B4ZINGA

There is no such thing as Plug badging. Our SXT Plus has over the SXT (supposedly, don't quote me), 8.4A radio w/ BT streaming and sirius, leather-wrapped steering wheel (shifter is NOT leather-wrapped), trick front passenger seat, LED interior map and dome lighting. It's a 4-cyl Blacktop with cloth seats, nothing heated... we added remote start at the dealer. Only driver's window has one-touch down, no one-touch up (1st world problems when I get it from my R/T... sigh).

What "lower" are you talking about?
Regarding steering wheel controls, you'll lose audio controls without have an aftermarket adapter, if the new source is compatible with one. Cruise will not be affected.
You already have the the lowest sounds system available to the Journey if you have the 4.3" screen. Currently, I am not aware of any aftermarket solutions for most Mopar vehicles. Metra introduced a bezel that for the Charger that retains the 8.4" screen, places an aftermarket double-din opening where the OEM HVAC controls are, and moved the HVAC controls below that. That works for them because their cupholders are rear of the gear selector. Doesn't work for us, and there aren't any aftermarket solutions.
What are you trying to gain -- BT, nav, etc? It's possible to upgrade to the 8.4 and get the other options.

When I needed a replacement SRT Design wheel (I don't have an SRT Design 300C), I just went onto Cars.com and looked for one that was listed with its VIN. I gave that VIN to a nearby discount dealer and got my replacement wheel without any hassle.

I'm not sure if there were any changes after 2014 or between US- and CA-spec models. Our 2014 Redline 2-coat Pearl SXT Blacktop (technically SXT Plus with Blacktop appearance package) has the black grille, black headlight bezels, black mirror covers, black front fascia lower grille trim (in place of the standard silver piece), black roof rails, black wheels as part of the Blacktop package. Being an SXT plus, it also has the 8.4A radio with BT calling and music streaming and Sirius, dual-zone automatic climate control (I believe the tri-zone is for 7-passenger models, ours is a 5-passenger), and LED interior reading and dome lamps. Can be ordered as 5-passenger, 7-passenger, 4-cyl/FWD, 6-cyl/FWD or AWD.
Interestingly, I thought Blacktop couldn't be ordered on an R/T. I participated in a local car show at a Chrysler franchise in September and at the back of the lot was a Redline 2-coat Pearl R/T with all of the Blacktop trimmings on board. No window sticker to indicate if that was done at Toluca, but that dealer doesn't upfit cars, so I'm assuming it was ordered that way.
We got a good deal on ours because nobody wants Blacktop Journeys... at least in PA where it was purchased. It was on the lot for two months.

I'm not sure if there were any changes after 2014 or between US- and CA-spec models. Our 2014 Redline 2-coat Pearl SXT Blacktop (technically SXT Plus with Blacktop appearance package) has the black grille, black headlight bezels, black mirror covers, black front fascia lower grille trim (in place of the standard silver piece), black roof rails, black wheels as part of the Blacktop package. Being an SXT plus, it also has the 8.4A radio with BT calling and music streaming and Sirius, dual-zone automatic climate control (I believe the tri-zone is for 7-passenger models, ours is a 5-passenger), and LED interior reading and dome lamps. Can be ordered as 5-passenger, 7-passenger, 4-cyl/FWD, 6-cyl/FWD or AWD.
Interestingly, I thought Blacktop couldn't be ordered on an R/T. I participated in a local car show at a Chrysler franchise in September and at the back of the lot was a Redline 2-coat Pearl R/T with all of the Blacktop trimmings on board. No window sticker to indicate if that was done at Toluca, but that dealer doesn't upfit cars, so I'm assuming it was ordered that way.
We got a good deal on ours because nobody wants Blacktop Journeys... at least in PA where it was purchased. It was on the lot for two months.

Crawl under on a dry day and check all driveline components for signs of leaks Front and rear axles, front and rear differentials, transfer case, drivelines, trans itself. How long ago did you have the axle, PTU, trans fluids changed? If they're near the end of their service lives (or past it), change them out and see what happens. Beyond that, shop time. Try an independent mechanic, as the dealer tends to be expensive and would likely just tell you to replace the whole shebang without even looking at it.

Crawl under on a dry day and check all driveline components for signs of leaks Front and rear axles, front and rear differentials, transfer case, drivelines, trans itself. How long ago did you have the axle, PTU, trans fluids changed? If they're near the end of their service lives (or past it), change them out and see what happens. Beyond that, shop time. Try an independent mechanic, as the dealer tends to be expensive and would likely just tell you to replace the whole shebang without even looking at it.

To make them useful you would need to open them up and replace the projector with one from TRS, so instead of spending a lot at TRS and a little for standard headlights, you'd spend a lot at TRS and a lot on the A/M headlights. Better to use standard headlights and make your own, or have some make them in that fashion. Someone here is offering that service.

Good to know. We'll take the cover off of our Blacktop until we know how it is affected.

We're taking our 2.4L Blacktop in tonight. I called the dealer and asked what the repair is, and the service advisor checked and said they'll install insulation on the engine cover mounting system, I believe on the cover itself.
This is the proper repair, not driving a bolt through the cover. Doing that is a very hack way of doing it. I'll reconfirm when we get to the dealer and check the cover when the repair is done. The engineer who thinks that's a good way of doing it needs to be reassigned and sent back to school.

The Journey's rear calipers need the piston to turn in order to compress it? That's a first. I've never seen an American car need that.... only Volvos. Was it designed in Sweden or something?

Journey received standard dual-piston front Calipers for the 2012 model year.
Regarding the original question (thread is TL;DR) on whether you should keep it... at that mileage you have to expect problems will arise. If I bought something that was over 5 years old and had over 100,000 miles (sorry, I don't know how clicks translates into miles or kilometers), and it asked for a new battery, terminals, and brakes, I wouldn't think anything of it and replaced all the parts with new ones of a caliber representing how long I intend to own the car... the longer I will keep it, the better (and pricier) the replacement parts.

Journey received standard dual-piston front Calipers for the 2012 model year.
Regarding the original question (thread is TL;DR) on whether you should keep it... at that mileage you have to expect problems will arise. If I bought something that was over 5 years old and had over 100,000 miles (sorry, I don't know how clicks translates into miles or kilometers), and it asked for a new battery, terminals, and brakes, I wouldn't think anything of it and replaced all the parts with new ones of a caliber representing how long I intend to own the car... the longer I will keep it, the better (and pricier) the replacement parts.

This is true. There were one or two times in Detroit's record winter snowfall last year where I wish my old Charger could send a little bit of its 390 ft-lbs to the front wheels. I didn't get stuck, but it would have been nice. I had to keep traction control turned off (or as "off" as the TC button granted me) just to get going from a stop light.
With the Journey this year I've driven in accumulated snow only once (rather worringly, it hasn't snowed significantly yet, which might be an omen of what's yet to come...) and I felt the AWD kick on a few times with a rear bias to help make turns onto the unplowed residential roads in the metro area. For kicks, I kept my foot in it coming out of the labs parking lot with no traffic and managed to powerslide a bit. I'll admit it, I'm a child from time to time...
On a side note, regarding driver skill, sometimes the opposite is true. Last winter I recall overtaking a Range Rover 4x4 in my RWD sport package Charger in several inches of snow, and I wasn't even trying to show off. A few years ago I drove a rented 2011 Ford Focus SES (the sport model) from Philly to Knoxville and back for Xmas. It snowed while were there, and naturally TN and that part of VA aren't equipped to plow the roads. Local drivers and their big 4x4 Tahoes, Durangos, Expeditions, Yukons, Higlanders, Titans, etc. were overly cautious in the slow lane. The fast lane was relatively untouched and snow covered, and I had no problems passing them in the Focus, which has relatively poor inclement weather motoring abilities (almost got stuck going uphill in a minor blizzard the week before in the same car). Other end of the spectrum, I suppose, proving that 4WD is not inherently superior to 2WD, absent the operator using the organ in their skull. I know, I know, that's asking too much of some people...

Lows on with Highs is something Chrysler does... my Intrepids, Charger did it. My 300M and Journey do it. Turning the foglights off with high beam is a state/federal requirement I believe. I'm not sure if all states have that, but manufacturers do it to be 50 state legal (kind of like all cars passing CARB requirements even though that's only needed for California). Every state I've lived in (Florida, Jersey, PA, Michigan) limits drivers to three sets of lights on at any given time... and parking lights are counted as one set. Cops in those states can pull you over if you have the fog lights on along with lows, highs, and parking lights. I haven't seen it happen... but then I also don't see many people modding their foglight systems.

Lows on with Highs is something Chrysler does... my Intrepids, Charger did it. My 300M and Journey do it. Turning the foglights off with high beam is a state/federal requirement I believe. I'm not sure if all states have that, but manufacturers do it to be 50 state legal (kind of like all cars passing CARB requirements even though that's only needed for California). Every state I've lived in (Florida, Jersey, PA, Michigan) limits drivers to three sets of lights on at any given time... and parking lights are counted as one set. Cops in those states can pull you over if you have the fog lights on along with lows, highs, and parking lights. I haven't seen it happen... but then I also don't see many people modding their foglight systems.

It's my understanding that Magnaflow mufflers drone far more than Flowmaster units. I had Flowmaster Super 44s (2) on my old 3.1L Grand Prix. They sounded very nice with no drone. They replaced the single rear resonator using a Y-pipe. A friend of mine had a complete Magnaflow cat-back installed on his 2008 300C SRT 6.1L at Carlisle... He drove the car back home to Boston and the severe drone made him want to throw up. He dumped it as soon as he got home and got the Corsa cat-back.
On my 300M Special, I replaced the OEM rear resonators and 3" tips with Cherry Bomb Vortex mufflers and generic 4" tips. The sound is perfect and drone is minimal. There is some driving locally, however the RPMs constantly change and the drone isn't loud, so it hasn't been an issue. Almost unnoticable even to passengers who would normally b*tch. Gone when music is playing. The idle has a nice growl to it.

Lows on with Highs is something Chrysler does... my Intrepids, Charger did it. My 300M and Journey do it. Turning the foglights off with high beam is a state/federal requirement I believe. I'm not sure if all states have that, but manufacturers do it to be 50 state legal (kind of like all cars passing CARB requirements even though that's only needed for California). Every state I've lived in (Florida, Jersey, PA, Michigan) limits drivers to three sets of lights on at any given time... and parking lights are counted as one set. Cops in those states can pull you over if you have the fog lights on along with lows, highs, and parking lights. I haven't seen it happen... but then I also don't see many people modding their foglight systems.

I'd love to do exhaust on my Journey... but I already know I'm not keeping it longer than 5 years... if that. Depends on when I can buy a house. Took it in for the second oil change at 15,249 miles yesterday and there was a 2015 GC Laredo 4x4 Altitude in metallic red on the showroom floor... Other than the red color, I was wishing I had the $40k to plunk down... just have to keep reminding myself that the Journey does everything I need just as well as the GC and in a smaller package that I can toss around a parking lot in a zero f***s given manner.

My R/T is a 5-passenger since I have no need for the third row (I have more use for the large load floor storage space). I rented a 3-row SXT on a recent trip to Toronto, and when I got back to the US, I sat in the 3rd row for gits'n'shiggles. I'm 6'4" with a 36" inseam... and even with the second row seat still collapse forward for 3rd row access, I said "HAAAAIIIIL NO!" My knees were well into the second row space. Definitely designed with small children in mind and not full-size-plus adults.
Day-to-day it's just me in the car, with the occasional S/O or friend riding shotgun.

The only issues with my 2014 R/T have been the washer fluid sensor crapping out at 13,000 miles (for some reason, Dodge sensors after 2007 dissolve when using RainX solvent), an annoying whine from the 3.6 that I'm hoping is just the idler pulley that has a TSB out on it, and thin paint. It seems Toluca's paint shop is in need of upgrading.
Otherwise it's been a great car, almost 18,000 miles now. I plan on keeping it at least until I buy a house in a couple of years.

It's learning your habits. My 2014 R/T Rallye has been trouble-free... so far.

If I shine a good light on the fenders, or the sun is at the right angle, I can see the metal. I can also see where the clear coat is almost non-existent on the edges of the fenders next to the hood. I have to remember to take it in for warranty repair.

If I shine a good light on the fenders, or the sun is at the right angle, I can see the metal. I can also see where the clear coat is almost non-existent on the edges of the fenders next to the hood. I have to remember to take it in for warranty repair.

The only issues with my 2014 R/T have been the washer fluid sensor crapping out at 13,000 miles (for some reason, Dodge sensors after 2007 dissolve when using RainX solvent), an annoying whine from the 3.6 that I'm hoping is just the idler pulley that has a TSB out on it, and thin paint. It seems Toluca's paint shop is in need of upgrading.
Otherwise it's been a great car, almost 18,000 miles now. I plan on keeping it at least until I buy a house in a couple of years.