Slick26

Was the error eliminator actually necessary? Just curious, because I bought a DDM kit awhile ago and was finally planning on installing it, but didn't get anything extra. I'd like to know before I tear into it.

16" will work. I have 16" steelies from Tire Rack with fairly aggressive 225/70-16 tires for winter. I'm not positive, but I don't think you can go much bigger with the tires, but you could try. I think it will rub, though. It's really tight with mine. As for lift kit... good luck. There aren't any specific kits out there, given it's a car-based SUV, and you'd probably have to piece one together part-by-part. My guess is it would get prohibitively expensive and probably not worth it. I do think it would be cool, though. If you do it, please let us know how you accomplished it... there are a few people that have asked about this on here.

Chances are fairly good you have the standard 62TE 6-spd auto.

I have needed my PTO replaced twice now in 30,000 miles. This is not boding well for us since we have 66,000 miles on the vehicle and our CPO warranty is up at 80,000 miles. I shudder to think what will happen after that warranty expires and we're stuck replacing the PTO again and again and again on our own dime. Not good.

I have the older 3.5 HO, so this will obviously be different for the newer people; but I have tried Amsoil synthetic and Mobil 1 synthetic, and both were not good for my engine. I had to bring my Journey to the dealership on several occasions because it was burning oil so bad. They calculated it at a rate of 2-3 qts per 3,000 miles. Chrysler states 1 qt per 3,000 miles is normal... which I somewhat disagree with, but that is their standard. This was 2-3 times that. After much diagnosis, at 100% expense to me, it was discovered that the culprit was none other than the synthetic oil. Once I switched to their "Dodge" oil at the dealership, it hardly burned any oil at all. Moral of the story, the 3.5 HO is not a good engine for synthetic, at least not mine anyway. This is all fine with me, since I'm saving money putting regular oil in the car. I just wish I could get the longer oil change intervals that I used to get with synthetic in other vehicles. My Journey BARELY makes it to 3,000 miles before desperately needing to be changed. I used to put full synthetic in other cars of mine that would last 10,000 miles or MORE and still had oil life left in them, but the 3.5 HO is just not that kind of engine. The tolerances are way too loose. There's my 2 cents, hope it helps someone. Btw, I still use synthetic in my other vehicles, and my motorcycle, with absolutely NO problems. It's just that darn 3.5 V6 that is the problem.

I've done some research on this as well, and haven't come up with much. It isn't that it isn't possible, it's just that it isn't practical. There isn't ANY demand whatsoever, so there are no kits available. And if you take it to a shop to have a custom lift kit put together, you're going to spend thousands of dollars for a 2" lift that really doesn't achieve anything. I've been on other forums and seen some very unique lifted vehicles. One of them being a Jeep Compass lifted 4". It looked wicked. The Compass is built on the Dodge Caliber platform, which is originally FWD-based, but available in AWD as well. If it's possible for the Caliber platform to be lifted, I'm positive it's possible for the Journey platform. This is my own opinion, but I think the Journey is too low from the factory. I was parked next to a Ford Escape that sat higher than my Journey. My mother's FWD Toyota RAV4 sits higher than my Journey. Just about every other CUV in the segment sits higher than the Journey. They easily could have lifted it another 1"-2" from the factory without affecting any AWD components. And it would be nice if they offered a more rugged trim level, but I don't see them doing that with other options in the line up.

So there IS a pretty big difference. Good to know.

My oil light goes off pretty much right at 3,000 miles every single time. It's kind of frustrating. Even the owners manual says 7,500 miles per oil change. What I don't get is you can't extend it, like repgram it to come on later. My 2006 Chrysler Town & Country had an option in the settings to choose anything between 3,000 and 8,000 I think. Not the case with the Journey. Also, I'm not sure if they've changed the technology of it much from 2009 to the current model, but mine doesn't seem very accurate. It'll come on at 3,000 almost on the dot and I've still got tons of life left on my oil. Seems like it isn't sensing anything at all. I dunno... just my thoughts. I don't care what it says, I change my oil at 5,000 miles no matter what. I don't need some nanny system telling me what to do with my cars, I've been doing this long enough to have a fairly good idea what I'm doing.

. See response below.

The motor mounts were probably $46 each The rest was labor :rolleyes:

Was told not to use synthetic for the 3.5, as its tolerances are much too loose to gain any benefits of the more slippery synthetic. Trust me, I tried. All it did was burn through it even faster. After switching back to regular old dino oil, it still burns a little bit of oil, but not nearly as much. 3.6 Pentastar may be different, as it is a newer engine with better tolerances.

I don't get any noise on start-up, or noise that is out of place while driving... BUT, we do have an awful smell that comes from the vents when the heat is on. It's that smell like when you first fire up your furnace the first time each fall/winter (you're in TX, so maybe you can't relate); it smells like burning dust. It'll do it at first and then go away, only to come back again in a little while. I kind of wonder if the coming and going has anything to do with the auto controls... we hardly ever use manual HVAC controls anymore with the option of auto. Doesn't do it in the summer when AC is on, only when it gets cold and the heat is on. I think it's the heater motor, or something related, but I'm not a mechanic so it's hard to know for sure. Dealer has checked it every time I get oil changes (powertrain still under warranty, might as well make them responsible), and every time they say they can't smell it. My wife definitely disagrees.

Ok thanks. For some reason I thought the 09/10 R/T and SXT had bigger brakes than the base model, which is what that size wheel was designed for. Just want to make sure I don't make a mistake... I'm about to pull the trigger on this package really soon.

Does anyone know if the 16x6.5 steel wheels from Tire Rack's winter wheel/tire combo will work on a 2009 R/T?

You did not just spell that Camero. Shame on you, Canadien.

The demand isn't going up. Auto manufacturers aren't rushing to put 19's on their cars, and people aren't clamoring for aftermarket 19's wheels. It's a dead size. 18" and 20" offer so many more options that pretty much make 19" redundant. BTW, 235/55-19 is perfectly fine on the Journey. It just isn't cheap. But most 19" tires aren't.

18 or 20 would have still been a better option. 19" just hasn't caught on, and may never catch on. It's just an odd, less popular, size.

Chances are not very good considering no one even makes a lift kit for the Journey. They kind of go hand in hand.

So... how are those tires doing?

They didn't think this Journey out very well when they designed it. They really strapped us owners down, especially 19" wheel owners, with very few options for wheels/tires.

You NEVER have to change tires in Florida? I'm definitely moving there... lifetime tires!

I have a hard time believing 265's are going to fit. That's way too wide. You'd need a pretty big spacer, and then they'll stick out too far and will probably look silly. I don't know much about those specific wheels, but who knows if the backspacing will even fit. A lot more goes into this than just slapping different wheels on a Journey... they're very finnicky and have odd specs.

I've been considering this for some time now, but it appears there are no lift kits available for the Journey. That doesn't mean there is NOTHING out there that would work, it just means it is not popular enough for any company to label a specific kit just for the Journey. The best advice I can give you is to take it to a shop that specializes in 4wheeling/off-roading, and see if they can measure specs and whatnot and see if they can piece together a lift kit from various kits available on the market for other vehicles. Unfortunately this is very time consuming and probably fairly expensive. And good luck getting anyone to take you seriously. This is not an off-roading vehicle. It's an SUV plopped onto a car platform. It isn't even a dedicated CUV like a Chevy Traverse or GMC Acadia with their own platform. It's literally a car with an SUV body. And a very poorly thought-out one at that, if you ask me. If you do figure something out, please let us know... because I am sure there are a few of us around that have considered the idea. It would definitely be different... and in my opinion, if done RIGHT, could look very nice.

I have an R/T AWD with the admittedly inefficient 3.5 and I average right at 16 MPG over all. I live in a very busy suburb in a large metro area with more stoplights than you can shake a stick at. I never expected my fuel economy to be good. It's never been good for any vehicle I've ever owned. My commute is just too crappy, and I've resigned myself to that fact. It's just the way it is. With that said, once I do get a chance to get out on the open highway, my numbers get considerably better. Over the course of almost a year of owning my Journey, the road trips we've taken have gotten somewhere in the range of 24/25 MPG. So definitely more respectable.