Alaskan_Journey_907

Lol it has full coverage insurance. I was being sarcastic....like "whoops it caught on fire due to that pesky p/s leak..." I wasn't being serious. Although at this point it wouldn't hurt my feelings. Anyone think I'd run into any sort of problems by bypassing the p/s cooler? I was thinking of cutting the 2 metal tunes that pop out right under the coolant tank, flaring the ends and looping them together which would basically delete the whole cooler its self. We only see 90* here maybe a week or 2 at tops in the summer. And for 5+ months a year it's below freezing.

Whoops double post.

Out of curiosity, for the people that have paid to have the repair done before it was finally a recall, what did the shop bill run ya?? And did you have everything replaced that the recall covers? Basically all of the lines and the cooler. Which leads me to another ?. Is the p/s cooler absolutely 100% necessary? I have bypassed them on a few vehicles up here for customers and have never had a complaint or come back. Keep in mind the hottest we see is MAYBE 90* and that's only for a few weeks in the summer. I don't see why it would hurt anything to cut the 2 metal lines under the hood where they come out from under the coolant reservoir, add a double flare to the ends of both tunes and just loop them to one another with a piece of high pressure arctic grade hose and a couple of good hose clamps. I'd leave the cooler in place for a little while making sure the "delete" didn't cause any issue's, and if none then remove the cooler and excess lines all together. Being as that would cut down on the amount of "cold" fluid in the system it may help with the repeated hose failures I've had this winter. Or maybe I'm just talking crazy and that's a horrible idea all together. Anyone care to give me their $.02?

Looks like I'm the only Alaskan...

Lol I was talking about full coverage insurance.... Yes I am aware that the powertrain warrenty does not cover the steering.

Money is super tight right now, or else I would pay to have it fixed and than hope to someday get my money back later. It does have full coverage... ;-)

I'm sure I won't have a hard time at all finding a judge to rule with me. When the hose 1st blew and I called the dealership, the service writer told me my vehicle was covered under the S08 recall, but if I continue to drive it and the pump burns up due to lack of fluid, I will be responsible for that repair. Also he couldn't get me in for 2 weeks. Long story short, my gf ended up losing her job due to not being able to make it to work everyday. Granted that's not the whole story, but it didn't help things. I'm definitely jealous of those that have had the recall done. This is the first time I've ever dealt with Dodge, or even owned one, and I will say, I'm never going to own another. Sad thing is, it doesn't even blue book for what I still owe on it. It's a 2013 and I just rolled 82,000 miles.....1 trip from AZ to AK and then another from AK to AZ and back to AK. Plus a good 50+ miles a day for work for over a year. Lol. Shit adds up quick. Thank you to those that have been of help. I really appreciate it, and will keep you posted on whether or not I get this resolved before I just torch the f'ing thing....

So when I called FCA, basically what I was told is that recalls are vin specific, and that they can't just "add a recall" to a vehicle. Which I understand. I told her that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking for the recall work to be performed on my vehicle as if it was purchased in Alaska. She made the remark of "well this recall didn't effect very many vehicles..." Ya right lady. Only every dodge Journey where it gets -10*F or colder... She then took the time to put me on hold and call the dealership up here. That's when the person she was on the phone with told her that I'd never brought my vehicle in for diag, and then told her my vehicle hasn't been there since 2009....He was right on 1 part, I didn't bring it there for diag. I did the diagnoses myself. The lady at FCA then tells me that I need to bring it to the dealership and pay for it to be diagnosed. That's even after I tell her I'm a full certified mechanic... and that's where it bit me in the ass... Being as I am a mechanic, and I am friends with a few shop owners around town (Bless their souls) every time I've had an issue I've fixed it myself. I do all of my own work, for a couple of reasons. I don't really trust other people, I was able to fix it for next to free, and being as this is the only vehicle for me, my gf & 2 kids I can't just drop it off somewhere for 2 weeks waiting for it to get fixed. The ONLY reason I want the dealership to ever touch my vehicle is when it's covered under warranty or recall. And speaking of warranty, I also found out today that I still have 13 months or 18,000 miles left of powertrain warrenty. Hmmmm that's odd. When I had the gf bring it to the dealer this past summer (same dealer) to see why the transmission was acting up at 30mph they told her the vehicle was completely out of warranty. I made sure to tell the FCA lady that today. So I'm only out about $100 due to all of the ATF I've had to buy everytime a hose blows. Other than that I'm basically just out a lot of my time, Which if it was for anyone else, wouldn't be free. Being as FCA won't help me out I think I'll have the owner of the shop that I used multiple times write up a bill as if I was an actual customer, and bring it into the dealership tomorrow and have a chat with a manager. If they won't budge than small claims it is.

Well I gave them a call, and long story short even though I even still have powertrain warrenty left there is nothing they can do for me. They even called the dealership, who lied and told them they haven't seen my vehicle sense 2009....which makes no sense because it wasn't even made until 2013. I dunno. At this point I am really tempted to sell it and get something else. I'm sick and tired of messing with power steering...Never thought I'd hate a vehicle so much because of something so stupid.

So the dealership here needs to contact dodge themselves?? I have a feeling that they searched my vin (just as I did at home) and saw the S08 recall didn't apply to my vehicle, and instead of actually trying to get it covered they just called me and said "sorry but this recall doesn't apply to your vehicle" The dealership here is horrible. But the next closest one is 350 miles away. At this point it going to need the pump replaced as well from running out of fluid so many times. Plus it's our only vehicle (me, gf & 2 kids) so it's hard to go without it for any periods of time. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what they can do.

So I've gone through 3 hoses this winter on my '13 Journey, and when I searched my vin it doesn't come up with this recall. From what I've read, only vehicles that were/are sold initially in the northern states are covered, which is bullshit. Being as mine was 1st sold in Florida, and now it's with me in Alaska that means I have to pay?? Bullshit. Does anyone have an email address or phone # that I could have to try and get Dodge to refund me, and also have the recall work done?? Thanks in advance.

Anyone?? I'm at a loss. I've never seen arctic p/s hose blow before. This thing is a f'ing nightmare.

So is there a way to get my journey covered under recall sense it was purchased in AZ and I am now the sorry bastard in Alaska with it. I've replaced 3 lines so far, and I'm even running aviation hydraulic fluid, that's supposed to be thinner than atf. I called my dealer up here, they said it was covered. Waited 2 weeks for them to finally "have time" just to call me and say it's not covered. Obviously it has the same issues. And being that its my gf's car with a 6yr and 8mo kids in it, I'm seriously thinking of selling it. Never in my 14 years of experience have I seen such a problem. Can someone point me in the direction to where I could get some answers??