Easy

"Ouch" is right :-) but I've already purchased and installed them. I have tried some scrap yards in the Greater Toronto Area and they won't sell used calipers (I guess for liability reasons). I've researched other sources too, on the web and even walked into places like NAPA Auto Parts and they were unable to cross-reference the calipers and brackets. Anyway, after all it's only money and the bottom line is I'm very happy with the way they perform, so no regrets...

Oh, by the way, I need to mention something that was a first for me: the two slider-pins for the calipers are not identical; so for those who want to do this and they're not sure which goes where, the long one goes at the top and the small plastic sleeve that comes as part of the kit must be set on the small diameter recess at the end of the pin, prior to inserting it into the bracket.

Ever since Frogbox started this topic, I've been thinking of doing this and - low and behold - today I did it! And since I have't seen a Canadian price list yet, I thought I'd post one for my fellow citizens:

Caliper (L) 68144161AA 1 $167.00 (includes $20 core charge)

Caliper ® 68144160AA 1 $167.00 (includes $20 core charge)

Carrier (bracket) 68159578AA 2 $51.75/ea

Dust shield (L) 04779907AA 1 $7.80

Dust shield ® 04779906AA 1 $7.80

Pin kit 68144165AA 2 $31.50/ea

All the above prices are from a Chrysler dealer in Ontario.

Pads and rotors exist from several manufacturers, OEM or after market. I chose Centric rotors @ $125/ea and Centric Posiquiet ceramic pads @ $89.95/set.

And just to add to the long list of people who recognized the quality of the original post, please let me say once again: Frogbox, you rock!

I believe your rotors - most likely the front ones - are not perfectly square to the wheels. The first possible cause to eliminate would be the improper seating of the rotor. Sometimes the surface underneath is a bit rusty and even when you sand that rusty layer away, a little bit left behind is enough to throw the rotor out of square. So remove both rotors, inspect and clean underneath and reinstall. Do torque them to the recommended value using the star pattern. If problem persists, then remove the rotors again and check them for squareness on a lathe. I've seen brand new rotors that were out of square... granted, they were low-end rotors, nevertheless I was surprised to learn that I had to machine them right out of the box. The problem with that is they'll become thinner and therefore have a reduced capacity of absorbing heat, as a result they may warp and you're back to square one...

Hey guys,

I wonder if I'm the only one with this issue: I had to replace my rear brakes (and rotors) at 60K, they were completely worn out. My 2011 DJ R/T has now 72K and the front brakes are still at 50%!

Now... I know this is backwards! I believe the correct ratio is change the fronts three times and the rears once. I also know there is a flow control valve somewhere in the system, that directs more fluid to the front brakes and less to the rears, but this ratio changes if for example the trunk is full, or there are passengers in the last row etc.

But in my case, the rear brakes seem to be doing most of the work regardless.

Ever had this issue? Ever heard of a fix for it?

Thanks,

Ted

No problems with the front brakes here: 60,000 km with the original pads and rotors, still 30% of the pads left. I've had them serviced at 40K. No excessive dust, no noise during normal driving conditions. I did experience slight pulsating and some noise when braking hard at say 130 km/hr on the highway. That is precisely the reason why I intend to upgrade to 2013 brakes (pads, rotors and calipers) when I'll need to replace the existing ones. They are considerably larger and fit like a glove on 2011 R/T (there is another thread posted here on this upgrade).

Surprisingly enough, I needed to replace the rear pads and rotors yesterday! Usually the life span of the rears should be at least double (often triple) that of the front ones, especially since I rarely carry passengers or cargo in this truck. Weird, I know! There could be a number of things to have caused the premature wear of the rears and I'll keep an eye on it in future. The dealer just shrugged their shoulders as usual, of course.

Still, 60K on original brakes... not bad.

I've got over 53K Km on my original 2011 DJ Kumho tires. Drove them through snow, sleet, ice and rain. No complains. Still have another 20K left on them.

I'm not sure if anybody else had or heard of this problem, I surely was unaware of it until a couple of days ago.

Hot, humid day... Leave my office about five pm, start the engine, "service engine" light stays on... Turn it off, wait few seconds, restart, same thing. "Can't be much" I say to myself and off to the dealer I go. By the way, I've got 52K on this baby, in other words almost at the end of the warranty. So they take it in, they test it, long story short they tell me I've got faulty exhaust phasers and they need the car for a day, possibly day and a half!

What?!?!?! What's "exhaust phasers"?! Anyway... They are timing gears that adjust the camshaft on variable valve timing (VVT) engines (or something of that sort). Apparently, a lot of these engines have this problem and a case is being built against (or for, I'm not sure) Dodge. About a thousand dollars, if the warranty no longer applies.

So the repair is done and honestly, I cannot tell the difference: same sound, same power, same responsiveness, maybe the fuel consumption will improve, who knows... I'm not doing too bad right now, about 12.3 litres / 100km city + hwy, but there's always room for improvement :-)

Happy trails and watch out for the other guy...

I just had this problem on my 2011 Journey R/T within the last couple of days: same symptoms, I got it going again a couple of times by restarting the engine, but then it died completely. I took it to the dealer today and they've replaced the camera under warranty.

Thinking back, I remember slamming that liftgate just like I used to do on my old van (that didn't have a back-up camera). Maybe I should be a little more gentle in future. Maybe that's why the high-end SUV-s come standard with power-liftgate...

Anyway, that's my $0.02, cheers!

I went to the website and found a map upgrade indeed, however, 2011 Dodge Journey does not seem to appear among the models listed under the COMPATIBILITY tab. Am I missing something?

Yes, you were right, the 2011 Journey is there indeed! Cool, let us know if you're happy with it after installing... The price is a little steep, but who knows, maybe it's worth it.

So I got the following message on my 2011 8.4N :

I decided to go to www.garmin.com/chrysler and whaddaya know, there is finally a map update for the 2011 8.4N! I have ordered it. The cost was $149 + $29.95 shipping to Canada, for a total of $178.95. A little steep but I want the latest map available.

No idea how long it will take to arrive but I will be sure to document the update procedure with pictures!

I went to the website and found a map upgrade indeed, however, 2011 Dodge Journey does not seem to appear among the models listed under the COMPATIBILITY tab. Am I missing something?

Easy,

This is what I could find on the official definition of what's called the Flexible Service System (FSS) .

What is flexible service system?

A computer-supported and sensor-supported maintenance system that allows for individual vehicle maintenance intervals up to 18,500 miles (30,000 km) and servicing at intervals between one and two years, while notifying the driver if maintenance is needed sooner to ensure long life.

FSS calculates and displays in the instrument cluster the distance remaining to the next regular maintenance service based on actual driving conditions and oil quality. The computer keeps a running track of driving conditions and calculates a load collective that correlates to wear and tear on the oil, using equivalency factors for hard driving, normal driving and light driving.The computer monitors oil, water pressure, RPM, vehicle speed, miles driven, load and oil added. It compares this data to a model that determines when it is time to change the oil.

An engine oil level sensor measures the dynamic oil level during driving and also senses oil dilution (thinning) or high metal content. If specific limit values are reached, the driver is notified that an oil change is needed.

DodgeCares,

I've tried researching the FSS myself and it seems that it's a feature of the Mercedes Benz, not Chrysler or Dodge. The manual of my 2011 Journey or the disc that came with the car mention absolutely nothing about the FSS (only mention the "Change Oil" message on the EVIC, that's about it).

Where did you find that info (web-link, search-clue, anything)?

Awesome! One more reason to love this car.

Has anybody ran across any literature specific to Dodge or Chrysler regarding the oil life monitoring system? I'd be interested to know if they're doing anything different from the rest of the pack...

I would install a remote starter and give it a few minutes to warm up before driving it. For me, it would be the most cost effective way to go, short - and long term.

I've recently had my third oil-change and - to my surprise - the service advisor asked me what kind of oil I would like to use. As it turns out, the factory used mineral oil originally, however, the synthetic oil (in the case of this Chrysler dealer, Castrol brand) is apparently a better oil. Once I got home, I have done a bit of research on the oil life monitoring systems offered by most car manufacturers and it seems that it is entirely software based (in other words it's based on driving conditions, such as number of kilometers, speed, engine rpm, temperature etc.), but NOT on the analysis of the oil itself (i.e. remaining additives, viscosity etc.). So here's my dilemma: whether I use mineral or synthetic oil, it wouldn't make any difference as far as when my car would tell me that it's time for an oil change. Then why pay almost double for synthetic, would I be hoping to extend the life-span of my engine that way?

What do you guys use?

Oh, this car has been flawless so far, so one little thing like this won't make me love it less. If I ever get a flat, I'm sure I'll be able to tell which tire it is NOT by looking at the EVIC :-)

Nope, that's not it, the tires rotation happened over 3000 km ago. Did you say the sensors are in the wheels? What happens when you change the position of the wheels?

When I've had my 10K oil change, I also asked for tires rotation. All nice and dandy, till I've got a low pressure warning on right-front tire yesterday. So there I was, topping up the respective tire in my garage, until I got it up to 36psi, like the manual (and the label on the door) says. However, when I looked at the EVIC two minutes later, it displayed the 250 kpa on the left-front tire!!! OK, I said to myself, maybe I'm seeing things or something... so I did the same to the right-rear tire. Sure enough, the EVIC showed the increased pressure on the left-front tire this time. As I moved through the remaining tires, it became clear that at some point in time, the EVIC had "lost track" of where each wheel is and my guess is... it probably happened when the tires were rotated a month or so ago. Now, my wife's car (2007 Chevy Impala) has a certain procedure of re-learning the tire locations, but I was unable to find any instructions of how to do it with 2011 Journey RT (or even earlier models, for that matter).

Does anybody have any clue how it's done?

2011 R/T purchased end of April, currently 13,000 km on board, not one single issue with it. Engine runs like a dream, transmission is smooth, suspension is great... After all the problems I've heard about here, I pray that mine stays this way forever.

I watched a video on youtube the other day and it looked like Dodge went away from the LED tail lights on the 2012 model. I almost didn't want to believe it, but yesterday I saw one on the road: could it be true? Are those regular tail lights, just like they were on the pre-2011 models?

Hello-

I was driving in town a few days ago when my screen just went blank. Not like I manually turned it off (which I often do), but blank like nothing showing. When I touched the screen, the "buttons" were still operational, I just couldn't see anything on the screen. Sound still worked. I stopped, killed the motor, restarted, and everything worked after that. Anyone experience this? Any ideas? Is this a symptom of a common problem for which there is a "flash"?

Anyway. . . Seems fine now. Just wondering. Thanks.

Peace.

Yes, I've had something similar a couple of months ago, only one time and only the GPS went blank. Much like you did, I have shut the engine off and re-started it and it all came back to normal.

Haven't had any problems since.

The USB port is only powered when the vehicle is on.

If you look at the symbols on the lighter plug covers, you will see either a key or a battery. Those with the battery symbol are powered even when the vehicle is off. The one inside the centre console and the one at the rear of the centre console are powered at all times. The one above the front storage cubby and the one in the rear cargo area are only powered when the vehicle is on.

Thank you! It is amazing how one's mind produces the evidence to support one's beliefs: I looked at all the plugs before posting the question here, but since the first one I checked happened to be interruptable power, I thought they were all that way, hence I "saw" all the other signs as key-type.

Once again, this solves a major problem for me, so thank you for taking the time to answer my post.

Does anyone know if there is a way to maintain power to the USB port permanently (even when engine off)? This would be useful for charging a cell-phone, for example. Alternatively, is it possible to maintain power to any other power plugs (i.e. lighters) with engine off?

Does anyone know the model number of the Garmin Navigation system included in the Journey?

I've been to the Garmin site but no luck.

I am trying to add new voices (since there are only 3 to choose from) and new vehicle icons.

Is this possible? Anyone have directions? Model number?

As per Garmin, you cannot add voices or vehicle icons to the 2011 Dodge Journey gps system

I've had my R/T for about three weeks now and the transmission had none of the symptoms described above. However, the owner's manual does mention the fact that a break-in period is required and basically the transmission gets smoother after the first couple of thousands kilometers.