UPDATE: I'm all fixed up. I felt it was not worth legal action and just kinda of let it be. Time passed. Despite being well out of warranty period I visited my local dealer and complained again....this time someone higher up got the word. My entire tailgate was replaced brand new and a perfect repaint all courtesy of Dodge. Lesson; be persistent. Visit different dealers.
50k miles now and 4.5 years. This vehicle has been 100% reliable with ZERO mechanical or electrical issues. If not for the tailgate paint issue, its been flawless.
The issue as determined by the body shop was that some oil had gotten onto the inside of the gate, which is made of a somewhat porous type composite, and it acted like a solvent and lifted the paint-base. Likely happened when I had it oil undercoated which I highly recommend....but do not let them spray inside that rear gate!
As a testament to quality of this car; 85% of its miles are commuting in semi urban area so it can be called city driving....but not heavy congestion.
Original wear items, but wiper blades, still intact...all of them.
Tires; about shot
Brakes and rotors, plenty left.
Battery, was never really strong reserve-wise, but still doing its job.
87 Octane fuel always and never complains and gets 27 MPG on highway @ 65~70. Commuting its 21ish and this v-6 is very powerful.
Would I buy again? Absolutely. There is no better valued SUV available. I get a chuckle when I read certain and plentiful known to be biased sources that dog this brand and model. They couldn't be more wrong and wonder they are so dishonest as they peddle problematic cheap underpowered Asian imports.
Awaiting the new model with hopes they don't ruin an excellent well designed vehicle......my money is waiting.
So if you follow my posts you will see I have reported shear excellence regarding our 014 DJ. Well, we have developed a problem. The car is 2 years old and has 20ish k on it. We wash it frequently and it gets hand waxed at least twice a year. It gets underbody / car washed minimum once a week all winter long while they are salting. We keep our vehicles mint. So, a few weeks ago while we were at the local dealership thinking about trading in for a 300.....the salesman looks over our DJ and notices that the paint is bubbling on the rear hatch in 4 areas. OMG. This must have happened over the winter (which was mild and near snow free btw). Anyway, shocked and surprised I say Dodge will take care of it as its clearly something going on UNDER the paint and must be prep/application error which finally appeared. Salesman says, hope so as it would effect trade value as we would have to repaint it yada yada. No problem we set appointment, Dealer takes pics and next thing you know I get the call saying FCA denied it. WTF! I call the customer line and he tells me the digital department says no and it stands. WTF! He agrees to escalate it to another person who essentially tells me the same thing. So here we are with a 2 y.o. 20 k mile DJ in otherwise brand new condition with the optional pearl white paint....and a rear hatch with the paint bubbling in 4 very noticeable and large areas and CLEARLY an issue UNDER the paint and NOT in any way from anything we may or may not have done. In no way is it environmental or anything like that.
So...what are my options here? Small claims ct? the BBB? the state atty general? maybe the automotive consumer action program? Yup, did some research as to my re-course. What a shame that FCA would treat us so badly and unfairly after all these years of loyal ownership. A warranty that is not honored is a serious infraction. I hope that someone here can get a note to someone somewhere that can make this right. I certainly hope they rescind their denial decision mind before it gets ugly. Thoughts?
So my 2015 DJ SXT just hit the 50K mile mark while on our summer road trip. We headed out for our summer road trip of just over 2K miles and I'm as happy as the day I bought her. With gas prices going up so much in my area ($3.95/gal), I did some basic maintenance to make sure we were ready and got great gas mileage (see pic attached). Best mileage I've ever gotten!!! I personally did an oil change and replaced the air filter. I had the plugs and brakes checked and was surprised to be told they looked great. Brakes are still at 60% of their life and plugs tested great. We drove through temps from 49 to 103 degrees with no problems at all. Handling was amazing and I averaged speeds of about 79mph. No problem handling the climb over the mountains and the curves that came with them. While at our destination we did a couple of trips with family and my DJ was the one everyone wanted to ride in (the other choice was the new VW Tiguan). The kids had plenty of room in my 3rd row, while they hated the 3rd row of the Tiguan. I also pulled a couple of jet skis, while VW told my in laws they wouldn't install a hitch on their Tiguan (but U-haul might install it for them...WHAT???).
Anyway, maybe I've been lucky, or maybe the basic maintenance I do on my car has kept it driving so well, but it did great. In comparison to the two other cars we were around, it far out shined the Tiguan, and was very comparable to the Explorer my nephew has, but totally beat the Explorer in price (he paid over $50k for his). I know there are posts about issues people are having, but I wanted to make sure I post something positive about my DJ.
change out the heater core as suggested by the dealership . pay them $$$ or check out you tube for a simple way to change it out yourself or have your local mechanic watch it for a cheaper way to do it$.
Yep, we lived with the 4 cylinder for 3-1/2 years. It did it's job. We just came to understand it's limitations in the performance department. Never left us stranded though. I always get a chuckle out of people who decide AFTER the purchase that the engine is underpowered and start complaining about it. That's what test drives are for....lol...
We got the 3.6 now. Will never go back. Good luck with yours!
So nearly 2 years and 30k have passed with my DJ, and I feel like it is time to let everyone know how it's going.
Overall, still very good. There was a single slight hiccup that was quickly rectified regarding the suspension (I'll cover that later), but everything has been pretty peachy thus far as it should be.
Good:
Power: Still pulls like the day I drove it off. I don't drive like a race car driver but it gets to speed quickly, and I never have worried about getting up to speed. I do have the V6 and occasionally it has helped me get back at drivers who act like A-holes on the road, which is the ugly side of being a more passive driver (I don't like being taken advantage of)! Vehicles that I've had before have shown a power decrease in this period so I do think it is something worth mentioning about the DJ.
Ride: It still rides smoothly and quietly. I have a crossroad plus and the larger wheels do tend to register bumps more than the standard wheels on the SXT, but the DJ always maintains composure when going over rough surfaces. I've never once been jarred or felt like the vehicle was falling apart over a bump.
Versatility: By far the strongest hand of the vehicle. As of this post I have 2 out of the million storage compartments being put to use (a bit of an over dramatization). The passenger seat under storage area holds any secret stuff and mail that I collect before the gym that I don't want sitting out. The glove compartment holds the typical owners manual, registration and insurance information. The under-floor storage holds beer and ice perfectly well for tailgating at Jimmy Buffet and other country concerts. But with the seats folded down it is perfect for hauling business materials. I regularly transport about 1200lbs of materials for my business on a 350 mile drive, and it has never not been accommodating to my needs.
Noise levels: Honestly it is serene in the cabin. Most vehicles (Honda Pilot, Honda CRV, Toyota Highlander, Chevy Traverse, etc.) have noticeably higher levels of noise when I ride in them. Most of the time it is not very significant (except in the case of the Pilot) but it is definitely a strong suit of the DJ. I've never officially measured the noise level in the Journey but maybe one day I will, and compare it to others.
Seat comfort: The seats are extremely comfortable and don't "give in" on long drives. As mentioned earlier I drive 350 miles at a time pretty regularly and I never feel as though I have to stop and stretch my back, or have any pain from sitting. This may be from young age, but other vehicles have given me back problems over the same period of time.
Passenger space: While definitely not the most spacious, it does have plenty of room for myself and passengers. I have never bumped elbows with anyone, and I always have plenty of room to move my seat about however I want (I even put it as high as possible and drove like a bus driver). Granted I NEVER use the third row, and I doubt I ever will. The second row seats adjust fore and aft, and the seat backs recline as well giving the back seat passengers their choice of position. It also gives all 3 rows vents in the roof which helps on hot summer days when the journey needs to cool down quickly.
Warranty: I have not had to use my extended lifetime warranty yet, but for some reason it feels SO good knowing I have it. I haven't found another manufacturer that offers the same level warranty coverage. Most will simply try and sell you on a third party warranty, which was a shock when the dealership mentioned I could buy a mopar factory direct warranty (DON'T EVER BUY THIS WARRANTY FROM THE DEALER)!
THE BAD/ISSUES:
Suspension: REMEDIED - When I first bought the DJ the suspension creaked over speed bumps slightly... It wasn't horrible and it didn't always make the noise but it certainly made me aware of itself when I did hear it. This was fixed with a single visit to the dealer and a loaner for about 3 days.
Transmission: I have posted about this before but the transmission seems lost pretty often. I would say about once a week I REALLY notice this, maybe because I am just used to it. On hard acceleration it doesn't shift smoothly, and it is reluctant to downshift to offer acceleration when you do hit the gas. Once in a blue moon it also gets lost if you ever have to slam on the brakes. A few times I have had to slam on the brakes and I could feel the entire vehicle lurch as it down-shifted... it wasn't a typical downshift, but a hard and sudden shift. I also still occasionally get the jolt when putting the car into reverse after backing out of the driveway. There HAVE NOT BEEN ANY MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION FAILURES.
Cruise control?: I put a question mark next to this because I am reluctant to call this an issue, but it is more of a gripe. When I have the cruise control set, on slight inclines it will let the speed drop as many as 3-4mph. On declines it will increase between 3-4mph as well. This is a very small and nit-picky issue but it is still something I have never encountered before and will probably never get used to. I'm not sure if the cruise control has a speed tolerance built in or not but the difference of a few miles an hour can mean the difference between unexpectedly getting a ticket or not.
Rattles/noises: I want to make it clear that at this time I have ZERO consistent rattles on the interior. Whenever the weather changes though for about 2 weeks I get a rattle in the dash and think it won't go away so make an appointment with the dealership to have it looked at. By the time the appointment comes it goes away so I assume it is simply the plastic expanded and contracting when it gets either warmer or colder. The plastic panel behind the drivers seat also makes a slight clicking noise every once in a while when going over bumps, however it is only when the bump causes me to move around a bit. This isn't necessarily a complaint as much as an annoyance for me.
New model envy: I am a mopar fan, but I see FCA remodeling every single vehicle BUT the DJ and adding features such as Auto Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Apple Car play, Panoramic Sunroofs, etc. These electronic temptresses catch my eye and make me think I want a new Jeep or something but trust me I don't! The DJ has been forgotten by FCA it seems and hopefully it doesn't die with the Grand Caravan as all other vehicles are being refreshed and updated.
Overall the DJ has been great (as any vehicle should be after 30k miles). I've never once worried about it mechanically and have had plenty of good experiences thanks to the nifty floor board coolers in the second row. I also think it still looks great, bypassing the "swoopy and curvy" styling of most other SUVs and staying boxy as most automotive magazines like to point out. I've had consistently good gas mileage (21.3 mixed and for the entire time I have owned the vehicle). The remote start and navigation works great, it never locks me out and my keys in (which I seem to test once or twice a week), I'm still on the stock tires, and I have yet to have anything done that would potentially cost me money. I'm definitely still enjoying the Journey, and don't regret my purchase one bit.
