Journeyman425

Sorry, I was more focused on your actuator concern and realized after re-reading your post that you are more concerned with the brake noise. Re-checked for bulletins and Technician Confirmed Repairs on my end but I'm not coming up with anything - yet. If that changes I'll post the results of my search here right away.

This Journey is a very credible vehicle for those seeking performance but need a utility-type vehicle. Its power is impressive and the handling is very well composed and not at all clumsy. This car corners nearly as well as my 300M with Performance Handling Group. Dodge should be proud to offer it as a worthy performance partner in its lineup. I'm really surprised that we don't sell more of them in the U.S, although sales are up over 20,000 from this time last year.

I'm going out into the driveway to play with it at night time here and there too. Only had ours for five weeks. This car has that effect on many of us, I suspect Congratulations, enjoy and welcome!

What a wonderful read; thank you! Really happy to hear how well your Journey performed. We're so happy with ours so far. Going camping with it July 5th, curious to see how it handles our pop-up camper. Not expecting any difficulty as our 300M tows it easily. Hershey trip two weeks after that. Distance won't be anything like your road trip but it will give me a sense of its capabilities. Nice to have a new car to travel in, too.

Jarod - not seeing a TSB in either 2011 or 2012 that describes fixes to your issue. This bulletin is listed - see below: SUBJECT: FLASH: Hands Free Module Software Enhancements OVERVIEW: This Bulletin involves performing a USB service flash of the Hands Free Module (HFM). MODELS: 2011 (JC) Journey 2011 (LD) Charger 2011 (LX) 300 NOTE: This bulletin applies to vehicles built from December 20, 2010 (MDH 1220XX) to June 10, 2011 (MDH 0610XX) equipped with UCONNECT VOICE COMMAND W/BLUETOOTH (sales code RSP, RSQ for international). SYMPTOM/CONDITION: NUMBER: 08-008-12 REV. A GROUP: Electrical DATE: June 15, 2012 The customer may experience the following: · Revised foreign language translations. · Complete HFM Lockup, no hands free functionality can be used. · No start, or drained battery due to HFM keeping bus awake. · Using Station names to switch channels will take user to the wrong channel. · Station names added to the Sirius line up after the May 4th are not be recognized. · HFM does not work and the phone screens cannot be entered into at all. · If the Emergency and Towing assistance number are modified by the customer after several ignition cycles they revert back to default number. · Voice Recognition for Phone book names may not work. · Voice Recognition may not work at all. Voice Recognition may recover after several ignition cycles or in some cases Voice Recognition may never recover. · Phone book download to vehicle system is incomplete. Phone book download may recover after several ignition cycles. · Once a call is transferred to handset it cannot be transferred back to vehicle Hands free system. This issue is intermittent. · Voice Recognition Satellite commands may not work. Voice Recognition Satellite commands may recover after several ignition cycles or in some cases may never recover. · User can not select Brief or Detailed voice response mode in settings. · In NAV mode “Call” soft key is not available for Points Of Interest with phone numbers. · Hands Free Calls with Audio Muted. Incoming or Outgoing calls are intermittently muted or muted when making a call via a favorite immediately after ending a call. · Screen switches to Main Phone screen every time phone connects. · System may call Emergency without waiting for user to say “Yes” when detailed prompt modes are active. · Cannot get into phone mode via Phone soft key after editing emergency number.

Did a quick check on DealerConnect to see if there are any service bulletins or technician confirmed repairs, but there are none listed for this concern. Sounds like a mode door behind the dash making noise. I can hear them whirring in my 300M and that is characteristic of their operation but it is certainly not intrusive. I hear them work in my Journey sometimes if I'm sitting in the driveway playing with the radio with the engine off. I would say that a machine gun-like sound is not normal.

Dodge will back the customer in this case since the head is a known problem. They want to minimize inconvenience to the customer so if a dealer loaner is not available, rental coverage can be authorized for a couple of days while this work is done. Respectfully request that the dealership cover the rental cost for you. If they do not oblige, contact customer service @ 1-800-992-1997 and request reimbursement.

Not a silly question at all. Yes, they are different. Not sure if your TPMS will read the older style ones automatically or not. Worst case scenario is that the low tire light will be on. If so, larryl is correct that the new style sensors can be retrofitted to your 2009 wheels. For what it is worth, the 2009 wheels are now at least four years old and the sensor batteries are close to the end of their useful life anyway. See what happens when you install them and go from there.

Ja300Mes over on the 300M Club. I have a '99 Bright Platinum with chromes, roof and misc mods which is now off the road when we bought the Journey. Keeping that car at my shop until my oldest kid gets his license - about a year from now. Also have a 2000 Stone White with PHP, chromes, roof which we bought new. I'm driving that now and my wife is the primary driver of the Journey.

My wife also wanted three row seating to separate the kids...and we only have two! Both boys, and they are always on each other! (normal!) Interestingly, my 15 year old is 5'8" and he does not complain about the room in the third row. Personally, I think it's a bit tight and I'm an inch shorter, but what do I know? Fantastic family car, enjoy. I can't believe they aren't more popular here in the States - it is a superb value.

While it is true that TSB repairs are covered within the provisions of the warranty, your dealer can certainly be reimbursed from Chrysler for a reflash if your mileage is only 3000 over. Your vehicle is still within the 36 month time frame. The warranty does, in fact, state that it is either 36 months or 36K miles, whichever occurs first, but since you are well within the time limit and only over by a few thousand miles, coverage would be no problem. The other, more pertinent point is this: If your vehicle qualifies for the M38 software reflash, then it is considered a Customer Satisfaction / Recall campaign and dealer reimbursement for the reflash would be a non-issue. PM your VIN to me if you like and I can easily check that for you. With regard to the check engine light - if in fact you have a cylinder misfire due to a faulty head, that would be covered by the Powertrain Warranty which is 60 months or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. In the meantime, make an appointment to have it checked out since there is a wait time due to their backlog.

Have to agree with most points here. How many miles on yours, Northstar1? The reason I ask is because today, I had another 100 mile trip in the Journey. It's the first time I've driven the car in a week and I noticed today that the shifting is noticeably smoother. Much more so overall, especially the 3-4 upshift. It now has 1500 miles on it. I know the transmission's electronics are adaptive but they usually don't take so long to learn. I suspect that the car, now being driven mostly by my wife, has finalized its adaptives to her style. In any case, it is still not as seamless as the eight speed - which I agree is probably the finest automatic on the planet - but it sure is a lot closer. Most of today's upshifts were nearly imperceptible. I also agree that the ride is perfectly balanced between smoothness and handling. I'm amazed at how flat the body remains in corners, yet the suspension soaks up most bumps easily and remains controlled. It doesn't dart or judder over broken pavement, either. I have the Touring setup which is supposedly more compliant than the R/T's High Performance Suspension, but I've not been able to compare the two. All of our stock Journeys at my store have been SXT's or Crews. Happy to hear that the R/T does not produce a jarring ride. I find the seats comfortable, but I definitely prefer the seat in my 300M - the most comfortable car seat I've ever ridden in, hands-down. Nothing ever aches no matter how many hours I sit in it. We have a Hershey trip coming up in a month - that will be a good test; it's about a six hour ride. I reset the fuel economy average at every fill-up. The lowest was the first tank @ 21.9. The last one was 22.1. The current tank is 24.3 - certainly not bad considering the car's size, power and capability. Chock that up mostly to the 3.6. All of my customers report improvements with their 3.6 liter-equipped vehicles over their previous ones with different powerplants - most noticeably the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the old 3.7 and the Grand Caravan / T&C with the old 3.8. I haven't noticed any excessive brake dust. However, I can't judge this fairly because I am ridiculously anal about keeping the car, and the wheels in particular, clean. It has rained here relentlessly since we bought the car and I have washed it at least a half-dozen times in the four weeks we've owned it! This weekend I was able to get two whole days out of a wash job - it is forecast to rain tonight, tomorrow night and Tuesday. Guess what I'll be doing on Wednesday... The fit and finish on mine is also excellent. There is, however, one paint defect in the tailgate. There is a sploch in the lower left corner of the tailgate - almost looks like there was a clog in the paint nozzle. You don't see it unless you lift the tailgate and look at it at eye level, and for this reason I refuse to have it repaired. A bodyshop would have to blend into the bumper and left rear quarterpanel in the repair process, and I don't want to do that with this color. If it ever gets hit in the rear, then it will be fixed by default. I also wish it had a power liftgate. I guess they have to cut off the equipment level at some point, otherwise no one would buy a Durango! And yes, if it had an eight speed, then the powertrain would be indeed perfect. Redtomatoman is right, though - the engine has good torque but above 3500 RPM it screams. Sounds damn good getting it done, too!

Fantastic looking cars, guys. Best of luck with them. I think I've figured out that Canada has two R/T models - R/T and R/T Rallye whereas the US has one. Our R/T and your Rallye are about the same, whereas your R/T looks like our Crew with the chrome accents and availability of chrome clad wheels. If we had a R/T like yours that's what I would have gotten, although I have no complaints with my Crew. I think the ride is firm enough even with the touring suspension.

I have the Mopar hitch on my 2013 Crew. It is 3500 lb rated even though the car has a 2500lb capacity - it used to have a 3500 lb rating but was lowered for 2011 and up. Here is a picture so you can see what it looks like: Like yourself, I will only be towing a 1200lb pop-up camper, plus gear and stuff. This hitch is plenty sturdy and will have more than enough capacity for the load, which is how I like it. Too soon to comment on corrosion but the finish seems durable. No issue with the warranty as this is what the factory calls for. Exceeding the 2500 lb towing limit could stress the cooling system and cause a non-warrantable repair, but your plans don't include towing that kind of weight, so no worries.

Carly - this is from our dealer-only website. It applies to U.S. spec Journeys, but hopefully will be of some help to you: UCONNECT™ MULTIMEDIA VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM (VES)™ — IF EQUIPPED Getting Started Screen located in the overhead console: Unfold the overhead LCD screen by pushing the button on the overhead console behind the screen. Overhead Video Screen With the ignition switch in the ON or ACC position, turn the radio on by pushing the ON/OFF Volume Control knob. When the Video Screen are open and a DVD is inserted into the radio, the screen turns on automatically, the headphone transmitters turn on and playback begins. Single Video ScreenNote: Typically there are two different ways to operate the features of the Video Entertainment System (VES)™. The Remote Control The Touch-Screen Radio (If Equipped) Play A DVD Press the EJECT button on the radio faceplate (Touch-Screen). Insert the DVD with the label facing up. The radio automatically selects the appropriate mode after the disc is recognized and displays the menu screen or starts playing the first track. Select DISC Mode On The VES Screen Note: The VES™ system will retain the last setting when turned off. Viewing a DVD on the Touch-Screen radio screen is not available in all states/provinces, and the vehicle must be stopped, and the shift lever must be in the PARK position for vehicles with automatic transmission. In vehicles with manual transmission the parking brake must be engaged. Touching the screen on a Touch-Screen radio while a DVD is playing brings up basic remote control functions for DVD play such as scene selection, Play, Pause, FF, RW, and Stop. Pressing the X in the upper corner will turn off the remote control screen functions.

Chris - in Photobucket, each one of your thumbnails in your library contains four buttons. The second one down says "direct". Left-click on the Direct button and it turns blue. Right-click and copy the blue hightlighted link. Then, in this forum window, click on the "image" button and a window opens. Paste that copied link into the open window and your picture will be displayed here. Move your cursor under the picture and repeat the above process if you want to show multiple pictures in the forum window. FYI

Sounds like they did not add enough oil. Pull the dipstick after the engine has been off for at least five minutes. if no oil is on the stick, add one quart, wait five minutes and recheck. If oil is showing on the stick but not to the "safe" mark, add 1/2 quart at a time until it reaches that mark. Always wait a few minutes before you recheck or add more.

So true. My Journey is Copper Pearl Coat. I'd never seen the color on a Journey in person before I bought it. While I waited for the car to be built, I Googled photo after photo of the car in that color, and no two looked the same.

Hope this is not inappropriate but here's a couple of shots of our Journey's "soulmate" - 2000 300M, 282,000 miles:

The Electronic Throttle Control light will only illuminate while driving if the system detects a malfunction in it. If the malfunction corrects itself, the light will go off by itself. Sometimes, if the light illuminates and stays on, you can reset it by cycling the ignition off, then restarting the car. If the problem continues, have it checked out at a dealer. Usually a malfunctioning electronic throttle will allow the car to be driven to a dealer, sometimes under reduced power and with limited transmission shifting. I would have it checked out if it happens again.

Might be Blue Pearl Coat - sales code PBP which is no longer available for ordering on U.S. models. I checked 2012 specs and it was available last year. I think it was 2012 only, as I did not see it on 2011 specs either. Here's a link I found on a Google search of a 2012 with this color: q=pbp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=UJyyUfubGsjC4AO8m4DQAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643#tbm=isch&sa=1&q=dodge+journey+pbp&oq=dodge+journey+pbp&gs_l=img.3...42889.46425.0.46769.14.14.0.0.0.0.79.827.14.14.0...0.0...1c.1.16.img.9VJV89JpVHk&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47534661,d.dmg&fp=77b1948b20a48369&biw=1366&bih=643&facrc=_&imgrc=wKUCkczJRytI1M%3A%3B-91iIw9GkfYGTM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages04.olx.com%252Fui%252F19%252F50%252F55%252Ff_310194555-4066415726.jpeg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsaginaw-michigan.olx.com%252Fpbp-blue-pearl-coat-2012-dodge-journey-crew-dealer-saginaw-iid-310194555%3B625%3B468

Storm Gray is a great Journey color. Our last stock Journey at my store was Storm Gray and it was sold about a month ago. Nice car. Enjoy yours, and how about those pictures?? I know what you mean about the weather. It has rained every other day here since we got our Journey three weeks ago. I can't keep it clean. Right now we are under the remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea and my whole driveway is under water!

Love that Bright Red color! Did yours come with roof rails or did you add them? The website says that U.S. R/T's roof rails are deleted but I think they can be added back on as optional.

Thank you very much. As is yours - I LOVE that Brilliant Red Tri-Coat. Never seen it in person - your photo looks way better than the Dodge website. We already have a Sunrise Red 1988 Mazda RX-7 so something different was on tap for us. All the Journeys around my area seem to be Silver, White, and Black. Sold one a few years ago in Melbourne Green. Our last one in stock was Storm Gray. We have a Fathom Blue due in soon. Other than that, they're all the same around here. I'd love to see it in Bright Red too. Anyway, Thanks for the compliment and enjoy yours also. I'm sure you're loving it.