Steven

43,000 miles: Maintenance/Repairs: Front Brakes and Rotors at 20k, Rear Brakes and Rotors at 40k, Tires at 41k (new rims to drop to a 17" more affordable tire), tranny seal went bad, MyGig replaced.

I assume everyone got the 1k rebate, as did i, and then i just pushed them to do better, they eventually said they would give me the preferred pricing, i asked to see the invoice, it had the invoice price, then preferred price, then employee price. If i remember right, the employee price was about another 1k off. steve

I took my Journey over to the dealer to get a leather and fabric protector applied and the service tech said there was a Rapid Response Recall or something like that. He said it was for the Sun Roof, the paper work said they had to check the sun roof to verify the tracks or something like that. The dealer said they check mine out and it was fine, nothing to do. He said if i get a notice in the mail it is already done dont worry about it. So, if you have a sunroof, you might want to get in and get it checked. I assume the Rapidness is due to prospective leaking. Steve

I also have an R/T AWD, the sticker said 15 city and 22 highway. Last weekend I averaged 21. I would think the mileage would go up a little as it wears in. Also, I went up a pretty nice grade last weekend to park city. steve

I am impressed with the level of maintenance required in the Journey. Either the car company figured out it needs to be real world and reasonable maintenance, or they built a better car that requires less maintenance. I personally have never seen a maintenance log that is so relatively simple. 6K oil changes, about 60k is the big service, tranny fluid, axles, and radiator flush. Everything between is oil changes, tires, check brakes, exhaust, etcetera. No high maintenance requirement or severe schedule. Pretty cool. I read through the contract and the lifetime warranty, it says must do maintenance according to manual, which is pretty straight forward. Also, I was very surprised that the lifetime warranty covers the timing belt. And, the first timing belt change was at 102K if i remember correctly. Change it out then and you are good to go for the warranty. That was one of my big worries, if they would cover that. I was also shocked to find that the tranny, which they call something else like drive unit or something, is a sealed unit, ie, no dip stick to check or fill. Still requires fluid changes, but i believe the first one was at 60k. no big deal there. And that is covered under the lifetime as long as you do your 60k service. I am very impressed how simple the maintenance schedule is to keep that lifetime warranty. I am going to bet that chrysler doesnt do the lifetime warranty that long, it has to be expensive in the long run. I suppose they may be betting that most people trade or sell their cars in less than 5 years. Steve

i did discover that the older systems could be bypassed, i suppose everyone ought to try to see if your respective vehicle will work mine would not. here is what works on older models w/mygig: turn on vehicle start dvd movie push watch video while still in park now push audio button shift into drive then select done on audio screen the machines that havent been fixed will start playing the movie apparently the journey has the bug fixed also, try the same procedure w/the menu button steve

I don't know if anyone would be interested in knowing, but I tried my IPOD shuffle last night. I used the USB plug. It will charge the IPOD, but will not recognize the music. I believe the reason for this is due to the design/programming of the shuffle itself. I believe once it is connected to a USB source, it kicks into the charging and ITUNES mode. I am going to try and connect it via the AUX plug. Maybe that would work. It would be nice to use the shuffle though. Then the kids can plug their respective shuffle in to listen to their music instead of carrying CD's or download every kid's cd (not enough room). Hey, it will charge the ipod though. Also, I am trying to discourage the kids from wanting the NANO. Steve

Does it matter how soon we can put in synthetic oil? In a diesel they suggest 10K or so before switching. Any thoughts? Steve

I am wondering if everyone will share what they are getting for their MPG/Fuel Economy. Please state what you have received and how you calculated it. Also, what range are you getting for a tank of gas. Here is mine: I am averaging 18mpg according to the computer. I have about a quarter tank left and I have put on 300 miles so far since last fill up. I have the AWD R/T. steve

I am wondering what information everyone may have about the motor and tranny in the R/T. What can we expect in terms of reliability, maintenance, etcetera. Any inside information? Steve

yes, if someone knows how to override that, it would be great to have, kid in the center and passenger get some entertainment. steve

Does anyone know if an ipod shuffle would work in the radio unit? if i plugged it into the aux input? steve

I have the towing package, but no hitch. also, there is a wiring harness in the truck for the towing package, but is not installed? what the heck is that about? steve

What does everyone think about synthetic?

Anyone know if there is a way to download a DVD to the harddrive? Easier than carrying discs. Steve

when i use my wife's cell phone with bluetoothe, it will cut out after initiating the call, but it is fine when a call comes in? when i use my cell phone as the second phone choice, it works fine? any thoughts? Steve

So, has anyone considered running synthetic in their journey? if so, when and what? i can't decide, i have a service contract for oil changes, i would have to pay the difference for synthetic, but i have always run synthetic in every vehicle, generator, atv and dirt bike, its hard not too after so long. in fact, i have always done all of my maintenance, so it will be equally difficult to let someone else. i guess that will free me up for the other stuff. steve

I was curious to know what everyone else is paying for their Journeys and what everyone is buying. Mine is R/T AWD loaded, 30K. stickered at 34K.

I went through the manual and it looks like very low maintenance requirements. Here is my question, it says 6k oil changes, no severe maintenance track, so what does everyone think about that? If we do 6k oil changes, do you think we risk lifetime warranty problems? Personally, i have always done 3-4k oil changes, myself, using mobile 1 synthetic. Overkill, maybe, but my durango has 130k and my ram 2500 (diesel) has 160k, no problems, thus far. Is it just me, or is the manufactuer finally telling the truth about maintenance requirements? Funny thing is, the dealership said I still have to do a 3k oil change, required. Steve

I might be a sucker, but I did. Mostly because everytime I am put in this position, no matter how much I tell my wife ahead of time, she always becomes a car salesman, "i really think its a good idea". I actually think it might have been a good deal. What do you guys all think? Did anyone else buy an extended warranty? I bought a 7 year 100K warranty, it covers more than just powertrain. Also, I bought an oil change service contract good for 5 years. I figured, that by doing so, it would create a great record at the dealership as evidence of regular maintenance, should I have a claim against the lifetime warranty or the extended warranty, later. The cost was relatively minimal for it. It was $360.00 for 5 years of oil changes (4 per year 3k each), tire rotations every other oil change, and free state and IM tests every year for 5 years. Then if something goes bad, they cant say i didnt do the service. The bad side, is now they will push their services, most of which are unnecessary. In fact, the manager said to plan on the 15k and 30k service, but the manual says nothing about a major 15K and 30k service. steve

Does anyone know where to buy, if they exist, compatible IR headphones for the DVD player? Dodge wants around $80.00 each, and I need to pickup two more for the kids. Steve

pretty obvious that was a fake deal, maybe a teaser to get people to call or show up, definitely not in this lifetime. i saw some advertisements like that "hot" deal, but they were reasonable and within real world probabilities. what did they say when you asked? did they burst out in tears? or did they say, "come on down and test drive one"? steve

I bought an R/T AWD last saturday, got 4k off, i was shocked they negotiated at all, but it was the last day of the month (weekend selling day anyway) and last big shopping day of the 1st quarter, that may have played into it, anyway, i was impressed they dropped the price so much. also, i was able to get the R/T with every option you can get, at least every option i am aware of. i can't believe what you get for your money in this vehicle, very impressive. options that i expected to pay 40k or more to receive. i can't imagine there is any competition at these prices, what does everyone else think? I shopped around for options, mini vans were the only real competition in terms of pricing, but with these options, they were way over priced. steve

Salt Lake City UT

I picked up an R/T last weekend. Great deal, great options, very good gas mileage, i really don't know how dodge offers the vehicle at the price they do. alot cheaper than the competition, dont you think? What is everyone paying for their Journey's. I paid $30K loaded R/T AWD. Everything in it/on it. It was stickered at 34k. i didnt think i could negotiate it since they are new models, but they did. it was the only AWD on the lot. I was really suprised they would go down. I hit them on the last weeked of the month and last weekend of the quarter, that might have had something to do with it. steve