ChrisPollard

Mine doesn't have a bracket either. It's screwed right onto the bumper. Seemed a little odd to me too, after reading this ... but not something I really paid attention to or noticed when I picked it up. I wonder if it can/will affect the paint on the front bumper, and if it does, if that's covered by warranty for replacement? Seems like it should, could almost be considered a defect.

We've had our Journey almost two weeks now, and yesterday I spent 14 hours behind the wheel, putting on 800 miles. (798.5 if you're splitting hairs.) Here are my observations. 1) After about 4 hours, the bolstering in the seat bottom became noticeable in my leg. It took me a couple of shuffles in my seat to find a spot that it wasn't digging in a little funny. On the other hand, the seat BACK and headrest were phenomenal! Extreme comfort there. First vehicle I've ever sat in that I could lean my head back on the headrest and still feel like I was upright, not leaning back. 2) The shift lever is not in a great spot if you want to pass rapidly and manually drop two gears to do it. In drive, it falls part way into my forearm, and I have to jam my arm into the seatback to get it down into the manual shift zone. On the other hand, if they had moved it forward, and put the cup holders behind it, I'd have to reach through the drinks to shift anyway. So all things considered, I think this was the right move. I'd rather reach back a little than knock my drinks over. 3) [note, this is the 4cyl, 4sp Journey, not the 3.6/6sp] It takes a conscious effort to perform a fast passing maneuver. I'm not saying it can't be done, or takes far more effort than it should. I'm comparing to my traded in 2003 Sebring with the 2.7L 200hp V6 (before they detuned the 2.7). All I had to do in the 'bring was push the pedal a little bit, and it was gone. The 2.4 does have less power, and the DJ is a fair bit heavier - so I was fully expecting this. It was just the first time I've had a chance to try it out. lol That said, when you drop the gears and sink the pedal, this thing boogies - even with the 4 banger! 4) I find the cruise control very smooth. I've driven several vehicles from various manufacturers, and many of them have a noticeable on/off with the cruise. This one is as seamless as I've ever experienced. VERY nice. 5) Does very well on large hills. If anyone else has ever driven down 53 through Wisconsin, you know the mini mountains I'm talking about. Or some of the monsters through the Canadian Shield in NW Ontario. I knew how tough some of those slopes were from all of my previous vehicles, so I was curious how the DJ would be on them. There were some I was surprised it didn't downshift. For a small engine in a big vehicle, it pulled along very well. I was very happy with it. 6) Highway fuel economy has been great. I had about 300 miles of city driving on it when I left home, and the economy (switched to US units) was reading 19 when I left. It's now reading 27.5 after the drive. (33 CDN) So, for not technically being "broken in" yet, with just over 1100 miles on the odometer, I'm really quite happy with my mileage! I filled up when we crossed the border at International Falls, MN ... and I filled up with between 1/4 and 1/8th of a tank left at Wisconsin Dells. I probably could have made Madison, but it might have been pushing it. 7) My daughter (8 next week) needs to learn how climate controls works. She was driving my wife an I bonkers with her controls. She'd crank the heat full, fan full, and then we'd get hot up front, turning our controls down. Then she'd crank the heat all the way over to cold ... so we'd have to turn ours up to compensate. It was only after it started to get light out that I noticed it was always just after her arm would reach up, we'd have to change our temps. LOL So she got quickly schooled in how to choose a comfortable temperature and LEAVE IT THERE!!! No problems with wildly changing temps after that. It was a fantastic drive though. Couldn't be happier with our Journey - even if a Bald Eagle in Minnesota thought it would be fun to fly straight at me with a rabbit in it's talons. Was very cool to watch it snatch it off the side of the road and fly off with it. And it cleared the roof by a couple of feet. One of those moments you wish you could have had a video camera pointed in the right direction. I'll reserve comments on Chicago drivers on the toll road though. lol

I noticed yesterday over 700 miles of interstates that the Journey is not only relatively unheard of south of the 49th, but they are mysteriously absent from the roads. Through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and NW Indiana, I spotted ONE, just south of Chicago. I think it was an R/T. Blows my mind. My in-laws had never even heard of the Journey before we bought ours. At home, they're as common as Sebrings were 5 years ago. (Which were almost as common as Pontiac Sunfires. lol) On an up note, I'm not going to have ANY trouble finding it in parking lots down here ... there won't be five others just like it on every row.

Yeah, I've never understood 200+kph speedos either, other than possibly looking cool? I mean, who else remembers when they stopped speedos on cars around 75mph? They did that because the little crapboxes couldn't go any faster, even if you pulled out the floorboards and pushed with your feet. So there was a stigma with a 'low top speed' speedo that likely still remains. Who wants to look at a new vehicle and think it won't do more than 75mph? I agree - that big sweep could be put to far better use. The dealership did a re-calibration on my speedo. It's still not quite right, but now it's only about 3km/h out at 120-130km/h and fairly accurate through 100km/h. At those speeds at home, if I'm traveling that, I'm not worried about 3km/h on my ticket anyway. LOL

Simple physics demands that the front brakes do the majority of the braking. In braking, weight is distributed to the front wheels. That also takes weight OFF the rear wheels. So you could wind up with the rear wheels locking while the fronts are still not applying enough force to stop you safely. I believe this tech is talking out his posterior and should go back to school to learn how brakes actually work. Front brakes account for about 2/3 of all your braking force. This is why front disc/rear drum brakes are STILL a commonly found combination, but you will NEVER EVER EVER see front drum/rear discs on a vehicle. That's because disc brakes are superior to drums, and they do most of your braking. They were blowing so much smoke up your @$$ you should be burping smoke signals. If I was running a service department and heard one of my mechanics spouting that kind of bullplop, I'd fire him faster than the customer could make it to the front door to take their vehicle to another dealership.

But make sure you back up that entire drive before reformatting!! Otherwise, you'll lose EVERYTHING on it.

Chrysler is notorious for squealing brakes. Haven't had it in my Journey yet, but I suffered through it for years in my 03 Sebring. Put them on new, all four corners, WITH new rotors last summer ... they squeaked the day I pulled off the lot, and did so every day up until they replaced the front pads and rotors under warranty again this year ... and still did it after replacement. I think the solution is aftermarket ceramic pads ... if they exist. Might try 'em one day when the factory pads wear out. And what what I read, that should be any day now. LOL (I've only had the DJ two weeks.)

I'd say it sounds like a short in a wire, or a bad/loose sensor. In my experience, it's usually a sensor issue. I'd have it checked at the dealer. Having driven vehicles that have unexpectedly lost brakes before, it's not something you want to mess with. (Anyone ever try stopping a 74 Ford Gran Torino when the master cylinder goes? FUN!!)

I'm not big on nav systems, so the only thing the 8.4 offered that would have been sweet is the back up camera. But if I REALLY want one of those, I can always go aftermarket. Okay, the built-in Sirius would have been nice too. Can't see why they wouldn't add that to the 4.3, but whatever. I wired up the one I have, and tucked it in the console. Sounds so much better through the Aux In than it used to over the FM transmitter. Hope you get your new wheels soon! We absolutely LOVE our Journey!

Okay, the moral of the story is don't ever listen to the sales guy talk about anything related to service/mechanical. LOL Got an unexpected call from the service department this afternoon, saying, "Your radio is in. When do you want that installed?" Notably confused, I said I wasn't aware a radio had been ordered. I thought that was done so the remote start could be put in. The service manager has a much firmer grasp on things. LOL It was a bypass module they needed for the remote start. They are replacing the radio to address the blaring volume on startup problem that many others on here have mentioned. I thought they'd just do a software flash for it, but if they want to swap the whole unit, I'm not going to fight it. I also thought they had done that - because I haven't had the issue in the 400km or so since the remote start was installed last week. Anyway, we're absolutely loving our DJ, and I can't wait to see how it is on vacation this weekend. About 1400km each way ... going to be time for an oil change by the time I get back!

How's it goin', eh?

Cool! Glad you're having fun with it ... after all, that's what it's all about, right?

Well, after finding an Android app for my phone, I took a quick road trip tonight. I set the cruise on the highway at various speeds between 90 and 105km/h, and my wife gave me the readings from the GPS on my phone (which showed accurate around town). The EVIC has it. Matched the GPS speeds within fractions of a km/h at all speeds. Now I know ... just ignore the big dial. LOL Thanks for the suggestion SaskGuy - using GPS to check it would have been the last thing I'd have thought of.

Nicely done! Congrats!

Never thought of that one! I have GPS in my phone ... guess I'll see if an can find an app that will give me real time speed data and see how that goes. Thanks for the suggestion!

I discovered something unusual on the highway this weekend. My EVIC speed display, which is really the one I use while driving due to the placement of the actual speedometer, and the needle on the speedo are in sync with each other until I get above 90km/h (56mph). By 95km/h on the EVIC, the needle is around 96. by 100km/h on the EVIC, the needle is around 103. By around 105km/h, the needle is close to 109/110! So my question is .... anybody know which one should be taken as correct? Anyone else ever experience this? I would have assumed it wasn't something that would be 'open to interpretation' depending on which gauge you view. My concern is that I have a 1500km road trip coming up next weekend on the Interstates - and I'm not sure which speed I will be going by the time I get up to 70mph on the EVIC! Or the speedometer itself! Obviously a concern I'm going to have to take to my dealer, just wondering if anyone else has experienced it. Short of seeing if my wife can pull a favour with some of the officers she works with and get them to tail me with a radar gun, I'm not sure how to be sure which is right. I haven't had a speeding ticket since 1998, and I'd like to keep it that way. (Not that I haven't had a couple of warnings since then ... but no tickets.)

I noticed that everyone is gung-ho on the 8.4" screen ... but I really don't have any problems with the 4.3". Heck, I'm good with knobs and buttons - as long as they work. I know all these systems are great now, but how long will the last under real world use? That is a question nobody can answer, because they haven't been out there long enough. I'm still waiting to see how it all responds to -40 temps this winter! (Any fellow Canucks have any experience with these in super cold temps?) I'm a little mixed in feelings about all the 'modern conveniences' in vehicles. On the one hand, they're awesome! The more goodies, the better! On the other hand, there's something incredibly simple (and cheap to fix) about good old fashioned knobs and buttons. Something happens to that touch screen, look at everything you lose ALL access to - radio/entertainment, climate control - some pretty essential items, unless you live in Hawaii where high/low temps aren't really an issue. It's a very pricey single point of failure. And the 8.4" version add another bunch of features to that single point of failure. I love my DJ, and all it offers ... but part of me still longs for the absolute simplicity of my old 1963 Ford Falcon. Almost nothing there that couldn't be fixed with some combination of screw driver, crescent wrench, WD-40, duct tape, and speaker wire. And a spare starter solenoid ... because any Ford from the 60's to the 80's had them fail regularly. Owned one from each decade, and NEVER went anywhere without a spare in the glove box. :P

WOW is that hefty! 5/100 at $1800 over here. It's still pricey, but after my experience with the 7/115 when I bought my '03 Sebring (used, 4 years old at the time) at $2500 ... they have an easy sale with me. I MORE than got my value out of that plan. Front end parts, axles, ball joints, engine seals ... yeah, when you're talking about an extended warranty on a vehicle, worth it. When you're talking $50 service plans on a $90 vacuum at Walmart ... not so much. (My favourite ever was a $7 service plan on a $10 alarm clock!! Seriously. I felt bad for the teller having to ask if I wanted it.)

My 2012 CVP with the 4.3 has done this to me once, the night we brought it home. I mentioned it when it was in for the remote start installation, and they were supposed to flash the radio ... but they had to replace the radio during the remote start install ... and it hasn't happened since. So either it was radio-specific, they flashed it, or it just hasn't re-surfaced yet. My salesman did mention there have been a lot of radio problems in the Journeys ... so maybe it's the radio unit itself?

Interesting. Thanks for the link to the brochure. I might have to dig into this a little bit. If the price was right, Plan 410 sounds right ... although 419 wouldn't be a bad option either. I believe right now I have plan 415, but I haven't received my package in the mail yet, so I could be wrong there. Definitely some food for thought there ...

They didn't think there were any differences either. But apparently the wiring is different behind the scenes. Anyway, it's an Autostart unit with 2-way communication. The fob has an LED and beep codes to tell you that whatever button you pressed, lock, unlock, or start, did it's job. Haven't tested the range in any serious way yet, but it worked from inside the office to the back parking lot today ... so I'll call that a win. Maybe get my wife to test it from inside the police station this weekend. If a bunch of brick walls aren't a good test, what is? At any rate, it's installed, everything works, and we're a happy family. :D

Nobody thought it would be a problem in all those runaway Toyotas either though, did they? LOL If you want to take chances with laying mats over the factory ones, go for it. Just remember, if the throttle gets pinned, use NEUTRAL to coast along until you can pull the mats back, don't leave it in drive and race into other vehicles, or rock cuts, or medians, or some other obstacle.

There was no mention of a 7/115 basic even available. I did go with the 5/100 basic though. Would have considered a 7/115 if there was one though. Although on an average of 20k/year driving, you won't make 6 years, let alone 7. So I'm not so sure how much more a 7/115 would be worth.

Yeah, a gallon of oil in 5,000km is a little past 'normal'. I recall a few years back our station had a 3.5L Magnum as a summer cruiser, and it was regularly low on oil. Remember arriving at an out of town remote to a horrible ticking noise ... checked the dipstick to find no oil on it. Added a litre, and the noise stopped. Month or two later, same thing. I discovered two things that summer. 1) I didn't care for the 3.5L engine, even if it was "high output." I am/was a fan of the 2.7L V6. It was great in my Sebring, and a first year Magnum I spent some quality time in. 2) Nobody at the radio station who drove the thing apparently gave a damn about little things like checking the fluids. Or mentioning that it had apparently been making "some kind of ticking sound" on a regular basis that whole summer. LOL Why would you lift the hood on a company vehicle, right? "Someone else" looks after that stuff. Hope they get the problem found and fixed!

Well, it made it one night in the driveway ... tonight it sits in the dealership. I blame my wife and her unwavering desire to have a remote start in it. Apparently the Enter'N'Go on the 2012s is not like the 2011s ... and doesn't work with the same remote start they put in the '11s. Soooooooooooooooo they're waiting on some kind of bypass module to show up tomorrow - hopefully - so they can try it again. So stuck with a loaner Sebring until that gets squared away. And they're supposed to flash the radio while it's in to take care of that 'blasting on startup' problem a few others on here have mentioned. I never did like the last generation Sebrings ... and this one reminds me of so many reasons why. The loaded up leather new version makes my former '03 base LX feel positively luxurious! There's always something, eh? Oh well ... the price you have to pay for shiny new tech I guess!