Journeyman425

The Journey is my third Chrysler product with a sunroof. None of them leak. I've owned two Mazdas with sunroofs. Neither have leaked (I still have one of them - a 1988 RX-7 - and no leaks) I had a Toyota with an aftermarket sunroof and it never leaked either. All except the Toyota used a similar design - a sliding glass or sheetmetal panel which rides in a tub assembly with drains.
I've seen plenty of leaks over the years in sunroofs. It does happen. However, the key to correcting the issue is proper diagnosis. Repair is not a big deal once an accurate diagnosis is made. In many cases, the gasket around the glass/sheetmetal panel allows more water in than the drains can handle. Replace the faulty gasket, ensure the drains are clear and problem solved. More often than not, the drains simply clog and cannot keep up with the normal flow of water into the tub.
What I read about all too often is guesswork rather than diagnostics. I believe that was the root cause of Debra's ongoing issue. Instead of taking the time to properly diagnose her leak, the tech or maybe even the service advisor simply guessed at the problem, ordered a part, then put a flat-rate guy to work on it, trying to beat the factory labor time allowance on a job that only had a partial chance of correction in the first place. So, the guy is rushing to install a part so he does not lose time on the job (flat rate technicians are rewarded by completing a job in less time than the labor allowance and are hurt by taking more time than the labor allowance. Warranty labor allowances are historically less than customer pay ones) and hacks the car apart and puts it back together sloppily. Remember the odd noises in the headliner and wind leaks after the job was "done"? And guess what? Still leaks. This car is really not the culprit - the repair process failed her. But now it's too late for the dealer or for Chrysler and they have to buy it back. I'm happy for her for sure, but the whole thing could have been avoided if it had been handled properly from the start. And the worst part of all is that the customer has suffered unecessarily.

The sunroof seal is designed to seal the roof panel from wind and most water. Some water is allowed to drip into the sunroof tub by design. The tub assembly has four drains - one in each corner of the roof. If any of the drains are clogged - a common occurrence in my experience - water will drip into the passenger compartment because it has nowhere else to go.
Diagnosing this problem is not difficult for your dealer to do. Water testing the vehicle is the first step to see where the water is going. I have seen some roof panels allow too much water in, which overtaxes the drains. Replacement of the glass panel seal has repaired that problem in some instances. There is a test for the drains to see if they are draining at the proper rate. Usually clearing them with compressed air cures any clogged drains. Sometimes the drain hoses are not fully seated on the drains themselves. In rare cases, the headliner has to come down to see where the water enters. In all cases, these leaks are repairable. This car is not designed to allow water into it! Anyone who tells you otherwise is misinformed or completely ignorant.
It frustrates me when dealers throw their hands up in the air and say it cannot be repaired. The customer gets cheated and the company ultimately loses the customer. If you have not done so already, arrange to meet with the service manager (not the service advisor) at your selling dealer. Involve the owner if necessary. Show your documented previous repair attempts. Then, if you are not satisfied, contact Customer Care again and explain what you have done thus far. I know it's frustrating but there is a resolution to your problem. You should not have to be so persistent, but your not getting satisfaction so unfortunately you must continue to pursue your case until somebody steps up to the plate to help you. You have a wonderful vehicle and you deserve to enjoy it. Please keep us posted.

I checked your VIN and equipment. The Sales Code for DRL does not exist in your database, either. Sorry I could not help you with this!

I will indeed. I ran your VIN yet again just be certain that I did not miss anything. I'm not finding the common denominator that eliminates DRL from certain models. An SE equivalent is sold in Canada where DRL is mandatory; I just can't see what has changed between the two, or even between yours and mine, for instance. DRL is a soft key option on both 4.3 and 8.4 radios, according to the owner's manual. I'll keep looking.

Tried to post a snapshot of the Sales Code Add Option page so you could have a visual of what I'm saying, but it just comes out as random codes and words.

It was my Birthday last week, and I will be picking up the 2014 Dodge Journey CANADIAN VALUE PACKAGE / SE recently purchased this coming Saturday.....I have never owned a car off the ground before, and my current car is a 2006 hatchback bought brand new with almost 200k on the clock. (the driver side windows does go down, and I can't see which station am choosing but can play cds and listen to radio).
I ordered the following to be put on: Cargo mat, mud flaps and hood bug deflector.
Mod after pick (same day): Window tints....15% all at the back, 20 in front. Interior lights changed to Blue LEDs
Later Mods: Hitch, roof racks (not sure which one yet...but will like cheap budget ones)
I am glad I didn't pull the trigger on the Honda Civic I was close to signing on, sales guy was very pushy. I have always wanted a "bigger" car due to the fact that I grew up in Europe with "smaller" cars and roads. I looked around at the Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan etc...but came back to the Journey for practicality sake. My toddler will like it and road trips should be fun.
I am sure the US boder agents will appreciate too because now I can roll down my window as opposed to opening the door to give them my NEXUS card :-) Might take it for a spin down to Syracuse over the weekend.
***I'll post pics after
Open to suggestions, advice etc from you lot
Cheers
PS: Don't let the username fool ya, am actually a single dad in his 40s. LOL

Thanks so much for replying.
Maybe I can get more info on my car here than from the dealer:)

And a babe magnet too no doubt...if the interior could talk, the stories eh? LOL

Debra - you are finally getting what you deserve - a car that you can love. It's a shame that you had to go through so much stress to get to this point, but at least the company is seeing your side of things and making way for you to have peace and a chance to love your Journey like most of us here are doing. Please keep us posted on the progress and maybe post a picture or two of your *new* new ride!

Terry, you are absolutely right. Chrysler is very fortunate to have been able to retain her as a customer. The root of most of her issue, IMO, is her selling dealership. They made a couple of half-assed attempts at repair, made the car worse and ultimately drove her to another, far away dealership. They don't deserve anyone's business for treating a customer that way. Hat's off to Franklin Dodge for accepting a customer with a car they did not sell, whose repair was already botched multiple times, and for accomodating her in the buyback process. It's not a moneymaker for them, trust me. But by doing so, perhaps they have earned her future business. She should not have had to endure the kind of stress that she has been put through; right on about that. If her new car proves to be reliable and problem-free, and if Franklin Dodge continues to do the right thing by her, then perhaps Chrysler may save face. It might be too late. Time will tell.

Thank you, Terry! Very kind.

Terry, you are absolutely right. Chrysler is very fortunate to have been able to retain her as a customer. The root of most of her issue, IMO, is her selling dealership. They made a couple of half-assed attempts at repair, made the car worse and ultimately drove her to another, far away dealership. They don't deserve anyone's business for treating a customer that way. Hat's off to Franklin Dodge for accepting a customer with a car they did not sell, whose repair was already botched multiple times, and for accomodating her in the buyback process. It's not a moneymaker for them, trust me. But by doing so, perhaps they have earned her future business. She should not have had to endure the kind of stress that she has been put through; right on about that. If her new car proves to be reliable and problem-free, and if Franklin Dodge continues to do the right thing by her, then perhaps Chrysler may save face. It might be too late. Time will tell.

Journeyman425, you are a terrific addition to this forum. Thankfully my DRL's are on because I live in Canada.
Terry

1) Absolutely; and I did note that in the body of my post. Just presenting another side of the story is all.
2) Agreed as well. My wife and I looked at the preproduction pictures and specs before we ordered our Journey. We didn't look very long. The Journey is highly under-rated, IMO. After spending 600 miles in it this weekend on our road trip, I was ready to turn around and drive across the country. I love driving this car! And if you've looked at all the pictures I've posted of it in the last nine months, you will see that I think it's good looking also

I work for a dealer. We've put, on average, 2-3 new Cherokees on the road per week since the car came out.
1) We've had over 60" of snow this winter and no complaints about the lights in any way.
2) Not one single complaint about the transmission. Jeep delayed the release of the Cherokee because of a software issue that affected the engagement of a dog clutch in the transmission. They flashed all the transmission controllers before they left the storage yards and that solved the problem. None of my customers have returned for any shifting issues whatsoever.
3) I have had no complaints of fuel economy specifically for the Cherokee. That being said, consider that the vehicle was released just before the onset of winter. Let's let the engines break in a little and let the temps come up and switch over from winter blend fuels. Everyone is complaining about a drop in fuel economy because of those reasons, on everything we sell.
4) No HVAC concerns have come across my desk, either. As a matter of fact, the only Cherokee that I've seen a problem with was a front end noise when the ambient temperature dropped well below freezing - like in the teens and colder. The problem was traced to an upper strut mount bearing. We replaced both sides and that corrected the issue. Other than that, my customers love them - and so do we. They are selling very well at my store.
I posted this information just to show the other side of a story. Yes, I am a bit biased because I work for a C/J/D/R SRT store, and maybe I sound a bit defensive. If I saw evidence of the issues posted on those forums, I would either concur or offer some insight as to why they are occuring. But so far, the Cherokee has been a good car right out of the box - at least for us at my store. I hope it continues.
The styling is definitely polarizing. I like the front end but not the rear. Kudos to Jeep for giving us something different. Let the people be free to love it or hate it.
Just returned from a 600 mile weekend road trip with our Journey. 27.7 MPG going, 28.1 on the return trip. 3.6, FWD, four passengers and our stuff, 68 MPH with cruise on. Relatively flat terrain. Very impressive for a 4000 lb 283 HP CUV. No complaints from me about those fuel economy numbers. About 2 MPG better than my 300M with a smaller, less powerful V6 and better aerodynamics.

I work for a dealer. We've put, on average, 2-3 new Cherokees on the road per week since the car came out.
1) We've had over 60" of snow this winter and no complaints about the lights in any way.
2) Not one single complaint about the transmission. Jeep delayed the release of the Cherokee because of a software issue that affected the engagement of a dog clutch in the transmission. They flashed all the transmission controllers before they left the storage yards and that solved the problem. None of my customers have returned for any shifting issues whatsoever.
3) I have had no complaints of fuel economy specifically for the Cherokee. That being said, consider that the vehicle was released just before the onset of winter. Let's let the engines break in a little and let the temps come up and switch over from winter blend fuels. Everyone is complaining about a drop in fuel economy because of those reasons, on everything we sell.
4) No HVAC concerns have come across my desk, either. As a matter of fact, the only Cherokee that I've seen a problem with was a front end noise when the ambient temperature dropped well below freezing - like in the teens and colder. The problem was traced to an upper strut mount bearing. We replaced both sides and that corrected the issue. Other than that, my customers love them - and so do we. They are selling very well at my store.
I posted this information just to show the other side of a story. Yes, I am a bit biased because I work for a C/J/D/R SRT store, and maybe I sound a bit defensive. If I saw evidence of the issues posted on those forums, I would either concur or offer some insight as to why they are occuring. But so far, the Cherokee has been a good car right out of the box - at least for us at my store. I hope it continues.
The styling is definitely polarizing. I like the front end but not the rear. Kudos to Jeep for giving us something different. Let the people be free to love it or hate it.
Just returned from a 600 mile weekend road trip with our Journey. 27.7 MPG going, 28.1 on the return trip. 3.6, FWD, four passengers and our stuff, 68 MPH with cruise on. Relatively flat terrain. Very impressive for a 4000 lb 283 HP CUV. No complaints from me about those fuel economy numbers. About 2 MPG better than my 300M with a smaller, less powerful V6 and better aerodynamics.

The 2014 is, for all practical purposes, completely carried over from 2013. Since mechanically nothing has really changed, the 2014's should continue to be very reliable. Each year there have been improvements in overall quality. 15,000 miles on our 2013 Crew and not a single issue yet. We're very happy with it.

I work for a dealer. We've put, on average, 2-3 new Cherokees on the road per week since the car came out.
1) We've had over 60" of snow this winter and no complaints about the lights in any way.
2) Not one single complaint about the transmission. Jeep delayed the release of the Cherokee because of a software issue that affected the engagement of a dog clutch in the transmission. They flashed all the transmission controllers before they left the storage yards and that solved the problem. None of my customers have returned for any shifting issues whatsoever.
3) I have had no complaints of fuel economy specifically for the Cherokee. That being said, consider that the vehicle was released just before the onset of winter. Let's let the engines break in a little and let the temps come up and switch over from winter blend fuels. Everyone is complaining about a drop in fuel economy because of those reasons, on everything we sell.
4) No HVAC concerns have come across my desk, either. As a matter of fact, the only Cherokee that I've seen a problem with was a front end noise when the ambient temperature dropped well below freezing - like in the teens and colder. The problem was traced to an upper strut mount bearing. We replaced both sides and that corrected the issue. Other than that, my customers love them - and so do we. They are selling very well at my store.
I posted this information just to show the other side of a story. Yes, I am a bit biased because I work for a C/J/D/R SRT store, and maybe I sound a bit defensive. If I saw evidence of the issues posted on those forums, I would either concur or offer some insight as to why they are occuring. But so far, the Cherokee has been a good car right out of the box - at least for us at my store. I hope it continues.
The styling is definitely polarizing. I like the front end but not the rear. Kudos to Jeep for giving us something different. Let the people be free to love it or hate it.
Just returned from a 600 mile weekend road trip with our Journey. 27.7 MPG going, 28.1 on the return trip. 3.6, FWD, four passengers and our stuff, 68 MPH with cruise on. Relatively flat terrain. Very impressive for a 4000 lb 283 HP CUV. No complaints from me about those fuel economy numbers. About 2 MPG better than my 300M with a smaller, less powerful V6 and better aerodynamics.

I work for a dealer. We've put, on average, 2-3 new Cherokees on the road per week since the car came out.
1) We've had over 60" of snow this winter and no complaints about the lights in any way.
2) Not one single complaint about the transmission. Jeep delayed the release of the Cherokee because of a software issue that affected the engagement of a dog clutch in the transmission. They flashed all the transmission controllers before they left the storage yards and that solved the problem. None of my customers have returned for any shifting issues whatsoever.
3) I have had no complaints of fuel economy specifically for the Cherokee. That being said, consider that the vehicle was released just before the onset of winter. Let's let the engines break in a little and let the temps come up and switch over from winter blend fuels. Everyone is complaining about a drop in fuel economy because of those reasons, on everything we sell.
4) No HVAC concerns have come across my desk, either. As a matter of fact, the only Cherokee that I've seen a problem with was a front end noise when the ambient temperature dropped well below freezing - like in the teens and colder. The problem was traced to an upper strut mount bearing. We replaced both sides and that corrected the issue. Other than that, my customers love them - and so do we. They are selling very well at my store.
I posted this information just to show the other side of a story. Yes, I am a bit biased because I work for a C/J/D/R SRT store, and maybe I sound a bit defensive. If I saw evidence of the issues posted on those forums, I would either concur or offer some insight as to why they are occuring. But so far, the Cherokee has been a good car right out of the box - at least for us at my store. I hope it continues.
The styling is definitely polarizing. I like the front end but not the rear. Kudos to Jeep for giving us something different. Let the people be free to love it or hate it.
Just returned from a 600 mile weekend road trip with our Journey. 27.7 MPG going, 28.1 on the return trip. 3.6, FWD, four passengers and our stuff, 68 MPH with cruise on. Relatively flat terrain. Very impressive for a 4000 lb 283 HP CUV. No complaints from me about those fuel economy numbers. About 2 MPG better than my 300M with a smaller, less powerful V6 and better aerodynamics.

We've owned a 2000 Chrysler 300M for nearly fourteen years and have put 289,000 miles on it. My wife and I both agree it is the best car we've ever owned, hands down. That being said, our 2013 Journey Crew has some very big shoes to fill. We've now owned it for nine months and have 14,500 miles on it and we are very happy with it. The car has been completely free of defects and runs exactly as it did the day we took delivery - no strange noises, vibrations or anything except smooth and quiet. It is luxurious and practical all at once and offers a level of performance that is usually not found in a family oriented utility vehicle. Our average fuel economy (3.6, FWD) had been averaging around 22-24 MPG until about mid-December when it really began to get cold; we're averaging around 18-19 now. Remote start is very often used! Considering its 7 passsenger capability and 4000 lb weight, I think that's perfectly acceptable. This weekend we're taking a road trip and I'll report our fuel economy when we return.
And, as a purely subjective note, I think the thing is pretty damn good looking, too! The people over at CR simply have no taste!

Thank you Journeyman. DRLs are finally functional. I can turn them on and off through the touchscreen. Love it. Not sure why you were able to do this and the service department at Melloy Dodge in Albuquerque couldn't accomplish it on two different occasions. Thank you again, sir. You are a hero and a gentleman. If I ever meet you, I'll buy you a beer.
Peace.

This may help:
14 - Fuel System/Fuel Injection/INJECTOR(S), Fuel/Removal 3.5L WARNING: The fuel system is under a constant pressure (even with the engine off). Before servicing any part on the fuel system, the fuel system pressure must be released.1. Release fuel pressure, (Refer to 14 - Fuel System/Fuel Delivery - Standard Procedure) . 2. Disconnect and isolate negative battery cable at battery. 3. Remove the upper intake manifold, (Refer to 09 - Engine/Manifolds/MANIFOLD, Intake - Removal) .

4. Disconnect the quick connect fuel line from the fuel rail.



NOTE: Mark fuel injector electrical harness connectors with correct corresponding cylinder numbers. 5. Disconnect all fuel injector electrical connectors (1) from fuel injectors (2).

6. Remove fuel rail mounting bolts from fuel rail and lower intake manifold.


NOTE: Gently rock the fuel rail and injectors back and forth to loosen the seals on the fuel injectors from the cylinder heads.CAUTION: Do Not use excessive force or prying tools to remove fuel rail and injectors. Damage to the fuel rail and injectors may result.7. Lift fuel rail straight up off of the cylinder heads. 8. Drain any excess fuel from the fuel rail into an approved fuel storage container.


NOTE: When replacing individual fuel injectors, each fuel injector must be installed to it's original position. Mark or tag each fuel injector to identify the correct cylinder. 9. Remove retaining clips (5) from fuel injectors (2) at fuel rail (4).

How many miles on your Journey? Plugs are due @102,000 miles according to the maintenance schedule set forth in the manual, but honestly they rarely last that long. Could be ignition, fuel or mechanical issue. Remove the spark plug to inspect its condition. You can try switching ignition coils with the adjacent cylinder when you remove the plug to see if the misfire follows the coil. If the MIL comes back on for the same cylinder, you can try swapping the injectors like you did with the coil to see if the misfire follows the injector. If it stays on cylinder six, then the cause is likely to be mechanical (usually a burned valve).

thanks Journeyman425 for your assistance.

onecrazyfoo4u, is absolutely right about getting the information from the forum instead of Consumer Reports. I joined this forum in May of 2012 and we ordered our 2013 Journey in September 2012. The information and advice I got from the members convinced me that the Journey was a good buy. I have over 36,000 kilometres of trouble free driving on it now. It's been the best vehicle I've ever owned. Have there been dissatisfied Journey owners? You bet. But there are a lot more that love their Journeys. In Windsor where I live, there are so many they seem to travel in herds LOL! As you admit yourself there's a lot on the roads and I think that's a better testament to the Journey's value and reliability than someone who spent a few hours behind the wheel.