5rebel9

ANY trans by any make taken care of properly and not abused by harsh driving habits will hold up. I'm not a fan of "CVT" trannies as I've seen many go bad on older HIGH MILEAGE never serviced and abused (spinning tires, shifting to get unstuck,etc.) and THEN owners complain about lack of "durability. Most of the folks I encounter on this and other forums I use, think "high mileage" is above 60k miles, that's just getting broken in time AND the time to have trans oil and filter(if equipped) renewed. It's RARE that any car I've had during the last 25 years has had less than 100k miles on it and at the TOP of the list of "to do's" on purchase is to drop the trans pan and change oil and filter. Many folk this is anathema to have to do, yet usually are the ones first complaining when their car's trannie go bad. I like to use the adage of the long past FRAM filter advertising of ... "you can pay me now or pay me later"(much more for replacement repair)! YES a "CVT" is seamless in shifting compared to a "traditional" trans., if that is what ones likings are, but I prefer to feel a nice crisp(but not hard) change of gears.

I'd start with getting normal maint back up to snuff... plugs/air filter PCV Valve while the upper intake is off for plugs. You'd have to do this if you do coils/coil boots anyway. Yes the trans pan can be dropped and filter replaced as a diy. BUT the proper refill is a bit tricky as there is no dedicated dipstick on the trans, they just put a cap on instead. Many use a cleaned engine oil dipstick and others buy the approved mfg testing "stick" WITH measurement chart for proper refill. Many "how to" posts can be found here, and you tube is a big help also.

160k klms. > 100k miles, has it had new spark plugs recently? If not then probably well worn and also well overdue for trans oil and filter service.

But did you check for broken wires in the rear hatch rubber "boot" from the body to the hatch? It's common for wires to break in there and most folks finding the breaks closer to the body side.

YUP, dealt with all that stuff and right up thru '87 when we closed shop. those aux. gas heaters were something else when they worked! BUT I did not mean to "go on" about my past with another make on a Journey FORUM YES we did some pretty neat stuff on our own rides and for a number of customers, was a shame when VW went water cooled and lost their way about '85 . People stopped buying the brand around us and the specialty of the air cooled ones was dying out. Not to mention a rather large difference of opinion on business plan between family and myself that helped bring about our shops' closing. Let's get back to our JOURNEYS

Needless to say that I lost count of the number of VW's that I owned over the years from my first being a 65 Beetle to my last being a '74 Beetle with just about every offering in between( but NO "THING")!

Sorry to hear of your concern, but welcome aboard the forum! What yrs/engines did you have prior to this one and with "no issues" from them, how did you acquire this current ride, from a Dodge DEALER or independent used lot? YES some engine/drivetrain codes can denote a trans problem. BUT not enough info given to offer much insight or help.

Good Lord, and I remember them in catalogs of the original offering years! AND many folks actually having one. My dad found an even cheaper alternative by using a thin mens' belt that were the norm back then (and not the "wide" ones that came popular in the later 60's . My dad was auto tech for a Buffalo, NY VW dealer from '57 - 67, and then started his own shop in the early 70's (where I got my start! )

A friend of mine with a Caravan had a similar problem, that I investigated for him that turned out to be bad key fobs that one of which he kept in the glove box. Chrys. had a problem with them in 08-10 and I'm sure the Journey would have used very similar system. You could try taking the battery out of the remote fobs after shutting down and try it for a night.

check the NEGATIVE jumper on the strut tower, it's multiple wires and common for resistance from "tarnishing to develope there.

So you got at the battery to test at it's posts.... Loss of voltage by the time it takes to get to the engine bay jumper posts would indicate resistance(dirty/corrosion) of cable connections or cables themselves as they are not the "heaviest" gage wires of cars of older times. Get back in there and clean the posts and cable clamps. Use a light coating of dielectric grease on reassembly.

LOL.... So much for brand loyalty and staying with a certain type LONG TERM(10yrs/2 DJ's & 8 yrs./2 DJ's) I have had numerous and in constant use Caravans and T&C's for 28 straight years and all used with the last 2 being 04 models. Since they no longer make the minivan with the capabilities my OLD gen vans could handle, I got my current ride ('10 Lucerne cxl) for 2 grand and < $500 to "square away" all quirks/repairs. Bought a decent looking used trailer to do SOME of the carry/tow that my OLD vans could handily do. IF not for lack of towing capability of our '11 awd DJ, there'd be another in our drive instead of the Buick! At least my son plans on taking care of our DJ for LONG TERM use!

That's a lot of city driving! One thing I noticed when we got our Journey a year ago, was similar DTE readings, UNTIL we started DRIVING it more distances than "puddle jumping" and stop and go driving. The trip computer even on EVIC reset remembers past usage. Our's has come up to around 385 DTE on full fill up. 14 mpg actual (manual math) seems quite low for your area, even in all city driving. We up in the big hills around Buffalo, NY average 21-23mpg on 30 mile one way drives(not all interstate, but not "stop and go").

Sounds to me like the float or wiring for one side of the divided fuel tank has a problem. Takes some involving diagnosis to find the cause. I doubt the front speed sensor has anything to do with the problem. Keep us posted as to how you "work this out".

Sad to hear the problem persists. Please post exact P codes so members can "investigate" possibilities. There was another with these same codes, as I asked you before, that I'm pretty sure posted back that an intake valve seat in the head had fallen out of place. BIG job for repair. HOWEVER, "in depth" diagnosis" with a borescope thru the spark plug hole should be done to confirm(along with full electrical diagnosis to determine if computer/wiring to that cyl. is working. Along with taking out the downstream sensor and ohm's testing it. On a side note of O2 sensors, 100k miles is suggested replacement time for ALL O2 sensors. I had a bank 1 upstream acting up with the P0420 code (cat efficiency) and replacing all sensors fixed it and brought live data reading fuel trims back to proper and equal readings. Good luck and keep us posted!

Sorry for your somewhat common complaint. I don't really know as there is a way to disable the system. BUT a high level scanner that can check/test BCM controlled functions should point to the cause. A 12 year old vehicle and probably a worn door latch or hatch latch as they are where sensors are located that would trigger the alarm. Particularly sitting or driving and vibrations breaking a contact thus setting off the horn alarm. These are not a quick and easy parts swap to track down and fix the problem type situations. AND then there is the possibility of the steering wheels clock spring going bad as another possible cause. Good Luck!

Well, the knowledge you have gained and helped others with here with your long ownerships and membership here will not be forgotten and still looking forward to you "posting in" from time to time! Good luck with the new ride , and I hope it serves you well.

You replaced input and output sensors already, did you inspect the harness connections and wires for them? Code is for erratic/no signal, so you need to check the wires for good connection, and use a bit of dielectric grease in them.

What engine and trans(4 or 6 sp)

Would I be correct in assuming your 2012 Journey has the flex fuel or straight gas 3.6 motor? The only other lime green fluid (other than some brands of coolant) could be DIESEL Fuel. As a new member, when you post, make sure to give engine/drivetrain specifics as there are a few possible offerings.

A number of possible causes to check out to find a fix. First, is the check engine light turned on on the dash when you drive the car? IF so then this sets a code for diagnosing a problem AND will disable remote start function. Next, there is a hood safety switch that disables remote start if it is not working properly(out of adjustment) as you say remote start works the rest of the day works .

Actually, I'd have preferred dropping to 16" rims for winter use. But the used pair at that price was hard to not go for them. The style 17' rims for summer are either from rt or crew or possible from caravan. the pair he has have the Dodge Ram's head center caps with a nice looking spoke design(not that the OE plain 17's look bad). The pair of used snows was on this pair of rims. going to dismount them and have time to "acquire 2 more rims that match. We're figuring $50 /rim and $50/tpms(4) and whatever price on summer tires plus mount/bal. May go with Hankooks like it has now. Yeah, I hear that a lot on another Avenger forum about the 19" rims. Kind of an odd size and high tire cost. But as I posted, bigger is not practical around here for a daily driver for our road conditions. He works on a "short line" railroad, I doubt they get any "trade courtesies" for transport. LOL

Yes, I did read that thread, but pretty sure by the amount of crud that I got removed from the overall system including what was is the res. tank by multiple flushing's that the core is plugged. I'm not good about posting pics or taking time to take pics of work being done. But let's just say that the drain and refill it got before us getting the car in no way had helped the situation. It was BAD with crud(about the worst I've seen of all my long years of auto working. YUP those "big rims" may be nice for good roads, but certainly not here in my "neck of the woods" or anywhere in NY. And my son was just a bit in "awe" of the price of the new snows, as he's still thinking in terms of the old Neon's prices of things... LOL

10/23/21 UPDATE: Journey has been running fine with no "glitches" happening at all. STILL trying for time and weather conditions for B1S2 O2 sensor change and to do the heater core. Since we now have a full year having the DJ, and son now full time employed, I've wrangled a pair of 1 season old studded 225/65R17 General Altimax Arctic-12 Snow tires for $50 and got a matching new pair for $280. YES my son has paid me for them. When significant winter weather comes close , my friend will mount/balance them @ $20 ea. on the DJ's standard alloy rims and stay there. Come Spring, he's working on a set of 4 matching black more open spoke upscale OE 17" rims (has a pair already). And will put all new TPMS sensors on them and we'll get new summer treads for those rims. Unless inflation hits harder, I figure about $850/900 for the "summer wheel" package... Stay tuned!

Welcome aboard the forum here, from Western NY! What trim and drivetrain does your 09 Journey have?