HATE THIS CLUNK OF JUNK!!

[kmac171]

Just wanted to let Chrysler know after 20yrs of Chrysler products NEVER AGAIN! I can't believe this piece of junk! I had to drive my father who passed away this last July in this crap to and from his chemo and everytime it shifted and jerked his frail body he moaned, how disgusting!!! I also will inform you that I know of 7 people I TALKED OUT OF A JOURNEY at the dealership. Hell even one left and wouldn't buy a Chrysler product. I want you to also know that the internet is a powerful thing and I am doing everything I can to use it to steer people away from Chrysler! For God sakes people 30,000 mile and two sets of brake pads, one rotor cut twice and now once again new pads, and this time new rotors as well. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!!!! NO MORE FROM THIS PERSON and again you can count on many, many more due to my opinion of this piece of junk!

[dp360]

Just wanted to let Chrysler know after 20yrs of Chrysler products NEVER AGAIN! I can't believe this piece of junk! I had to drive my father who passed away this last July in this crap to and from his chemo and everytime it shifted and jerked his frail body he moaned, how disgusting!!! I also will inform you that I know of 7 people I TALKED OUT OF A JOURNEY at the dealership. Hell even one left and wouldn't buy a Chrysler product. I want you to also know that the internet is a powerful thing and I am doing everything I can to use it to steer people away from Chrysler! For God sakes people 30,000 mile and two sets of brake pads, one rotor cut twice and now once again new pads, and this time new rotors as well. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!!!! NO MORE FROM THIS PERSON and again you can count on many, many more due to my opinion of this piece of junk!

I truly sympathize about the situation with your father and let me offer my condolences. I lost my father recently and he was in pretty bad shape, too.

As for your anti-Chrysler advocacy, that is certainly in your right to do so. I can't say I blame you - I've been outspoken against numerous products/manufacturers over the years that I've felt have done me wrong. I just want to point out something about your opening line: "Just wanted to let Chrysler know after 20yrs of Chrysler products NEVER AGAIN!" Well, this forum is unaffiliated with Chrysler Group LLC, so unless someone from the company is monitoring it, you're really not telling them anything here. I would suggest contacting the customer service number listed in your owners manual. Just because you may have expressed your grievances with your dealer doesn't mean you have expressed them with the manufacturer. Unfortunately, there is a dealer/manufacturer disconnect and sometimes you just have to bypass the dealer completely.

Regarding your problems, the shifting doesn't sound normal, although its very hard to diagnose over the internet. I certainly don't experience what I'd refer to as "harsh" shifting though I have observed the tendency for the transmission to shift up to sixth gear (assuming you have the six speed) faster than I'd like and for it to hold on to sixth longer than I think it should. As others have pointed out, auto-stick is a good workaround to that problem, but it really isn't that big of an issue for me that I have to resort to it often. Also, someone else mentioned that they reported hard shifting to their tech and, after re flashing the PCM, the shifting was smooth again. So maybe you should insist your dealer do this and perhaps go to another dealer if they refuse.

Lastly, the brake problems have been well documented here and elsewhere but are still perplexing to me. It seems to me that for everyone I find complaining about sub 20,000 mi brake wear, I can find another that has no abnormal brake wear at all. I wont even speculate on that. All I can say is that anyone with a Journey should take advantage of the open spoke rims and just keep an eye on the brakes. I can easily "get a finger on" each brake pad and determine if they are wearing thin. Luckily for me, after 6,600 miles, I can still report a lot of "meat" on my pads. At this rate, they'll be fine by the time my 12,000 mi brake warranty is up, but who knows what they'll be like at 20,000. If I see them getting thin, I can replace the pads a whole lot cheaper than the rotors, and that's the whole point of keeping an eye on them.

[kmac171]

I truly sympathize about the situation with your father and let me offer my condolences. I lost my father recently and he was in pretty bad shape, too.

As for your anti-Chrysler advocacy, that is certainly in your right to do so. I can't say I blame you - I've been outspoken against numerous products/manufacturers over the years that I've felt have done me wrong. I just want to point out something about your opening line: "Just wanted to let Chrysler know after 20yrs of Chrysler products NEVER AGAIN!" Well, this forum is unaffiliated with Chrysler Group LLC, so unless someone from the company is monitoring it, you're really not telling them anything here. I would suggest contacting the customer service number listed in your owners manual. Just because you may have expressed your grievances with your dealer doesn't mean you have expressed them with the manufacturer. Unfortunately, there is a dealer/manufacturer disconnect and sometimes you just have to bypass the dealer completely.

Regarding your problems, the shifting doesn't sound normal, although its very hard to diagnose over the internet. I certainly don't experience what I'd refer to as "harsh" shifting though I have observed the tendency for the transmission to shift up to sixth gear (assuming you have the six speed) faster than I'd like and for it to hold on to sixth longer than I think it should. As others have pointed out, auto-stick is a good workaround to that problem, but it really isn't that big of an issue for me that I have to resort to it often. Also, someone else mentioned that they reported hard shifting to their tech and, after re flashing the PCM, the shifting was smooth again. So maybe you should insist your dealer do this and perhaps go to another dealer if they refuse.

Lastly, the brake problems have been well documented here and elsewhere but are still perplexing to me. It seems to me that for everyone I find complaining about sub 20,000 mi brake wear, I can find another that has no abnormal brake wear at all. I wont even speculate on that. All I can say is that anyone with a Journey should take advantage of the open spoke rims and just keep an eye on the brakes. I can easily "get a finger on" each brake pad and determine if they are wearing thin. Luckily for me, after 6,600 miles, I can still report a lot of "meat" on my pads. At this rate, they'll be fine by the time my 12,000 mi brake warranty is up, but who knows what they'll be like at 20,000. If I see them getting thin, I can replace the pads a whole lot cheaper than the rotors, and that's the whole point of keeping an eye on them.

Believe it or not Chrysler DOES monitor this forum. Many months ago I made several complaints on this forum about this piece of junk and was contacted by a rep from Chrysler. Long story short he sent someone to meet with me and the dealer's service mgr and to take the junker for a ride. This guy sat in the back seat in the middle and watched my foot on the gas pedal to see if I was pushing the pedal up and down to make the car shift hard. WHAT A JOKE! As for the brakes, there is a real problem here. I will assume that most people here would not think that you should have to monitor your brake pads on a NEW car at only 5 or 6000 miles. I have been driving for 30yrs and never have I worn out two pairs of pads in less then 30,000 miles.

So for anyone who thinks Chrylser DOESN'T monitor this forum YOUR WRONG!! (just look for my post a while back)

[WOLF]

Maybe Chrysler do monitor the forum. maybe they don't, the fact of the matter is you have a car your not happy about, like wise with me in the UK, took awhile but got there in the end with a nice beautifully working Car... see thread link..

took nearly 10 months of constant moaning, but i played it by the book, and the result, well speaks for it self.......

but you state you've had Chryslers for 20 years, then, wow... pretty lucky to have not had a duff one in all that time until now...

and yes the internet is also a powerful tool, .. but do you really think, that with all the units they sell, and the fact that there are other Dodge/Chrysler/Journey forums around, that they( "Chrysler") are too worried about your "Threats"... they are probably more interested in the car playing you up!! but you do, in the current climate (financial wise) have to maon a bit loader... but not with threats, they seldom work.....

Long story short he sent someone to meet with me and the dealer's service mgr and to take the junker for a ride. This guy sat in the back seat in the middle and watched my foot on the gas pedal to see if I was pushing the pedal up and down to make the car shift hard. WHAT A JOKE!

............. NO!! Not really, you may be surprised by the amount of people THAT DO fein problems with their vehicles....

and on the other hand, have you taken it to another dealer????

As for the brakes, there is a real problem here. I will assume that most people here would not think that you should have to monitor your brake pads on a NEW car at only 5 or 6000 miles. I have been driving for 30yrs and never have I worn out two pairs of pads in less then 30,000 miles.

........

well. any decent driver will at least once a month check pad wear levels , (they are the only items that stop you after all!!!) but i bet in your 30 years of driving, you've never had a car with NON ASBESTOS based pads/shoes??? as it was the material that slowed downbrake wear... i know in the UK that asbestos based pads/shoes have been banned now for a few years, and yes there is an increase in pad/shoe wear, on many brands, not just Chrysler... but i'll admit the USA vehicles do seem to suffer more than most brands... but then they are based on budgets....

i've been driving about the same amount of time as your self, and never until now had a bad car, have know a few, ( even Toyotas, back in the early 90's) to go wrong, and be "Rogue" cars....

all i can say is try another avenue, even try a direct approach, and get a vehicle inspector involved if needs must, as they can prompt manufacturers quite nicely....

i was not going to comment about the vehicle jerking and hurting/upsetting your late father (condolences by the way) , but even with out a car playing up, just the trip to and from a hospital, can make the sufferer wince.... if you go over a bump of any size in the road... (i know , i lost my first wife to leukemia, 27 years ago now) i know it did not help,(the way the car behalved) and no doubt you were emotionally stressed, (i know i was each trip) ...but to say it was disgusting the car causing the hurt....

i just think that comment is/was wrong....

i do just hope Chrysler gets it sorted.... just don't give up!!!

[dp360]

Believe it or not Chrysler DOES monitor this forum....

If they actually have a person monitoring this forum, I'd be extremely impressed. More likely a bot just searching for keywords, which in and of itself is somewhat impressive.

As for the shift problem, have they even tried to do anything about it? You've made it sound like they refuse to, simply stating that's the just the way it's designed to work. I find it hard to imagine a "head jerking" shift could be perceived by anyone as normal. What if you simply go for a test drive in a brand new Journey - does it behave the same way? If it doesn't, then you clearly have a problem that they should bend over backwards to fix. If if it does behave the same way, then I don't know what to say because I certainly don't experience that. The only thing that I can confirm is it's tendency to hold on to sixth gear longer than it should, but that doesn't sound like your problem.

[jeepgal]

I must not be the only one who had the clunk of junk

[emmie956]

After having my Journey for a year I have had nothing but problems. No one seems to know how to resolve them. I understand your frustration.

[Swerv]

I feel sorry for your loss.

I just purchased a Journey and i must say i am very pleased. No issues yet but i have warranties so we will see what happends.

[palominoblaze]

My 2010 journey was the biggest mistake of my life! With the cruise on, going down a hill the tranny would drop into a lower gear, redlining the tach, sometimes for 2-3 minutes. Too bad the pile of junk didnt blow the engine on my way home from the dealer. Took back to the dealer, was told this is normal and its supposed to work that way. So, I would kick the cruise off while going down hills. Had recalls on the rear doors not locking, would just ratchet up and down. Just the right one was bad, but they fixed both and then the left one wouldnt work right. Had to have the calipers replaced. The final straw was as i was driving home from work and every time i turned a corner, the radio would either change stations, volume, or turn off. Went immediately to a chevrolet dealer and got rid of the wretched thing. I know several other dodge journey owners who also have had nothing but trouble with these monstrosities.

[bramfrank]

21 hours ago, palominoblaze said:

My 2010 journey was the biggest mistake of my life! With the cruise on, going down a hill the tranny would drop into a lower gear, redlining the tach, sometimes for 2-3 minutes. Too bad the pile of junk didnt blow the engine on my way home from the dealer. Took back to the dealer, was told this is normal and its supposed to work that way. So, I would kick the cruise off while going down hills. Had recalls on the rear doors not locking, would just ratchet up and down. Just the right one was bad, but they fixed both and then the left one wouldnt work right. Had to have the calipers replaced. The final straw was as i was driving home from work and every time i turned a corner, the radio would either change stations, volume, or turn off. Went immediately to a chevrolet dealer and got rid of the wretched thing. I know several other dodge journey owners who also have had nothing but trouble with these monstrosities.

Joined just for the post, I guess.

Let me see - you actually BELIEVED the dealer when he said that the cruise redlining the engine was normal?  Why didn't you go to another dealer or at the very least hold his feet to the flames?  Given the track record you reported it sure looks like the clunker was the dealership.

Years ago I had a GM van that had to have the tranny replaced under warranty - they gave it back to me with the shift linkages misadjusted and tried to tell me it was 'normal'.  "Fine", I said, let's take out another van with the same engine/tranny combination and see if it works the same way.  We did.  It didn't.  I managed to get the service manager fired (it was the last of a loooong string of stupid from that man).

As to the radio changing stations; that could have been as simple as you hitting te steering wheel controls, or just some dirt that managed to get into the rotary encoder.

'Several other owners' with issues . . . . quel surprise.

[lmoore1436]

@bramfrank I hate when people do that here, just make a post to complain.

Edited February 25, 2018 by lmoore1436

[lmoore1436]

On 2/24/2018 at 11:59 AM, palominoblaze said:

My 2010 journey was the biggest mistake of my life! With the cruise on, going down a hill the tranny would drop into a lower gear, redlining the tach, sometimes for 2-3 minutes. Too bad the pile of junk didnt blow the engine on my way home from the dealer. Took back to the dealer, was told this is normal and its supposed to work that way. So, I would kick the cruise off while going down hills. Had recalls on the rear doors not locking, would just ratchet up and down. Just the right one was bad, but they fixed both and then the left one wouldnt work right. Had to have the calipers replaced. The final straw was as i was driving home from work and every time i turned a corner, the radio would either change stations, volume, or turn off. Went immediately to a chevrolet dealer and got rid of the wretched thing. I know several other dodge journey owners who also have had nothing but trouble with these monstrosities.

Lol... complaining because an 8 year old car has a few issues? The cruise control is all computer managed... A software update would have probably fixed that. If they "fixed" your locks and they still didn't work right you shouldn't have accepted it back, and brought it back in. I also don't think you are aware that on Dodge vehicles the switch to change volumes, stations, etc. is on the backside of the steering wheel. If you want something in perfect condition you buy a brand new car, older cars are going to develop issues regardless of brands. From what your post implies these weren't even serious issues, which had you of joined sooner and maybe researched a bit you would know that. 

[jkeaton]

I need to make a section titles “useless rants” for posts 

On 2/24/2018 at 11:59 AM, palominoblaze said:

My 2010 journey was the biggest mistake of my life! With the cruise on, going down a hill the tranny would drop into a lower gear, redlining the tach, sometimes for 2-3 minutes. Too bad the pile of junk didnt blow the engine on my way home from the dealer. Took back to the dealer, was told this is normal and its supposed to work that way. So, I would kick the cruise off while going down hills. Had recalls on the rear doors not locking, would just ratchet up and down. Just the right one was bad, but they fixed both and then the left one wouldnt work right. Had to have the calipers replaced. The final straw was as i was driving home from work and every time i turned a corner, the radio would either change stations, volume, or turn off. Went immediately to a chevrolet dealer and got rid of the wretched thing. I know several other dodge journey owners who also have had nothing but trouble with these monstrosities.

 

I need to make a section titled “Useless Rants” for these totally useless one post wonder rants. Lmao

Edited February 26, 2018 by jkeaton

[DFW Rusty]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 10:59 AM, palominoblaze said:

My 2010 journey was the biggest mistake of my life! With the cruise on, going down a hill the tranny would drop into a lower gear, redlining the tach, sometimes for 2-3 minutes. Too bad the pile of junk didnt blow the engine on my way home from the dealer. Took back to the dealer, was told this is normal and its supposed to work that way. So, I would kick the cruise off while going down hills. Had recalls on the rear doors not locking, would just ratchet up and down. Just the right one was bad, but they fixed both and then the left one wouldnt work right. Had to have the calipers replaced. The final straw was as i was driving home from work and every time i turned a corner, the radio would either change stations, volume, or turn off. Went immediately to a chevrolet dealer and got rid of the wretched thing. I know several other dodge journey owners who also have had nothing but trouble with these monstrosities.

 

 

Actually the car down shifting going down hills is normal. Your not thinking the cruise control all the way through. Cruise control is design to maintain a speed and maintain a speed it does. Any newer vehicle will do the same thing. That is one of the reasons why your supposed to turn off your cruise control when in the hill country.

 

[Gatriel]

Can anyone explain to me what a "clunk of junk" actually is?  

I am familiar with the term "hunk of junk", but a "clunk of junk" is a new term to add to my lexicon.