symbasys

I had this same issue and had the dealer take a look. They put some foam rubber or something under the defrost panel, and now the noise is gone (thankfully!)

Did you ever install those H&R lowering springs? I'm curious to know how they affect the ride and handling on the Journey. I've seen them advertised all over the place, but no one has posted any reviews about them.

I bought a Mopar remote start kit on eBay and had the dealer install it on my 2010. They charged me $200 to do it. I got a great deal on the kit itself, so I didn't mind paying that. By having the dealer install it (and since it's a genuine Mopar accessory), it is covered by the factory warranty. It is not possible to install it yourself since as Mcgusto82 mentioned, the dealer has to update the computer with the proper sales code in order to activate it.

Welcome to the forums! You'll enjoy your new Journey -- they are great vehicles. There is a wealth of information here so if you have a question, it has probably been talked about at some point in time. There are Dodge techs that monitor it too, and they can be extremely helpful as well. I have done a few mods on my 2010 Journey -- added a MyGig, installed the dash housing from a factory nav display and modded it to hold my Garmin unit, replaced the center stack bezel with one from an R/T and added a titanium wood dash kit overlay to it, added chrome mirror caps and door handle covers, tinted the front side windows, added rear cargo mat & slush mats, etc. A couple of things I have tried haven't worked out (trying to change to LEDs mostly). I plan to upgrade to the 19" polished aluminum 5-spoke wheels at some point and maybe add chrome side trim. I think Journeys are very nice looking vehicles and stand out against all the other look-alike crossovers out there.

Getting Chrysler to admit that there actually is a problem is always the hardest part. As long as the car moves under its own power and their computers show nothing out of the ordinary, they consider it to be functioning normally. If they won't recognize that a problem exists, any warranty is worthless. Warranties pretty much only come into play when a part or system completely fails -- they are of little consequence when there is a design flaw that they cannot or will not correct. Their favorite term for such a situation is that it is a "characteristic" of the particular model, and therefore not eligible for warranty repair. Our best hope is that the transmission fails completely during the warranty period so that they will then repair/replace it. Until then, I'm sorry to say that we just have to live with it.

Welcome to the forum! My Journey has a very pronounced 2-1 downshift when coming to a stop as well. Sometimes it feels like the vehicle wants to lurch forward a bit while this is happening, and I feel as though I need to apply the brake just a little harder to avoid plowing into someone in front of me. I suspect this is the same thing that you are experiencing. I also have delayed/rough upshifts under moderate acceleration until I hit about 30 mph, and then a shudder with slight acceleration between 40-45 mph. I've discussed these issues with my dealer, and they assure me that the transmission is functioning properly. I cannot imagine them designing a transmission that does this on purpose. They recently came out with a software update for the transmission to address shift quality, but unfortunately it only applies to 2012 models. Fingers crossed that they will release an update to earlier models as well.

I have nitrogen in my tires - they came that way from the dealer. I'm not sure if it effects the TPMS readings or not since mine only has the idiot light that comes on when a tire is low. I would like to think that the dealer would not put nitrogen in if it negatively affects the TPMS system. As I understand it, nitrogen is better for the TPMS sensors since there is no moisture in the tire like you get with regular air.

Yes, the upper compartment on the '09s and '10s is cooled. The lower one is not. They eliminated the upper one with the '11 redesign.

I have nitrogen in my tires. My dealer puts it in all their new cars and anytime you purchase tires from them. They also do refills at no charge. I've read that in addition to maintaining proper pressure longer (and thus better gas mileage) and not attracting moisture, nitrogen also helps the tire to run cooler. That's important here in Florida. With the price of tires these days, I think it's worth it to help them last a little longer.

He drives a Honda Accord, so I'm sure it's set up differently. Still, I like knowing right where my keys are. I have a hard enough time remembering where I left them as it is. :-)

I purchased a Mopar remote start kit on eBay for my 2010, and had to have the dealer install it. The instructions require that they follow a specific procedure to flash the car's computer with the sales code during installation in order to activate it. It wasn't something I could do on my own. Also, as long as the dealer does the installation, it will be covered under your factory warranty. My dealer charged me $200 US to do the whole install, so I thought that was worth it (mind you, I got a steal of a deal on the kit, so I didn't mind paying it.) They would also be able to tell you if the kit will work on the diesel Fiat version. Good luck!

A friend of mine told me a story -- one time he and his wife went out to lunch. After they were done eating, he dropped her off at home and went back out to run errands. He stopped at the first place, shut off the car, got out and went to lock it and realized that the key fob was in his wife's purse. He had to call her to come with the other car and bring the keys. This is why I'm glad mine has the tip-start rather than a push button. :-)

BIG improvement! I never cared for the ribbed silver paint - makes it look cheap. I switched my bezel out for one from an R/T in order to get away from it. This would have been a much cheaper option!

It's most likely a defective door lock actuator.. Do you hear any sound from inside the door when you lock or unlock it? Has the door been taken apart at all? If so, the actuator linkage may have become disconnected. If there is no sound, the actuator is probably bad.

If you do decide to go for the 2009 (and it really is Certified Pre-Owned - get it in writing), I'd suggest buying the Chrysler extended service plan for it. If the car is CPO, you should be able to purchase one from the dealer. (Make sure that it is a CHRYSLER plan though, and not some third party one.) I would get the Added Care Plus at the very minimum as this covers most major parts. The Maximum Care one covers just about anything that can go wrong with it mechanically, but it's very pricy. I love the green -- I wish that they still offered that color (it was only available in '09). Good luck!

Has anyone noticed there is a guy driving a Fiat Freemont in the latest Shell Oil TV commercial? There are a couple shots of him getting in and out of it, a few driving shots, and one of him pulling into a gas station and stopping at the pumps.

I have a Deep Water Blue DJ with dealer-applied triple pinstripe in silver. I think it looks nice. Would I have paid to have it put on? Probably not. But I think it adds some character.

I used to get these all the time from a dealership where I bought my prior Honda. If you read all the fine print, it probably says somewhere in there that they will deduct a certain amount off the offer price for every mile the vehicle has been driven. When I calculated it out, they would have given me something like $2000 for a 5 year old Honda Element with under 70k miles on it. Yeah RIGHT.

Thanks Moparman, that's pretty much what I was thinking too. Since trading it isn't an option at this point, I think the only upgrade I'm going to do is bigger wheels when it comes time to replace the tires that are on it now.

Has anyone else done this mod yet? Looking for some input.

I have this same creaking noise. Had the dealer look at it... all they came back with was that stuff in the bin was loose and rattling. However it still does it even with the bin empty.

Scam.

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I use bulb grease - the clear kind that comes in a small tube. It's thick so it stays put, plus since it's clear it doesn't make a mess. I used it on all 4 door strikers and latches to quiet the door shift noise when going over uneven pavement.

Whatev.