Journeyman425

What really ticks me off about the whole thing are the kickbacks that are involved. I called the towing company that I routinely deal with en route to pick up my wife and requested that they go get the car for me and bring it back to the shop in my town. No can do, they say - the police have "lists" of selected companies that they call to tow disabled vehicles. I understand that they have to clear the road so it can be reopened as quickly as possible. My car is in the shoulder and not blocking any traffic. So now I have to deal with some unknown company who takes my car yet another 20 miles away to some huge yard. Yes it is now Christmas Eve morning and many places are closed. I get that - I was off also. Two days of storage right there because of Christmas. But now - how convenient - no one can find my car the next business day until there are enough hours of storage logged to constitute another day of fees. Yes, the insurance company is paying but this is why all of our rates are through the roof. The amount of hurdles I had to clear just to take possesion of my own damned car is borderline criminal. And who has time for all of this crap? I'm trying to run a business during this whole process. I still don't even know if it will be repaired or totaled. Sorry for the rant, but I do things a totally different way and these kinds of practices really get me aggravated. Call me naive or small-town but it just seems all wrong.

Finally at the bodyshop today. The accident occurred 50 miles away from my home, so the car had to be towed locally to a yard. This was 9:00 Tuesday night. I called Wednesday morning but the yard was closed for Christmas. Called there today and no one knew anything about it. Police report also had the towing companies for my car and the other driver's car reversed. Called the other company and they didn't have it, either. Took five phone calls in four hours to finally get someone who knew about our car. They wrote it up as a Durango, so that further confused things. Called my local towing company, called my bodyshop, called insurance agent (still closed for Christmas) and got everybody on board; finally coordinated all parties and got the car back to where it will hopefully be repaired. Did all this while at work, we wrote up fifty cars and answered over 160 phone calls. I'm going to have a beer now...

I found a leftover 2014 Copper Pearl Limited in Michigan. If mine ie totaled - and I don't think it will be - then I will investigate the feasibility of obtaining that one. I'll know more next week.

Believe me, it does. I sat in church this evening with my family and thanked God that nobody was hurt. It was too damn close for me to think about what could have been. And that's just it. Could have been, but didn't happen. Yeah, it's going to be inconvenient for a while and it's gonna cost me some bucks even with full insurance, but I can deal with that. We have everything to be thankful for. And Merry Christmas to you, and all my friends here. Thanks for your support!

She admitted to running the light to the responding police officer. I don't think her phone records will be checked by anyone other than her father since there were no injuries. In a case where there are major injuries or a fatality, then definitely. She was apologetic to my wife as well. As a parent, I'm glad she wasn't hurt.

I would, but it's no longer offered for 2015. I'd have to find a leftover 2014 Limited. I don't think it's totaled, though. I'll probably know by Monday.

No. She was hit too far forward to deploy any of the side impact bags, and since it was not a forward-moving collision, there was no need for the steering wheel bag to come out, either.

It's unbelievable. My fourteen year old 300M with 296,000 miles has never been hit once. Except for a couple of door dings, the body is free of damage and the paint is original. This Journey is a friggin' magnet for damage. But all that really matters is that no one was hurt. It won't be estimated until next week so once I know that outcome I'll update you all again.

And yet again... 18 year old girl blew a red light as my wife was leaving work. No one was injured. I think the car is repairable but won't know for a few days. I guess I don't have to worry about the crack in the rear fascia anymore...

No, we don't have a bodyshop at my store. But there is a very reputable shop nearby with whom we do a lot of business with. They repaired my front fascia last year when it was hit the first time and matched it perfectly. I trust them completely to take care of it.

I called the lady who hit us today (they were away for a few days) and explained that I partially repaired the fascia myself and by doing so would lower the cost of the repair. She was very appreciative and nice about it and agreed to pay the estimate that was given to me by my bodyshop. Probably will get it in after Christmas - it's just too busy of a time right now.

Time for some pictures!

Well, it happened again. Nailed in a parking lot - this time the rear bumper fascia. Not as bad as when it got hit in the front. The lady who hit the car found my wife and gave her all the insurance info and a number to call her. I thanked her for her honesty. I was able to push the fascia back in where it popped out on the passenger side rear quarter, and on the corner just below the taillamp. There is a crack in the recess where the reflector resides in the corner of the fascia and a couple of marks on the cover. Not bad. Hoping to have it in the bodyshop before Christmas so I can forget that it ever happened!

I agree there too. If I had to do it again, I would be tempted to go with AWD. We skipped it because we've never had any problems negotiating our flat terrain here with FWD and traction control. But, in hilly terrain or where your own driveway may be steep, I could see the value in it for sure - for the added peace of mind alone. With 30,000 miles on our Journey, I have seen a number of times where on hard acceleration on dry pavement, the front end picks up and there is torque steer and some wheelspin. The AWD system not only responds to wheelspin, but anticipates the potential for it by measuring throttle angle vs. vehicle speed and applying some power to the rear before the front loses traction. Now that is something that I see some real value in and could add to the fun-to-drive factor. My 300M does not exhibit this trait due to its equal length axle shafts, lower torque output and taller first gear ratio. I assumed the Journey would respond in a similar way but I was wrong.

Way to go! As long as you're not being unreasonable in your negotiations (and you are not) a dealer will come back to you on your terms to get another car down the road. Congratulations and post some pictures when you take delivery.

Sweet!

Man, is that ever true! When 4WD/AWD really began to get popular in the early 2000's, there was always that one driver with his invincibility factor flying high as he went screaming past us in a snowstorm. We would then come upon this idiot a couple of miles down the road, in the median, or a ditch, in the guardrail...you get the idea. These people would regard the 4WD switch/lever as an anti-Issac Newton device...only to receive yet another high-school physics lesson courtesy of the above-mentioned guardrail.

Not sure if it is the spring rates or shock rates that differ. I think it is just the shock rates. AWD Journeys are fitted with Performance Suspension, presumably to handle the extra weight of the AWD system. R/T versions offer yet another level of shock damping above the Performance-spec shocks. Honestly, I can't tell the difference between an AWD Crew and my FWD in terms of ride. Our friends have a 2014 AWD R/T and that one does feel a bit stiffer over bumps and has a little less roll in turns.

Nice to hear from you, Terry - long time no see!

A whole bunch of us here, that's who! Glad you're repaired and running right - it's a great feeling to have a problem like that resolved.

My wife often stows her purse in the storage bin under the passenger front seat cushion - with a FOBIK inside her purse. Same thing happens - I'll lock the door with my FOBIK, the car sees her key on the inside and unlocks the doors and chirps the horn 3X. We have to remove the key from her purse and then it allows the car to be locked. Other than that, I am not aware of a defect causing the issue. The car will have stored diagnostic information if there is a malfunction in the system. Once, our driver door lock button became stuck down and kept locking the doors repeatedly. Must've been a grain of sand or something causing the button to stick down. I cleaned the switch and never had another problem with it. But one day I plugged into the car at work and scanned it for codes, and sure enough there was a code stored in it for the stuck switch. Get it checked out when you can - even if there is no problem found, your dealer can cover the scan under the basic warranty.

The vehicle will stay running regardless of the location of the key fob. However, if it leaves the interior it cannot be restarted unless the fob is returned to the interior, with the exception of the remote start (if equipped).

There used to be something called Vehicle Order Tracking System (VOTS) on all the Chrysler-brand websites which allowed you to track your ordered car via the VIN or the VON (Vehicle Order Number). The VOTS does not seem to exist anymore - not sure what happened - but in the meantime, post or PM the last eight digits of your VIN (if you have it) or the VON and I'll check it for you.

Good to hear from you and glad things are going well. Life with a DJ is good!

You know, Ray - I was thinking just today how we haven't heard a peep from you since you took delivery. Thinking that you were just having way too much fun driving your new Crossroad to be posting here on the DJ Forum. Beautiful car! Aren't you just a little bit more proud of your engineering peers at Chrysler after having spent some time behind the wheel of this wonderful car? Dhh3 - the DJ is designated by Chrysler as a Crossover as it is built off of a passenger car platform. You and bigtsr are correct.