mike35z

The transmission on my 2013 Dodge Journey was shifting harsh between second and third gear. ( shifting too fast). I went to dealership and did the transmission service. They said they replaced 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid and the internal filter. I drove the auto for a month but still the gears were shifting too fast, like a gear slam. I decided to change the fluid again myself and used a pump and removed about 2 quarts of fluid. I drove the car a month, then did it again. So this is equivalent to about 4 quarts of transmission fluid change out. After one week the shifting improved considerably. After 4 months the vehicle shifts 90 percent better. I think the fluid change was all it needed. I wanted to do a fluid flush but decided to see how this 4 quart changeout did. New fluid did make a change. Getting 26.5 mpg on freeway, and engine running great. I purchased this Journey with 118,000 miles on it. The previous owner only did the required oil changes I was told. None of the other preventative maintenance was done. All the fluids were dark and worn out. I think Dodge should make it mandatory to change the PTU fluid, rear differential, and transmission at the recommended intervals in order to maintain any warranty. Most automobile owners have no clue how their engine operates and how important preventative maintenance is. My feeling is if you cannot locate your oil dip stick, your battery, and the drive belts, and know how to change a tire you should not be operating a powered vehicle.

I have a 2013 Dodge Journey. The rear liftgate push button is not locking or unlocking the doors when the fob is less then 3 feet from vehicle. The door handle lock and unlock buttons work OK. The rear liftgate pushbutton has never worked since I purchased the car 2 years ago. I replaced the cruise control switch unit due to its failure to function. It seems there might be some electrical issues with conductor contact areas of switches. The rear liftgate pushbutton is around 40.00 dollars a bit high for a switch in my opinion. I am planning on replacing the switch in warmer weather. The plastic covers that need removed in the liftgate area are not easy to remove in this 20 degree weather. I will wait until the plastic is easier to remove in a few months. I assume others have had similar issues with their Journey's. Perhaps the engineering department for Dodge will read these complaints and will install higher quality switches that last a minimum of ten years, or the life of the vehicle.

2013 dodge journey cruise control switch not working for the off and on. The other 3 buttons are communicating according to my scanner. The off and on button says communication error but after the scanner scans this issue the cruise button starts working. Then after a couple days it stops. Very unusual. Going to replace the buttons to see if that corrects it.

I am updating the post I made regarding the PTU oil change. It was easy to drain the fluid from the drain plug. The heat shield was overlapping the drain plug by about 1/4 inch. It was easy to bend back the heat shield to drain the oil. I used the vent tube to fill the PTU. The green cap is easily removed by using a small screwdriver to pull it out of the rubber vent hose. I used the hand pump as shown in the previous post. It took some time. After every 30 to 50 ml of oil it would bubble up out of the tube. I assume the air pressure needs to equalize inside the PTU gear box. I put rags around the vent tube to help soak up the oil that bubbled up. It took about an hour to fill the fluid. Need to go very slow with it. This method works but you need to take your time. My Dodge Journey is a 2013 with 120,000 miles. The oil was never changed in the PTU by the previous owner. The gear oil drained was black. It had a slight smell to it. It is recommend to change this oil at 60,000 miles. I am very happy i got it changed using this method. I Am going to change it again since the drained oil was so dark. Will probably do it before Winter. Hope this post helps anyone that wants to change their PTU oil.

Yes it was shifting harsh when i first bought it. I tried unhooking the battery to reset the pcm. It seemed to help, but after about a week it went back to harsh shifting again. If i accelerate slowly it is not notifiable. If i step on the gas you can feel a jerk. It reminds me of a speed shifter used in some muscle cars from years ago. But i prefer a smooth shift.

Thanks to the great information for changing the PTU fluid. I was under my Journey a couple times trying to figure out how to drain and fill the fluid. Went to Valvoline oil change and they told me they could not service the PTU. They did change the rear axle fluid. The dealer here in Ohio wants 160.00 to change the PTU fluid which seems a bit high to me. I think I can do it myself utilizing the vent tube as shown. Thank you so much for posting the pics here. It looks like the lower drain hex head is not too bad to get too. I was so glad to see a very clever person figured out how to fill this fluid much easier then the recommended procedure. I would not be surprised if some Dodge dealers actually use the vent tube method since it is considerably easier to get to then the location of the PTU fill plug. Thanks to John/Horace, and snosrap for posting the procedure, and taking photos.

I just purchased a used 2013 Dodge Journey with 6 cylinder engine. It runs great and the engine seems very strong and quiet. When it shifts from 2nd to 3rd it slams into gear...and does not seem smooth. The other gears seem to shift fine. Is there anyone else having this issue. I just changed the transmission fluid and filter at the Liberty Dodge dealership on 161 off of Mink rd. in Ohio. The mechanic at the dealership said there was nothing wrong and the transmission looks excellent. Just wondering if this is a normal issue. The original owner of this Journey told me it used to shift very smooth and you could not feel any harsh shifting at all. Is the transmission just learning my driving style? Has anyone else had this issue?

I just purchased a used 2013 Dodge Journey with 6 cylinder engine. It runs great and the engine seems very strong and quiet. When it shits from 2nd to 3rd it slams into gear...and does not seem smooth. The other gears seem to shift fine. Is there anyone else having this issue. I just changed the transmission fluid and filter at the Liberty Dodge dealership on 161 off of Mink rd. in Ohio. The mechanic at the dealership said there was nothing wrong and the transmission looks excellent. Just wondering if this is a normal issue. The original owner of this Journey told me it used to shift very smooth and you could not feel any harsh shifting at all. Is the transmission just learning my driving style? Has anyone else had this issue?