Biggest annoyances with your Journey.

[ckl]

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I havn't had any of the problems that have been reported here so far. Yet?

The only thing I don't like about it is when you hit the lock windows button it also stops the front passenger from using their window. All other cars I've had with electric windows only locks the rear ones when the button is pressed. I want to stop the kids fiddling with them but not the front passenger!

My other car, a toyota, also locks the passenger side window when the window lock button is pressed. I know, because i used to play jokes on my passenger when they open the window and then cannot close it when I secretly pressed the button. So I think it may be normal.

Thanks.

[mikeiam]

I've owned many new cars and the Journey has been just fine except for one major problem, the crappy cruise control. This has been the worst car ever when it comes to holding a constant speed. It is common for the speed to drop 4mph on small inclines and the Journey let's it be. This is unacceptable. For this reason alone, I will never buy another one (unless someone has a fix (like a programming update)).

[diggit]

I've owned many new cars and the Journey has been just fine except for one major problem, the crappy cruise control. This has been the worst car ever when it comes to holding a constant speed. It is common for the speed to drop 4mph on small inclines and the Journey let's it be. This is unacceptable. For this reason alone, I will never buy another one (unless someone has a fix (like a programming update)).

Is your journey a 4 cylinder? My 6 keeps it pretty constant even on small hills.

[mikeiam]

Is your journey a 4 cylinder? My 6 keeps it pretty constant even on small hills.

I have the R/T version (V-6), which is suppose to be the sportiest of all the models (hence "Road / Track"). The speed has to drop down to 5mph before the tranny kicks down. Maybe I'm spoiled, but my past cars (300C, Magnum R/T, GTO, stock Civic 4-cylinder sedan, etc) never varied by more than a couple mph before they did something (most of them never varied, period.).

If I set the cruise for 70 the car should stay at 70, not between 65-70.

I need to find some time to get to a dealership, there must be some kind of program update they can do to fix this horrible problem.

[ckl]

I have the R/T version (V-6), which is suppose to be the sportiest of all the models (hence "Road / Track"). The speed has to drop down to 5mph before the tranny kicks down. Maybe I'm spoiled, but my past cars (300C, Magnum R/T, GTO, stock Civic 4-cylinder sedan, etc) never varied by more than a couple mph before they did something (most of them never varied, period.).

If I set the cruise for 70 the car should stay at 70, not between 65-70.

I need to find some time to get to a dealership, there must be some kind of program update they can do to fix this horrible problem.

I think I may have this problem too. Mines the same engine but the SXT version. Let me know it goes at the dealership.

Thanks.

[04redmach1]

They all do that, it is like an "economy" thing. I am not a fan of it, but it seems 6th gear is stretched so far that they give it a varible before downshiftin or it would always down shift.

[shadino]

My SXT does the cruise control thing. Drives me insane!

I have the hard tranny shift that hopefully will get corrected this week

My stereo randomly loses sound. My husband thought it was me till it did it to him. It doesn't throw a code and the service guys couldn't replicate it. They tried resetting it, but it did it again. I drove it straight to the dealership and had them look at it. They said "that's weird. We've never heard of that" They are going to swap out the head unit this week and hopefully that is it. Basically if I turn off the car for a short period of time like running errands and then restart it, the sound doesn't come back. The screen shows its own and you can turn it off/on, change stations, or from radio to Satellite, to CD and the sound won't come back. So far if I shut the car off and let sit for awhile the sound will come back the next time I start it.

Incidentally they said it used to happen in the Dakotas if you hit a large pothole, but that isn't my problem.

[smitty77]

They all do that, it is like an "economy" thing. I am not a fan of it, but it seems 6th gear is stretched so far that they give it a varible before downshiftin or it would always down shift.

Yeah, mine does it too (2010 SXT with 3.5L V6) and it drives me a tad nuts. My 2005 F-150 will hold at the speed, +/- 1mph and will only run away from itself on long downhill grades greater than 5%. The Journey will drop at least 4mph before it shifts.

And it bugs be how stretched 6th gear is and yet only give 20-22 mpg on the highway. The slightest incline has the car wanting to shift when not on CRUISE, and after a few seconds it shifts back up to 6th. Thank goodness for the autostick! When the car downshifts on a longer hill I just pop it into "manual" and hold it in 5th until it crests the hill. I lose a few tenths on the mpg, but at least it doesn't shift 5 times while getting to the top of the incline.

Other than that, I'm really happy with the new ride. Avoided a near t-bone collision the other night using a hard swerve to the left and then right, using the opposing travel lane to avoid the idiot who didn't think his STOP sign applied to him (thankfully no on-coming traffic!) and the Journey handled like a pro, felt totally under control through the incident. No tire squeal or any indication that the stability control was required, despite the aggressive maneuver which shook up my 7 y/o enough to cause a few tears (the same kid who LOVED the GM Test Track ride at Disney...)

[techab]

I had a 2006 Dodge Caravan SE prior to getting a 2010 Journey sxt about a month ago. The Caravan always did this drop or even increase sometimes at around 106 to 110kmh but my Journey doesn't appear to do it- yet. Maybe it's a Dodge thing?

[dp360]

They all do that, it is like an "economy" thing. I am not a fan of it, but it seems 6th gear is stretched so far that they give it a varible before downshiftin or it would always down shift.

I had (still have, actually) an '00 Intrepid that held the cruise speed perfectly. Then my wife got an '02 Caravan that exhibited the same phenomenon as reported here for the Journey. Used to drive me nuts until I concluded that it must be more efficient for fuel economy and that's why they changed their cruise control logic. I eventually learned to live with it.

[2009 RT]

Random Annoyances:

Being told i need a 500$ u connect module to active bluetooth.

Lack of 19" tire options (only one, the Kumho)

Comfort Annoyances:

I often commute 3.5 hours per direction, so this means being comfortable while my wife drives. I own a 5 seater and while sitting in the back, sometimes i will remove my shoes. While in a seated position, WORST shocking pain is getting the seat rail's in the heel.

Second is the "small of the back" or "spine shocker" you get from the oversize seat belt covers.

Thirdly the lack of padding on extended drives.

But this is all worth it for the option of reclining the rear seat, folding the passenger seat flat, putting my legs out while enjoying a movie.

2009 RT

[04redmach1]

What size is the 19 inch tires stock?

[jeffhall009]

I don't think in the same way. It can be done in some other way also.

Dodge LED Tail Lights

[mikeiam]

About the cruise control... I think I figured out an acceptable solution. Yesterday I tried the cruise with the tranny in manual mode. While in 6th gear, I downshifted to 5th as I was getting on an incline that normally would slow the Journey down. She kept a constant 78mph the entire time. When the incline was over, I just pushed the gear select back to 6th and whoila. Cruise control stays on the entire time and the speed does not vary. Although we shouldn't have to do that, it's much better than slamming the gas pedal down in frustration to get the speed back up.

[04redmach1]

I usually keep it in 6th in manual mode on long trips, unless huge incline and does need downshifting or if I am in traffic and need downshifting

NEW THING THAT BOTHERS ME!!!!!

Is it just me or when you accelerate hard you get a torque steering pull to the right????? Anyone else get this?

[Black Pearl]

I like my 2010 SXT so far.

Biggest complaint - The steering wheel blocks my view of the gauges. The steering wheel is too small (I'm pretty sure they made the wheel this small because of safety reasons - my left hand is only 3" to 4" from the door. Any closer, and a side impact accident could cause problems.) They could have moved the gauges further into the dash board to improve this angle.

The Tilt/Telescope steering wheel allows me to mimimize this problem.

Minor complaint - Cup holders are a little too low.

Complement - The 6 speed trany up and down shifts are as smooth as butter.

Minor Complaint - I down shift in order to engine brake. The Torque converter will unlock if I jump down too many gears too quickly.

Minor Complaint - I-Pod control does not charge my I-touch (I-touch tells me it is not supported). I have the REQ radio. This does not allow my to scroll through the songs. I find it easier to use the AUX cable connection to be faster and easier.

Complement - The ride is very quiet (was not expecting that in a dodge)

Complement - Very smooth ride. Handles pot holes and road joints extremely well.

Complaint - There is very little feedback when pushed hard into and out of a corner.

Complement - Very good going through small amounts of snow. (only owned 3 weeks and no big snow yet).

SXT

19" wheel with Sport Suspension

3.5 L with 6 speed trans

FWD

[pbbeck]

I have a FWD F2009 Journey SXT with the 3.5L V6, five-seat configuration and MyGig nav system. I have had the car for about 18 months, so I guess you can call me an early-adopter. I am generally happy with it, but my complaints are...

1) The suspension is awful. From the 2nd month of ownership, I have been considering replacing the shocks with good aftermarket ones. I have not yet done it because (a) I don't feel like spending the money and (B) no one - not even the dealer - can give me the proper specs on the OEM shocks so I can price a set of aftermarket ones. The Journey does not show up in any after market manufacturers online database.

2) The transmission... same complaints as have already been discussed. Get used to it... all modern transmissions are going to put you up into sixth gear from about 20-25mph because manufacturers must comply with increasingly strict emissions standards. It sucks. I wish there was a "sport" mode on the automatic transmission.

3) The Kumho tires are crap. They are noisy and tend to lose air too quickly (about 5 psi in two weeks).

4) The cup holders in front are useless. Too low.

[dgr00s]

I've owned an 09 Journey SXT (FWD, V6) for about 1000 miles now. Only real complaint is the brake dust. I've never had brake dust like this before. I will be swapping them out ASAP.

Other than that, on a ~700 mile trip from SC to MS it drove well, rode quiet, and got ~26mpg.

[smitty77]

Is it just me or when you accelerate hard you get a torque steering pull to the right????? Anyone else get this?

You have the AWD version, right? If so, I wouldn't expect it to do that excessively as the manual states the AWD system shift power to the rear under hard acceleration. You might get a little pull in that case.

If you just have the FWD I would say it's common - our '02 PT cruiser would do that with reckless abandon when you let out the clutch and put it to the floor. For a little 4 cyl you could squeal one tire really good, but you also had to be mindful of an unanticipated lane change especially if the wheels were pointed anywhere but dead straight. It was strong enough to jerk that wheel around in your hands if you weren't ready for it.

[emrenabera]

I agree with the suspension issue. Seems too soft and bouncy on my 2009 SXT.

My biggest gripe is the mileage. The car was listed at 16 city, 23 highway. During the first year, my average mileage was 17.55 mpg. When I drive mostly "city," which is in a small town where rush hour means it takes me 10 minutes to get home instead of 8, I end up getting 14 mpg!!! My old 1996 Grand Caravan that I traded in got better mileage than this car. Heck, the 1976 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser got better mileage!!! I'm not towing anything, usually ride with a few kids in the back, and I drive conservatively. I've ALWAYS gotten better mileage than my cars indicated...until now.

Since I drive less than 10k a year, I'll deal with it. Everything else is great!

[davidprimm]

I'll second (third? forth? . . .) the mileage issue. I get 14-ish on my 7 mile to/from work jaunt. 20-ish on the hiway, but have only made one 60 mile round trip . . . uh . . . journey. Maybe she'll sip less in time . . .

I really don't like the steering wheel/guage thing. That one thing drives me nuts and I wish I could change it. But I can't, so I won't. Done deal.

[04redmach1]

Nope FWD. This is by far the most torque steer I have had out of a newer model vehicle. I get 18/19 mpg city.

[Canadianjourney]

Am I glad to have found this forum.

First off I love my Journey it is awesome!

We put on a lot of kms every year we got our 09 in august of 08 and have put on 70000kms.

In that time we have replaced the brakes had numerous problems with the electrical from the dvd to the radio and with cruise control not working at all. When we first had the vehicle the first week we had to take it back in to have a part replaced on the tranny. We have had to replace all the wiring for the injectors (they said it was a squirrel chewed them). We have since had to replace all the wiring in the drivers side door and now our lock control on the drivers side doesn't work.

The issues are minor but none of this is covered under warranty. Even though we purchased the extended warranty. We have taken this vehicle from Ontario to Florida and it was amazing we get great gas mileage better than my sisters she has a torrent.

Our model is the SXT FWD we have every option on the vehicle that was available, except leather seats because we have kids we decided against it won't make that mistake again. Ours is the sandstone beige with the tan seats The kids do make a mess.

Overall we love this vehicle we have a saturn ion and it was just to small for us as a family of 4 our other car at the time was a 97 intrepid sport that we loved!! drove it till it died.

We will however probably not buy another dodge as the issues with this one and trying to get it in for service is difficult we will go to the local ford dealership where they have a rental for you and have extended hours because they are in the country.

The dodge dealership has been very good to us for getting it to us within hours but that could be because the manager of the dealership is a friend, not sure if that is normal.

Thanks for all the help in the journey's little quirks glad to know it isn't just me! LOL

[Mopar1]

Annoying issues with my 09 Dodge Journey FWD 3.5 V6 SXT:

1) Brake Pads & Rotors worn out @ 15,000 miles

2) Tires/vehicle Horrible in snow! Had to be pushed in a flat parking lot! No replacement tires available in OE size (19"s)

3) On about 8 occassions the alarm has gone off when clicking unlock button on key fob. Once locking me out because metal key was in car!

4) Window auto up feature intermintently doesn't work

5) Pass vanity mirror cover broke off

[emmie956]

I purchased my Journey in July 2008. The first year I loved it. August of 2009 everytime I turn around there is a new problem or the same problem happening over and over.

1. Replaced my steering resevior.

2. Car started to shake randomly and violently. It now has a constant shake to it. The engine light came on and blinks when shaking. When engine light is on the remote starter does not work. No one can seem to fix this problem. The code reads number 5. So my spark plug, 5 injector/piston, and coil have been replace two times.

3. A few days after the second repair to 5th injector my engine light came back on. This time it was my catalitic converter.

4. There has been a skake to my car since it started to act up, but the violent shaking started again. So once again I have to have it fixed.

5. first winter the car ran fine in the snow. This winter the car did not want to move. Had to have my car push 2 different times to get into my driveway. The tires on it have poor tread...I would buy better tires but I do not intend to keep this car for too much longer.

6. Breaks do not work properly when it is real cold or a lot of snow.

I no longer like this vehicle. I will never by a Chrysler product again. The worst part of it all, there are only 2 dealerships around me and none of them have a loner car or rental for me use so I have to find rides to and from work and to pick up my vehicle.