Psyke

Dodge Journey - 1 month impressions. Model year 2012 Build date: Oct 2011 Trim SXT/Crew 4.3s Stereo Main purchased extra's: - Flex seating - UConnect Voice w/Bluetooth/auto dim mirror - Power Express Sunroof - Chrome Clad wheels - Premium Speakers with Sub - Bright Silver Metallic Purchase price as equipped: 31K - Added extended warranty of 6year/120K km - $2500; finance manager had said regular price was $2900, but reading the boards, this doesn't seem to be true. In any case, after the issues with the Caliber, it was something I had planned on getting one way or another. - No Negotiations on price of this Vehicle; Had negotiated for a lesser model (SXT), but ended up upgading to a CREW. The deal came from our trade in; We owed over a year on previous car ('08 Caliber SXT); Chrysler absorbed 90% of the lien. I'm sure I could have negotiated better, but I suck at it We had been planning on upgrading the Caliber next year to get a little more room for family trips. The Journey was one of the choices due to the third row seating, but I didn't really want an SUV, and I really didn't like the mileage. Also, the issues I had been having with he Caliber, that being just after the 60K warranty expired, the car needed about 2K in suspension work done, and the engine started making really odd noises, so more work there, so I was being turned off a bit by Dodge. I mean, this car was not abused, or even pushed hard, so there really wasn't any reason for the issues it was developing, but I've been told that it was pretty common for the Caliber. Personally, I had been leaning more towards a Volkswagen Golf Wagon with the TDI Diesel engine. Seating space didn't improve, but cargo space and fuel economy did by a huge margin. So I had planned to run the Caliber into the ground as it was essentially worthless, finish paying it off next year while putting money away for a good down payment on the VW. Then Dodge calls a couple days prior to the end of March saying they wanted to get us out of the caliber and into a caravan or journey; they were trying to meet quota and were willing to make a deal, typical ploys to get people to come in. I was totally up front with him about the current situation with the Caliber and said to come in anyway as it couldn't hurt to talk. We setup an appointment for the following Saturday, but we had decided to stop by that night instead to look around. We took two vehicles out for a test drive; a '12 Grand Caravan, and the '12 Journey. The wife had really wanted a Caravan for a while now; we had tried one out as a rental when our Caliber had to go in for body work (got sideswiped), and she loved it. It did ride very nice, has tons of interior room for both passengers and cargo, and visibility was fantastic with all the huge windows. My main issue was that it felt....empty/echoes...I just didn't like it. So we took out the DJ Crew for a drive and instantly fell in love with it. It felt much more comfortable/cozy inside, and I really liked how the dash/center console was laid out. We had decided on the DJ and while we had started negotiating/looking for an SXT, we ended up taking the Crew we test drove. Likes: - Strong, quiet 3.6L V6 Engine. - Overall quiet/comfortable ride. - Tons of storage space/spaces. - Tri-Zone ACC; will come in very handy as we usually change the temp frequently to give each other a turn as we can't usually find a good middle ground. - Interior directional LED lighting; The elder child appreciates it for reading. I appreciate not being blinded by a flashlight. - Auto headlights - Exceptional upscale looking interior. I love the interior and was one of the biggest draws for me. - Bluetooth integration. Extremely easy to setup multiple phones and works great(once we got it working that is; defective module at purchase time). - Center Console controls. Love the fact there are both soft and redundant hard keys for most functions. - Led Tails. - Crossbars for the roof rack; took them off, as the DJ looks better without, but good to have when/if needed. - Factory tinted glass. - Keyless Start and Go system; Fantastic. The extra lock/unlock buttons outside are convenient. - flexibility of the 3rd row seating. - child seat was easier to install than in the Caliber, and feels more secure. - I can change headlights again without having to take off the freakin' bumper or having freakishly small, but powerful, hands!! - Oil filter location; on the top of the engine; who would have thunk it! Dislikes: - Fuel economy; knew this going in, but still don't have to like it. - Poor downshifting; If I'm travelling at a speed where the gear has just shifted up and is running at the low 1K RPM range, I can't speed up at a reasonable pace without having to give it a good amount of good amount of gas. ie - there's a pretty big range of motion in the accelerator where there's little to no reaction, then all of a sudden, the car jumps forward in a burst of speed as it finally downshifts; poor torque in the lower RPM range is really the problem I'm assuming, and I think this is where a lot of the fuel economy is being wasted. - Visibility; Generally ok, but pillars, and the huge ass Rear View mirror block alot of viewing area. Integrated blind Spot mirrors should be standard. - Front facing steering wheel buttons; not very responsive. - Replacement 19" tire availability/selection, or lack thereof. - Chrome Clad Wheels. Really wish I could have traded these for 17's... - Sub Woofer - No power; am going to have this checked, but I had the premium sound package on my caliber, and that system blew me away @half the price. - compact spare. - No front plate mount. Really does ruin the look of the DJ. - parking brake location in relation to the hood release; have popped the hood a couple times when releasing the brake. - Switches/options that don't do anything; if they don't do anything, they shouldn't be there in the first place. Would like to have seen: - Auto Wipers (Rain Sensitive Wipers) - Blind spot mirrors Standard - The Chargers capless fuel fill door; really cool and should be standard on all models! - Lock/unlock of all doors on Center console as well as child lock button; seen this on the Equinox and thout it was a great place to put it. - Full sized Spare. - Power seat memory for at least two drivers. - More data on the EVIC; Max Speed/Average Speed, things like that. Overall, after a month of driving it and putting about 2100km on it, I really do like the purchase decision. I still really wish I could have gotten the VW Diesel, but for the versitility factor, I have no regrets at all, despite the huge fuel bills. Will do another evaluation in 5 months at oil change time and see if things change. cheers! Steph S.

this is becoming more standard with cars with power locks as a safety feature with no way of disabling them. Correction, as per user manual: "The auto door lock feature can be enabled or disabled by your authorized dealer per written request of the customer. Please see your authorized dealer for service."

I wouldn't have any clue, but I'm thinking of picking up these: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/WHITE-24-LED-3156-3157-Backup-Lights-F150-F250-F350-550-/220999857635?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33749e35e3#shId pair is $18 and guaranteed up to 50K Hours of life. I'm looking for highter life time, so if they are at least as bright as regular bulbs, I'm happy. Afterall, they are just reversing lights

I just did a search for the W21W you provided . I did a quick search for for '12 Journey bulbs and found this page which indicates the bulbs are 3157K (Krypton filled)bulbs. so the precise model is 3157, while 3156 should still technically work; same size/shape, but 3157 is dual contact/dual intensity bulbs while 3156 is single contact/single intensity....for backup lights, 3156 should be sufficient, but I think they went with dual contact/intensity because these bulbs are also used for tail/brake lights for those not equipped with LED tails. But if you do a search for 3157 LED on google, you'll find plenty. As for the number of bulbs, I'd assume two, but not 100% sure. cheers! Steph S.

nothing like tormenting your children :D

I understand the not tidy part; I had a Dodge Caliber previously and the kids were "allowed" to eat in the car, and the now three year old was notorious for hiding food under her car seat. The 10 year old wasn't much better and I found a partly eaten mini cheese wheel molding in the carpeting. That said, passing a quick cloth and vacuum showed suprisingly clean seats with no stain, and this is with no scotch guard or similar, so the seats are pretty durable. I've still since implemented a no eating in the car rule because I'm the one usually getting stuck cleaning it....

Congrats on the purchase Melanie. Booster seats are something I would have liked to have gotten in our crew as our 3-1 seat for the 3 year old is huge. But because they are unique to the Journey, I have a feeling you'll be hard pressed to find proper seat covers for them and may need to find a place locally that can do custom covers for you. cheers, Steph S.

If they are like the caliber, then they are stuck on via ball joint type latches and you just have to use enough force to get them off, after taking off the two plastic side pins, but they are the only removable pins . I'd probably suggest slowly prying around the sides at first. Example here: as for bulb, you could look at this: http://www.hq-auto-l...e-red-or-amber/

I guess it really depends on the size of the car seats vs the size of the adult. We had a Dodge Caliber prior to picking up the Journey, and with the one car seat (a safety first alpha omega 3 in 1), our 10 year old found it pretty cramped when she and a friend sat in the back with it, and it was worse with an adult, so I could only imagine how she would have been with two seats.. We got the 3rd row seating in the journey specifically for this, and looking at the setup, and while I found the seat easier to install more securely than in the caliber, we really didn't gain much elbow room in the journey, if any at all. The third row seating definitely comes in handy when she has friends in with us. However, the big problem you're going to have is accessing it; with two car seats, you may not be able to roll the second row forward to get back there. Stroller wise, I'm glad we're past that stage, but we'd probably be able to get our big gracco in there with nothing else, and defintely our small light weight foldup (could probably get two of them, but again, no room for anything else). If you either have two mid/large sized strollers or a dual stroller, forget about it. cheers! Steph S.

NEC might actually be the company that provides the CD Player, while BF might be IBM's BuildForge which helps manage sotware builds... I found reference to BF 7.1.3, but not 7.1.6 online.. In the context above, this would make sense, but I'm not positive.

Actually, my '08 Caliber did indeed have the three key turn option and presented a bunch of information on the basic evic. Haven't tried it with the Journey...

very cool; thanks for the info. worked on the first shot. Was kinda hopping for for hidden items that could be enabled/disabled when I read "dealer menu", but ah well

No worries; for those who don't go and read it, I think the bottom line is: - Synthetic flows better than Mineral oil, particularly in colder weather. If you live in a warmer climate, then regular oil should be just fine. If you live up north where you see <-20c weather, then synthetic can be beneficial to getting the lubricant around the engine faster at startup. - Synthetic should still be changed at the vehicle manufacturers recommended intervals because while it may not completely break down as fast as regular mineral oil, it still picks up junk within the engine as it circulates through it. And while the oil itself may not break down as fast, the additives do.

Windancer; this is a couple of years old, but does provide some information : http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/products/4232672 Might help in your decision too Onecrazyfoo4u cheers! Steph S.

Yes, but the 17" option for the journey is 225/65/17. For all intents and purposes, these wheels should be fine, however I was just reading in other posts that the '12 RT AWD have larger brakes than ther other versions (including the FWD RT), so going down to a 17" rim might be difficult, so like 2late4u says, check with your dealer. Personally, I'm looking at the same tires with some alloy wheels from tirerack with the same dimensions. Wanted to get steel wheels, but didn't have any for the journey... *shrug*

While against Dodge's recommendations, one thing you can always do is cut the fabric of the seat cover between the two seat posts and sew in either a zipper or some strong velcro. While not ideal, it's better than potential serious injury, or death! :D

ditto, and this one was built back in October '11.

Looks nice, but couldn't you run the cable down the mount and through the lower grill. Would look a little cleaner that way.

no, mine does nothing at all; Cup holders get adjusted by the principle dimmer switch, and the change is significant enough. The door lights (switches and map holder light) don't dim at all. Also, on the 4.3 screen, there's brightness settings and only the "with headlights on" can be adjusted if I switch from Auto to day or night. I can't adjust the brightness "with headlights off" option, regardless of other settings. The Dealership just called today to see how I've been enjoying the new DJ, and I told her while I really do like it, just little details like the above irk me, but they are things I can live with. She still suggested bringing if I wanted to go through the electronics with them. *shrug*

You're not going to find a part number for a 3.5L engine as it doesn't exist . you have a 3.6L engine and the part number is 68079744AB. Can always try Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-2012-JEEP-CHRYSLER-DODGE-3-6L-OIL-FILTER-PENTASTAR-MOPAR-OEM-EACH-/330629321861 Cheers! Steph S.

I don't know; with the second row seats moved up just a bit, it's actually not that bad back there; I'm about 5'9 and 180lbs and while I woudln't want to do any long trips back there, it was better than I expected (seats could use a little more cushioning). In the three row configuration, I could sit with enough room in all three rows. That said, we specifically got the third row seating for those times we have our daughters friends in the car; we have one car seat so the middle person used to get extremely cramped in our old caliber, and it seems worse now. We'll probably keep in in Cargo mode for most times, but it's nice to know we have the flexibility (as long as the wife doesn't keep storing the GG cookies back there...*sigh*)

I'm actually thinking more along the lines of the pontential that something's wrong with the compressor that's causing the engine to work more than it should; just opening another avenue of investigation.

Defender007, I just went through all the posts again and noticed one thing; it was never mentioned/asked if you/your wife were driving with the auto climate control on? the reason I ask is because it will turn the AC on, even if not being used to actually cool the car (probably more for moisture control). I was driving the other night and noticed a cool breeze on the back of my neck and realized there was cool air being pumped to the back seats; I had the front synced to 23c (it was about 5c outside) and thought I had turned off the back, but I guess I hadn't. When I switched from AutoCC to manual, the AC light came on. I turned it off, turned the autoCC back on, then off, only to find that the AC was turned back on again. I'm not too surprised that the AC is being turned on, but I hadn't realized it. I hadn't been using the AutoCC much as I like controlling the fan speeds manually, but the wife had turned it on when she came to pick me up from work and I hadn't noticed. Could this be potentially be factor in your issues? cheers! Steph S.

We've had our DJ for a couple weeks now and we're starting to get a better feel for it. We had a Dodge Caliber previously with the very sad 1.8L 4 cylinder engine, so we were always lead footing it to get any semblance of power. The main issue with the DJ, as others have pointed out, is that it's a heavy beast (more so with the third row seating), and getting it going is usually the biggest drain on fuel. Once you're past 20Kph and start easing off the gas as you get up to the regular street speeds you want to get, then it's very easy to keep it under 10L/100Km when travelling between 21kph and 100kph. This vehicle wasn't made for stop and go, but it's not terribly hard to keep the mileage down if you can just keep moving