JRodMTB

Hit the lower control arm bushings, specifically with a good quality lubricant.  It should eradicate the issue.  Just for anyone reading this in the future

Hey guys
 
I apologize for my absence as ive been preoccupied with my first child for the last 8 months but JRrodMTB seems to be correct! I've brought my fwd v6 to the dealer for this problem and had almost everything in the front end replaced since 8000 miles. I still had the problem at 15000 and it was driving me absolutely insane. Because its my everyday driver and I noticed the squeak/creak go away during wet driving conditions. This noise would happen over bumps and even happen when turning 90 degrees left or right when the car would sway.  I decided to spray all of the control arm bushings with a dry lube and "presto" everything is as quiet as the day I bought it with 5 miles on it. I've been driving for over a week without hearing anything and I will let my service writer know what I've found. 
 
I was using my smaller local dealer at first to diagnose this because it was convenient, however the bigger and more professional/equipped dealer I bought the car from seems way more willing to help and even offered to order the control arms ahead of the appointment. I will continue my business and service with them.
 
Furthermore, because the smaller dealer put so much into the vehicle my very last receipt from them stated Chrysler concluded its a characteristic of the vehicle as they could produce the noise on a similar vehicle.  I get their white flag but at least I know some dealers are still willing to do what Chrysler expects. 
 
 
 
 

For those having issues with the clunking or squeaking sound over speed bumps, pot holes, drive ways etc.  Have the dealer (or do it yourself) spray the lower control arm bushings with a high quality lubricant.   It's not the isolators, it's not the sway bar bushings.  It's the lower control arm bushings.  Not sure if there is a TSB issued on this yet but it'll take care of the issue.  

Hit the lower control arm bushings, specifically with a good quality lubricant.  It should eradicate the issue.  Just for anyone reading this in the future

For those having issues with the clunking or squeaking sound over speed bumps, pot holes, drive ways etc.  Have the dealer (or do it yourself) spray the lower control arm bushings with a high quality lubricant.   It's not the isolators, it's not the sway bar bushings.  It's the lower control arm bushings.  Not sure if there is a TSB issued on this yet but it'll take care of the issue.  

Interesting that there are others that have a similiar issue. My wifes RT only does it when the brakes are applied - but yeah, a speed bump would most definitely cause it to make a noise. Hopefully this is an isolated issue but the 2012 SXT we have makes the same noise.
Talked to the dealer this morning and they have a new strut on order, which they believe will fix it. They've had it over a week, so I'm crossing my fingers...

Thanks - unfortunately that doesn't apply to my wifes RT because it's a 2014 and the TSB only covers vehicles built during a certain period. I even had my Dodge rep look up and TSBs and he said there was only a Tech Tip for the mechanics to call corporate engineering if they were replacing a strut isolator.

Just stopped by the forum and notice there was a bit a of activity on this thread. Just thought I'd fill everyone in since it's been a few months since I replied.
I'm actually taking the Journey back to the dealership today for them to look at for the 5th time. Thankfully, I've been working with DodgeCares and a great dealership that have been insanely cool to work with. We're still having issues with the noise on the LH side of the vehicle and it's getting progressively worse. To date we've had the following work done by two different dealerships to try and fix the issue:
New front brake pads
New sway bar bushings
New LH control arm
New LH strut assembly
The last attempt to fix actually seemed to work a bit. The dealer removed the strut asy and greased the heck out of everything. They focused on a strut isolator which seemed "dry" so they used a heavy duty silicone spray to see if it would help. It did eliminate the obnoxious noise you could hear but didn't completely eliminate it.
And for those reading thinking we're nitpicking. The sound is pronounced enough that people driving with us have commented on it and it's also loud outside of the vehicle. Since the issue arose at 17k the front end has felt loose and the vehicle can't keep an alignment to save it's life. I'm told that everything is torqued to specs, so I don't know what to do. This isn't an isolated issue either. We've had 3 rentals that were Journey's and all have done the exact same thing (one had 6k miles on it). Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath that it'll get resolved. If we leased the car, we wouldn't be complaining but we spend 30k on a car to transport my kid around and it should't sound like this with only 25k miles on it.

I started a thread a while back about the issue we're having with my wifes 2014 R/T. Sounds like the same issue you're having. We've been in and out of dealers 4X with little success. With the help of DodgeCares (who's been awesome), we've had the LH strut, isolator, LH control arm and sway bar bushings replaced. It didn't fix the problem. The only thing that slightly worked was having the isolators greased like crazy, even then it only worked for about a week.
It has gotten better but it still sounds like there's a bucket of marbles when we pull into the driveway and when the car hits certain bumps - the problem is it's not something I can force to happen. It's disheartening because she's got 33k miles on her car (started around 12k) so we're almost out of warranty. We've also heard it on 3 of the rentals we've had, so I don't think it's an isolated issue.
Here's my thread if you want to see it... http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/6440-front-end-clunk-while-braking-over-bumps/

I started a thread a while back about the issue we're having with my wifes 2014 R/T. Sounds like the same issue you're having. We've been in and out of dealers 4X with little success. With the help of DodgeCares (who's been awesome), we've had the LH strut, isolator, LH control arm and sway bar bushings replaced. It didn't fix the problem. The only thing that slightly worked was having the isolators greased like crazy, even then it only worked for about a week.
It has gotten better but it still sounds like there's a bucket of marbles when we pull into the driveway and when the car hits certain bumps - the problem is it's not something I can force to happen. It's disheartening because she's got 33k miles on her car (started around 12k) so we're almost out of warranty. We've also heard it on 3 of the rentals we've had, so I don't think it's an isolated issue.
Here's my thread if you want to see it... http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/6440-front-end-clunk-while-braking-over-bumps/

Is it a newer TSB? Do you have a number?

Just stopped by the forum and notice there was a bit a of activity on this thread. Just thought I'd fill everyone in since it's been a few months since I replied.
I'm actually taking the Journey back to the dealership today for them to look at for the 5th time. Thankfully, I've been working with DodgeCares and a great dealership that have been insanely cool to work with. We're still having issues with the noise on the LH side of the vehicle and it's getting progressively worse. To date we've had the following work done by two different dealerships to try and fix the issue:
New front brake pads
New sway bar bushings
New LH control arm
New LH strut assembly
The last attempt to fix actually seemed to work a bit. The dealer removed the strut asy and greased the heck out of everything. They focused on a strut isolator which seemed "dry" so they used a heavy duty silicone spray to see if it would help. It did eliminate the obnoxious noise you could hear but didn't completely eliminate it.
And for those reading thinking we're nitpicking. The sound is pronounced enough that people driving with us have commented on it and it's also loud outside of the vehicle. Since the issue arose at 17k the front end has felt loose and the vehicle can't keep an alignment to save it's life. I'm told that everything is torqued to specs, so I don't know what to do. This isn't an isolated issue either. We've had 3 rentals that were Journey's and all have done the exact same thing (one had 6k miles on it). Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath that it'll get resolved. If we leased the car, we wouldn't be complaining but we spend 30k on a car to transport my kid around and it should't sound like this with only 25k miles on it.

Well, four weeks later and the car is going back because the issue isn't fixed. We've had a new strut, new sway bar bushings and brand new brakes replaced. Car was ok for 3 days and the issue came back. And it's gotten worse. Now the clunk occurs over bumps without breaking. It's so frustrating. I talked my wife into choosing a Dodge over a Chevy or Ford and feel bad. The dealer had her vehicle for 3 weeks.
DodgeCACares do you not have state side people that do what you do?

Thanks J-SeXT!
Got the car back after 2 weeks at the dealer. Apparently the sway bar bushings were loose. They also replaced the brake pads and the LH strut, which finally fixed it. The car is rick solid again and makes zero noise. Happy wife, happy life!!

Hi JRodMTB,
I am DodgeCACares U.S. counterpart. Sorry to hear that you’re experiencing this concern. Is your vehicle currently with you or at the dealership? If you would like to PM me your VIN, I can look into this further for you.