Jay Sixspeedrt

My 2012 Journey SXT had been knocked out of commission for almost a month by a 17 year old kid with no license who ran into it while it was parked in front of friends' house on a residential street.

The repair was something of a hassle - the kid ran into the front driver corner, and knocked out the battery and bent steering parts (tie rods, strut). When I picked it up from the dealer last Wednesday, it wasn't right - the vehicle pulled to the right, and the steering felt loose at interstate speeds. AND they couldn't get it to pass the NYS OBD inspection (expired while the Journey was laid up).

A call to Chrysler, and my salesman, and all issues were resolved. A bad front strut was identified and replaced, and it turned out the body shop forgot to reconnect a sensor which was preventing all the codes from clearing.

However, I was concerned about new issues down the road related to the impact, so I got a deal on a new 2015 Jeep Cherokee Latitude with the 3.2 and the Jeep I-Drive system, and my payments remain about the same as they did for the Journey.

I felt kind of bad trading it the Journey this AM - it drove wonderfully, and the steering was solid. The odd thing - I don't think it wanted to go - LOL - the dealer had a dickens of a time pulling the rear plate - the shop had to literally grind the screw head off on one side to pull it.

Once I communicated my dissatisfaction to my salesman, and the service manager, the dealer has done a fine job of rectifying things; I had also had an ongoing nuisance issue with the window defroster that was also taken care of.

At any rate, thanks to everyone for all the information and advice over the past 3 years. And I have to say - I would recommend the Journey. It's been a fairly cheap vehicle to maintain (brake issues aside, which weren't THAT much) and its a great expressway cruiser, and can plow through just about any amount of snow.

Signing off! Regards!

Jim

Can someone provide the comprehensive alignment specs for the 2012 Journey? I would like both the range, AND the preferred Chrysler spec. I want it aligned to preferred specs, and if it can't be done, then parts should be changed to get it to preferred.

My Journey STILL isn't ready. To make matters worse, I filed a complaint about the poor alignment job with Dodge, and apparently the Dodge rep communicated it to the dealer as Front End "Noise" - WTF!!!???

I provided a very detailed description of the alignment issue with my Journey post-collision when I called Dodge Customer service, to wit, - poor/light on-center feel, the wheel didn't want to self center, a slight pull to the right, Why is this so difficult to comprehend? I speak in very fluent English, and I am a scientist by training so my my vocabulary is accurate and extensive.

How the heck does any of the above translate to 'noise"? Facepalm!

I will call Dodge again tomorrow, but I am going to call the dealer in the morning and tell the Service manager to stop screwing around and get that Journey back to the way it was when it was new, steering and alignment wise. This is starting to anger me!

Dodge and the dealer are dropping the ball here.

Interesting info. I've been very impressed with the crash ratings of my Dodge vehicles (Journey and Challenger) but never want to 'test' them this way. Great to know, glad you're ok, and best wished finding a replacement vehicle.

I've had the key fob for my Challenger R/T for over 4 1/2 years, and the batteries are still fine. I think the Journey's fob battery wears out more quickly as it emits the proximity radio signal so that the doors open on touch.

Well, after 16,000 miles, I was having brake issues again. Calipers were hanging up - and serious hot brakes/overheating. Inner pad on the passenger side had plenty of pad left, but the outer pad was wore down to almost metal. I had taken the calipers off about 8000 miles ago, and regreased the metal clips and the sliders, but still had issues.

Well, I bought a set of new rear pads at the local Parts Plus. - PowerStop Evolution Premium Plus for $35 - and went to install today. The previous pads were tight in the clips - these - I could get the inner pad in, but not the outer. .

So I took the caliper and pads to a friend who owns an auto repair shop. He told me even the ones that fit were too tight. He had me grind the tabs on his bench grinder - he told me that they're stamped parts, and not precisely manufactured, and variances can make them too tight. He said he often grinds some of the tabs off so they fit in the clips - he likes them a little on the loose side so they don't have any issues with hanging.

Well, after grinding, the pads moved freely in the clips. I took them home, lubed up the clips with brake caliper grease, greased the sliders with silicone lubricant, and put everything back together. I was worried that maybe the pads would be too loose and rattle, but I drove about 50 miles with them tonight, they were fine.

I'll keep posting updates here - I wonder if the issues with premature wear so many of us suffer from, is just brake pad tabs that are too tight and don't allow the calipers to move freely on the metal clips? I just never heard/didn't know about grinding the tabs a bit.

I do not blame the premature failure on the Callahan rotors or pads. I think the pads were just too tight when I put them in. At least that's what I hope. I've never had a vehicle with so many brake issues.

Ironic - I just changed battery tonight - both my fobs were showing "Battery low" in the EVIC. 2 years, 9 months.

Anyways, battery change was easy-peasy. Just make sure you wear some gloves putting the new battery in to keep the skin oil off.

I don't have a 7 passenger, so I only have a front heating system. And it's manual, with no auto temp. There are only 4 choices for air-flow

Defrost

Defrost/heat

Heat

Panel Vents

You have to keep it on defrost - with temp near max, and a fan setting of 5, in order to keep the windshield and front side windows clear when the temps are 10F or lower. If I put the fan back to 4, the front side windows will begin to fog at the edges.

And there is NO keeping the rear seat side windows clear - those just ice up.

I could put the fan on 6 or 7 on Defrost/heat and the front side windows will quickly fog/freeze up. I have to keep it on defrost - and it's annoyingly noisy with the fan on setting 5 or higher.

But because there's no heat to the floor, your feet will get cold if you're wearing shoes or sneaks.

I'm wondering if I'm getting the flow thru ventilation I should when the vehicle is moving? Where is the air-intake? If I put the climate system on panel, with the fan off at highway speed, there's a barely perceptible air movement thru the vents. In vehicles i've owned before, it seems like the flow thru is stronger.

I don't have the auto control - just the manual controls. I wondered if maybe my engine coolant temperature was too low?

I'm curious - what does the digital display show for coolant temp on your Pentastar Dodge Journeys? I wonder if my coolant temp is too low? If that was the case though, I would think it would throw a MIL?

We live in Windsor, Ontario and we've had record breaking cold this winter. I set my heater the same as bigtsr and haven't had a problem.

Could there be a malfunction of some sort? If so I don't know what it is. The reason I actually changed the cabin air-filter was because of the steaming up of the side windows.

The fan runs normally, and it seems like the air coming out of the vents is hot. The bilevel setting (heat & defrost) doesn't keep the side windows clear. I can feel hot air coming out of the sidewindow defrost vents, and there's warm air at the floor. However, it even struggles on FULL defrost, for example a fan setting of 3 and the side windows will steam up. Been doing it all winter.

2. I noticed the cabin heating/cooling system was not adequate for the interior. Driving at night when it's cold, I have to have the defrost blasting the front window to keep the fog off, and that means I get no air on me or the rest of the people in the vehicle either. And it has to be on the hottest setting to blow hot air, if I drop the temp when I start sweating, it goes cold. All or nothing I guess. Dealership says that the tri zone heating should be fine, but when I go to the dealership it's daytime and not nighttime cold. I guess I need to go somewhere cold to have this verified.

I noticed this this winter. The first two winters I owned the Journey had been milder. This winter however has had MANY days with temps in the low teens, single digits,and below zero. With temps 20 F or warmer, there's no real issue. But mid teens and colder, especially at night with no sun shining on the windows to warm them, the defroster really struggles to clear the side windows. If you have it set for defrost/heat, it will quickly be almost impossible to see out the side windows, mirrors, etc, at all. You have to peg the heat and run defrost on fan setting 5 or faster. And that's also noisy. If you're not wearing boots, your feet get cold and you're sweltering up top. A major irritation in this exceptionally cold winter.

System must have been designed for Arizona. Even if the front windows are clear, the rear door windows and back windows shrouded in steam. I will look at other vehicles on the road - they don't seem to have this issue.

BTW, when the Kumhos hit 28,000 miles or so, they are virtually useless in snow. Hoping for much better out of my replacement tires.

I got 40,300 miles out of the Kumhos. Honestly, I probably should have replaced them about 36,000 miles, but I'm stubborn in that on a ordinary, non-performance vehicles, radials ought to last at least 40k miles

Geez! $1500 for a brake job is a little pricey. That's the only motivation it would take for me to do my own brakes as well.

Good luck with the Callahan kit. Hope it works well for you.

As high as that is, it's not that much higher than the dealer. The dealer wanted $390 + tax for the rear pads and rotors. I bet the fronts would be $450-475+tax. I would be pushing $950 U.S. with the tax for the brakes. Thanks, but no thanks. DIY, my brakes were about $250 including that nice caliper tool kit and shipping!.

This is exactly why I always do my own oil changes. 10 years ago I took my honda to a shop...they didn't put an o-ring on with the oil filter. Needless to say, all the oil drained out after I drove it a couple miles. I drove it very gently dry (no oil) for about 5 miles to the store to get a new filter/oil. It never had a problem many years after that.

How far did you drive it? Did you drive it very gently? If it's a very small amount, IMO you should be fine. I would still save all paperwork, take pictures with a date stamp, save the oil you drained, confront the shop manager. See what they say. They should put you on some official record so that if anything happens in the future, the shop would be liable to pay. If they refuse to do anything, then you'll have to file a lawsuit.

Please never use these cheap oil change shops again!!!

Similar happened with me and my 2008 VW Rabbit - I took it to an Oil Change Chain. I usually changed the oil in the VW myself - but one time I was particularly busy and took it to this place. I got home, and oil was pouring all over the driveway, and smoke coming out from under the hood. Apparently, the same cartridge filter that fit my VW also fit some Volvo.... and there were two different gaskets that came with it - mechanic used the WRONG gasket - which never made contact with anything, and oil seeped out around the plastic cartridge housing. Luckily, I'd only lost a quart or so. I took it to a local, close-by repair shop so the problem would be properly documented, took some photos, had them change the oil and filter, and called the oil change place's 800 number. They ended up paying for the 2nd oil change, and gave me 4 or 5 free oil changes as a gratuity.

I would trust my dealer though.

Well, I've got 9000 miles or so on the rear pads/rotors, and 4500 or so on the front pads/rotors. Stopping power and performance seems excellent - no shudder or vibration yet. When the weather turns warm, I plan to rotate my tires - I will check the pad wear at that point - I'm not really sure on that part of it.

.........simply the keyfob being COLD!!!!

I discovered this by accident - once, I was out snowmobiling in December, and instead of putting my keys in my coat pocket, I put them in a storage bin on the snowmobile. Temps were near 0 F. When I got home, I couldn't get in my Journey - but once the keys warmed up, it was back to normal.

I thought it was just a fluke - So the other day, I had the Journey in for a NYS inspection - temps were in the single digits - the garage wasn't far from my house, so the Journey never got warmed up. Because they needed the keys to do the emission check, I left them in the cup holder in the Journey. The garage was almost non-heated in side ( I could see my breath) Well, the Journey couldn't detect the key after 20 minutes of sitting in the cold - I had to warm it up in my hands for it to work.

I was wondering if maybe the battery in the FOB was weak, causing the issue, as I've had the Journey over 2 years? Well, this weekend I did a little experiment - I was given 2 fobs when I bought my Journey - one is brand new, I never use it.

I put the brand new fob in my freezer, which is 0F-10F. After 15 minutes took it out, yep, it didn't work. Neither the automatic proximity sensor nor the manual buttons worked. After 10 minutes of room temps, it was back to functioning normally.

Refrigerator type temps - mid to upper 30s, the fob works fine. It's just very cold - below 20F - that disables it - So long as I leave the Fob in my pocket, never an issue. But this might explain some 'mystery' key fob issues that have cropped up.

I've noticed the key fob keeping the Journey "active" when at the car wash. If I shut down the Journey, get out with fob in pocket, as I'm washing the vehicle and walking around it with the fob, the lights and taillights keep coming back on. I haven't had that issue with my keys in the house though... although it could happen I suppose if I kept the keys in the "Mud room" which is next to the driveway.

Hi Guys,

I have a DJ 2012 RT 56000 KM.I am having same problem since yesterday, the AWD service light was ON during my 30 minutes drive to work. In my town we got a lot snow and streets are cover by ice.First time these light came ON during these winter.Planning to take the car tomorrow to dealer but wondering why the light came out if there is not good traction. This light for me means more a problem than a warning . Should I stop driving the car while the light is ON. Appreciate you inputs guys.

Did you have any other lights on besides Service AWD? In my 2012 SXT, when it came on, the ABS and Traction lights also lit.

If the light is off, don't bother taking to the dealer. My dealer told me that the reason for Service AWD doesn't get retained in the memory, so they can't pull any info on what caused it if the indicator turns off. Mine turned itself off about a month ago - been ok since then and everything functions normally. Who knows what caused it, or how to prevent it again?

Is there a particular brand or model that anyone has used with success? Most of them have the caveat "Works with MOST OBD II vehicles" or something to that effect.

Any links to scanner vendors or where to buy? Thanks.

Welcome, John! Glad to read your report about the AWD - I've seen people post various issues with it - but I live in rural western NY, and have driven on miles and miles of snow covered roads, and more than a few unplowed back roads. It's been great for me - I love it - best vehicle I've driven in the snow to date.

I had to drive to a remote office on Friday morning, and it was back to below zero (-5F) from a bit of a warm up, So I used the remote start. I heard the engine fire up in the driveway, finished my briefcase, and went outside - the engine was off.

Turns out the MIL lamp came on. It was on steady, not flashing. No way for me to test or ascertain the cause - I had to drive by the dealer on my trip, and it was a 260 mile round trip, so I didn't want to have issues so far from home. So I stopped in. $97 and an hour later (I'm outside the 36k warranty, and it's below the $100 deductible for my Chrysler bumper to bumper extended warranty) I got a computer flash, and was told it was a "Steering Angle" code. No problems since.

The service rep told me it could be a sign of either the extreme cold, and fluctuating temps, or that the clockspring may have an issue - if I understand his explanation, it's what connects the electronics in the steering wheel to the car's computer.

Has anyone ever had a problem with that? That's the second code I've had this driving season - the first was in early December with my AWD, which went away after a couple days. If I pop a code again, I'll just drive her a couple days and see if it clears.

I hope it works out. Knock on wood, my Journey handles great on snowy roads. I have to intentionally slow down to be responsible. I've owned a Ford F150 pickup, a Montero Sport 4wd SUV, and a Dodge Ram 2500 4 x 4, and this is one of the best driving vehicles in the snow of any of them.

BTW, I've just reached my 2 year anniversary of owning my Journey. I've been very pleased with the vehicle, if not so much with the dealer's service dept pricing, and trying to sell unneeded services.