tstone

I had 231k miles on my Intrepid transmission, which is around 372k km, before I traded it in. Actually I had a warranty/TSB repair around 60k miles on it and that was the only fluid & filter change I ever did on it. I went in there one time and wiped the metal shavings off the input/output sensors (magnets) and that was it. The key was to use Mopar brand ATF+4 and not a drop of anything else. The 4 spd Journey transmission is a variant of the Intrepid transmission, and driving it to me feels nearly identical. Between all the annoyances with the 6 spd + my good experience with the 4 spd, I went ahead and bought another 4 spd. It's not exactly "refined" but it has been around for 20 yrs. Of course that trans requires the 4 cyl engine, which is perfectly adequate for driving in the city or across flat Texas. If you're in the moutains or trying to tow something this might not be a good choice, though.

If you haven't changed the oil yet, it might help. After I changed the break-in oil and used synthetic Mobil 1 the mileage went up to what is advertised. I have also found the EVIC to be reading a bit on the low side.

Ok so I hooked up a vacuum gauge and watched it while I was driving and the engine is running fine. After the TSB flash I ran it all around town to re-train the computer and the vehicle is running smoother. The gas mileage is also better now with this TSB. That's the good news. The bad news is the small annoyance is still there. I notice it disappears once it approaches highway speeds and beyond... it's actually quite a comfortable highway cruiser. After inspecting this thing and digging around the internet for information, I still think it has an imbalance once you get a certain RPM combination throughout the driveline. I've read a handful of complaints out there (from multiple websites) saying "my Journey rides like a truck," "my Journey motor mounts broke", "my 200 LX rental car stutters when you hit the gas (same drivetrain)." I also understand the 2011 has new motor mounts for the 4 cylinder. Seems like you can put 2 & 2 together at this point. On the flip side I still haven't seen any bad things written about the reliability of the 2.4L or 40TES (big reason we bought it). That makes me feel a little better and since my wife doesn't notice, I won't worry about it. I'll continue to participate on this site and if anything more happens I'll add to this post.

I took it to the dealer who flashed the PCM with the latest software / TSB. They claim the transmission is running fine but it is still bucking. I guess I'm going to have to wait until the service engine light turns on. (Hopefully it won't leave my wife and 2 year old daughter stranded.) In the mean time I'm going to rig up my vacuum gauge and watch it while I'm driving. This will tell me if there is a "miss" with the engine when it is bucking. If not, I will just have to wait for something to fail in the transmission. I might have to go back and test drive a new one and see if it does the same thing. If these vehicles have a 'personality', I can't help but think the motor mounts will be rocked to death fairly quickly.

(Not sure if this is in the correct forum.) See the picture attached. I was looking around the car the other day and noticed that there is no splash shield on the front driver side behind the tire. However there are bolt holes that suggest one should be there. You can see one by the brake hose and the other one is mostly covered by another shield. This opening exposes the side of the transmission to the elements, as you can clearly see. Now when I go to the passenger side, there actually is a cover held down by 2 bolts; the holes are in the same location as the driver side. I went to the dealership thinking my wife ran over some debris and they said there is no cover on the 2011's. So I went to look myself at the Journeys on the lot and sure enough, neither the 4 or 6 cylinder models had covers, but all had the empty bolt holes. Is this some sort of cost cutting measure? Did the '09-'10 models have covers there, and will one from those model years fit my 2011? It's a little bothersome to me, to see the side of the transmission exposed like this.

I checked the door jamb MDH code and it looks like it was built before April 11. I will take this with me to the dealership. Thanks for the info!

When I get up to about 45 MPH, in either 3rd or 4th gear, the torque converter will eventually lock like it's supposed to. But once it locks up, when I give it light throttle the car feels like it's bucking or wobbling slightly back and forth. If I hit the throttle enough to unlock the torque converter, or let off the throttle completely, the bucking goes away. The check engine light has not come on yet and otherwise it runs well. I reset the computer with a cheapie OBDII tool, but that didn't help. It's the wife's car-- I have somewhat of a mechanics background and I'm sensitive to every little thing, but she doesn't feel it. I can't tell if it's a transmission or solenoid issue waiting to happen, or if it's just getting its "personality." That is, perhaps once the driveline is fully engaged it is sending some kind of harmonic vibration through the motor mounts. I've never had a car act like this before, though. Being brand new I'm obviously going to have the dealership look at it this weekend but I was wondering has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas as to what I should tell the dealer to look for? Sometimes they need to be helped along...

Nail polish remover worked well for me, on the glossy-painted parts only. After you melt the sap away, rinse off the area with water. Do not use nail polish remover on flat black parts, e.g. around the doors.

Actually I had the 2.7L V6. I think the sludge problems were solved for the 2003+ years. I still believe synthetic oil from day 1 was the key, and should've been a requirement. I put in Mobil 1 and changed it every 6k with a filter+top-off halfway through during the warranty period (70k). Then once it expired I switched back & forth with Wal-Mart Supertech synthetic on 9-10k intervals with a filter/top-off also halfway through. I also used the Supertech Wal-Mart filters the whole time. I also used Mopar brand orange coolant for top offs and once when the bleeder valve assembly blew off one day driving home (around 80k). I understand there were some water pump problems with this engine and I had a feeling using any other coolant may have contributed to them. But aside from that one blow-out, the 2.7L ran flawlessly.

Hello, bought a 2011 Journey Express last week with the 3rd row and the upgraded front seats. Traded in a '03 Intrepid with 231,000 miles, all-original drivetrain. I never had to send it to the shop after the warranty expired; I was able to do all the work on it myself. Kinda sad to see it go but a bunch of small problems were compounding and the driver seat had the Detroit lean to the left side, which got painful. However the drivetrain still ran smooth and strong and with some TLC + Mobil 1 oil, I'm sure it could make it to 300,000. Anyway I'm hoping this new Dodge lasts as long, or at least 9 or 10 years if it doesn't go the distance. The 2.4L + 4 speed seems like it should be a rock-solid combination and it might squeeze out 1-2 extra mpg. The power seems completely adequate for running around town or cruising on the highway at 75 mph. The '11 Journey is such a dramatic improvement from the '10. It reminds me of the Intrepid in that it feels like it should've cost more than what I bought it for. I'm hoping this is a good sign again. Anyway this site looks like it has some potential. Hopefully when these cars get older people will publicize where the problem areas are so we know what to maintain or look out for.