gwin99

@bramfrank Thanks for your post! I do appreciate the humor in your opening line/question about "replacing tires"; its as if you had been reading and were trying to post at the same time! I had to give it "a Like" off that alone Other than that, being that this post is of my experience, please allow me to address and correct some of your misunderstandings from it. As stated, my "Service Now" doomsday flashing was from replacing a (singular) flat tire - not more than one nor a "pair of" which you stated. To further clarify to those whom have not had a flat tire, this is due to this vehicle being AWD (having a Rear-Drive Unit and all) coupled with the fact we have a doughnut for a spare tire (not a full sized spare). Most likely, an "OEM design-decision" - and hope you would agree a full size spare would have been appreciated over the doughnut for AWD, if it were actually possible. On MPG, I was hoping for something closer to 20mpg - or anything close to the middle... which I suppose 16/17 isn't super bad considering I left my 04 Durango getting about 10-12mpg... A Silver lining of sorts I guess... I'm still holding out for another MPG or 2 for Christmas or next I do like to keep at least 1/2 tank to Full; but making arguments about having "too much" gas in the gas tank FCA gave us, speaks more to their decision to do so than I in using it. My vehicle is used no different than most I imagine and my driving habits adjust with the road for obvious reasons. Perhaps the terrain of my daily commute is a bit different than yours, with longer hills on both sides and a bit more congestion? Much more valid points to make if you had wanted to make any... "Running wild" with thought and making me sound like a crazed-speed demon, by taking my comments about "hard/erratic shifts" out of the context I experienced/mentioned and introducing "lead-foot disease", says you must not of read my posts in their entirety - but yet, somehow, you have an "informed option" on the matter. But that's all for later. My tranny-issues are split into two; cold-weather-related hard shifts and the more annoying "aggressive" shift program needed to beat more efficiency out of this motor in this chassis. Nothing has changed from my first post on this one; It is in "stop-and-go" traffic where I just need to maintain anywhere from 5-18mphs for a short period of time, does the tranny want to take me to 3rd and sometimes 4th. Its only after more than a few episodes of this that I began to "auto-stick-it" - when needed. Ergo, I was and had been letting the tranny do its work or what you call "auto-shift". Its only after all those "negative" results in this particular traffic pattern do I go "manual". Anything you've assumed contrary is just not accurate. I do take issue with anyone who tries to tell someone else to "be happy you got what you got", as progress nor advancement never arose from those whom stood still, willing to accept the status quo. Remember, you are the customer. Feel free to ask for more and better each time around for your money... You and those around you may be rewarded for it someday :-) Take your brother - if Lincoln had "felt pressured" by its customer-base about wanting more than 90days - they would certainly have it by now (assuming enough time and conversation had passed). As you can't believe Lincoln could not afford the entire year (like FCA) on vehicles that are a lot more expensive than our Journey??? You are more than making my case here - you just may be in denial about it. Further, forum posts are a way to share experiences with others and hear theirs in return as well as have informed conversations - not to try and downplay/demonize someone's comments. I count (2) experiences you shared (quote - "Mine doesn't shift hard or erratically - period" & "I get about ~21 MPG in a 50/50 city/highway environment") and the rest was some "common sense messaging" with some "far-reaching ill-informed conclusions". All that attitude does is take away from forums like this. It seems every time someone posts something they had experienced - that is interpreted as some reader as negative, the "rebuttal patrol" comes out. That is what seemingly happened here - with all the "likes" your post got I was sure there was some good comments and experiences in it... Turns out, that too will confirm and make the case against being more active here... At 30K, I'll be more than happy to post another report here. A lot can change by then. Lets see if attitudes do as well.

Its been a while (almost 2yrs) so and update seems warranted.... Brakes are still grabby (but only in cold starts - like mentioned above); Tranny has NOT learned my driving style/habits (only driver of DJ); as shift-points are still "erratic" with having me in 3rd (sometimes 4th) gear while still under 20MPH... And AVG Fuel Economy is stuck at 17MPG... I've had to replace 2 tires so far, and ultimately bought a set of 4 from Tire-Rack (for the road hazard protection and the OEMs sucked-something-fierce anyways and are NOT worth the dealer price of 200 bucks each)... for those who have not had a flat yet, the rear-drive unit will most likely disengage on you (as it should to prevent damage). Just fair warning here - as the car's dash seemed to indicate "the end of the world" from all the flashing and notifications yelling "SERVICE NOW" that begin to be thrown at you :-) Tranny has more frequent hard-shifts, most notably again in cold starts... I had road tested a used Journey before I bought this one new - which had SEVERE hard shifts. The guy told me this was normal and is a "characteristic" of the Journey's Transmission. I thought he was lying to me to sell me a piece of junk... If my tranny degrades as bad as that used model - I will be MORE THAN PISSED... That used vehicle had 60K on it... I'm just at 20K - bad news is there is seemingly plenty of time for that... Of note; I did have the Tranny-update done at dealership a couple months ago, when they swapped out my radio due to bad flash-storage device (NAV related)... So I am hoping something good comes out of that... My only complaints and biggest disappointment(s) so far is actually of the "third party services" Like the NAV maps and Sat Radio... It really should have had 3yr service (on both) vise the 12mo service. For NAV I'm referring to MAP Upgrades... Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope to give another update at 30K!

UPDATE - 1800 Miles Just wanted to update on things; I no longer turn off the TCS; believing that issue relates to prior models... Breaks are now only "grabby" at first start in cold temps (i'm guessing on the cold thing - as it goes away once things have been running a bit)... The shifting issue seems to be working itself out too... I have to "auto-stick-it" far less now. So it seems as if I'll be able to lose these "twitches" soon. YAY!

ah... good to know! I was looking at that as more of a "color" thing... not an actual "part identifier"... thanks for setting me on that.

the grey/silver trim piece that "runs into" the hazards,rear defrost, etc., row of buttons.. I'm thinking carbon fiber for my trim kit...

I'm in agreement with those who believe the components of the "premium audio system" is neutered, and having read most of the posts I haven't seen any positive outcome. Has anyone actually done anything on/about this?

don't tell me that - let it be refreshed in 2017; so I don't have buyers remorse :-)

would love to see them.. was looking/thinking of doing this too (different kit)... but was looking for one that covered the "grey horizontal strip"...

Yeah; I've climbed up and down their site; they don't list 2015 Journey yet, and when I choose 2014 Journey for either radio, the Phone manufactures list breaks... I hate calling customer service for ANYTHING... but might bite the bullet to fix this (if it can be)... Ditto on the crApple system/radio; I would rather see the Blackberry unit go in... (I think I read Ford is dropping Microsoft's Sync system for it)...

Sorry about that! I've been mulling this in my head for a bit and forgot that "conversation" only had one participant (me)! the features I'm :missing" are all the ones you have to dl an app for - or what is found under "UConnect Access"... The app ("via Mobile") gives you the ability to receive messages for theft/alarm triggered - helpful for those whose vehicles get broken into a lot (mine for some reason), remote start (from the app - helpful if you have a 3mins walk to your car from work). With this, comes the Assist button(s) on the visor for roadside assistance and 911/Emergency response.. This portion of the package competes well with OnStar from those "other guys"; and it just would have been nice to see all those features in the DJ... *Question - can any of you guys compose and send a txt msg via voice commands? I have a WP8 (I heard you all laughing! :-)) that I cannot or have something not set correctly - as when I get them the system speaks them and sends my spoken replies... but the messing button is greyed-out... If you cant either - than this would be the other feature.. A full hit list of this can be found here: http://www.driveuconnect.com/system/2014/dodge/durango/8-4an-ra4/ Apologies if links are frowned up here...

Anyone else here disappointed that Dodge put the UConnect 8.4/RE2 into the Journey instead of the 8.4AN/RA4 (found in Durango/Grand Cherokee/Chrysler 200 and some other models)? I can only see this as a "bottom line" move not a "restriction" on the chassis. The Durango R/T, it has the radio - and cant understand the thoughts of not aligning what features they can, across trim lines. So the Journey R/T would have the same Radio, heated seats, etc. as any other Model R/T. This doesn't sound too much to ask (really left wanting the missing UConnect Access features). But gather this "discussion" would of had to occur at a high-level; as it affects design across models. Can we make that happen for next time! :-)

Your pics made me go out and get mine washed! <so jealous>

One thing I wish the DJ had, was a handbrake instead of the footbrake for the snow-er, ease of "application" ... Your FWD doesn't have a handbrake does it? I wouldn't think it would be different - but maybe?

This section looks a little empty; so I figured I'd post about why you want AWD in the Northeast... Especially, if you have a hard time getting off the Golden Snow Globe's Top-5... Its been fun, taking turns in our vehicles during the last two days - of which we got over a foot of snow; The Jeeps always handle whatever I directed them to run thru/over :-). But with some of the earlier MDS/ESC/BAS - it seems to "drag" a bit when driving (most notably, when ECO is On). The Durango's only fault is it doesn't want to stop - and its not due to tires/worn brakes. But, is that really a bad thing? :-) Now, the DJ is a different Beast. This thing drives like a race car in comparison - and even tracks like it in the snow. There were more times, in the Jeeps, where the ESC indicator came on than in the DJ. This thing loved the snow and I loved driving it in it. I cant say how much I was surprised by its handling in the snow, having plenty of SUV's to compare to.. hope you guys are having as much fun as I in the snow! Cant wait for the next round of the "fluffy white stuff"!

Thanks again guys; While I need to see my rear panels with parking - my main complaint is while driving with the monitor down, so I would want to see directly behind me. I'm not the fastest on the road, but find that when I do pass a lot of drivers - they "wake up", get mad and then fly up behind me - only to pass me (and a lot of times, slow back down in front of me). So I've grown accustom to very frequent checks of my rear (well more than what is concerned "normal")... -Did pickup the Liberty; there were "spotz" on it already, in the upper-outer corners... Driving it, I realize that is not where I would want them, so at least this is partially answered for me...