Snow-Bird

Glad I could help!! This should take you to it...

Babies R Us - LionHeart

Snow-bird

LOL - unfortunately, jaymista, my husband IS a mechanic! LOL I do believe anyone should be able to do this on their own - but it does require drilling and the removal of some of the original grille, so I would allow several hours to complete. I think it took him an hour or so... Rest assured that this grille is NOT cheap little chrome adhesive strips from Pep Boys.... *wink* :D

I found nothing in my manual about the car seat placement or the latch system. I did find the LATCH rings in our Jurney and there seems to be 4 of them, which would accomadate putting the car seat in any of the three positions. I have no problem installing it (I hope) I just want some concrete answer on which position is the safest for this vehicle. As I said I have no idea about the side curtain airbags in interacting with a car seat, or the fold down armrests lock reliability in an accident....

Still searching the net, asking everyone and still can't get a solid answer...it seems this info should be readily available especially when the statics say that 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly.

Thanks for the help.

LVJourney

When I called Chrysler they suggested I send an e-mail to chryslerlistens.com...I'll try that

Hi LVJourney-

Just to add my 2 cents....I would suggest putting an infant carrier in the middle, as was suggested previously. It really is the safest place for such a small munchkin (got 2 of my own - 2 year old & 1 year old). The only thing, is, those carriers get HEAVY and may become cumbersome to lift and place in the middle...in one of my older cars (2001 BMW X5 SUV), we ended up putting him in the passenger side because it was just too much for me to lift him up and in every time. Especially with a purse, diaper bag, and any other purchases on my arm. It also came in handy when I had to feed him on the fly from the passenger side. I just had to turn my arm around. With regards to the armrest in the middle - I wouldn't think that it would be a concern as the way your base should be installed would prevent it from folding down, wouldn't it?

As for the LATCH system, I believe, but don't quote me, that all cars after a certain date (2000?) are required to have the LATCH system for carseats. This system includes the black metal "U" hooks beneath the seat back/between the seat bottom, as well as a tether anchor hook in the back of the seat (this is for the bigger seats later on). They are a PAIN to use - but really do limit the amount the seat will move (the seat base should be able to move no more than 1" from side to side). A helpful hint - try laying your seat backwards when installing the LATCH hooks in the base of the seat (and for the anchor tether later on). This REALLY makes is easy to install the seat tightly. I also "kneed" in my carrier/carseat as I was tightening the LATCH belt on the carrier. Be sure to check your carrier's instruction manual - some actually advise AGAINST using the LATCH system (my daughter's car seat now is this case). And, if all else fails, go to a local state trooper headquarters and they will show you, for free, how your seat should be installed by actually doing it for you and explaining step-by-step.

Just another tid bit - at Babies 'R Us, there is a nice seat protector by LionHeart. It has a plastic base and a velcro-attached back portion to help protect the Journey's seats. I've tried all of the other ones out there (I have leather) and none of them come close to protecting the seats as well as these do. They are around $25/ea and can be interior color matched.

Hope this helps - and CONGRATS!! It is one of the most enjoyable things in life...but they really do grow up SO fast. My guys are going to be 3 & 2 in March 2009 (him on the 12th, her on the 30th)...seems like I just had them!

If you have any other questions - please feel free to drop me an email and I'll do my best to help!

Snow-Bird

Hi,

I found this grill at myride.com and I think it looks better then the original one. Has any of you seen it or seen any HQ photos of it?

Hi llamasson-

I actually have this kit on my white R/T. Got it off of Ebay WAY cheaper! I have both the upper and lower inserts - makes the car look much more aggressive! I have the chrome package on my R/T, too, and combined with the grille....yeah - I get compliments ALL the time! I say - GO FOR IT - but get it from eBay - not this guy! I paid less than $250 for the whole kit + shipping.

BTW- I tried a million different ways to attach a pic - but even compressed it wouldn't attach. If you want to see it, let me know and I'll email ya.

Hope that helps-

Snow-Bird

As my wife was on her way home from work yesterday the check engine light came on. She told me the rpms went very high and that the car would not go above 25 mph. I came home, drove it and it seemed fine. I drove it to work this morning and on my way the rmps shoot up and it literally would not go over 30 mph. I shifted to autostick to see if it would show me what gear it was stuck in, but the dash lights never swithed over to show me the gear. We bought it in July and have almost 7,000 miles on it. It always seemed to shift alot, but I thought it was just the car. I'm used to driving VW's. Called the dealership and they can't see me for a week! I'm afraid to drive it.

Hi dmarzano-

I wanted to scream when I saw you post this and the run around your dealer is giving you. First off, please know that I am in no way an expert - but, I have one in my house! LOL My hubby is an ASE Master Tech that owns his own Auto Electrical business. I get this info from him...and from personal experience with my Journey.

What your Journey is doing is EXACTLY what mine did the day after I brought it home. Turns out, I had a bad vehicle input speed sensor. I read the posts to him and he is curious as to what is a "tip module"? He has never heard of such a thing and he has over 25 years experience working on the electrical parts on autos. Please have your dealer check for this - they replaced mine and I've not had it happen since. What your wife experienced, as well as in my case, was the car going in to "limp mode" to protect the engine - as mikem stated earlier. I personally wouldn't drive it, either!

Also, in speaking with my Hubby...he really is something...if the vehicle is throwing a "low voltage code", multiple codes should be flashing as well, and it would affect the entire computer, not just a relay. He says that the vehicle will drive as though it is about to stall - not run at high RPMs. He also says that this would also trigger the alternator light as well as other lights on your dash. He also recommends that if it is truly a low voltage code, have the dealer check all chassis and body ground wires for the problem as these problems are usually related to the ground side; not the voltage side.

I sincerely hope this helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! In case you don't check the forum as frequently as you would like, as I am guilty of, I will attempt to email this to you as well.

Thanks,

Sharon (Snow-Bird)

Hi Steve -

Don't know if this is related or not, but I've had that problem (& continue to) and the [JOKE] of a dealer that I had look at it before said it was the rotor/brake pad combination on the vehicle. They've since replaced the rotors, but I'm still having the acrid smoke coming from the car. I've noticed mine is more when I've been sitting at a light for more than a few minutes - is this the same as your experience? We have an appt next week with a different dealer for them to take a look - and the tech mentioned that they had a similar problem with the new Caravans and he was curious if it had carried over to the Journey. Don't know if this was any help or not.

Thanks-

Sharon

UPDATE: took car to appt - found that, as with the new Caravans - my right front caliper was sticking and causing the brake pads to overheat and smoke. They replaced the caliper - had it in within 3 days - and I've not had any problems since. This is also the dealer that corrected my left turn noise (power steering fluid) that the other dealer "could not duplicate". Also - within 2 days of their repairs, we went on vacation to the Smoky Mtns and never once had any problems with smoking or squealing from the car. I love this thing!!

Hi Steve -

Don't know if this is related or not, but I've had that problem (& continue to) and the [JOKE] of a dealer that I had look at it before said it was the rotor/brake pad combination on the vehicle. They've since replaced the rotors, but I'm still having the acrid smoke coming from the car. I've noticed mine is more when I've been sitting at a light for more than a few minutes - is this the same as your experience? We have an appt next week with a different dealer for them to take a look - and the tech mentioned that they had a similar problem with the new Caravans and he was curious if it had carried over to the Journey. Don't know if this was any help or not.

Thanks-

Sharon

UPDATE: took car to appt - found that, as with the new Caravans - my right front caliper was sticking and causing the brake pads to overheat and smoke. They replaced the caliper - had it in within 3 days - and I've not had any problems since. This is also the dealer that corrected my left turn noise (power steering fluid) that the other dealer "could not duplicate". Also - within 2 days of their repairs, we went on vacation to the Smoky Mtns and never once had any problems with smoking or squealing from the car. I love this thing!!

Bird,

We installed the parking sensors when we bought our Journey.

A couple weeks after the install, my wife backed in to another car. The sensors went off after contact. A new bumper is about $600 to replace.

I'm not sure if the metallic paint reduces the sensor sensitivity, but I wouldn't install the sensors if I had the chance to do it again. The sensors on our last car were much more sensitive than on the Journey.

These were factory MOPAR sensors. Maybe 3rd party sensors will work better for you.

Just an FYI

Hi LBD-CT -

Thanks for the heads up!! I did not get the Mopar ones - I got some from http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/ that were already painted white for my car. As my hubby hasn't installed them yet I'm not sure how well they will do, but I'll be sure to post something on here to let all know.

Thanks again!

Snowbird

What kind of HID lights did you get? I am looking to get the same thing, any info would be great.

Thanks

Hi Journeyinblack-

Sorry I've taken so long in getting back to you. Life is interesting...

I ended up scrapping the Bosch kit when the right side quit working after coming in to contact with water. I found a kit online - http://www.shopxenon.com/ or http://www.xenonpros.com/ - for around $120. I wouldn't go with anything above 6000K, though. After that, it really starts to look blue. I've had them in for quite a while now, and while I do get people flashing their highbeams at me sometimes, I still wouldn't trade them for anything! Hope that helps!

Snowbird

A few days ago, thick white smoke starting coming from the engine compartment of my 6 week old Journey. It smelled like rubber or electronics burning. I shut off the engine, took a look under the hood and under the engine, I could not find anything burnt. Also I did not run thru any liquids that may have splashed on the engine. I can not allow my family to ride in this vehicle now. It is currently at the dealership, I hope they find the cause. It did not smoke again after that. I also have other problems, the engine growling noise at low rpms, the loud grinding noise when turning left, they are also replacing the computer, they said there where codes that indicated it needed to be replaced. But my main concern is the smoking engine. If anyone can help, please let me know.

Thanks

Steve

Hi Steve -

Don't know if this is related or not, but I've had that problem (& continue to) and the [JOKE] of a dealer that I had look at it before said it was the rotor/brake pad combination on the vehicle. They've since replaced the rotors, but I'm still having the acrid smoke coming from the car. I've noticed mine is more when I've been sitting at a light for more than a few minutes - is this the same as your experience? We have an appt next week with a different dealer for them to take a look - and the tech mentioned that they had a similar problem with the new Caravans and he was curious if it had carried over to the Journey. Don't know if this was any help or not.

Thanks-

Sharon

The rubbing / grinding noise you are describing comes from cavitation within the power steering pump. Fluid inside the power steering reservoir sloshes during turns uncovering the pump inlet port that in turn causes the pump to suck air. Pumps make bad noises when trying to move air and hence the rubbing / grinding noise. Issue can be corrected by increasing the fluid level in the pump and purging all the air from the system.

We developed the following interim service fix so take vehicle to a Dodge / Chrysler / Jeep dealer and ask them to refer to STAR Online case #K10403532. TSB will be issued in September.

If this fails to correct the problem. Please re post. I want to fix your vehicle.

Case Number K10403532

Vehicle Issue Owner complains of a honk, groan or similar noise while turning. May occur during right or left hand turns but seems to be more prevalent while making left hand turns.

System or Component Noise,Groan,Honk;Customer Concern (No DTCs);Group 19 - Steering;Turn / Turning;Yes - Intermittent,Yes - Continuously

Recommendation If this occurs, before replacing steering system components please perform the following Engrg-recommended steps (updated 7/28/08): 1) Fill steering reservoir to MAX line plus 4mm. 2) Using Mitivac hand pump apply 20-25 in-Hg vacuum and leave for 3 minutes (engine off). 3) Release vacuum pump. 4) Start vehicle and perform 5 lock to lock turns (NOTE: Do not hold the steering wheel at the stops). 5) If fluid level drops below 4mm above MAX, repeat steps 1-4. 6) Test drive vehicle performing hard left turns while accelerating and decelerating to ensure vehicle does not exhibit honk. 7) If vehicle still exhibits left turn honk noise, repeat Steps 1-7. (NOTE: If there is a large amount of air ingested into the steering system, this Procedure may take up to 6 hours to complete).

mjm48-

I'm not sure what your relationship is with Dodge- but I am so excited to try this, and, if it works, I will buy you a six pack! I'm going to call a different dealer in my area (Burgunder Dodge in Bridgeville, PA is a JOKE) and mention all of this thread. Thank you SO much! I'll keep you posted!

Sharon

Well, my Journey is at 7500 miles and I have been having it in the dealership a little too much lately. The first trip was for water which was pouring in from the rearview mirror area by my sunroof. It wasn't related to the original sunroof rapid response fix - it was due to debris blocking the tiny drain pipe used to drain the roof. A week later, I opened the sunroof to see that the air deflector was broken! A tab had been broken when they reinstalled it causing it to pop up when opened - back to the dealer again! Then...I got the card in the mail about the engine wiring harness recall...back to the dealer. Now, on Friday, I had my MIL (malfunction indicator light) come on on the highway. Car wouldn't shift, RPMs were ABOVE 4000 while going 30 mph! I sluggishly drove to the dealership again. He pulled the codes and showed a TON of codes for my MYGig radio which I had just updated via the update CD that came in the mail - very odd! He cleared the codes and the light went out, but a code popped back up for some sort of pressure switch thing. So...here it is Monday...and my car is sitting at the dealership to fix who-knows-what!

Hi kwirges-

Just an FYI from my experience...the day after I bought my R/T, I was on the local Parkway cruising around 70 mph when that exact thing happened to me - my tranny wouldn't shift and the MIL light flashed on. I made it to work doing about 25 in a 55, and had it flatbedded out. Turns out, it was the input speed sensor. I don't know if they were able to fix yours yet, but if not - mention this. It certainly fixed mine!

Good luck-

Sharon

Has anyone exerienced a slight noise in the front left wheel area while turning left, often while turning left while in a dip or going downhill at the time of the turn? We love our red SXT!!!!

Hi everyone-

Got some interesting news from my last trip to Burgunder Dodge in Bridgeville, PA:

1 - I do NOT recommend them for service - my husband, who is a tech, had to show them how to fix some items. The "shop foreman" was the one working on my car. I can't figure that one out.

2 - they "could not duplicate" the noise on the car. I am disgusted with this. The car makes the rubbing noise EVERY time you turn left, and they claim to not have been able to make it do it, so I'm stuck with it, I guess. We mentioned seeing all of the potential corrections on this site, but they were not interested and were not willing to try anything to correct the issue.

3 - they were able to correct my heat shield rattle AFTER my hubby crawled under the car WITH the foreman & showed him what to do

4 - my rotors are already warped in the front. Less than 3K miles. They are replacing under warranty, but I have yet to hear anything from them and they had the car in mid/end July!

5 - my windshield wiper cowl is cracked and missing a piece that causes the buzzing noise I was getting around 72 mph. Again, this will be corrected via warranty - but I've not heard anything yet.

Overall, I now have close to 3600 miles on the odo and while I love the car, I am so disappointed in the service that I am receiving in repairing my issues. If anyone has any tips that could help - I am more than willing to listen! Happy crusing!

Thanks, all,

Sharon

Has anyone exerienced a slight noise in the front left wheel area while turning left, often while turning left while in a dip or going downhill at the time of the turn? We love our red SXT!!!!

Hi formervan -

I have an R/T and am experiencing the EXACT same noise as what you mention. I've seen that mentioned several times on this forum and, unfortunately, it does not appear as though anyone has got any solution! Of note - mine does seem to be getting worse, so I suspect a 2nd trip back to the dealer will be coming soon! I'll post if I get any interesting news!

Good luck-

Sharon

What country and state/province do you live in?

Orlando, Florida here.

North Strabane, PA

Approx 30 mins SW of Pittsburgh

Stone White R/T AWD replaced 2001 BMW X5

Also have... 2002 Lexus RX300, (my baby) 2001 C5 Corvette Convertible & 2004 Kawasaki ZX-6R

Yeah...we like speed! LOL

It's not on the Mopar site, it's only in the catalog you get at dealerships.

tool6996 - I know the mouldings you are talking about and am also looking for them. I've searched the net for HOURS trying to find with no luck. I'll keep you posted if I find anything! Those make the Journey look SO much better! Any great sites you have would be appreciated!

Here's what my baby has gotten so far AFTER purchase...

Stone White Journey R/T AWD (loaded)

HID lights (Bosch aftermarket)

Chrome gas cap

Molded mud flaps

Polished Dodge door sills

Dodge Vent shades/sunroof deflector

Rear cargo tray that folds 50/50 with 3rd seat (Ebay)

Dark slate slush mats

LOOKING FOR/AT:

back bumber protector (the white scuffs VERY easily!)

chrome side mouldings

Billet grille (Ebay)

parking sensors front/rear (I have the camera, but it has its limitations)

I'll try to post a pic soon! New to this forum stuff...

Snow-Bird

Got my Stone White R/T with all available options June 9th. Traded in my 2001 BMW X5 (ouch, I LOVED that thing, but premium fuel ONLY causing $100+ fill ups once/week...) after I fell in love on the test drive. Showed it off at work the next day - only to have it flatbedded out. Bad input speed sensor. Now, I have the rubbing noise everyone is talking about when I turn left, as well as a rattle (heat shield??) each time I close one of the back doors. Also developed a buzzing sound near the base of the windshield, just behind the NAV screen - anyone else have that? I LOVE the car - so much more room - but am beginning to REALLY miss my Beemer...Also trying to find those mouldings - anyone have luck on those, either? Guess I'm looking for reassurance after returning to Dodge when I swore I never would! LOL