5rebel9

Just my perspective about how the TPMS works on the Journey as compared to other vehicles I have.....

   OK so the DJ may need a short time to SELF learn tire position, at least inflation is immediate as all cars. Our Pontiac G6 has to be TAUGHT wheel position after doing a tire rotation by means of a series of "steps" to get the BCM into "relearn" mode and following a certain procedure of lowering tire pressure on each wheel in a prescribed sequence that horn honks when each step has been successfully completed. Then one has to go back and refill air to proper pressure. It's not real hard to do, just time consuming. 

    Of course the early TPMS on my T&C (04 model) does not specify position just pressure. If a warning goes off, then one has to manually check all position for pressure till you find the low one!

     On our DJ with a malfunctioning sensor, the fault is of little concern , What's more annoying is location of message and such having that shows up while driving!

With the low oil weight used in these motors today that is pretty common to see, and I wouldn't be worried about any engine problem from that. Yes you can change the filter, but also check for a small filter inside the air box where the equalization hose is. that needs replacement also from time to time. They used to be foam and later years went to a paper filter. On these really new cars today, they may have eliminated it altogether to save money.

    Enjoy your DJ! 

Could not find an edit icon to further respond to the OP's situation.

   The top of the cyl. head valvetrain/  fill area is rather shallow on the 2.4 motor., but I'd rather think that pouring oil too fast would spill out thru the fill port.. A pic of said air filter and if this was clean or dirty oil would give better "clues" as to what did happen.

Nothing new to this "occurrence", I've seen this with many sized and make motors since the 60's! Yes a small amount on the corner of the AF where the PCV equalizing air hose is located on the housing assembly IS normal. And is from long term oil fume collection down that tube during cool down at shut off of the motor. NOW if the whole air filter is getting soaked with oil, YES Houston ...we have a problem ! And I've seen that too in the past with some engines.

5 minutes ago, 2late4u said:

if you are getting a great price ,might as well replace all 4 at once and get it over with

I had told my 21 yr old son that I would make sure the Journey would initially be 100% and then he was responsible for future maint. costs I'm just going for the 1 wheel sensor. He still owes us 2 grand for the car to pay on monthly. I basically carried his Neon for 5 years while he "beat on it" regularly.   

Yeah, I just wanted to be absolutely sure and not waste money on an unneeded part. and my friend just got restocked with new sensors yesterday(finally). So  sometime in the next few days will be able to have him change out the sensor.

   Otherwise this is looking to be a great ride in the family...I'm beginning to get jealous driving my 200k+ 04 T&C! But I know the Journey can't pull the 3 face cord of firewood load that my T&C can.

Well, sorry but I won't be doing that.....Seems that I did not give enough time or proper speed to "relearn" position. Went out again and the RF (was RR) is now showing crazy. Must be a sensor, so will do that instead.

Well I got the car away from my son long enough to do so "checking" this morning. 

  Checked TP with my gauge and noticed was hard to get a reading, so pulled the core and noted the press. drop on the message center but not go to drop out dashes. Installed a new core and noted that air went in much easier, set to 36psi and went on a new road test of 20 miles at 55mph speeds. Message center still showing RR reading all over the scale but not to the point of low press warning flag or going to the dreaded dash drop out. Came back and swapped the RR and RF positions and road tested the same route, RF reading fine, but the RR(was RF) still showing the same read outs on the message center.

    At this point, I believe it is the TPMS module, and have contacted my friend to see about pulling one out of one of his parts journey's and giving that a try. We'll make the swap at his place(where his lifts will make the job much easier to do). We got this Journey thru him and he wants all things right on it, but I feel this is not his fault and will compensate him accordingly. This is the first time I've seen such a problem with TPMS systems. I've heard about it with other vehicles but never to me.

Not sure of wiring route from the foot pedal sensor, but it has to go out to the throttle body and there's a circuit board in the sealed "can" with the gear drive to the butterfly underneath. YES they need a good cleaning in the throttle bore/plate area every now and then to help prevent binding that puts undue stress to those gears.    Good Luck!

 4 banger 2.4 motor or the V6 3.6 motor? Miles on the car and any maint done to the motor(spark plugs) The 2.4 motor is notorious for throttle body issues at higher mileage. Plastic gears that move the throttle opening/closing like to wear out and mess with the ETC light on the dash as you describe.

Seems there are a number of threads started on this issue in this heading page. From what I can gather, it seems to be in the touchscreen or module software. I don't have any troubles (yet) like this as ours is the manual system. I'd suggest spending some time going thru established threads and see if any have "fix" info.....Good Luck!

What type system is in your Journey? Is it the auto temp or dual zone MANUAL system?

So just how long has the battery been in it's "dungeon"  that prompts you to reach your hypothesis of just changing it out? When you do the chore, make sure you clean the cable ends well or replace them if they look "ratty" and use some dielectric grease on the connections to help prevent corrosion on them.

    Just from this posting, I have to wonder if a ground problem is happening with the trailer light wiring is causing this...IF only when you're using the trailer.

Well from spending the morning reading the owners book....NO dash warning light for FOB battery and nothing stated what all can come up in the info center's messages page. In fact if all is good, you can't even go into the messages page of it. Mind all that I speak of our '11 model without remote start or U-connect or Blue tooth and the 4.3 audio screen. Does not have auto headlights either. Still plenty to keep my son happy with what it does have.

I'm new to the Journey and all it's "bells and whistles", so still exploring things. Our 2011 keyless has an "info center between the tach and speedo, I'd imagine that if you scrolled thru the pages there and went to messages page it would say there. When we were "in process" of getting ours it kept showing a message for service key..turned out to be to repair/replace a front door handle with the easy entry system. The wires had broken for the in handle sensor, which I was able to repair and not buy a new handle.

   Maybe later this a.m. I'll go out and look closely at the dash and such for something about the FOB, but also one should look thru the owners book closely for what to do when such should happen and what light may illuminate because of a dying FOB battery.

All versions of the 2.4 engines use 2 T-Stats, replace them BOTH and keep an eye on the plastic housing for them. The O ring gasket likes to leak where it ,ounts to the motor. Also these motors are notorious to entrap air when refilling, don't just "fill and go", you'll need to let air bleed out thru the filler neck. Also if it has gotten as overheated as you report, the ECT sensor has also probably gone bad and needs replacement. The 2.4 in a Journey is not that difficult to work on spacewise......

   The "lightning bolt" icon lamp is warning lamp for the ETC(electric Throttle Control ie the throttle body) and can come on when engine is running so poorly that computer goes into "limp home mode".

1 minute ago, BrandyA1978 said:

Thank you 2late4u. We called auto zone and they don’t sell the parts. Would these come from the dealership?  Where did you buy your parts from?  Thanks!!

 Look up rockauto.com very good place to deal with and best prices going. Site is very user friendly.

I surmise that that's the Pass side intermediate shaft and carrier bearing assy and also looks like the pass side inner CV joint is also going bad where it is spline fit to end of the intermediate shaft end. Looks to me like time for a complete pass. side axle shaft replacement. I don't know your husband's mechanical abilities or tools he has to do the work needed.

What a great Forum! I just got a '11 model that's doing quite similar. The RR wheel pressure goes all over the scale from proper 36(+ or -1 psi)cold to 84 psi and while driving down to 24 and the "flag" and warning popping on.  I thought possible wheel sensor, but will now investigate the module, and I have access to a couple of them to try. even have access to an advanced scanner that can work with the system...at no cost! Nice having a few connections from my past auto tech career yet!

  If the module isn't the prob, then I'll have the sensor replaced when my "contact friend" replenishes his stock of sensors as he's just run out of them from other sales and is waiting on parts shipment to come in!

5 minutes ago, Shawn855 said:

Wouldn't it vibrate all the time, if it were an axle/intermediate shaft?

Not necessarily. depends more on torque loading conditions of driving to feel it as you describe. You've been given much the same opinion by 2 different members...try doing the checks and don't overthink the situation.

A pic of said tire wear or of past alignment readouts(most places give a printout of before/after settings) would be very helpful to see here. I'm new here with a strong background in automotive alignment in my days now past as an active auto tech.

Should be able to "check it over" with all assembled.

The "carrier bearing" of that shaft (just in from the splined end) is a common weak point on all the various models that share the same drivetrain(the vans, Avenger,200,sebring). You should be able to move the shaft around and "feel" see movement from the shaft IF it's bad. Otherwise, the front motor mount is very known for going bad on these same vehicles mentioned for same kind of symptoms you post of.

I knew about the first gen's having a V6 (3.5) and AWD or FWD, I'm not a "fan" of that 3.5 or even the 2.7 for that matter. When looking to replace the son's Neon(04 base), I wanted an AWD and have always liked the 3.6 motor for his next ride. Been around Dodge/Chry. for a LONG time, and our particular '11 model seems to fit just right for what we intend use for. 

    Nice to read that possible future install of a light duty hitch and small trailer IS doable.   

Nice write up and pics!

   IF our AWD Journey was more "robust" in the drive train department, our Journey would be MY ride and not my son's.  For a couple weeks each summer, I load a trailer filled with 3 face cords of winter firewood each trip of 20 miles LOADED for 5 runs for my home's winter augmented warmth. I seriously doubt any hitch or Journey model could take that kind of "towing". My 04 T&C with factory tow package (Nivomat rear self leveling shocks) handles the task very well with just some increased braking distances and sane driving speeds up 2 big hills to traverse when loaded. 

   The journey can come close as an all around use vehicle, but not quite as good as my mopar minivans or going to full sized SUV or pick up truck.

     Here in the "States", I thought that only powertrain offering was the 4 cyl FWD OR the 3.6 with AWD, did I miss something???????