Journeyman425

It frustrates me, too - and I work for a dealer. Educating the personnel is extremely important, and also extraordinarily time-consuming. Dealer employees at nearly every level have multiple online courses to take every year, and our techs are sent away for training several times per year just to stay current. But the other side of the story is the dizzying array of features and options that today's cars are crammed with. These features and options often change not only with each passing model year, but sometimes in mid-cycle as well. I'm not defending the people who don't spend the time to learn, nor am I making excuses for them, but trust me when I tell you that it is a truly daunting task to keep it all straight and current. One of the reasons why I participate in this forum is that it helps me to learn things by researching your questions. I agree that the "messaging" button should not be there if the feature is not present or even available. Jkeaton - your 4.3 can be upgraded to Uconnect and that's why the message comes up on the welcome screen. But the 8.4 and 8.4N cannot be upgraded to Uconnect Access which supports voice texting, so the grayed out "message" softkey really has not place on this unit at all. My understanding is that Uconnect Access is embedded in the 8.4A and 8.4AN radios which are otherwise identical to the 8.4 and 8.4N and so removing the grayed out key would likely be a large corporate expense in the overall picture.

Here is a discussion of the AWD system from the service manual, which I found to be quite interesting and informative: The all-wheel-drive system requires no driver input or control. Under most driving conditions, it is passive and power is transmitted to the front wheels alone. The system functions to optimize traction and handling under the following conditions: Anticipates slip by responding to pedal position unlike all-wheel drive systems that rely on pumps or viscous fluids to transfer torque, the system requires no front-to-rear slippage for activation. This allows the system to transfer torque in response to accelerator pedal position. If the driver is asking for a lot of power, the system immediately starts clamping the Electronically Controlled Coupling (ECC), transferring a high percentage of power to the rear wheels. This avoids front wheel slippage, as power to propel the car is transmitted through all four tires. This mode of operation is called open-loop operation in that there is no feedback to affect the torque transfer. Modulates torque to optimize traction on slippery surfaces a second, closed loop, operating mode uses feedback from the wheel-speed sensors to determine the appropriate torque transfer. When the front wheels slip, the all-wheel-drive electronic control module tells the ECC to start clamping, sending power to the rear wheels. Attempting the same aggressive launch described above with the front wheels on ice and the rear wheels on dry pavement, the ECC sends even more torque to the rear wheels to minimize slippage and launch the vehicle. Both modes are always active and the maximum of the two is chosen. Power to the rear wheels is modulated during lost of traction while traveling at freeway speeds; for example, hydroplaning on a puddle of water, will send very little power to the rear wheels because the controller knows at those speeds a lot of power is not needed at the rear wheels. Prevents binding during low-speed turns a third condition, which is independent of the others, uses the ESP steering angle sensor to determine when the vehicle is turning in a tight circle. This condition causes the electronic control module to reduce torque to the rear wheels to prevent binding in the driveline. The electronic control module is always checking for this condition as well. Influences handling at moderate speeds. The AWD system is used to influence vehicle dynamics. Other manufacturers limit AWD to aiding traction or providing off-road capability. They concentrate on launching the vehicle or going off road at speeds up to about 25 mph (40 km/hr). Above that speed range, they use it to limit wheel slip for traction. Additional ECM calibration controls torque to the rear wheels for improved handling in the 25-65 mph (40-105 km/hr) range. In this speed range, the system utilizes torque to the rear wheels during cornering with the throttle open to make the car turn more easily – make the handling more neutral. This is more readily accomplished with an electronically controlled system, than with viscous-coupling or gerotor systems that require some degree of front-to-rear slip to transfer torque to the rear wheels. Above 53 mph (113 km/hr), the control strategy provides minimal torque to the rear wheels under normal driving conditions to aid fuel economy. Works with ESP and Traction Control the electronic control module also interfaces with the ESP and traction control systems. The interface allows the ESP system to use the ECC to help gain control of the vehicle. For this purpose, torque transmitted to the rear wheels by the ECC can be reduced. The AWD system is not traction control. It only works on situations where front-torear traction varies, for instance, front wheels on ice, rear wheels on dry pavement or climbing steep grades. AWD does not aid side-to-side traction. ESP does that through brake intervention. 2) Spillage on the seats - Mopar makes a product called "Total Clean" which is very effective on the interior. Not sure if it will hasten removing spillage from the perforations in the seats, but that should not be an issue unless the substance is something like milk which will reek if left unattended! 3) Your best bet is to call Sirius directly and ask if you can renew Travel Link only. I suspect that it is not available separately, but they *should* be able to tell you. It might take a couple of calls; their knowledge varies widely with the person you happen to connect with... 4) I have never had the blind spot mirrors on my car. If possible, park another vehicle alongside your Journey on the passenger side in the driveway and orient it in the blind spot when you park it. Have someone move the mirror about on the glass while you sit in the driver's seat until you have the best view before you permanently adhere it to the glass. 5) I'll get back to you on this one! I *think* you can only play music but honestly, I've not tried a photo card in the slot to see what happens. You can play movies and photo cd's in the CD drive, but only if the gearshift lever is in Park. Congratulations on your purchase. What a great first family car! They borrowed a few pages from the Grand Caravan playbook with the kid-friendly attention to detail for sure. We have two boys and this car is quite perfect for us. The storage and use of space is very well thought out and its utility belies the vehicle's size. Best of luck with yours and welcome to the forum!

Text messaging is not supported by the 8.4 / 8.4N radios in the Journey. Only Chrysler products equipped with the 8.4A / 8.4AN radio supports text messages. Update - this is incorrect - see my post below!

The power steering system in the Journey is still a belt driven hydraulic pump. Electric power steering is standard on the new Cherokee with the 3.2 V6. The gear was substantially revised a couple of years ago and virtually all internal friction was removed, which makes it feel more like an electric setup. I agree about the relative lack of feedback. My 300M provides much more communication to the driver about what the front tires are doing. Makes for more confident snow driving for sure - my wife commented about it also. I love the smoothness of the Journey's steering and the quickness of its response, but it does lack some feedback. In NY, "winter blend" fuels are used to lower cold engine emissions. Are such fuels used in Canada? Between that, the inherent drop in fuel economy from higher friction, thicker oil, richer fuel mixtures and the tendency to remote start and warm the vehicle up, our fuel economy average is off by about 4-5 MPG. Re-evaluate it six months from now for a better overall picture.

Amen to that!

We took a 2010 SXT in on trade yesterday, with only 38000 miles on it. Very tempting...but for now we are a one Journey family. Before the Journey, my wife and I both had 300M's - a '99 and a 2000. Still have them both but the '99 is sitting at my shop, off the road, awaiting a certain 15 year old's driver's license...

Sorry to hear about the troubles with your Journey. Ours is a 2013 with 13,000 miles and has been perfect. Everything works as it should, the fit and finish are first-rate and there's not a rattle or squeak to be heard anywhere. Same story for my 2000 300M. Owned since new, mileage is now 288,000. Engine and tranny are original, as are drive axles, starter, alternator, power steering pump, A/C compressor, wheel bearings, etc. Replaced the radiator 100K miles ago, A/C evaporator, one radiator fan motor (there are two), one brake line, one upstream O2 sensor, and the battery. I replaced the struts at 158K miles because the ride was not as firm and controlled as it used to be. Also replaced inner and outer tie rod ends recently due to wear. The suspension component replacements are commensurate with the mileage on the car. In all of those miles, it has only failed to start once, and that is when the battery shorted out. Everything on the car still works except the driver's seat heater. Maybe look again at Chrysler products before you give up, Robert.

I think I have to agree at this point, Debra, that Lemon Law is the next logical step. No one is resolving your problem. Each repair attempt not only fails, but creates additional problems. I am truly sorry - I know how much you want to love this car but cannot. Make them buy it back and replace it with one that you can. Your case appears to be well-documented and should be upheld by the Lemon Laws in your state.

Good to know! My wife pegged a curb with the driver's side front wheel and gouged the edge a bit.

Sounds like they have opened a STAR case. That is when the tech contacts Chrysler online via our TechConnect website or by telephone and reports their codes and diagnosis to the tech support teams that help us with unconventional issues.

Working for a dealer, I can see that information as well, plus some additional detail. I followed my Journey as it switched from railcar to railcar along the way from Mexico to NY. I could also see that it was unloaded in New Jersey and sat there for a week before it was loaded onto a transport to bring it to my store which really ticked me off! It is a lot of fun tracking the progress of your new car as it goes from paper to pavement.

My father was the same way. He rarely bought off the lot - the car he wanted was never to be found! One of the more memorable ones was his 1976 Mercury Colony Park wagon. He ordered that car specifically to tow our 31' Airstream. The trailer towing package included not only the 460 V8 and heavy duty cooling, but four wheel disc brakes (unheard of in a domestic wagon back then), factory dual exhaust, and air adjustable shocks with a schrader valve built into the rear bumper so you could pump them up to level out the car. Half of my high school class would also fit handily in it as well...

The 3.6 is indeed a more powerful and refined engine than the 3.5. My 300M is equipped with a 3.5 and the 42LE four speed automatic which is a durable, smooth shifting transmission but it is not very efficient at transmiitting power. There are large power losses between the flywheel and the drive wheels. The engine is powerful but a bit coarse. The 3.6/62TE combo in the 300M would make the car a world beater! I have driven the 3.2/948TE Cherokee and it is very impressive. The engine is always in its optimal power band - there is a ratio for any vehicle speed. The extra ratios more than make up for the smaller displacement and reduced power of the 3.2 - which isn't much, by the way. Power is down to 271 HP vs. 283, torque is 239 lb-ft vs 260.

That drives me crazy also. The shift schedule is programmed much like the current Town & Country/Grand Caravan which is equipped with an "econ" switch. Engaging the "econ" mode creates a shift schedule in which the tranny gets into the highest gears as quickly as possible to maximize fuel economy. If you defeat the econ mode, the RPMs are allowed to climb and the lower gears hang a little longer for improved driveability. Grand Cherokees have it too, as well as a Sport mode which really lets the engine wind out. I wish the Journey were equipped with this feature, and given the sportier nature of this vehicle, I'm surprised that it doesn't have it. The only way to get around it is to Autostick.

More info: http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/31/dodge-journey-crossroad-chicago-auto-show/

Thank you for a factual and informative reply ( as usual from you, Webslave!) Nice to know that the info that I was given about switching to chrome cladding may have more to do with the facts that you presented vs. bean counting. Interesting stuff that I really had no idea about. Thanks! We've owned our Journey for eight months. I have found the wheels very easy to clean, and when they are cleaned and waxed, they draw a lot of praise. I think they look beautiful. Yeah, it sounds cheap when you tap your knuckles on the plastic, but in this case, so what? No one's knockin' on your spokes as you ease on down the road...

http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2014/01/journey-crossroad-launched

Have your dealer check for software updates to the transmission as well as for diagnostic trouble codes.

Hi Debra - A little crash course on sunroof design here: In the closed position, the roof panel is designed to seal out wind and most water. In order for it to be completely water-tight, it would have to seal in such a manner that it could not be opened. The gap between the roof panel and the roof itself is measured in micro-inches, but that can be enough to let a few drops of water past the seal. So, the roof panel rides in a tub assembly. The tub catches those drops and drains them under the car via four drain hoses, one in each corner of the roof. It's not that the car was designed to leak per se. Dripping into the tub is by design. Leaking into the passenger compartment is not. This type of sunroof design is not proprietary to Chrysler products. I have worked with Volvo, Mazda, Kia, VW, Subaru and Porsche as well as Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep. They all used a similar arrangement. I hope this helps clarify your Journey's design. More importantly, I hope it's repaired!

The biggest culprit at my shop is the 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I should preface that by saying that the GC is, far and away, the biggest seller at my store as well. But...even given that information, proportionally speaking, they leak the most. The problem, 99% of the time is restricted drains. That baffles me for sure. Most people keep their sunroofs closed unless they are driving. I just don't see how so much material gets down the drains with the roof closed that it causes the drains to clog. Nevertheless, it is a fact. We see it all the time.Most of our complaints center around water dripping in via the grab handles cast into the "A" pillar mouldings on the GC. Some complain of leaks around the rearview mirror/map light area as well. We remedy most of these leaks by simply taking a compressed air blow gun to the front drains and gently blowing them clear. We then pour water down the drains to test that they work, then close the roof and water test the car. Most of the time, that solves the problem. Sometimes, we have to partially drop the headliner to gain acces to the rear drains and clear them. Early GC's had leaks around the front door body cavity behind the weatherstrip at the top of the cavity. During assembly, urethane applied to this area was heat-cured and in the curing process, the urethane produced bubbles which would allow water in. So, some of these cars mimicked sunroof drain leaks by dripping in the aforementioned "A" pillar grab handle area, even though the vehicle was not equipped with a roof. Next in popularity is the Wrangler equipped with the Freedom Panel roof. Most water leaks stem from the fit between the front door and "A" pillar. A redesigned weatherstrip in that area along with a door adjustment solves that problem. Some Freedom Panels drains have also become clogged; removing the panel, clearing the drain and emptying the residual water is the usual fix. The Journey is not a very strong seller at my store (although I've helped pitch a few of them since last May ) and there has really been only one which leaked as bad a Debra's. With the water running on the car, I sat in the back seat with a flashlight and scanned the perimeter of the roof panel until I could see the water entering. By design, the roof gasket should allow a few drops at a time into the tub, and the tub drains the water in all four corners. What I saw was a steady stream of water entering the driver's side front corner. Her vehicle, as parked in her driveway, had a slant to the right which would cause the water to leak on the passenger side. So, even though the water leaking into the interior was present on the passenger side, the actual leak source was on the driver's side. All we had to to was replace the gasket around the glass roof panel, and adjust the glass accordingly. Cleared the drains with compressed air for good measure and she has been dry for over a year now. I own two 300M's in addition to the Journey. One is a 1999 and the other a 2000. Both have a sunroof. I factory-ordered the 2000 and it has never been in a collision. We use the roof all the time, and often leave it open in the vented position for hours on end. It has never leaked with the exception of when it goes under the dryer in the car wash. When the huge blower fan passes right over the roof panel, sometimes a drop or two of water spits out under the force from the blower. I accept that as normal as it is not at all representative of normal conditions. I have never used compressed air down the drains on that car, now 13.5 years old and 288,000 miles. I bought the 1999 used in 2008 with 92,000 miles. That car was hit two or three times prior to my purchase. It's had a much tougher life than my 2000, but the roof has never leaked on it since I've owned it either. That car has been sitting at my shop since May when we bought the Journey, and it remains dry inside. I have never cleared the drains on it in the 5.5 years I've owned it as well.

MIne also unlocks the doors and turns on the headlamps when I wash it with the key in my pocket! I've been doing a little research into your problem. There are five antennae located in various positions within the car. They are all connected to the Radio Frequency Hub. Do you know for sure that the dealer scanned ALL the modules in the vehicle for codes? The RF Hub will store codes if it or anything it interfaces with malfunctions. To me, the vehicle is erroneously reading the presence of a transmitter inside the vehicle when it is not actually there. Strictly a guess on my part, but the car behaves as if you are trying to lock a key in it as you stated from the owner's manual in your opening post. If the dealer has, in fact, checked all modules for codes and updates, they should open a STAR (Service Technical Assistance Resource center)case with your exact complaint and their findings.

Fingers crossed! Please share with us what was done. I am especially curious. Please post the cause and correction listed on your warranty invoice when you get a chance if it is not too much trouble. Thanks!

I have found this to be very true. I've been a member of the 300M Enthusiasts Club since its inception in 2001 and they are extremely helpful and friendly - the comraderie is contagious.

Cleanliness is short-lived. Temps are back down to 18 deg. F and 4 inches of snow predicted for tomorrow. Our roads have more salt on them than all of the Big Macs that McDonalds sold last year worldwide...

By the way, I have only seen one PTU leak at my shop. Honestly, I don't remember the exact cause, I just recall that we replaced the unit itself. I think there was a seal leaking which was pressed into the housing and the factory allowed a replacement PTU rather than a repair. The vehicle was an early build 2009 R/T. We don't sell a whole lot of Journeys at my shop but all except that one was free of this issue. Most of our sales have been AWD.