doubleO7

Ok, thank goodness after two weeks of obsessing I have found the perfect position. It consists of five pulls up on the seat lever from the lowest postion, allowing for the perfect combination of comfort and visibility.

Glad that you found the "sweet spot" for driver comfort. Like Rolly says enjoy the vehicle, its awesome.

I really like the deflector and the way it wraps around. Its to bad when I ordered my Journey, that they didn't have a red tri-coat pearl on the lot so we could have compared to our Grand Caravan that was "inferno" red. I might have ordered the same colour as your Journey.

Looks like the front window deflectors are going on my want list for this year. They also look great.

I just went to the My Fuelly site and these are the numbers I have for my 2010 Dodge Journey R/T AWD. The best I ever got was:

25.3 mpg (US gal)

30.4 mpg (Imp.gal)

9.3 l/100 kms.

since I bought the car in August 2010 including all my warmups etc. my average mileage is:

14.8 mpg (US gal)

17.8 mpg (Imp.gal)

15.9 l/100 kms.

There seems to be several factors that either increase or decrease my mileage:

regular gas vs. premium gas - seem to get way better using premium

Time of year - fall or spring seem to be the best as temps are cooler but not real cold

Highway vs. City driving - given..... much better on the highway. City gas mileage seems to suck

Just my personal thoughts and facts.

Terry

I would also think the winter formula for gasoline has some affect on your mileage also.

I have had my Journey for seven months now and find the seats far more comfortable then my 2001 Grand Caravan. I couldn't drive more then two hours in the Grand Caravan without my right knee hurting.

Not so with the Journey. I tried many different seating positions until I decided on the one I liked the best. The different positions I tried were for only to try and maximize my visibility looking outside, and none of the positions caused me to have any discomfort. I finally settled on what I would term a postion between low and mid height.

Have you tried adjusting the seat back angle, as it could be your spine angle that is putting pressure on a nerve in your leg. For me a seat back position just short of being straight up the most comfortable. To far up, I can feel pressure on my spine and to far back I just don't feel comfortable at all.

I would suggest having a pencil and paper handy and then try some different seating positions. After each adjustment write down what you think the seat height is, how far back from the steering wheel you have the seat at, whether you have the seat tilting down or up, and seat back angle. Then take the Journey for a sping and see how you like the comfort and see how it feels. Repeat the process and when you find one you like, make sure you keep a copy of the adjustments. In that way, if you take the vehicle in for service, or someone drives your vehicle and they change the seating position it will be easier to return it to what you find comfortable.

yeah I do drive it in snow/salt here in MI but before winter I put a few good coats of wax on and then on a good warmer winter day I will take it to a drive in car wash and hand wash it myself again. I will try and go talk to my local Dodge dealer but it will be a long shot, they broke the interior plastic of the rear liftgate and said they would not replace it because it "cost to much" out of their own pocket. But for something like this I think I will go down and see what they will do about it.

What they won't replace something they broke. Do you have any other dealers in your area, these guys don't deserve you business.

A few years ago while my 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan was in getting some work done, the Chyrsler/Dodge dealer I have the vehicle serviced, damaged the panel behind the right rear door. When I went in to pick it up, they let me know what happened and they had already set up an appointment to get it fixed at their cost. What a difference in dealer attitude.

I'm surprised that its doing that, from your description of what you do for the vehicle its certianly not abused. If you still have warranty left, you should try and Chrysler to give it a repaint under warranty. I have a friend who many years ago had a Volvo and it well past the warranty period for such things as paint, and he was able to get Volvo to paint it without any cost to him.

I have to say, that looks really cool or should I say hot.

I would have gotten the Journey in red, if they had kept the inferno red, as my Dodge Grand Caravan was that colour. I wasn't sure about the new red they offered, as they didn't have one in stock. so I couldn't compare the two colours.

But this one looks great, I think mainly due to the black grille.

Double07

I too have the same problem from time to time with the navigation on the 8.4 system.

The symptom is that the nav sceen only shows tan. You will see the Street at the top, the direction in the bottom left. In the bottom right the speed is all there as normal. The top and bottom items work as they should and will change as the car drives. You have no blue triangle for your vehicle and no map.

When this happens to me it seems that it happens when the system is booting into maps. So after a car start or when switching to maps.

The fix for me has been either:

1. Shut off the vehicle. You need to wait until the dash lights and everything go out before the restart.

2. I have had success with switching between climate wait a minute then go into map. It reboots maps at that point for me.

I can tell if it worked when I see the Garmin image, then I know it is rebooting.

Item two the Climate button is the only button that seems to work for me. The others do not help.

I do have a picture of the screen in the no maps state.image.jpg

Thats what my screen looks like also. Have you taken your Journey into the dealer to have it looked at, or at least get it on record that this problem exists while the vehicle is under warranty?

Out of curiosity, what is the build date on your vehicle. Mine is May 2012. I have seen where TSBs sometimes are for certain build dates. Could be a problem that only exists for a few vehciles between certian build dates, therefore not a widespread problem. This may give DodgeCares and DodgeCaCares some more info to go on.

Thanks DodgeCares. I received a PM for DodgeCaCares and he will be sending a copy of my post to the dealer, so they have a better understanding of what the problem is and is also keeping a look out for any TSB regarding this problem.

I must say, we are well looked after on this forum, by both you and DodgeCaCares. Yours and DodgeCaCares efforts I'm sure are greatly appreciated by not only me, but by others on the forum as well.

Hi DodgeCares

I have the 8.5 inch screen with nav, build date on the vehicle is May 2012. When I had my oil changed , they also did a flash update on the radio and as mentioned in another thread, my gremlins regarding the radio have been fixed.

So, now I am just waiting for some kind of fix for the nav screen problem. In the settings menu I have turned off the headlight on with wipers feature until a reslove is figured out.

The problem has happened to me three times. The first time, I just switched from the nav to sat radio and when I got home, I restarted the vehcile and everything was OK.

The second time it happened, I went to the dealer and of course they couldn'f find the problem, as everything was working OK at that point in time.

Now it happens a third time. I'm on the freeway and it happens again. This time I don't have a place to pull over, or an exit very close so now I am to say the least not happy. So on my way home, I am trying to think of what has caused this to happen three times when others said it happened only once to them.

I figured out the correlation between the three instances. I have my lights set to go on when the wipers are on, and the dash is set to dim when the lights are on. On all three occassions, this feature was being used as it was raining lightly off and on, so I was turning the windshield wipers on and off as needed. It was during these times I lost the street data only. Directions were still visible. And all three times I was on the freeway, so didn't have a location to restart the vehicle.

So with the nav still not functioning correctly, I dropped Mrs DoubleO7 off at home and went to the dealer to make an appointment. I cornered one of the service advisors who was walking back to the office and asked him to have a peek inside so he could see the blank screen while the vehicle was still running. Great idea, he sees it and I go into make the appointment. What day, he says he will be there on Friday after New Years. Go in on the Friday he's not there. Darn. So now I have to explain to the service rep (who I have dealt with almost exclusively for more then 12 years) the problem. Of course the service rep has only so much space to summarize the problem, so not sure if the tech that looked at it really knew what he was looking for as he couldn;t duplicate the problem. The service rep told me he will keep an eye out for any service bulletins as he has a 2012 Jeep with nav and thinks its the same as the Journeys.

DodgeCaCares if you read this, can you PM me.

Regards

DoubleO7 (I'm never wrong, but not always right)

I really have not tried the VC system to change iPod selections, but I did get the latest VC update and the system works much better. If you have not had that TSB applied, you could try that. Maybe that feature does not exist for 2011. Not sure.

NUMBER: 08-023-11 REV. A

GROUP: Electrical

DATE: August 12, 2011

SUBJECT:

FLASH: Hands Free Module Software Enhancements

Peace.

I had a problem with the VC for requesting a song to be played and since the update I have not had a problem. But having said that, the VC system does not like the one song that I have that has a Japanese title. When I say the name of the song it still switches from my IPOD to a hard rock station on a satellite channel. :hysterical2: This only happens on that song, so no big deal.

Double07 - Thanks for your post. I love my 2012 R/T as well, however, I have been experiencing the same problem as you since I purchased the vehicle. The low drone/rumbling from the floor of the car during light acceleration between 60-70km. Not one dealer has been able to give me an answer as to why I am experiencing this, it is quite frustrating. Have you come across any more information about this issue since your last post? Any information you may have is greatly appreciated!

HI Ferrari1.8t

When I had it looked at, the tech that looked at the vehicle, traced the problem to the limited clearance between the body and the exhaust. This can happen on the AWD models only and is a known problem he has been told. However there is not fix at this point.

I told him I only experience it during mild acceleration and not during full throttle. He then explained that during full throttle the exhaust gases are moving at a higher rate then under mild acceleration so this could be why I don't feel/hear the droan at certian times. My problem is that where I live speeds are are between 60 and 70 on almost all the rural roads I drive. Having said that, since I have almost 10,000km on the vehicle, it seems to be a little less noticable or I'm just getting used to it.

Other then that, all the little gremlins on my initial review have been fixed(with the exception of one). Voice recognition is better but once in awhile it doesn't understand, but hey I haven't seen a voice recognition system thats perfect. At least now when I ask for a song to play, it goes to that song and plays it, rather then highlighting the song and immediatley switching to the song below.

The one exception is with the nav and losing the streets on the screen(this has happened three times). I won't go into detail here, will post in the appropriate forum.

Other then that I am suffering no buyers remorse, still love the vehicle. No vehicle is prefect and I'm down, the location of the shifter still bugs me since I use the autostick alot. The accelerator pedal (and this is embarrasing) was a problem because I moved the seat back to clean and vacuum the driver side area and forgot to put it back up. My short little legs just couldn't reach.

If and when there is a final fix for the droan, or if it disappears on its own, I will let you know.

DoubleO7 says: Avoid Forbes Magazine :D

Thanks. I can't believe the shine. It really pops!

That really looks awesome. The shine really compliments the colour choice you made. :shades:

There is a VR flash update available. Just had it applied to my JC. VR is much better now. Search this forum. You should be able to find the TSB number.

Peace.

Had mine updated when I got the oil changed. Yes, I would say the VR is much better now, but having said that, when I have other people in the vehicle with me, any ambient noise (voices in the background) seems to confuse the VR system. When I am in the vehicle on my own, no problems, works perfectly.

On another note, one of my gremlins in my review of the Journey about asking for a specific song to be played has been resolved. Now when I ask for a specific song to be played, it actually goes to the song and plays it, before it would highlight the song and then immediately skip to the next one.

Its a Black on Black 2013.. The wife wanted a new Ford Escape.

Err, I have always bought Dodge.

Bang for the Buck is right. For the price of a Escape SE got me into a DJ RT. No Brainer..

The heated steering wheel must be nice, especially in Alberta.

The Escape is rather hideous looking IMHO and over priced. I saw a 2012 Escape SE 2wd with nav for $30,000. For almost the same price one can get the 5 seat Journey R/T with nav. and a much superior interior. Like you said "No Brainer"

Great choice. As bgstr says great value for the money spent.

Did you get a new 2012 or a new 2013? Just curious.

Welocme to the forum. Like the colour, have to say its the first blue one I've seen.

What part of Canada? From the photos, I'm thinking West Coast?

Thanks. It was a pretty good guess. The salesperson just sent another email saying that the vehicle is in the Laredo, Texas area. She aniticipates delivery the week of December 6th. Ho Ho Ho- Merry Christmas!

Nice Christmas present. Does yours have the heated steering wheel? Would definetly be nice to have in Ontario during the winter months.

Just an update on our 2 month old WeatherTech front mats... I have pulled them out twice and hand washed them with a normal hose attachment and the WeatherTech label on both have come off. Seems the quality of glue is not up to par. I am currently in contact with WeatherTech regarding this and am awaiting a response this week as to what they are prepared to do. Their website says they pride themselves on quality but I am questioning that quality. I would not recommend WeatherTech currently. I am looking for a bug deflector and front window air deflectors but until WeatherTech addresses my concerns, they won't get another penny from me. Have not tried the Husky's so can not comment on them but from what I have read, they are of good quality and price.

I have the same problem with the emblems. Haven't contacted Weathertech as yet, but I guess I should as I ordered them early in the year for what I thought would be April delivery (turned out to be June)

Yes I have the same on mine but have not been over to WeatherTech

office as of yet to get it resolved,maybe this week sometime.

The other thing is that they are losing shape where I step across

threshold going in and out so I will bring that up also,maybe take

it out of the DJ and sit it in the sun will reshape to original as

most plastic molding have shape memory.

The right side of the second row floormat has never fit flush with the edgo of the sill area. Thought it would eventually straightened itself out, but that hasn't happened. The ill fit may be caused by having to sit in the box for an extra for so long (an extra 6 weeks) while awaiting delivery of Journey. However I will contact them on this issue also.

Other then those two issues, I have been very happy with them. Other then a bit of grit getting on the edge of the carpet at the sill, when I take the mats out to wash them, there is nothing on the carpet below, so their doing their job.

When I researchd the Huskies, if they didn't have such an industrial look to them (to me they belong in a work vehicle, which the Journey is not IMHO), I would have really considered getting those just because of the cost difference.

I had 225/55 R17 tire size put on my 2011 Journey R/T and it just doesn't seem right. They were recommended a year ago by the Mopar guys at the dealership. They look like dinky tires and I got to believe my speedometer is off by quite a bit with these tires on. Any feedback here on this matter?

Go to 1010tire.com. Enter in the original tire size and then the tire size that you have put on. It will show you the difference when the speedo reads at 100 KPH for both replacement tires. It also warns you if there is to great a difference in size.

I put on 225/65' R17's, as this size had the least amount of variance in total size and speed from the OEM 19's

Here is the link

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp?err=98&rsn=usr-snt-emty-str

Nail polish remover worked well for me, on the glossy-painted parts only. After you melt the sap away, rinse off the area with water.

Do not use nail polish remover on flat black parts, e.g. around the doors.

I have an aquaitance who does auto detailing for a living and he also recommened nail polish remover using a piece of soft cotton.

steond: Just remember that anything you use will also remove any paint protection that you have, you will have to re-apply any sealant or wax that was on that area.

If you don't like steels but want to save your rims, you can always get cheap winter alloys. Might cost a little more but will save on a lot of wear of the OEM rim.

I went the winter alloy route as I live on the WEsTcoast of Canada. I can get by with alloys here as our snow fall accumulations are not very great, nor do we have huge temperature swings.

Just couldn't bring myself to buy steel rims/tires from Canadian Tire, and when I went to Costco, they wouldn't order rims, and when I enquired about price for the tires, they were the same price as Tireland. Checked out Kal Tire and when I told on of the reps who waited on me, I had a Dodge Journey, his response was "I feel soory for you". He wasn't even going to try and fit 17" rims and wanted to sell me 18" rims, which would have been OK, but that would have gotten to expensive since I wanted alloys. I also checked out the dealer where I bought the vehicle, and their prices were a little more expensive then Tireland.

So I decided to go with Tireland as price and service was on par or better then Costco/Dealer. I was impressed when I went to Tireland to enquire about rims, before the sales rep could tell his supplier that my Journey had the larger brakes, I heard his response to a question the person on the other side of the phone asked " yes it has the larger brakes". And I was also assured that the stock wheel nuts would fit (which they do), saving a few dollars over the dealer.

When the rims came in they still made sure the rims I wanted fit before ordering the tires. Ended up with 17" alloys and Michelin X-Ice2 tires . I know I could have gotten cheaper tires, but Michelin has been my choice of tires for almost 30 years. No reason to switch. Hope they make all season 19" tires to fit the Journey when the OEMs need replacing, as at the moment they do not.

Today, I put my nav on so I could compare the speed displayed on the EVIC with the Nav unit as I put on my snow tires which are on 17" rims. Everything was fine, mapping data showed speed, elevation and map of area, then all of a sudden the map screen went blank. I could still see speed and elevation, but no map.

When I got home, after I turned the vehicle off and then restarted, when I switched to the Nav screen, the map re-appeared.

I looked through this thread to see if anybody else has experienced this problem, but couldn't find anything. Has anybody else experienced this? Not sure if its just a one time thing, but will keep (if you will excuse the expression) an eye on it.

DodgeCares or DodgeCaCares any suggestions or bulletins I should now about?

Regards

DoubleO7