincidence, but a failing alternator might be causing some of the issues)
5) make sure the mirror is replaced, and there is no short in there. maybe a pinched wire is sending the error to the BCM (doubtful)

PS, let your insurance company know what happened, and they'll sue his insurance on your behalf, and they'll sue for repairing the damage to the electrical system most likely will result in a dealership quote that might make them total the car. If you don't have insurance, take him to small claims and sue him directly for damages. (hopefully in the chaos, you or your wife was able to take photos of both cars and their orientations.)

I think the  physical swap would be possible. 
I think the issues comes in once you try and integrating electronics. The center gauge screen probably wont work, as it needs to talk to a ECM from the 3.6L/2.4L: I4. The radio will probably fight you tooth and nail, as they have anti-theif. additionally the radio cluster will need to talk to the BCM and ECM to control exterior lights, interior cabin temp, and other features.  The HVAC in 2011 is totally digital. I don't think the 10 is going to like to communicate with the 11's dashboard.

Here's a better idea. The 2011's are cheap (so is nearly all the better FCA journeys, too). Just get yourself a Newer 2013 with 90k-100k miles, and sell the 2010 for like 4k. not only will you have the improved interior that actually functions as designed, but nearly everything else will be better- better engine, better seats, better tail-lights, better wheels. despite the used car market cost spike, there are high mile (100k mile) V6 journey's are found for under $7k

I think the  physical swap would be possible. 
I think the issues comes in once you try and integrating electronics. The center gauge screen probably wont work, as it needs to talk to a ECM from the 3.6L/2.4L: I4. The radio will probably fight you tooth and nail, as they have anti-theif. additionally the radio cluster will need to talk to the BCM and ECM to control exterior lights, interior cabin temp, and other features.  The HVAC in 2011 is totally digital. I don't think the 10 is going to like to communicate with the 11's dashboard.

Here's a better idea. The 2011's are cheap (so is nearly all the better FCA journeys, too). Just get yourself a Newer 2013 with 90k-100k miles, and sell the 2010 for like 4k. not only will you have the improved interior that actually functions as designed, but nearly everything else will be better- better engine, better seats, better tail-lights, better wheels. despite the used car market cost spike, there are high mile (100k mile) V6 journey's are found for under $7k

Very weird problem. I wonder if it’s tied into cruise control some how, it’s wiring is in the steering column.
 
Maybe pull fuse or relay for cruise control and see if horn still shuts car down.
How many miles  on car, which engine ? Any stored codes, check even if mil light not on.
 
Cars shutting off without notice can be CPS sensor. Doesn’t always store a code. A wear part and not expensive. 
At $200 for an  estimate,  you could try a few educated guesses first. 

For the last 30k miles, the brakes on my dodge have been... less than desirable. ABS worked, all the wheels seemed to do their thing to stop the car, but the pedal felt weak, and spongy. I thought that I had either 1) air in the lines, 2) failing caliper, 3) bad master cyl 4) bad booster.... turns out it was just 1 seized slide pin on the driver's side.

So, this last week the rear brakes start grinding metal on metal, as 2011-2012 model year brakes are known for eating pads and rotors every 30k miles. (which has been true for me so far). 

I get the 'elite' rotors+pads from Autozone, and go to town:
Turns out: My caliper slide pin on the Driver's side had totally seized up! The outboard pad had 75% remaining, and was worn out off-kilter. The inside pad was totally gone, and was just the backer plate. "what da fuk!?!? I greased those pins every time!" I thought to myself, as I explained to my wife why a 'two hour' brake job is turning into me missing dinner... 

Anyway, I ended up replacing the brackets on both sides, threw it back together, and wow what a difference having functioning brakes make!
 
4 hours + 17 mosquito bites later:
$204 for pads+rotors
$130 for 2 brackets, 4 pins, 4 boots, and a baggie of grease

The brakes are back! my goodness <3 it feels good to be able to stop like a normal car!

For the last 30k miles, the brakes on my dodge have been... less than desirable. ABS worked, all the wheels seemed to do their thing to stop the car, but the pedal felt weak, and spongy. I thought that I had either 1) air in the lines, 2) failing caliper, 3) bad master cyl 4) bad booster.... turns out it was just 1 seized slide pin on the driver's side.

So, this last week the rear brakes start grinding metal on metal, as 2011-2012 model year brakes are known for eating pads and rotors every 30k miles. (which has been true for me so far). 

I get the 'elite' rotors+pads from Autozone, and go to town:
Turns out: My caliper slide pin on the Driver's side had totally seized up! The outboard pad had 75% remaining, and was worn out off-kilter. The inside pad was totally gone, and was just the backer plate. "what da fuk!?!? I greased those pins every time!" I thought to myself, as I explained to my wife why a 'two hour' brake job is turning into me missing dinner... 

Anyway, I ended up replacing the brackets on both sides, threw it back together, and wow what a difference having functioning brakes make!
 
4 hours + 17 mosquito bites later:
$204 for pads+rotors
$130 for 2 brackets, 4 pins, 4 boots, and a baggie of grease

The brakes are back! my goodness <3 it feels good to be able to stop like a normal car!

Joke:
Embrace the dodge part of owning a dodge product; let those shocks go, and enjoy the pillowy smooth ride and exaggerated bodyroll. 

serious:
Aftermarket? yes I'd go that route. Anything, as long as it's not some no-name china knockoff. just google the manufacture for reviews. I'd not get Mopar, as honestly my option is the car is simply not worth the inflated costs. Of course, my opinion of the Journey may be different from yours.

Detroit Axle is good, literally their HQ is down the road from where I work. There's a reason they're located in detroit- because they supply parts to the OEMS here.
Moog (Federal Mogul) is good too. Their HQ is in metro detroit too. Same story as before, they keep their HQ in detroit, because they have tight relations with the big-three. Their HQ is closest to FCA's global HQ so i'm assuming they are pretty tight. They might be cheaper to source than Detroit Axle, as they have manufacturing in Poland (I used to sell industrial equipment to them).
Sensen, I'm not familiar with them. reddit seems pretty love-to-hate, so I'd avoid it for life-sensitive components, (like struts, rotors, or brake parts) their HQ is in China, and so is much of their global manufacturing.

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

I second you opinion. I've had nothing but good experience with discount. 

When I was desperate, in high school, they sold me a used Michelin tire for 45 dollars. (with "1/2 tread life" left) that tire lasted the last 40k miles of the cars life.
 
When a tire wears out early, they prorate the value of the new tire based on remaining warranty on the old one.

They repair a wider area of the tire for nail punctures (belle said "It's 2inches off center, it's a sidewall issue", discount just fixed it because it was obviously in the center.) 

Discount also accepts my tom-foolery of not signing for the tire warranty, but then when i have a tire blowout, they let me buy the warranty even though the car is clearly riding on the spare.

I also got a memorial day sale with them and got 4 general tire alti-max for 80 each.

 

In the 2015-16 peak sales years in US they were number 12 in Canada. Couldn’t find peak sales Canada break down.  Semi-popular or popular, mmm.
Personally I don’t buy a vehicle because it’s popular, it’s function and value end of things.
 
Rank Best-Selling SUV/Crossover 2016 2015 % 
Change #1 Toyota RAV4 49,103 42,246 16.2% #2 Ford Escape 46,661 47,726 -2.2% #3 Honda CR-V 44,789 38,961 15.0% #4 Nissan Rogue 40,055 35,841 11.8% #5 Jeep Cherokee 32,465 31,833 2.0% #6 Mazda CX-5 25,123 22,281 12.8% #7 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 24,282 26,685 -9.0% #8 Hyundai Tucson 23,789 16,362 45.4% #9 Ford Edge 20,517 16,580 23.7% #10 Chevrolet Equinox 19,197 19,766 -2.9% #11 Jeep Wrangler 18,277 20,880 -12.5% #12 Dodge Journey 16,741 25,646 -34.7% #13 Kia Sorento 15,466 14,372 7.6% #14 Ford Explorer 15,275 15,615 -2.2%

Re: Canada Sales- They sell at a greater per-capita rate as the Americans every year from 2008-2017. Probably has a little do due with them being build in Canada for a while. In the first few years, the Canadians out-paced the Americans 2:1 on per-capita purchases. long-story-short, the Dodge Journey is VERY popular in Canada, much more so than the US- you'd see about 50% more of them on the road, when driving through any Canadian city.

Re: global Markets: In Brazil, Fiat Freemont is considered a great car, but it's only offered in the 4cyl and rarely turbo-diesel. They sell them with the 3.6L v6 under the Dodge brand, it's marketed as a higher-end SUV, considering you'd need to have a pretty good job to afford an imported car, and feed is the equivalent of $6usd/gallon of regular gasoline in an environment where there is two types of driving: City and Mountain freeways.
 
 
 

So, I looked at a video, and there is more to the conversions than I thought; the trick is finding out what was added for the ramp, and what was added to raise the car. 
 
On older caravans it looks like they install some kind of steel frame which provides the cradle for the underslung ramp mechanisms. In the rear of the vehicle, the axle, springs, and shocks bolt onto this intermediate frame, and the frame bolts to the body. ( keep in mind the Caravan had a rigid rear axle, and is not Independent like the Journey.) The front is a real mystery. It looks more like a spacer at the top of the shock tower, and then nothing more.

Perhaps seeing toyota or Honda conversions will give a better idea of how to go about lifting a minivan with rear multi-link suspension.

3.6 hands down. 
 
3.6:
You're gaining nearly 100 horsepower and only losing 2 mpg combined.  3.6hp=280hp You're gaining a 6sp Automatic Transmission, This means smoother drive. Engine sounds quieter, and roars rather than whines. on the highway in top gear it runs at a calm 1500 rpm at 75 mph.  Passing on the highway? pedal to the floor and after an admittedly longggg time for the car to pick a gear- it will rocket. 2.4:
abysmal acceleration on the highways. not enough efficiency gained to warrant the loss of power. 4sp automatic transmission: The embarrassment of all automobiles sold, that this is the only one holding onto a relic of technology from 2 decades ago. (this is probably the reason the engine isn't more efficient.) on the freeway, it's time to pass: you'll miss those extra 100hp when your engine screams in redline and accelerates at a normal rate.

3.6 hands down. 
 
3.6:
You're gaining nearly 100 horsepower and only losing 2 mpg combined.  3.6hp=280hp You're gaining a 6sp Automatic Transmission, This means smoother drive. Engine sounds quieter, and roars rather than whines. on the highway in top gear it runs at a calm 1500 rpm at 75 mph.  Passing on the highway? pedal to the floor and after an admittedly longggg time for the car to pick a gear- it will rocket. 2.4:
abysmal acceleration on the highways. not enough efficiency gained to warrant the loss of power. 4sp automatic transmission: The embarrassment of all automobiles sold, that this is the only one holding onto a relic of technology from 2 decades ago. (this is probably the reason the engine isn't more efficient.) on the freeway, it's time to pass: you'll miss those extra 100hp when your engine screams in redline and accelerates at a normal rate.