tkinok74

I am flat out thrilled with her. Have driven her daily every since the repairs and she hasn't missed a beat. Everyone compliments on how beautiful she is, and are almost always shocked to find out she's used and not brand new. I am lucky, whoever ordered her added several options not standard on the SXT in 2010. But the one thing they didn't get, is the backup camera. That will be my next project. I am short and don't have a lot of visibility when backing her up. Once I research my options and get started on the project I'll start a new convo in the appropriate area and detail how it goes.

Update: Brakes: We finally managed to work the rear parking brake portion of the calipers loose from the rotors. It actually appears they may never have been changed. I'm not sure how the brakes worked at all. I guess when people tried to change them, they couldn't get them loose either, so they just let them be and serviced the front only. I've never seen pads or rotors so worn. We had a heck of a time compressing the pistons too, you have to get a special tool and turn them without damaging the rubber boot around the sides in the process. But her brakes are all shiny and new now, and work like a charm. EGR valve: The brakes were such an undertaking they took up our entire weekend so we waited until the next weekend to tackle the EGR valve. It wasn't hard to change at all. Interestingly, it appears to have been removed previously and cleaned. I say that because it was missing the gaskets that should be there, and the ports were shiny polished clean as far back as could easily be seen. However, the part that counts - the diaphragm inside - can't be reached to clean so someone in my DJ's past wasted their time with that effort. We got the new one on and you would not BELIEVE the difference. I had no idea how much that diaphragm being stuck was choking my DJ down. I loved it before (except the stalling/surging/cutting out) but it's like a completely different car now. It runs super smooth and has POWER. If I am not careful, it will squeal the tires when I leave a stop sign (which cracks my kids up). I think the ol' girl is 100% fixed (knock on wood) and I love her even more now than I did before (which I didn't think was possible). She's such a joy to drive, I'm like a teenager with their first car all over again. I'll get in her and just go drive for no reason at all, simply to enjoy her. Best car purchase ever! Trips are no longer just a method to get from point A to point B, she's brought back the joy of driving again. (Who would ever think a crossover SUV van could do such a thing?)

Parts are here! Working on brakes, can't get the rear passenger side caliper loose. There's something we're missing, to get the parking brake portion of the caliper loose from the rotor. But once we figure it out, I can't wait to take the old girl out for a good long drive!

There's another one 30 miles away, in Pauls Valley. I will go there next time, for sure.

It was, sadly. Ada Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Ada, Oklahoma.

I am still waiting on the parts to arrive that I ordered (EGR Valve, EGR Gasket, as well as new rotors and pads for the rear brakes because the dealership sold it to me in need of a brake job). Meanwhile, we've been driving it 5 miles a day for the past week, with the EGR valve power unplugged, and it's completely resolved the stall/cutout/surge issues we were having. I'm thrilled and can't wait for the parts to get here so I can take it on longer jaunts!

Another update: I can't figure out what the dealership actually DID during the month they had our DJ. They sold it to us without detailing it, in need of a brake job, with non-working Homelink, and with the loop that lets down the center armrest in the back seat broken off completely. They were supposed to do those things in addition to diagnosing the surge/stall issue. None of those were done either. So now we're taking matters into our own hands. P0406 looks to be a EGR Valve issue more likely than not. We unplugged the EGR Valve just now and my husband has taken the DJ on a test drive. So far, no stall, no surge, no cutting out, no hard shifts. Looks like that's possibly going to be a no-brainer and I can't figure out why the dealership didn't do this simple test and repair.

Update: They kept my DJ for 1 month to the day. During that time they said it did die on them and did some surging and cutting out but not very many times and they "didn't want to just start throwing parts at it" so they told me to "come get it, drive it some more, and hope it gets more consistent so it will be easier for our diagnostics". Okay...... So, they really truly want me to put my kids in this thing, drive it around, and HOPE it dies with us inside more often????? Needless to say, we picked it up, drove it straight home, parked it, and didn't move it from that spot for 11 days. Then it was time for trick-or-treat and unfortunately we needed the extra people-space, so we risked it. Drove about 5 miles and there was the surge and hesitation. Then, mid-intersection, it died with all of us inside on Halloween night. Went straight home, parked it, haven't moved it since. I called the service department again, told them what happened, and they said wait until some time next week and call back to see if they can fit it in again. I am so distressed. I love the vehicle. Everything about it is perfect, EXCEPT it isn't safe to drive at all, and my dealership is no help whatsoever. I just want this fixed so I can safely enjoy all the wonderful family-friendly features this neat little vehicle has to offer. I've used Google to search and also looked for YouTube videos. I'm at a loss. Anyone with any ideas, I sure am welcome to ideas! (Please!)

Update: The technicians at the dealership drove my SXT and it did the same thing to them. Died during operation. Surged and sputtered too. Intermittently it drives perfectly as well, which further complicates things. Their minds are blown and they are telling me they can't figure out what's causing it. Based on the codes I think they should start with replacing the crank position sensor and the EGR valve. From things I have read, both of those can cause similar symptoms and the first code can be linked to the crank position sensor, while the second code can be linked to the EGR valve. They still have my baby and I still miss her.

I was able to find photos of what the loop should look like, and mine's definitely missing entirely. I tried to take apart the armrest but couldn't get it to budge. I did, however, manage to figure out how the latch works and was able to tinker with it until it released enough to put the armrest down. YAY!

I have a 2010 DJ, the SXT version, that my husband and I purchased last month as a third vehicle (he has a Ford 4X4 as a daily driver and I have a 2013 Nissan Sentra daily driver). I love my DJ so much I've parked my 2013 Nissan so I can drive the DJ every day. Well, last week as I was rolling up to a stop sign, my DJ's engine shut off without warning. I was able to stop the vehicle, put it in park, and restart it just fine, but it did make me a little bit nervous. Since then, it will surge and stall as I'm driving, and occasionally shift rather hard. Yesterday afternoon on my drive home from work, about 1 mile into my drive a bell chimed and the "service engine soon" light came on. It stayed steady and didn't blink, so I limped my DJ on home. This morning it was surging and stalling worse than usual so I stopped on my way to work and purchased a OBDII code reader. As I was leaving the auto part store parking lot, my DJ's engine shut off again, this time during acceleration (as opposed to last week when I was coasting to a stop). When I got to work I used the code reader and the car was throwing out two codes: C121C and P0406 I cleared the "service engine soon" light with my code reader and decided to go drive around the block a couple times to see if it would come back on again. I didn't even make it to the end of the street. The DJ was surging and stalling so erratically I couldn't even accelerate or maintain speed normally. I called my dealer and they can't get to it until Monday, but they're going to try and find a loaner for me and come drop it off and pick up my DJ today so I'll have something reliable to get home in and drive back and forth to work (because my Nissan is having some work done right now too since I wasn't driving it currently) until they can fix up the DJ. I am so sad because I love my DJ to bits and I'm going to miss it terribly while it's in the shop! Here's hoping the loaner will be another DJ! If anyone here has had a similar experience I'd love to hear about it. Otherwise, I will follow up here with results from my DJ's visit to the dealership, and let everyone know what they found and if they're able to resolve it with one visit - just in case my experience can help someone else some day. Meanwhile keep me in your thoughts while I go through DJ withdrawals for an unknown period of time. They haven't picked her up yet and already I miss my beautiful DJ!

Thanks so much! I will give this a try in the morning and report back here with photos of what it looks like, if it works! Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow will make 2 weeks since my husband and I bought our DJ. It's a 2010 SXT in metallic pearly black. We can't figure out how to release the rear center armrest. I read that there should be a loop to pull, at the top of the armrest toward the passenger side of the vehicle. It doesn't have a loop to pull anywhere. I suspect the loop may have been pulled completely loose at some point in its prior ownership. So my question.... is there an easy workaround or will we have to tear open the armrest to re-secure a loop to the release latch?

Thanks so much! I am still figuring her out but I love her so much I've taken her to drive instead of the 2013 Nissan Sentra we already had. The DJ is such a fun vehicle!

P.S. Here she is!