garmo

Today was a glorious day.....The Journey is no more. Still had to replace the front pads so they would stop squeaking long enough to trade it in...... Never again will I buy a first year model change.... I still love my 07 Charger... and still on the factory brake pads at 137K!!!! I know Dodge can make a good product. Just not with the Journey...... It looks like it took them 3 years to sort out most of the bugs.... That's too long.... And what took it's place? Scion XB...just love those toasters....We had one before the Journey but it was a stick and the wife had lots of foot problems then. Now we bought a new automatic and she's happy......

Well, 130K and rear brakes are done along with rotors. Can't turn them either. Now I understand why the brakes suck. Pads and rotors from RockAuto were $86 shipped. Bought the Centric ceramic. They still grind and squeal every now and then. Looking at pricing for calipers I see they are super cheap too. Starting at $32. Brakes just suck period... No start condition getting worse. Have to jam the shifter up do get it to engage. I've adjusted as far as I can go...

Well next update.... 102K. Time for the timing belt. Had a guy setup that worked at a chevy dealership and was going to charge $400 to do timing belt, water pump, tensioner. 2 nights before it was to be done he canceled. So today I took the plunge and did it. 7 hours and all's well. It isn't too bad, you just have to pulle the passenger side motor mount and remove the 2 bolts that hold the front underside crossmember and then you can jack the engine up and down to get at everything.

The fun continues..... At 93K, Tires shot again. Got 30K on 65K tires. Tire warranty reduced the price of the new tires but still.... Now the heater hose is leaking at a plastic tee. Can't get just the tee (molded to the hoses) , got to buy the whole assembly. http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_product=4364219&ukey_assembly=657524 $145 for the part. I will have to pay to have someone put it in. Dealer wants $500 installed. (Heater hose people) Why make it so hard? 2.8 hours install time.... Of course it is all crammed between the motor and firewall. Timing belt coming up real quick. At least the kit (belt, water pump, tensioner) has come down in price. $100 at RockAuto. Oh yea, now the rest of the motor mounts are bad. I'm not changing them. It is a known problem. Too much torque from the engine. Had the Tranny fluid changed at 90K. (Book says 120K but for extreme conditions its 60K) I split it down the middle. Everything seemed to be OK. Pan was clean. It still shifts funny every now and then. And every once in a while we still get the no start condition. Move the shifter in and out of park and it will start again. Its the switch inside the tranny. Not having that fixed either. I wish I was in a position to get rid of it but I can't.

Hey larryl, did he have to drop the motor or was he able to do it with the engine in?

New update. Well now we are up to 85K. Slotted rotors seem to do the trick on brakes. Got plenty of pad left still. Have not put on new pads that came with the slotted rotors. Had the no start issue come up. Stranded the wife at work. After doing some research and not seeing a clear fix, I looked at how the shifter works and there is no sensors in the shifter. So there is an adjustment at the tranny and that fixed it. It is the shifter cable that hooks to the tranny. The shifter is not pushing the arm at the tranny far enough to engage the switch inside it. Now my next broken item is the coolant reservoir. It is basically falling apart and turning to dust. It is all discolored yellow and now leaking. $65 to replace the part.

I looked up the brakes, They are not the same as the Caliber. They only made them in 2009-2010 and put them on the caravans in the dodge world. They also use them in some VW's. It really is just undersized for the job. Caravans have the same brake problems in those years.

Well, time for an update... 78K, rotors are warped and scarred, pads seem ok but are half done (ceramic), went ahead and bought slotted/cross drilled rotors and put them on. I will keep the old "heavy duty" rotors....(not) that I bought at 40K and have them turned if they can be. I have a set of pads that came with the new rotors but will save them for now.... Seemed like a good deal, Power Stop rotors w/ ceramic pads kit, $147 shipped from AutoSheperd.com and coupon code found on internet.

Bought new, now has 65K on it. Mirror pocket broke 2 weeks after we bought it. 2 months to replace. Brakes, horrible change pads every 20K, rotors at 40K. Tires also at 40K. They squeal and grind. Oil the calipers and that helps for a while. Dodge only gave me $57 after their deductables for their brake recall problems. Gave them a stern letter but didn't do any good. (Do all my own maintenance.) Running lights and Tail lights burn out once a year. Voltage ok. Side motor mount shredded at 60K. Of course it has to be the most expensive one $140 list for the part (Get to know your parts guy...paid $86). Transmission sometimes goes into spasms. Jerky, then fine for months. No start conditions a few times. Wait 2 minutes then it starts. Can't wait to change the timing belt....Can it even be done without pulling the motor? Have an 07 Charger, same motor, 100k on it. Still on original brake pads. 50K on tires. Just did the Timing belt,water pump, spark plugs, antifreeze. 7 hours to do taking my time. Runs like a champ. No other problems on the car, nothing.... I know Dodge can make a good product. They just didn't do it on the Journey....