tstone

I have the 4 cyl / 4 speed, and I actually had this pop sound when going from R to D to R while stopped, but it only happened when it was cold. It appeared at around 3000 miles. I thought maybe it would get worse and then I'd take it to the dealership, but it never got worse. At about 7000 miles the tires were wearing more on the front than the rear so I did a rotation myself in my garage with a pair of jacks. I immediately noticed the lug nuts weren't on very tight. After doing the rotation and using 100 ft-lbs on the lug nuts, the noise went completely away. I also did a visual inspection of all of the motor and trans mount bolts, and there weren't any signs of unusual wear from being too loose, such as scuff marks where the bolt heads rest. So if you buy brand new it might be worth putting a torque wrench on the lug nuts at about 3000 miles just to make sure they are all at spec.

I've replaced a few radiators before, never on a Journey, but on each one the radiator was closer to the engine than the condensor coils. So in order from front to back, is grille, condensor coil, radiator and somewhere in there might be a trans cooler. Typically you would just work from the engine bay, no need to remove the grille or mess with the AC system. Remove radiator fan, loosen the radiator drain plug & drain, remove upper and lower radiator hoses, remove transmission lines, remove supports/brackets, remove radiator and replace/refill. Sometimes the radiator and condensor coils are bracketed together. From a mechanical standpoint it should be a pretty basic job you could do on a Saturday. As far as the transmission goes, there should be a fill hole covered by a black plug on the driver side where the dipstick should be. Just catch whatever comes out in a mason jar, then put it back in. Regarding coolant, only use whatever dealership fluid the manual recommends.

I've removed the head rests in the 2nd row and popped them back in, no problems.

White smoke = burned coolant = possibly a head or head gasket issue. But that "smoke" has a lot of steam in it and likely wouldn't linger around for very long unless it is humid outside. Almost sounds like oil smoke to me. They each have a distinct odor when burning, and oil smoke looks a little blue and lingers around awhile. Check your engine oil and coolant levels under the hood and see where they stand, then have it towed to the dealership.

For grins I checked these areas in mine and there was no rust on the interior parts. However that motor/trans support had that same kind of surface rust on it. Looks like a cast iron piece with a machined face that was unpainted. Pretty typical kind of look in our hot + humid climate.

First, don't trust the EVIC for economy. It gives a good estimate but I've found it to be a little on the pessimistic side. Do the math at the gas pump if you want true mileage. Also your engine will probably get smoother and the fuel economy will most likely get better as it breaks in. I have a 4 cylinder but this applies to probably any engine. When it was breaking in, the whole driveline was really tight and the engine made this machining type noise as you revved it up, hard to explain. The oil is a type of break-in oil, and once it turned really grey, I changed it to Mobil 1 5W20. Runs smooth (for a 4 cylinder), gets about 19 mpg worst case, 25.5 highway, and just got 22.8 mixed city/highway commuting. In metric, that's 12.4, 9.2 & 10.4 L/100km. WIth the 6 cylinder you should probably be seeing slightly worse than this. Also make sure your tires are properly inflated. Check them stone cold, first thing in the morning. For some reason the tires deflated a bit for the first month after I bought it, then they leveled off. I've also found that driving faster than 75 mph degrades economy very quickly. I've read this vehicle has a drag coefficent of 0.37, which is the same as my '83 Ford LTD. That should speak for itself.

Isn't the 3.5L the same engine that has been around since 1993 in cars like the Intrepid & Charger? After the whole fuel rail thingy was fixed in the earlier years, that was regarded as a pretty darn good engine... a little gruff but still reliable. To the OP- Where did you have your oil changed at? Based on your story, I think maybe they had something to do with it. Everyone should be pro-active when they get their fluids changed anywhere. That means check the dipstick in the parking lot before you drive away from the shop! Also check it after it has sat overnight to get the most accurate reading. BTW a *little bit* of consumption is normal. Right now my new 2.4L is consuming about 1/4 qt every 5,000 miles. On my old Intrepid 2.7 it started out that way, but eventually burned 1 qt every 3,000 miles when I traded it in at 231k miles.

Let me get this straight, it's the fault of American car companies that you washed your spare key? Apparently people in California still beat everyone at whining and complaining. :violin:

The VVT system uses solenoids? Something I noticed when I was shopping for this Jounrey, was that EVERY brand new 3.6L on the lot had this clatter. To me that is a big red flag. I can understand old engines doing this, but not brand new ones. All I can suggest is switching over to a full synthetic oil and seeing if it goes away.

So I skimmed through every comment in this thread and it seems everyone with this problem has the 3.6L engine. Is this a rule of thumb, or does it apply to the Express/2.4L as well? FWIW I have an Express/2.4L coming close to 6,000 miles and haven't had a problem yet.

I got an '11 Express (with flexible seating & premium groups) primarily due to cost-- not wanting a car note, and getting an extra 1-2 mpg saves $ over the long term. I like to run my cars into the ground, ideally 200k miles. And over the lifetime of the vehicle an extra 1 mpg translates into about $1,500 saved. Second was reliability. The 3.6L is brand new and unproven, and the 62TE has documented problems. Online I have found no problems documented with the 2.4L nor the 40TES. The engine has been around for 6 years and the transmission has been around in some form and updated/perfected over the past 20+ years. Perhaps it's ancient, unrefined, overstressed, etc- but it should be a solid powertrain. Just run full synthetic 5W20, Mopar brand ATF+4, Mopar brand coolant, and don't be afraid to rev it up or use the autostick. It won't win races but I think it runs adequately for commute purposes and on the highway at 75 mph. However if you're loaded with 6-7 people it's a bit underpowered on the highway.

Interesting, I have a 2005 Pontiac Vibe with 145k miles (233k km) but it's the "work car". I traded my Intrepid with 231k miles/372k km for the Journey, which now my wife has for transporting 2 kids. Anyway I also feel your pain but that Vibe sure has been reliable. I want to get something else but it has too much life left, so I'm doing a major refresher, starting with the control arm+sway bar bushings and tires. That and a cushy cover for the driver seat may lessen the pain. At the rate this is going, it'll probably make it to 300k miles.

I've used Armor All for many, many years with good results. Another product that receives a horrible rep is Black Magic (for the exterior) but I swear by this stuff as well. I'll let you in on a little secret though-- you shouldn't spray this stuff directly on your car!!! Except for tires-- you can spray & wipe as much as you want; it helps prevent dry-rot. This is how I do it (and Black magic): Grab an 8-pack of those blue & white terry cloths from Wal-Mart (or a parts store). Take one and dunk it in a bucket of clean water, then wring out thoroughly. Hold/spread it vertically and spray the Armor All directly on the cloth, mist it with about 5-6 full sprays on each side, wring it out again if you can, then proceed to wipe down. You can do half the car this way... then dunk it & repeat. (Black Magic takes maybe 5 dunks & sprays for the entire car-- 4 quarters and a roof.) Between applications if you don't need the Armor All, you can just use a damp terry cloth followed by a Swiffer Duster. If your interior is looking really greasy right now, I'd suggest doing this to wipe away some of the grease. Like gradually, once every weekend or something. Eventually it will all come off. Another thing I would highly recommend is window tint on all windows and a sun shade for your dash when you park outside in the daytime. Also remember NEVER PUT ARMOR ALL ON THE STEERING WHEEL!!!

On a small budget, learn how to do the brakes yourself. With 4 discs it's a pretty easy job. You know you drive a Dodge when your rotors prematurely warp. Dodge rotors have been trash for at least the past 10 years. I had an '03 Intrepid that did the distance-- 231k miles on original drivetrain, always started & never left me stranded. However the rotors were complete crap. OE or parts house, they were all bad. So when you get the first sign of pulsing in the steering wheel when you hit the brakes, just pop the rotors off, send them to a parts house that cuts rotors (~$12 each) and slap them back on. Replace when they get too thin. The pads will probably last 50k in the front and 100k in the back. Stick with OE pads.

2011 Express. Bought it new, it was manufactured 3 months before I purchased it. Now I've had it 5 months & almost 5k miles. Actually it's my wife's car, a stay at home mom. We use it on road trips and I use it for the commute every once in awhile. No actual problems yet. When it was brand new the torque converter and transmission acted funny, which made the car ride a little funny. At 2k I took it to the dealership for a PCM flash (under a TSB). That didn't fix the issue immediately, but after an additional 1500 miles the problem disappeared. Runs like a top now! I'm keeping an eye on the brakes but this has been an American car issue for at least 10 years. I understand the proportioning system is different from the '09-10 models; maybe this will help extend brake life and maybe the older models can be upgraded? I used the same philosophy I used with my other cars. Base model with all the upgrades, full synthetic motor oil, dealership trans fluid & coolant, and after it's broken in- don't be afraid to drive the hell out of it.

2011 Express Houston, TX

If you want to put the carseat in the perfect center position in the Journey, you will have to use the center seatbelt and the tether. If you want to use the latches it will be somewhat off-center, like in a 3/5ths position. Also make sure your xA and Corolla have "shared" latches. That is, there is one bar that connects all 4 latches. Most small cars do not have this; they have one bar for each pair/side. The center position is not safe to use this way if so, and you should use the seatbelt. See first post, second paragraph as well as posts 7 & 8: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=33718

Power steering should not matter. Just fill it up, bleed, fill, bleed, etc, until you've added enough. For transmission ask the dealership what the capacity is for the 40TES model year 2012. They should be able to tell you what the amount is if you dropped the pan, as well as dry fill.

Looks like you dodged a bullet. For what it's worth, I had a 2.7L from 2003 and it ran strong when I traded it in at 231,000 miles (375,000 km). Aside from replacing the coolant bleeder valve & pipe assembly, I never had a single problem with this engine. And I ran nothing but 87 octane gasoline. So perhaps it has something to do with E85. I've only heard of these engines sludging up due to lack of oil changes & lack of periodic PCV valve changes. And I've never heard anything positive (for the end consumer) regarding the use of E85 either.

4 cylinder, and going by actual numbers and not by the monitor: 18-19 in the "neighborhood" which = 5 minute trips to the grocery store, other kids houses, gas stations, restaurants etc. In other words- the worst possible scenario for gas mileage AND wear & tear. 22-23 in "city driving" which is mostly around town but usually involves some freeway time. For highway, 25-26 with the cruise control set @ 77-78 mph. (If I brought it to 55 mph the monitor reads ~31 mpg.) I've also noticed the monitor isn't all that accurate and it reads a bit low. It seems to me that it's more of a rolling window than a long-term average.

Update: With 3,800 miles on it the issue has disappeared.

^^ This. And the other thing I noticed is you're viewing the analog speedo at an angle from the driver seat, since it sits to the right. If you were able to look at it dead center, it will be pretty accurate. At least, that's how mine is. Of course, in the US the speedos only go to 120 mph/ 190 kph which might make it more accurate.

Easy-- pop the shield off the top of the engine. Remove 2 screws that hold down each coil and lift off. Use 5/8" spark plug socket with a long extension and remove. Make sure the gap is right and send the new ones down in there. Tighten by hand and torque to spec. Stock plugs are a cheap copper variety, 1970's technology. Not sure if this was done as a cost cutting measure or what. I've always had the best luck by using OE plugs if everything on the engine is OE.

I had an '03 Intrepid that did the same jerking/bucking/wobbling thing backing up slowly from a stop, on an incline. Traded it in with 231k miles, original drivetrain. Now we have the 4 cyl Journey and it does the exact same thing I believe it's just how these transmissions act. No cause for concern.

I personally wouldn't put in more oil than what is listed in the manual. If it says 5.5 qts, put in 5.5 and no more. Check the oil level after it has been sitting overnight. I had this same issue with my '03 Intrepid. The manual called for 5 qts and it always read low if you had been running the engine, or just changed the oil and went to check it. After letting it sit overnight, the level would read properly. Putting too much oil in the crankcase is not good for the gaskets and seals, and it might rob you of power and economy.