OhareFred

Okay, my wife's 2012 journey sxt v6 is getting dangerously close to being driven into a tree.    Long story so bear with me please.
 
Bought it September of 2018 with 90k miles.   By late March it wasn't blowing any heat at all in the front, just the rear.  No overheating, no loss of coolant, just the heat not blowing hot.  Took it into the dodge dealership that we bought it from, and they charged us $1300 to replace 2 trans cooler lines that were rusted and leaking, and replace and flush the heater core.   Worked fine for about 3 days.   Took it back in.   They had it for about a week, did another coolant flush and said it was fine.  Also told us both verbally, and felt the need to type it into the work order that it was fixed as far as they were concerned and wouldn't accept the vehicle back for that reason again.   Fishy and shady but whatever.   Like I said, the car was running fine, wasn't overheating or anything, plus the ac still worked fine since it was starting to get into early spring at this point.   Car seemed to be running fine until about August.  On our way home from vacation the temp gauge started climbing.   Didn't go into the red, just hotter than average.   Got home and did some Google diagnostic work.   Removed the thermostat and it was toast.   Replaced that, and used universal coolant from autozone ( i know, i know.   That comes up later), bled the system and all was well again until winter came around.  Back to the no heat issue.   Not completely blowing cold.   But the rear was blowing hot, the passenger front was warm, and the driver front was ice cold.   Took it to a different dodge dealership and told them the saga up to that point.   The service manager (Jerry, who is awesome) took the car and put it right into the shop.   Called us to tell us that the thermostat housing had a crack, the coolant was all wrong ( i fessed up and told him I replaced the thermostat and asked if that was the cause.)   He said no it didn't cause the issues.   He said they did another coolant flush and found little black chunks of crud and crap.   He took it for a 30 minute drive after replacing the thermostat and housing again and it was blowing nice and hot.   We picked it up and my wife drove it home after paying another $550 or so.   By the time we got home (about 20 minutes from the shop)  it was blowing cold again at the drivers side front.   Called Jerry and told him.   He had us bring it back right away.   Had it for about 2 weeks and another $1400 for a new radiator and coolant reservoir and another coolant flush.   Picked it up and he showed us that the reservoir and radiator were so packed with gunk that he was amazed that it had heat and wasn't overheating.   We thought we were good to go.   Nope.   A week later it was back to blowing cold in the front.   Called Jerry again and let him know.   He immediately told me to bring it back and he said we threw enough money at this thing, this next visit isn't costing us a dime.   He tore out everything.   Radiator, reservoir, thermostat, coolant lines, water pump, and the heater core.   Found the heater core clogged again.   Did some sweet talking to someone and got the heater core replaced under the part warranty.   Flushed each piece individually before installing back in the car, ran it for an hour, did 2 more flushes to make sure no more gunk was getting flushed out and it was finally starting to make heat in every vent.   Not just warm, but HOT.   We were finally good to go.   Up until 2 months later on our drive to New York ( we live in Southern pa) the temp gauge spiked at max along with check engine light, and overheat light.  Immediately pulled over and shut the car off.   Googled the nearest autozone to at least pull the cel code.   Found one 5 minutes down the road.   Started the car after only sitting 3-4 minutes and the temp gauge was back to normal but the check engine light was still on.   Didn't smell any coolant or anything burning and was still running just fine.   Got to autozone and had them hook up the scanner.   Got a code for cam position sensor, and coolant temp sensor.   We are 3 hours from home at this point.   Fortunately the guy that was helping us had a dodge journey and told us thru research of his own for his journey, that sometimes the pcm will act wonky and do retarded shit.  He erased the codes, and told us to disconnect the battery for about a half hour once we get home.  For the last hour driving up, and the whole 4 hour drive home it ran flawlessly.   Not a single hiccup or issue or anything.   The next day, I disconnected the battery like he said.   Hooked it back up an hour later (I got distracted with beer) and everything was fine again up until a month ago.  Temps started climbing while accelerating hard, or stop and go traffic, but would go down to normal when highway cruising.  Checked coolant level, made sure the thermostat was opening and closing like it should, checked to make sure the fan was turning off and on when it was supposed to.  AH HA!!   Fan not turning on.  Checked the fan resistor and the coils were exposed and the green coating was burnt away.   Replaced the resistor and the fan just to be sure.  Once again, all was well with the universe.   Up until last night.   Started overheating again while accelerating and slowly coming down while driving normal but not quite dropping to normal operating temp.   Got the car home, and at idle with it in park, it runs fine.   Fan kicks on at 219, shuts off at 212, coolant is flowing thru the radiator.   Today after work I checked the resistor and that still looks brand new.   Coolant is where its supposed to be.   No coolant in the oil, no air in the cooling system, no leaks or anything.   No white smoke coming out of the exhaust.  I'm completely baffled about what the issue is with this damn thing.   Is there anything I'm missing??   Sorry the post is a bit long, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible with all symptoms,  diagnostics, repairs, issues, everything.   Hopefully someone has some insight as to whats wrong with this turd.   Thanks in advance for any help or advice!!

On my 09 I had a stalling issue when shifting from R to D when it was cold out.  Only did it once, first thing in the morning. The dealer replaced the intake plenum because some kind of valve went bad inside. That fixed it.  I have the 3.5 V6.....

Update: After a bit more digging I have discovered the source of the leak. I am happy to say that it turned out not to be brake fluid after all. Turned out to be coolant. I thought it was brake fluid because it was clear and mostly odorless. When I found the leak I wiped it down with a paper towel and it was a dirty green and I was able to smell it better. Thanks anyways to anyone who took the time to read my post though. Now lets see if I can figure out what the name of the part is....

Whelp looks like it was completely my fault on this one. Just took it on a 20min drive on the highway, Temps stayed at 210-212F. No boiling
Needed a proper bleeding and a new rad cap, thanks guys

Bust out your owners manual an look at the section for fuses. There are 2 in the vehicle for ignition. 1 in the panel under the hood and 1 under the dash. Since you have power and a jump still won't turn it over that would be my slightly educated guess.

I'm almost certain that only the 2.4 motor employs 2 thermostats. BUT all engine options are notorious for air entrapment that will cause problems if not "bled" properly out before "taking off" and driving the vehicle. 

Could be fuel pump, also your timing belt if it's a v6 3.5 

I would start with basics...
- Are your battery connections (terminals)  clean and tight
- Were the wires and connections to your alternator inspected and cleaned
- Does your ground wire have a good connection
- And ultimately, is your battery going out
 
My other car just went through this and ultimately the battery was bad. But start with the basics first, then get to testing. 

LOL so much info you have given,  try telling which side of the eng, what is near it shouldn't be to hard as they only reach so far the other connectors should be close by..Give as much info you can for a better answer to your question,good luck

Read your owners manual. Wait for the indicator to come on but don't exceed 12 months or 10,000 miles. The dealer is flat out wrong and is trying to sell you unneeded services. Trust the manufacturer recommendations. I'd be telling that dealer to take a hike if they lied to me like that. 
 

Have you tried the old disconnect the battery for 45 mins? Seems to work on a lot of DJ electrical issues....

145000 on my 13 just replaced the rear calipers,rotors & pads for the first time
I know it;s a POS Dodge and I'm pissed 

Yes, the alternator was the culprit.

The new one's working great so far. took about 10 minutes of driving to make the belt chirp stop- but now all is good, no issues.
 

dam.... that looks scary

Just completed a big overhaul on my 2010 Dodge Journey CRD SXT with around 120,000 miles on the clock.  I'm posting this thread WRT the injectors & wiring loom in case that it helps someone in a similar position.
 
After replacing the clutch, flywheel and refurbishing the turbo, I got the car back together and up-and-running only to find diesel escaping from the inlet manifold at the front of the engine. 
 
Only place this could come from was the injectors, so I whipped these out and sent them for repair.  I probably could have done this myself - these are Bosch injectors that, as I found out, are generally very durable and all that goes wrong is the failure of the seals.  This cost me only €168 for all 4 injectors and done by a professional here in Dublin, Ireland.  Very reasonable.  Got a quote for new injectors from Fiat-Chrysler of €1300+.
 
On removal of the injectors, I inspected the wiring loom only to discover several cracks in the casing of the wires.  The loom is encased in the top of the engine, under the cam-cover so subject to hot oil sloshing around which degrades it over time.  It made sense to replace this whilst I was there in order to stave off future problems.  On going to FCA for a replacement, I was quoted a staggering €950 + VAT.  Car is only worth around €3K at this stage so I looked for an alternative.  Happily, I found what looked to be the exact same part, albeit with a different part-no, for around €130 incl' VAT & shipping (£112 GBP) !  It was a calculated risk but worth it.  So if you have this issue, check out this part here:- https://www.vag247.com/en_US/p/Injector-wiring-loom-with-glow-plug-connections-2.0-TDI/1133. Note, the VW designation for this engine is BKD.  Fitment is exactly the same.
 
For the record, the original VW part no fitted to my engine is 03G971826A.  The replacement part no is 03G971033L (as shown in the link above).   
 
I could also have sourced this part from Skoda (which is part of VAG) for €154 incl' VAT, so what are FCA playing at with their pricing?
 
I'm happy to report that the car is now back to normal and running very well.  I'm pleased I was able to complete the work at reasonable cost :-)
 
Pic attached showing the top of the engine, injectors in the middle of the pic & loom just below

The AC will come on automatically based on humidity levels in the cabin. Even if turned off in the manual mode, the AC system will remain active to prevent fogging. This is normal and explained in your owners manual. 

Did some google-fu and found a procedure to check the wiring in the loom when everyone looks fine visually. Ended up getting some intermittent power to the actuator so looks like you were right. Time to start digging 
 
thanks for the help. 

Unfortunately we a snag has been hit. The exhaust VVT solenoid snapped off inside the head while it was wiggling out. Maybe a strong magnet could grip it to remove it the remaining way. 
 
I would like to avoid having to pull the entire timing chain, etc. but if the magnet won't get it then it looks like that's what has to happen!

When the fob battery is low I believe it will turn on.  AFAIK there is no option to activate this, it’s automatic.

When the fob battery is low I believe it will turn on.  AFAIK there is no option to activate this, it’s automatic.

When the fob battery is low I believe it will turn on.  AFAIK there is no option to activate this, it’s automatic.

well the shotgun theory on replacing parts fails again, you need a proper obd  scanner to show which one of them are
 giving you the problem or if they are the problem,,,

No, your panel is saying your door is open and your seat belt is not on. 

dont know what you are trying to show us? how old is your battery that would be my first thing to check or replace. good luck

Read through this thread. It explains everything.