5rebel9

11/26/21 UPDATE. Studded Snows are now mounted on the original rims, and son reports road noise is very livable on the bare pavement we've had(no real snow yet). We took it on the 60 mile drive to our daughter's home for Thanksgiving yesterday and I as passenger got to make some real good observations on just how the car is doing. First of all is the heater core does need replacement. BUT after 15 minutes into the drive my son cut the heat level back to just below the midpoint of the red/blue scale with all zones synched together for the duration of the trip (outside temp of 42*f) Trip home was colder and rainy and once again repeated temp settings but switched to foot/windshield. A cool but not unpleasant ride home for me. But son said that's how he likes it! Next thing noted was ride quality was for an almost 200k mile car ....VERY NICE and road noise of snows was barely heard. A pleasant feeling for my thoughts about a rather shorter WB, AWD, higher ground clearance vehicle than any other car I've had before! Last thing to update, son reports that since I unplugged the harness connector to the heat control module(behind the center "infotainment screen") and applied dielectric grease to it, that there has been NO FURTHER "UNSYCHING" instances. This little trick I did stems from a recall/ TSB I found about electrical issues for our PontiacG6. I guess it can "do the trick" for other cars as well! Son loves his ride and I'm happy with it and even though I don't look forward to the heater core job, it is a very good car for our uses! Hope all here had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving yesterday!

Greetings. I would assume that a it was fully inspected after 2 years storage for underneath components(motor mounts/exhaust/heat shields) to be put back on the road? There are MANY possibilities of the cause of noise that one could fill a book with the possible causes. I'd suggest finding another reputable shop for a good overall inspection to determine what is going on. Hard to give advice about the codes without their format numbers.

And it is not leaking/losing brake fluid thru all this time? Has a high level scanner that can engage the ABS pump for system bleed been used, as you posted before of ABS unit also being replaced?

I thought I had suggested this before.... A sinking brake pedal after replacing and bleeding of all these parts replaced would leave me to a faulty master cylinder(I know, already replaced) or a problem in the power assist system. Try unplugging the electrical power brake vacuum pump mounted on the engine and see if pedal stays hard and "high"(little pedal movement). And also check the hose(s) from the booster to the pump and engine, I believe there is a Y connector and hose too another area on the engine for vacuum. MY this is turning out to be quite a MYSTERIOUS problem to track down! Hang in there.

Even the latest "issue" posted is a common fault found here. It takes doing some investigating OF THE CAR as a starting point to find the problem to be able to fix it. IF there is a common "link" for all these "quirks", It would then come down to poor ground points of wiring harness to the body of the vehicle. BUT to my knowledge none of these issues are a common ground connection for components involved. Being a new member, I'd suggest reading thru the various section pages relating to your ride's troubles. Good Luck!

Welcome to the forum. As for the rear wiper not working, that sounds like the common problem of broken wire in the rubber "boot" between the rear hatch and body on the drivers side. Many threads about this and how to check/fix can be found on the pages here. For the door lock, could also be broken wires in the boot between the drivers door and the body. Again, many threads about that also. Another possibility is the master switch unit failing on the drivers door. Do you have messages of service key showing up on the info panel?

Welcome aboard the forum! Nice work with the "updates" you've done. But why would the wife not keep loving her DJ? The Durango has just as many (if not more) "quirks" to deal with as the Journey. Our '11 model "Mainstreet" is well loved by my son(his main ride) even without all the "bells and whistles". The wife and I also are pretty enamored with it also!

Yes , with the T-stat housing being made of plastic sometimes it may be best to replace the whole unit as posted by others. Either way, TWO new thermostats.

The 2.4 motor uses TWO thermostats. I'd start by replacing BOTH.

Good to hear that using suggestions from members here have helped track down the probable cause of your Journey's concern. PLEASE also drop the lower pan and replace the filter also.

That would be the DRIVERS side cover back at the rear hatch. I had that all out when checking/fixing for rear hatch lights not working on ours and had the whole hatch harness out for broken wires inside the main body area just about where the "rubber boot" attaches. YES , a bit of disassembly to do but not hard to do AND it saved greatly on labor costs to "farm the work out"!

As you probably know you must press the door lock button and then the remote start button. Are you sure that ALL doors are locking properly? without the fob near the car, you may want to check all the doors to confirm they are indeed locked. As already posted, there are a number of possible causes for your problem, you've answered to a couple of those. Time to do some further checking and report back, as this is not a common complaint to not work the first time but will work later after use.

That would surely cause your "glitch". A little different than the normal cause as I posted before, but in the same "ballpark". Glad you got it fixed!

Sorry to hear that. But you did about all that was possible without engine disassembly. Yup low compression will cause misfires, I hope it is just something in the cylinder head and not deeper. Good Luck and keep us posted!

Well, get the engine up near the 185* mark and the left side will ROAST you. The right center vent has noticeable improvement in heat, the far right vent lukewarm when driving (keep the rpm's up and is ok). IT IS A PLUGGED UP HEATER CORE. Weather conditions and schedules are going to make it difficult to even do a "cut the tubes" replacement. 99% of driving/passengers is just my son in the car, so hopefully we can get thru the winter "as is".

11/8/21: So after what seems an eternity, Finally had the car home on Sunday. After getting home from worship and hearing of my "BILLS" doing poorly against the "JAGS" I decided to try one last flush of the front heater core with CLR and let it work overnight. Getting the inlet and outlet hoses off was the most challenge to do. I used lengths of 5/8" ID clear hose to both tubes and did numerous water hose flushes back and forth and then used air to blow out what water I could. Next came using a 50/50 mix of CLR/water till a good foot of liquid showed in each clear hose. With light air pressure, I worked that back and forth for an hour before leaving it set overnight(had a 4pm dinner to attend). Was a bit cool this morning yet, but went out and "worked the cleaner fluid back and forth some more and was happy to see numerous chunks of "crud" floating in the hoses. Letting it work some more at this time and around noon (when it warms up more) will start doing more "working" and then flush out with water and refill and put things back together. Son is taking "mom's car" to work at noon(I have to "chauffer" the wife home from work at 5pm(hopefully with the Journey with HEAT working on both sides! STAY TUNED!

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.