Brake Wear?

[wyoram]

..or canadian tire and princess auto.

I don't really see the big issue with the brakes wearing out at 20-30,000 Kms ... I had a Honda prelude that would need new brakes every 12-14 months and new rotors every 18 months with an average 10-15,000Kms/year. Its not just a 'dodge' thing. I'm sure they are trying to keep costs down but when it comes down to car maintenance its the owners responsibility to be on top of it. If you're not satisfied with your dealer don't keep going back to them hoping that they will 'see the light'. There is always the option of doing the service elsewhere or yourself. I just got an 2010 sxt and from the information I am getting from this excellent forum I will be more than ready for a journey issue if and when it crops up.

-sorry if it sounds like a rant..

I agree with your statement of going someplace else. But not everybody has that option. My dealer in town was shut down by Chrysler and now I have to go 30 miles to get warranty work done. And after that it is over 120 miles to the next nearest delaer.

[diggit]

I agree with your statement of going someplace else. But not everybody has that option. My dealer in town was shut down by Chrysler and now I have to go 30 miles to get warranty work done. And after that it is over 120 miles to the next nearest delaer.

Sort of understand your situation. I am doing anything Journey at the dealer in the next town over because I'm sick of having to deal with the idiots at the 2 others in my town. .. and I work for the company.. Shh!

[lovely09]

I guess changing the pads depend on the car.If it's worn out even on 15k miles then change.It's better to be sure than to damage other parts if not.

[04redmach1]

..or canadian tire and princess auto.

I don't really see the big issue with the brakes wearing out at 20-30,000 Kms ... I had a Honda prelude that would need new brakes every 12-14 months and new rotors every 18 months with an average 10-15,000Kms/year. Its not just a 'dodge' thing. I'm sure they are trying to keep costs down but when it comes down to car maintenance its the owners responsibility to be on top of it. If you're not satisfied with your dealer don't keep going back to them hoping that they will 'see the light'. There is always the option of doing the service elsewhere or yourself. I just got an 2010 sxt and from the information I am getting from this excellent forum I will be more than ready for a journey issue if and when it crops up.

-sorry if it sounds like a rant..

Honda is a cheap ass vehicle anyways. Their engines are good and their manual trannys are good, other than that the car is shit. You should never have to change ANY brake pads on ANY vehicle no matter what driving style before 30K miles period. ALL of my fords have lasted close to 100K miles on brakes. My 2004 Mach 1 I had didn't need any brakes up to the 46K miles when I sold her. I raced it at drag strip and gave it hell. Just shows quality of the vehicle guys. The skimp on brakes, what else they skimp on?

[JKJavelin]

I got tired of the vibration when braking, so I took it to the dealer yesterday. They turned all 4 rotors. Just hit 5000 miles.

[dp360]

"04redmach1" was complaining of excessive brake dust. His Journey was purchased within a week or two of mine. I currently have ~1000 miles on mine and this is what the rims look like. They have yet to be washed. I ran my finger across it so you can see how dirty it is. Is this brake dust excessive? I think it's acceptable, especially seeing how the rest of the car is pretty filthy right now, but I'll let others correct me if I'm wrong.

[04redmach1]

Mine is a little worse but not much. Thing is, with ALL of the cars I have owned I have NEVER had brake dust that noticable. Even in my Mach 1 when power braking it at the drag strip or on the streets. Very cheap soft material pads.

I'm going to wash the car this weekend and see if it is just a break in on the pads or what. I am OCD about a clean car and this ain't cool.

[04redmach1]

I can take pics for you if you would like, but honestly ANY brake dust this early is too much.

[dp360]

I can take pics for you if you would like, but honestly ANY brake dust this early is too much.

Nah, don't worry about. You said yours was a little worse than mine and that's enough reference I need. I'll just be keeping my eye on the issue.

In my case it wasn't too noticeable until I ran my finger over it. Like I said, the rest of the car was pretty filthy, too. Yesterday it warmed up to 55° so I took advantage of the weather and washed the car. She's shining in the sun now, once again! B)

[04redmach1]

Haha, I need to wash mine as well. 74 degrees now, so I may do it today then keep an eye on it. I will probably take it to the dealer and tell them to change to ceramic and dust free

[sfctgshort]

My 2009 Journey has a little over 17,000 miles. I took it in for oil change and tire rotation about 6 weeks ago and the technician also told me I needed new front brakes. I didn't believe him. Unfortunately my front brakes are now making that "crunching" sound, and I can't get them replaced fast enough.

My previous two vehicles were PT Cruisers and their front brakes lasted all of 12,000 miles and cost over $300 to replace. At least the Journey is much lower priced.

[muddaofthree]

Just got my rotors turned & new pads (front) @ 36000 klm's

I have had my brake pads replaced at 11,000, and now I need pads, and rotors at 44,000...

In 10 years of leasing 3 different minivans, I never had to replace the brake pads...what the hell?

Do they make lousy brake pads so they wear faster and cost me money before I return it?

Not happy at all!!!

[muddaofthree]

Mine is a little worse but not much. Thing is, with ALL of the cars I have owned I have NEVER had brake dust that noticable. Even in my Mach 1 when power braking it at the drag strip or on the streets. Very cheap soft material pads.

I'm going to wash the car this weekend and see if it is just a break in on the pads or what. I am OCD about a clean car and this ain't cool.

I have had almost two years of constant brake dust on my rims. To the point that they are now stained. No matter how often I clean them.

My husband mentioned right off the bat that that wasn't right. They are too weak, or something.

Not happy with the Journey.... I love the car, looks, accesories, size, not the ongoing troubles.

[RAV]

I have had almost two years of constant brake dust on my rims. To the point that they are now stained. No matter how often I clean them.

My husband mentioned right off the bat that that wasn't right. They are too weak, or something.

Not happy with the Journey.... I love the car, looks, accesories, size, not the ongoing troubles.

Has anyone tried brake shields? http://www.car-stuff.com/brakedustshields.htm

http://www.brakedustcover.com/performance/...&md=Journey

[hurricane]

I have had my journey 2 years. After 1 year 12,000 miles I needed new brakes. Now just under 2 years and 24,00 miles I was told today I need brakes again - less than a year later. front and rear - new brakes and new front rotors. $750.00???? I think it is rediculous. I drive a new car, not used, so that I don't have to shovel out money all the time and that's just what I am doing. I am very annoyed. Brakes every 20,ooo seems average everwhere but with a Journey. Any insight anyone?

[brwengel]

I purchased my '09 Journey 8 months ago and have 27,000 miles on her, and the brakes are still fine. I don't know what to stay to the rest of you, but mine was manufacturered in May '08, maybe they changed the type of pads they were using over the course of the production run.

[Lostinparadise]

Add another one to the premature brake wear count. 4mm @ 18,138 mi. Rotors are grooved already, and need to be replaced.

I'm on hold with Chrysler Customer Assistance right now, will let you know how that turns out.

There was a rapid response with a caster issue too in the front suspension. I will post about that in TSB section.

2009 Dodge Journey R/T

Dodge covered the replacement of my front pads and rotors, I only paid a $50 fee. I think the shop at my dealership also upgraded my pads, because they are not putting out dust like the original ones were.

[gmoney9911]

I'm thinking of upgrading to ceramic pads to, the Dodge journey is a heavy vehicle but new pads every 40,000 km's? that does seem a bit excessive. scratch that, earlier (35000) if you don't want to have to replace the rotors too.

The dealer wanted to sell me new rotors and I told them to stuff it and just turn the existing ones.

I have read that one owner had taken his car in because of what sounded like a wheel bearing problem on the front passenger side. I will wait and see if that problem was related to the brakes.

As a side note, I traded a 2006 Chrysler 300 in for this Journey and I had put over 100,000 Km's on it without touching anything to do with the brakes

[larryl]

I put slotted rotors & ceramic on mine & so far so good

Minimal dust also so thats a bonus in itself

[dandooley]

I have had my 2010 journey r/t for 5 monnths now and from reading the above storys worrys me. I have over 16000 miles on mine already. is there any differnence between 2009 and 2010 disc brake pads and if so do the have they in ceramic yet. My local auto parts store says they don't have anything yet.

[JKJavelin]

I had my rotors turned in November with 5000 miles because of vibration, and guess what? I now have 8500 miles and it's already coming back. I do almost all suburban driving and have never done a panic stop. In one month my Journey will be 1 year old, so I'll soon be making a trip to the dealer to ask them nicely for a permanent fix.

[TheStewie]

I had my rotors turned in November with 5000 miles because of vibration, and guess what? I now have 8500 miles and it's already coming back. I do almost all suburban driving and have never done a panic stop. In one month my Journey will be 1 year old, so I'll soon be making a trip to the dealer to ask them nicely for a permanent fix.

I found it interesting that someone found 3rd party rotors for the Journey. We had my companies garage do them since they were past the 20k ih Canada. He put on the best ceramics he could find but had to buy Chrysler Rotors because at the time last summer, he could not find any 3rd party rotors.

Someone asked earlier re durability. We changed all of then around 23k. we have 50k on it now and have absolutely no issue with sound or vibration etc. they work wonderfully. If the rotors go again i will have him search out the 3rd party ones. We paid the same for the ceramic pads and rotor job as we would have paid at the dealer for the same standard crappy pads.

TheStewie.

[JKJavelin]

Well, I took my Journey in for the warped rotors again (8900 miles) and they replaced all 4 of them. I talked to the service manager about fixing the real problem and he basically blew me off, saying they don't see this as a common problem. He said next time I'm on my own.

JK

[mcuadrado0953]

Well, I had my front brake pads replace when I took the car in for inspection at 13,000 miles last week. I call dodge to complain. They told me that I could have just brought the car to them. Well, the dealership is 45 mins from my home, but obviously I needed them because they started to squeak real bad. Plus, the dealer charges way to much to install pads. After going back and forth with them, I got them to cover most of the cost of replacement. I paid $150, Dodge will pay me $130.

[smbrumley83]

Ok so my wife and I have 70,500 miles on our Journey and have done breaks about every 15-20k. What I do is I purchased an extra set of rotors, this way when I need to breaks I have a clean set ready to put on. Then I don't have to wait to have them turned. I purchase parts from ajsautowhs.com They are a wholesale to the public site and have really good prices. For a front set of rotors and ceramic pads it's around 120 plus what ever the shipping would be for it. The parts are all OEM quality and it works great. I can finish a break job in about 40mins counting changing the rotors... all you need is to take off the tire, a 15mm wrenc to hold the caliper bolt, a 13mm wrench to loosen the outside smaller caliper bolt (there are 2 of them). Only take out the bottom one so you can raise the caliper up and slide out the pads. to compress the caliper back in with out bleeding the system I use a 6" C clamp and the 15mm wrench as a brace to compress it evenly. Once the pads are out use a 15mm socket to take out the caliper bolts and raise the whole caliper assembly up and rest it on the spring. For safety you can use a piece of rope or a cord to hold it there. Slide the rotor off. Slide the new rotor in. Rebolt the caliper. Grease up the pads. Install the pads. Tighten down the caliper bolts (15mm held by wrench and 13mm on outside). Put the wheel back on and tighten it up. Drop it to where the wheel is on the ground but not full weight. Torque correctly. Drop completely and do the other side.

If you have an extra set of rotors most places like napa, carquest, autozone, or checker will turn the rotors for about 15 each. This process is a long drawn out process that can take hours to make them true so you can either wait and have the vehicle down till they are done or pay for the other set so you can change them and then have the others ones fixed correctly with out rushing them.