Tom McGaffin Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Anyone have this problem? Chrysler Canada has no idea, but a service tech explained what might be the problem. I have a 2014 Journey. Push button start, automatic unlock sensor for when I put my hand on the doorlatch. The fob has lock/unlock and a panic alarm button, with a key hidden in the fob in case I need to manually unlock the door.. I got it in the middle of September with 15 total km's. Nothing should have been wrong, right? I live in Winnipeg, but recently made a trip to Saskatoon. I parked the Journey on the street, in front of a neighbors house. Later that day, I drove the Journey around Saskatoon, and then parked in front of where I was staying. The next day, I could not do anything with the Journey. I couldn't unlock the doors by having my hand on the door, the unlock button on the fob wouldn't work, (no fob button would work). NOTHING.I used the key to enter the Journey, and the horn starts honking and the lights start flashing, as if I was breaking into the vehicle. I managed to unlock the Journey, and sit in the driver's seat. I waited until the horn & lights stopped, and then tried to start the Journey. Nothing. I held the fob IN MY LEFT HAND, and pressed the engine start button. Nothing.The reading on the dash display said that the fob was not in the vehicle, meaning I couldn't start the Journey. I had the fob in my left hand. Nothing would work on the Journey whatsoever. The fob wouldn't lock/unlock the door, and the panic alarm wouldn't go off.I phoned my Dodge dealer in Winnipeg and told him the problem. He knew nothing of this problem, had not heard of it before. He told me to phone Chrysler Canada's 800 number to get a tow to the nearest Saskatoon dealership to see what the problem could be. The tow truck driver came by, and he too did not know what the problem could be. The Journey's horn started honking & lights flashed again when the tow truck driver manually unlocked the door. It was then towed to a Saskatoon Dodge dealership. When I went to the dealership the next day, the service tech said that he started the Journey no problem, the doors unlocked & locked normally...as if nothing was wrong. I explained the problem to him, and he asked me if there was any electronic interference that I knew of. My uncle (who drove me to the dealership) said that he recently got a new computer wi-fi & router, and that was all. Apparently, that is enough to cause interference between the vehicle and the fob, to not have anything work. If I parked out front of the neighbors' house, no problems. I parked out front of my uncle's house, who just happened to have a new wi-fi & router, and nothing works. If I park on a street, in front of someone's house, and this happens again, is it the same problem or something different? What if there is an emergency, and I cannot use the Journey?The service tech suggested that if this happens next time, to put the fob directly on the push button start and push the start button. No separation between the fob and button "should" start the vehicle. What if it doesn't? What then? Has anyone else had this problem, what have you experienced, what have you been told? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Maybe try your other fob? Could just be a low battery in your current fob (even though it's new). I cannot imagine a wireless router would cause interferance with the vehicle... The lights/horn are supposed to go off with just the key opening it...that's kind of the design of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 My DJ when parked in the garage is approx. 6 ft from my wifi router and I have not experienced any problem as you have laid out. It would appear that interference and or a problem with the BCM (body control module) is the culprit. A while back I read a post about a DJ owner with similar experience and he felt it was his cellphone interfering with the fob signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Like bigtsr, I have a WIFI router and have never had this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 I think most everybody has a wifi router nowadays. If they interfered with vehicles there would be MANY MANY more complaints! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Welcome to the forum. When they took your DJ to the dealer, did they put it inside, or leave it outside? The same thing happened to me with my brand new 2006 Jeep Commander. Once it got to the dealer, the service manager walked around it 3 times; constantly locking and unlocking the doors. It worked. But to be on the safe side, he ordered a new WCM: Wireless Control Module. I realize that a lot has changed since 2006, but the DJ may have a WCM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom McGaffin Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thanks for the points... dhh3, when I got to the dealership, the Journey was outside, and it was never inside the service bays or anything. The service tech did the same thing. He said he had walked up to the Journey, unlocked & locked it with the fob buttons, used the sensor on the door handle, and had also started up the Journey with the push button start. I have emailed Chrysler Canada with this, and they too, have no answer for me as to why this happened. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thanks for the points... dhh3, when I got to the dealership, the Journey was outside, and it was never inside the service bays or anything. The service tech did the same thing. He said he had walked up to the Journey, unlocked & locked it with the fob buttons, used the sensor on the door handle, and had also started up the Journey with the push button start. I have emailed Chrysler Canada with this, and they too, have no answer for me as to why this happened. I would ask if the DJ has a WCM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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