Rebus

Measuring will help you definitively know the correct drop/rise for your application; however, to get you started, this is the ball mount I use for both my utility trailer and boat trailer - 3/4" rise.

Last week I noticed an odd rubbing sound, not quite a squeal, but not quite a growl, coming from the passenger rear wheel - especially when turning left. Looked to see if anything seemed out of the ordinary, and noticed that the pads looked awfully thin on both sides of the rear, but nothing other than that. Took it to the dealer and they diagnosed it as "sticking calipers causing excessive wear" and the replaced both rear calipers along with the pads and resurfaced the rotors.

Being as how I am well within the warranty period, I was surprised to find out that I owed $230 when I went to pick it up - for new pads and resurfacing of the rotors. I discussed a bit with our service manager and the warranty clerk, who both said that the "new" company doesn't cover the incidentals on wear and tear items. My service manager actually agreed with me and threw a bit of a fit for me to the warranty clerk, but to no avail.

I think it is ridiculous that this is even a question, but I get the feeling that, like most things, they will first try to get the customer to pay because so many will just not fight it. I am going to get in touch with Customer Care to see if I can get reimbursed due to the fact that the defect is what wore the wear and tear items beyond "normal" - as per the diagnosis of "sticking calipers causing excessive wear".

Does anyone have any tips on making this as quick and painless as possible? Is there a typical set of stages that the process usually has to go through before any resolution, or does it really depend on who you talk to?

The passenger side piece is broken, too. Been trying to find the part number for a while, but most part listings make it difficult to tell which piece is which part #, and of course, none of the numbers moulded into the piece are the actual part number...

I believe that is the charging/storage spot for the utility flashlight that originally came with the vehicle.

Wow, this just gets more and more frustrating...The response from Dodge is that the load rating should be 102 and the speed rating should be H.

So, the 100T tires that came on the vehicle are apparently sub-standard? I have now asked if, being as how the oem tires are below spec, Dodge will replace them.

This is just crazy.

That's all true; however the issue is convincing tire shops to install tires that don't meet the OEM minimum requirement as per there data. They just won't do it...

UPDATE: I have contacted Dodge customer service about this. They have escalated my question to their 'technical team' and will update me when they respond. If, in fact, the oem minimum requirement is 100H, I am going to request that they replace the tires that came on the vehicle from the showroom due to the fact that they do not meet minimum specifications. Heck many 3rd party tire retailers won't even install the same tire that came on the DJ from the showroom because of this. Why would Dodge do it?

Unfortunately, neither the manual, nor the door jamb placard, include the minimum required service description - load index and speed rating designation (the requirement for tires that is a specific number/letter combination, e.g., 100T, 102T, 100H, etc). There is much discussion about maximum vehicle load in the manual, but that doesn't directly translate to the tire load index or speed rating specification.

The only place that I can find the tire load index and speed rating, as far as I can find on the DJ, is on the tires themselves, which show 100T. Therein lies the issue. From what I have been able to find, tire manufacturers show that the OEM requirement for the DJ is 100H, which would mean the tires that came on the vehicle from the factory were not rated at or above oem requirements - which, if this is truly the case, I will have to talk with Dodge about rectifying.

My current issue is that I am trying to find out if the oem requirement is, in fact, 100H as stated by tire manufacturers, or if it is 100T, matching the originally installed tires, so I can get the correct tires installed without having safety issues.

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction on this one...

I am needing to replace the (far too quickly) worn out Kumho tires on my DJ. Unfortunately, looking at the door jamb placards, I was not able to find the load index and speed rating requirements with the tire info - just found tire size on both placards. Online, most of what I can find states 100H, but, as far as I can tell, these are unofficial postings here and there.

It seems that many tire search engines (Michelin, Goodyear, etc) also show the same figures. However, a handful of tire stores (Discount Tire and some locals) show that a 'T' speed rating "meets or exceeds OEM specifications."

Then, I decided to actually look at the tires that came on the rig from the dealer - I know...I know...I should've started there . Anyhow, turns out they are 100T rated.

So, that brings me to my actual question...what is the official load/speed rating requirement for the 2011 DJ?

Thanks!

1. All vehicles manufactured after August 2007 (<10,000 GVW) are required to have TPMS systems
   
2. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a ruling in 2011 clarifying that tire stores can be held liable and fined (up to $10,000 per occurrence) for ‘knowingly [making] the TPMS system inoperative’, including by installing winter tires that don’t have TPMS sensors on a vehicle with a TPMS
   

WOW......I did not realize there were issues with installing hitch and wiring. I ordered a Curt hitch and had the wire harness in the vehicle when I bought it. Installed them myself. Only issue I had was the first time I installed the wire harness I had it backwards (no directions supplied). Left trailer light would flash with right signal and right with left signal. But once I reversed the harness all was good. Did not need to flash the ECU. And I did not need to drop the bumper. I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Is this only an issue with 2011 thru 2013?

@wingit11 - the flash and other issues are specific to the 2011-2013 models with LED tailights. Because the lights are low voltage (5V, I think), there is not enough juice to power the trailer harness directly, so the trailer harness is wired directly through the main power control unit, and needs to be enabled via a VIN update and flash.

I assume you are referring to the humming or growling noise...My DJ does that, too. At first, I thought it was something low on fluid (e.g., power steering pump or tranny), but when I talked to the dealer, they said it was normal. Had them start a couple others on the lot, and sure enough they make the noise. Moreso when it is cold.

Still not sure if it is normal, but it does seem to be consistent in other DJs I listened to. It usually goes away after it warms up a bit.

Keep us posted on what you find. Thanks!

Hi Alain. Thanks for the info! Just curious about the need for trailer brakes. I wouldn't think that trailer brakes would be needed on anything that falls within the Journey towing limits (2500lbs)? Is there some requirement in Canada that we just don't have in the USA? I hate to sound ignorant on these things, but I've been reading more and more need for brake controller needs on this board - all from our fellow Journey owners in Canada.

One other thing to point out, unless they changed for 2012, is that the tow prep package includes an engine oil cooler, not a tranny cooler.

Cheers!

I recently had to take my 2011 (~14k miles) in for the same thing...I noticed oil spots in the driveway, looked underneath the vehicle and saw oil all over the driver's side of the rear-diff housing. Took it in the next morning and they replaced the driver's side seal (luckily, they had it in stock and it was only about a half-day job. As much as we all would love to have perfection all of the time, that's just not the reality of life. As such, I am seriously looking at going for the Chrysler extended service contract.

I don't have experience with this exact issue, but have had similar issues with iPods not being recognized by other hardware/software, generally speaking. But, I would suggest ensuring that you have set the iPod to disk mode. As far as I have experienced, this is the only way that it will be recognized.

I bought a 2012 Crew AWD 3.6vvt back in December and part of my agreement with the dealership was them giving me "cost" on a factory tow hitch. It turns out their "cost" is only $160 off the $900 the everyday joe pays off the street . I admit that i am a bit of a perfectionist with my cars and after days of reading forum reviews and calling shops i realized i didn't want the Vertical hitch anyway. Not only because of it's added price and some people mentioning "wabble" when using a bike rack, but i personally didn't think it looked as clean and neat as it should. I really like the looks of the DRAWTITE hitch in this forum and took the picture to the U-Haul hitch dealer near me to see if theirs was as tight and clean. The lead tech told me u-hauls hitches are manufactured by DRAWTITE and will be close to the bumper.... $315 later (nice price) and i'm NOT over joyed about the finished look. I was hoping for a higher, less bulky look like Dodgeman324's.....The only thing i can see is that maybe the 2012 has a slight difference in rear profile with the "stow and go" and spare tire that makes a difference in the hitch....Oh well......

So, as for performance. I loaded my two ATVs on a 5x8 utilitly trailer and pulled them all day up and around the small mountains near my home without even a hickup of trouble. Which when it comes down to it is what it's all about.

That UHaul version looks like my hitch, which is made by Curt. The Draw-Tite/Hidden Hitch brand hitches use the straight pipes.

Smokercraft?...You mentioned ~250 tongue weight...what is the total package weight?

Yeah, I am a bit surprised at the amount of issues there has been with trying to get the tow set up working for many users. I am glad that I elected to get the tow prep as it sounds like I would have had non stop issues with trying to get this to work otherwise. I believe I saw in the other thread that you finally have it working now.

Yep, finally got everything worked out. Took the utility trailer to the dump today...no problems whatsoever. I still firmly believe that if a vehicle manufacturer is going to publish tow ratings for a vehicle line, they need ot estacblish a protocol for the dealers to follow in order to set up a tow package for the owner. I think a majority of the issue was squarely on Corporate and the lack of information given to the dealers. With that said, I am glad to be done with that hassle.

i am having problems finding the place to plug my 4 pin harness with the 3 relays on it into my journey. anyhelp from you guys that installed it yourself would be great.

i have the bumper off and installed the hitch part but i don't see were to plug in my wire harness. thanks in advance for any help.

There should be a blue and white connector just behind the bumper (in front of really, but if you are looking at the bumper, it is behind it) between the vehicle center line and the driver's side reflector in the bottom part of the bumper. The connector should have a faux plug in it that keeps it from getting filled up with road grime. Just take that out - it will also be connected to the bumper with a press fit mounting clip - and plug the harness in there. Then the press fit clips on the harness with relays will fit into holes along the bumper sub frame.

On another note, I was FINALLY able to get my trailer wiring harness functional today - almost a full 7 months after we bought our DJ. Apparently I was the first at my local dealer to do this. The key that they kept missing is that, if the rig did not come from the factory with the trailer tow prep group, they must first add the appropriate sales code (AHC) to the VIN prior to trying to activate the harness. Once they figured this out - with my help, mind you - it took all of 10 minutes to activate. I am just so surprised that it seems each dealer is having to figure this out in such a round about way. Apparently Mopar doesn't have a final instruction list for this. In fact, they told my dealer that I needed a totally different wiring harness all together that would have cost almost $300. Luckily my service advisor took control, called the service manager in TX referred to in this thread, and made it happen.

After some leg work, my service adviser and I hope to have me towing by this weekend...over 6 months after this whole thing started. Sure am glad I actually like my DJ...helps to alleiate the pains with the towing setup issues.

Hopefully I will be towing by next weekend!

I only tried setting it up for NHL, but of course Sirius doesn't even carry NHL in Canada

I know this is an old post, but I was catching up on some reading here tonight and found this really funny...That would be like not carrying NFL, MLB, or NASCAR in the USA. Just not right....

Just finished installing my Curt hitch (#13335) and factory 4-pin wirining harness. Did the job by myself in my driveway with the help of a floor jack. Took about 2 hours total - just over an hour for the wiring and hitch and about 45 minutes to reattach the exhaust hangers.

In my mind, the extra 1" or so of clearance is not worth the time and effort of disconnecting the exhaust hangers. If you do go this route, I found it much easier to remove and install the frame side of the hangers than the muffler side. The one I actually did remove from the muffler side, I could not get back on due to the lack of room to work, so I ended up pulling it off the frame side, attaching it to the muffler first, then reattaching to the frame.

I'm extremely happy with the result, but my shoulders and neck are yelling at me for it.

One note - the wire length for the 4-pin plug on the factory harness is quite short, barely reaching the receiver/ball mount locking pin.

Nest (and hopefully last) step is to swing by the dealer to have the option code added to my VIN and my computer flashed to enable the trailer wiring. Though, I'm not sure whay they even put the wiring to the back if it is not enabled.

The tow prep is mostly about the oil cooler - which is best added at the factory and definitely something you want as part of your powertrain warranty as opposed to just getting it put on by a dealer which gets you 1-year only.

I like the fact the hitch is seperate. I put the tow prep in when I ordered my R/T but as yet have not had a need to use and therefore not buy a hitch. 'There if and when I need it'. Furthermore I added tow prep because I bought my R/T for performance both street and freeway and an oil cooler is definitely something you want added for that.

2011 tow capacity is only 2,500 lbs. I don't think it had EVER been 3,500. The old 3.5 had significantly less horsepower and also less torque - can't imagine they rated the 09s or 10s at 3,500. There's ALOT of confusion about tow capacity because the hitch ITSELF is rated at 3,500. It doesn't imply you can tow that much, but true enought that is somewhat misleading.

I just received the build sheet for my 2011 DJ (shout out to DodgeCares!), and, although it did not come with the trailer tow prep group, the build sheet shows "NHAP Engine Oil Cooler". I'm curious if this is, in fact, the same engine oil cooler that would have come with the trailer tow prep group. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks!

For a while I thought it was just in my head, but when I press the horn, there is a considerable delay before it sounds. Dealer said it was normal, but it is a considerable delay that could be an issue in an emergency (i.e., someone pulling out in front of me or changing lanes into me). I'm not convinced it is 'normal'.

Anyone else run into this? Anyone know how to fix it?