bramfrank

Welcome to the Journey . . . . you might want to note for posterity that they ALL have pushbutton start. And, just for the record, all Canadian Limiteds, Crossroads and the R/T come only with the 6. Mine was delivered with a dead battery. They wanted to boost it. I insisted they replace it, which they did. It could be as simple as a loose gas cap . . . . Can't help you with the check engine light issue and reading the codes, but I suspect not - someone who does know will be along shortly and provide the definitive answer, but why not just roll it by the dealer and let THEM handle the issue? After all, that's why you have a warranty.

Garmin navigators all do this. I suppose you might want to capture an image from your backup camera; Save the screen from the satellite radio to capture a song title; Grab an error message or an errant navigation screen. You might want to record your unit's configuration for posterity or grab an image from a DVD. There's got to be a reason for it. I know that when I was arguing with Sirius over my subscriptions I took a picture of the dealer screen showing mine and e-mailed it to them . . . they didn't want to enable Travel Link in my new radio, claiming I didn't have it in the old, which, of course I did . . . not that the radio actually implemented any of the Travel Link menu items . . . but it was the principle of the matter - I could have done a screen grab, instead of taking a picture with my phone OK, these days the need is mitigated by the fact that we all carry portable cameras with us . . . . . . . But I didn't plan the feature, I just reported about it.

Here's an interesting tidbit I came across: You can directly capture screen shots from your 8.4" UConnect to a USB flash drive, You hold down the drivers side up temperature and down temperature button and the rear defroster button, ALL AT ONCE! After a couple of seconds, you will see the screen flash, then about a second or two after, you should get a "screen shot successful" message! It will save them as 640 x 480 *.BMP picture files.

Useless . . . . what they should do, in my opinion is to simply disable the door handle/door lock interconnection that we have in front. In the event of an accident, older kids and adults might become trapped, since it is impossible to manually operate the locks in the back.

So, if the door handle can't be used to unlock the rear doors, what does the child-proof adjuster in the door actually do?

Only with the 6 cylinder engine

I hope they work for you but it might not be so simple - the DJ bars are different lengths front and rear and if the rails are not shaped the same the ones for the Jeep may not clamp properly to the DJ's rails

I agree with dhh3 - the OEM bars fit the rails properly and slide back and forth without crimping or otherwise damaging the rails. You can usually find them on eBay at reasonable prices. You might want to take note the factory spec for the roof rack's weight limits, not that anyone ever pays attention to that.

According to the US Dodge site, the Alpine premium sound package is not an option at all on either model of the Crossroad

In the US the Crossroad is a regular SXT with blacked out headlight surrounds, platinum accent pieces, special bumpers front and rear and 19" hyper-black wheels. You also get the 8.4" regular radio. In Canada the Crossroad is on a par with the Limited. But you trade off the leather seats on the Crossroad for heated seats & steering on the Limited - I have that option on my unit - it is great to have the heated steering wheel when it is -30 out. There are truly significant differences between the national models - for example you can't get a 4 cylinder engine on the Canadian version and the windows on both sides are express up and down in Canada, where you only get express (down only?) and only on the driver's side. The power seat is supposedly 8 way up here, 6 way down there according to the US web site. You get the touring suspension if you have the FWD version, the sport suspension with the AWD. You can't buy a 5 passenger version of the Crossroad in Canada for 2015 (I have a 5 passenger '14). For some inexplicable reason you don't get the roof crossrails in Canada (not sure if you get them in the US) and on the FWD you don't get floor mats (I kept all that stuff from my SE Plus, not that I ever used them). You also don't get the cargo net (kept that from the old vehicle also). Moving to the AWD crossroad in Canada will get you Alpine premium sound, the backup camera and Parksense, remote start, Homelink, the flashlight, full leather, heated seats, floor mats and the cargo net, all standard. The AWD Crossroad is positioned above the R/T up here There's more, but I only have so much patience. By the way, for the person who complained that his vehicle didn't match his window sticker. I clearly recall that he said the sticker said he had a 6 speaker system. For his information, the basic system has six speakers. The Alpine sound package has SEVEN speakers, so I suspect there was no error and so far no one has figured out that he got the six speakers he paid for,

No. You have the current description wrong, history lesson or not. My '11 (and every single DJ sold starting with the 2011 model year) has uConnect. Mine did not have Bluetooth. As I wrote, lots of '11s had no BT because the dealers did not realise that Chrysler had changed the description and that Bluetooth was no longer part of the basic uConnect nomenclature. Bluetooth functionality is hardware dependent and is NOT embedded in the uConnect (radio/display driver) module. It is located external to the module, as I wrote, perched above the steering column in the 2011 and later Dodge Journeys. BT is a separate feature, sold at extra cost on the lower end models and in some markets and models is not even available at all. On an SE, the option descriptor for the BT is "Handsfree Communication w/Bluetooth" on the Dodge web site - and, for the record, the included radio is described as "Radio uConnect 4.3 AM/FM/CD/MP3". uConnect is described by Chrysler as the technology that allows the owner to interface with the vehicle - Bluetooth is one (depending on which uConnect radio you order, optional) accessory for the system. Suffice it to say that you can buy a Gen-II DJ that does not have Bluetooth, but all Gen-II DJs have uConnect. And if you are unlucky enough to have gotten a unit that doesn't have factory Bluetooth, adding it is usually not a practical option.

No. That's not right either. Firstly ALL 2011 and later vehicles have uConnect (before 2011 it seems that Chrysler meant Bluetooth when they used the uConnect name). uConnect is the factory stereo with the touchscreen and integrated air conditioning controls and control for configuration and options, like heated seats, the power outlet and so on. The Bluetooth module is external to the uConnect system and is plugged into the rear of the uConnect radio via a USB connector - the Bluetooth module module itself is located above the steering column under the dash cover. To have Bluetooth you also need to have the proper steering wheel controls and the microphone-equipped mirror, making it impractical to add to a vehicle not equipped with it from the factory.

16" work for DJs up to mid 2012 - when they went to the larger brakes the 16s no longer fit.

No. It doesn't. And note that it is a Crossroad, unless, of course you are buying more than one. THEN you could discuss your Crossroads.

@dhh3: uConnect is the infotainment system - Bluetooth is not the same as uConnect.

The Mainstreet comes with the bigger engine and Sirius radio (4.3 inch is standard). The only other significant difference was that it has touring suspension and 17" aluminum wheels compared with 16" steel with hubcaps on the 'Express', which is what they called the SE in 2011. The one you are looking at seems to have the 8.4" screen (who knows, it may even have navigation and the backup camera?) And that will bring you Bluetooth automatically AFAIK. Sounds to me like the Mainstreet is a much better deal if the vehicle is clean and hasn't been accidented or abused.

Does the vehicle have an alarm? it might be for a hood switch.

Better yet, save the knees and just take a look at the rear of the vehicle; AWD Journeys have the letters AWD prominently displayed on the rear of the vehicle. No letters? No AWD!!

Upgrading from 4.3 to 8.4 is expensive. However a Garmin navigator, like the 3490 or 3790 fits very nicely ABOVE the rear view mirror - and it isn't hard to snake the power down the right side pillar, put a power socket behind the trim and connect it to the fuse block that's behind the glove box. If the SE doesn't have Bluetooth, the navigator can also serve as your speakerphone. Backup cameras are another story - as mentioned there are some integrated options for the 4.3 - but in my opinion they are overpriced and after you have it, you will discover that it is less useful than you expected (I added the OEM one to my vehicle, which is how I know). I suppose my kids will benefit from having it, but I can gauge the bumper very well without having a camera view. There should be a lot of '11 and '12 model year vehicles coming off lease and being traded in - if the one you are looking at isn't all you want it to be then perhaps you are better off waiting until you find one that IS.

How about simply putting your music on a card and taking the iPod out of the equation?

Also the number of cold starts, average run time and a whole bunch more. And, depending on where you live and how you drive and where you keep your vehicle, the number could well be reasonable. Besides, oil changes are cheap and you can't change the oil too often, but you can let it go too long.

you have what is called an RE2 radio. It supports DVDs, SiruisXM radio with TravelLink and controls your various functions. You can install a backup camera (you can buy the OEM kit for around $265) but you need to have the dealer flash the sales code that enables it after you install it. It takes a good 3 hours to install by yourself. If you want navigation you'll need to buy a new radio equipped with the Garmin module and software. It uses the SiriusXM antenna, so that's all you need. They can be had for between about $650 and $2,000 (the latter for a new unit from a dealer). The radio takes all of 10 minutes to change and you then move your SiriusXM subscription from the old unit to the new. Your vehicle features (heated seats, backup camera and so on) all continue to work because the data that enables them is stored in the body controller module and is read by the radio when it is powered up. How do I know? I did both upgrades about 6 weeks ago.

uConnect on the Journey is a closed system - the new uConnect Access is not available for the present platform. Chrysler is rolling out the new system out as the models are being refreshed, which likely means we'll see it in the Journey for the 2017 model year in mid 2016. uConnect changed the meaning of the term in 2011 - it originally implied that you had Bluetooth - but Chrysler redefined it to mean that it integrated a bunch of software functionality including control of the air conditioning, entertainment system, heated seats and steering wheel, backup camera, GPS navigation and vehicle configuration - it caught the dealers with their pants down and a whole lot of vehicles showed up at dealers that year without Bluetooth as a result (including mine). So, the system is what it is and about the only thing you can do to the uConnect in your vehicle is to upgrade the display to the 8.4" (if you don't already have it) and to add in navigation to the larger display. You can also add in the backup camera, again if you don't have it on your vehicle now. The cost of upgrading depends on what you have now and how you source the parts.

Agree - it is not practical to add Bluetooth to the vehicle - buy a navigator with Bluetooth capability and kill two birds with one stone.

While you may have expressed concern to the salesman, unless you noted a potential discrepancy in writing, you are likely going to get into a game of 'he said, she said'. Unless I'm mistaken, the dealers can print the window stickers - are you certain that your sticker is for your vehicle's VIN? In any case, it can be edited. Now, one very interesting item is that according to the www.dodge.com web site the premium sound package isn't even an option for either of the Crossroad (note, no 's' at the end) models in the US . . . . It is also interesting that Dodge has, in my opinion done the market a huge disservice by not providing enough hard delimiters between the models, the way they have in Canada, where, for example the base version of the Crossroad comes with the 6 cylinder engine, leather seats and so on - in the US it is essentially an SE Plus with black wheels onto which you can add things. Here are screen shots of the model comparisons (both FWD and AWD) which show that premium sound is not an option for the trim level: