larryl Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I just got my 2011 Journey R/T two weeks ago and I only have 400 km on it. This morning I wake up to move my vehicle's around in the driveway and when I go to brake, my brakes make a loud grinding noise and my vehicle stops alot faster then normal. It feel like my brakes were sticking. It's a rainy day outside but I have never had any issues like this with any of my other car's I've had! I'm going to take it out for a drive soon to see if they will stop sticking, so i will keep everyone posted! Has anybody else had this problem? Should I take the vehicle in to get checked? I would think its the rotors having surface rust from the rain and the pads "grabbing" the rust-after the rust is gone they should smooth out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey1 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I just brought my '09 Journey in for an oil change, and I was told that my brake pads and rotors were to be replaced by a new third-party suppliers parts, since the previous ones were poorly made! I knew of the previous issues with the brakes people were having, and was just accepting of the fact I would need to replace them soon and often. Hearing this from my dealer was definitely good news to my ears. The service writer said that my vehicle was covered under a $100 deductable, which, compared to a full brake job, I was willing to pay. So hopefully others out there will be able to get the same deal I did and get their brakes replaced with these new ones. Got my letter today but for the front brakes only !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug D Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 We now have a '10 Journey SXT, but before that we had a '09 Journey SXT we bought new in March 2008. Summer of 2009 I had to replace the front brakes at the 22K mile mark. Though I never received a letter, I had heard the Caravans were having the same issues (premature brake wear) and it basically had the same brake components as the Journeys. Called Chrysler's Customer Service, got a case #, and submitted the required paperwork (service repair order and method of payment receipt) and within a week I received full reimbursement. I had noticed the original brake pads had a lot of brake dust while the new ones were significantly less. I learned there was an issue with the original supplier who was not compressing the pad material properly during manufacture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerSmitty Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 That is correct, I got the letter in today. 12-24 months / 24.000 miles : $50 deductible 24-36 months / 36.000 miles : $100 deductible No letter yet for me. I just heard about the letter Friday. Although, I already replaced my pads around 25,000 which was back in October. I did them myself because I refused to pay the dealer the ridiculous amount they were saying. Will I get reimbursement since the letter is just now coming out? If not, Dodge will surely hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notsohappy Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Well, since my girlfriend was in an accident serious enough to write off both cars involved and she came out with out a scratch (face first in an airbag even), I think its pretty safe to call the Journey a safe car. That is pretty much the reason why we bought another one. The ongoing brake problem can apparently be solved by moving to higher quality after market rotors (slotted / drilled) and ceramic pads. There are several posts on the forum about where to get these kits and you should be able to get a local garage to install them. Good luck! I understand there are more expensive pads and rotors, but why should we all be suffering because of Dodge's shortcomngs? Why should we have to pay privately? The quality of the brakes is sub standard-Dodge should be addressing THAT! Mine were replaced at under 12K and now at 21 need to be relaced again, as do my rear brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmttoxics Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I understand there are more expensive pads and rotors, but why should we all be suffering because of Dodge's shortcomngs? Why should we have to pay privately? The quality of the brakes is sub standard-Dodge should be addressing THAT! Mine were replaced at under 12K and now at 21 need to be relaced again, as do my rear brakes. You bought a first year model of a new car design. You should expect there to be something wrong. From what I gather, they have switched parts suppliers. There is a post on the forum from a service tech saying the old pads weren't compressed fully or something to that nature causing them to fail prematurely. Of course Dodge wont throw out old stock so it may be a while before the new ones get cycled into service. If it is truly a concern, spend the $100 and move to aftermarket parts so you can forget it ever happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkshaffer Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Forget it ever happened? You must be joking. We have replaced the front brakes on our 2009 Journey with ceramic pads (twice) and replaced the front rotors (twice). We have replaced the rear brake pads and rotors within 20,000 miles. Now we need to buy new tires because the issues with the brakes have caused uneven wear. Chrysler's rebate is a joke. We were reimbursed for the first work on our front brakes just to turn around and put that money right back into fixing the same problems. Aftermarket parts don't make a difference. Insulting to have any of the blame placed on me for buying a new model. Place the blame on the company for making yet another terrible vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journeyshavebadbrakes Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 My 2009 Journey brake light started coming on when I stopped at lights. I took it to my mechanic who found a broken caliper. He spent 2 days trying to find a replacment part with no luck except for a junk yard hundreds of miles away. We called the dealer who said they might have one in 2-3 weeks. Apparently Dodge has finally realized that there is a problem with parts and is remanufacturing. Of course that means that I have no car for the forseeable future. Guess the good news is that maybe there will soon be good replacement parts available that we can spend lots of money on, again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf L. Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 I feel like I should be knocking on every piece of wood I come across!! I have a 2009 SXT AWD bought in Sept of 08. I just finally changed my own brakes after 70,000 km (43,500 miles). I live 7 hrs from the dealership (who BTW is a jerk anyway), and Canadian Tire wanted $800 to do it, so I bought a full set of cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads from eBay for $300 and had my buddy help me. I followed the brake in procedure that came with the brakes and two days later the car went on a 3500 km road trip. Brakes are still fine; no squeak, squeal, fade, pull, weird pedal feel. Definitely keeping my fingers crossed on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerner Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 I feel like I should be knocking on every piece of wood I come across!! I have a 2009 SXT AWD bought in Sept of 08. I just finally changed my own brakes after 70,000 km (43,500 miles). I live 7 hrs from the dealership (who BTW is a jerk anyway), and Canadian Tire wanted $800 to do it, so I bought a full set of cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads from eBay for $300 and had my buddy help me. I followed the brake in procedure that came with the brakes and two days later the car went on a 3500 km road trip. Brakes are still fine; no squeak, squeal, fade, pull, weird pedal feel. Definitely keeping my fingers crossed on this. which set on ebay did you buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 Forget it ever happened? You must be joking. We have replaced the front brakes on our 2009 Journey with ceramic pads (twice) and replaced the front rotors (twice). We have replaced the rear brake pads and rotors within 20,000 miles. Now we need to buy new tires because the issues with the brakes have caused uneven wear. Chrysler's rebate is a joke. We were reimbursed for the first work on our front brakes just to turn around and put that money right back into fixing the same problems. Aftermarket parts don't make a difference. Insulting to have any of the blame placed on me for buying a new model. Place the blame on the company for making yet another terrible vehicle. brake problems will NOT cause uneven wear on your tires ,no way. it is either the front end problems or just a tire problem . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chryslerguy Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Not sure if all of you are aware...but the issue is apparently being addressed on later build dates: http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/index.php?/topic/3062-12s-with-awd-have-bigger-brakes/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 yes maybee on the 2012 but 2011 and earlier still having some problems, had to have my front rotors turned at 10k so far no more problems at 21k but going on a long trip to vegas next week for 2 months will see if all goes well. will get my last oil change out there and try to have them use syn. oil my regular dealer didnt have none in stock last oil change may have to but some and see if they give me 5 quarts of reg oil in exchange for me getting the syn for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 I am like Olaf L. I must be fortunate and have a good Journey (knock on wood). I bought a 09 used a couple of years ago with about 50,000 km (30,000 miles). Dealer had just done the front brakes when it was traded in. Rear brakes were not touched at that time. I now have 100,000 km (60,000 miles) and just did the rear brakes today. They were totaly wore out and one pad a rivet was just touching the rotor. Checked front brakes and they look almost new. Lots of pad left and rotors are in good shape. May need to turn front rotors as I have a slight vibration in the steering wheel when braking (sometimes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Official Dodge Support DodgeCACares Posted October 18, 2012 Official Dodge Support Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 I am like Olaf L. I must be fortunate and have a good Journey (knock on wood). I bought a 09 used a couple of years ago with about 50,000 km (30,000 miles). Dealer had just done the front brakes when it was traded in. Rear brakes were not touched at that time. I now have 100,000 km (60,000 miles) and just did the rear brakes today. They were totaly wore out and one pad a rivet was just touching the rotor. Checked front brakes and they look almost new. Lots of pad left and rotors are in good shape. May need to turn front rotors as I have a slight vibration in the steering wheel when braking (sometimes). Wingit, Glad to see you are happy with your DJ! Just make sure you let your dealer know about the intermittent vibration so they can look in to it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueBOhio Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 I posted my brake problems just prior to your post . . . I was told I needed new brakes and rotors as well. I drive a 2011 with 33,000 miles on it. If this was the first year with this problem, I might have some sympathy for Dodge. Since it is the 3rd year, and has included an upgrade/update on their braking system, I'm less inclined to feel sorry for them. If they would just offer a resolution to this problem . . . . An extended warranty is a band-aid, and a short-term selective one at that. Own up to the error, fix the quality of the parts, and make the customer happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingit11 Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 Wingit, Glad to see you are happy with your DJ! Just make sure you let your dealer know about the intermittent vibration so they can look in to it for you. Wife mentioned that the slight vibration is still there. I was going to have the front rotors skimmed (if enough material left) and see if that resolves it. Don't think it is wheel balance as I have just changed over to winter tires and no change in vibration. If that does not resolve it I guess it is into my dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I have a 2011 Dodge Journey with 15,000 clicks on it and I just had the all brake pads and all four rotors replaced by the dealer. After they had done the work I asked if it was covered by warrenty,(I have 7 years full coverage) They hesitated but when I questioned why the brake system had to be replaced after only 15 ks they agreed it would be covered by warrenty. I'm happy that they covered it but I have to question why it was needed. Normal driving is set a 20,000 kms per year. Considering that to replace the rotors and pads would cost in the vicinity of $500.00 by the dealer it looks like I have a vehicle that will cost $500.00 each year in Brake repair. I would consider that a bit extreme to say the least. If I had known that prior to buying it's obivous I would not have bought the vehicle. What happens the next time, will I have to cover the cost myself for something that is and was defective from the start. From what I am reading they are replacing the defective items wit the same original items. Wouldn't it make sense to replace them with better quality products. From the worksheet I received the repairman state that the rotors were rusted and pitted. He didn't mention anything about wear which could be considered the owners responsibality so I guess defective material is also the owners problem. I think it might be time to look elsewher when buying my next vehicle. Any make of vehicle can have defective parts but it is the responsibilaty of the dealer to replace those parts with parts that correct the problem. Oh well, I'l have to wait and see how the next year goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarineCorpsSki Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 I have a 2011 Mainstreet. I am taking it in Monday to find out what all is wrong with my brakes. They shimmy and pulse as well. I have had it in earlier for a Brake concern. No brake dust on front rims, back ones would be black with brake dust! I don't use the ebrake! They said nothing wrong, brakes were functioning properly! Yeah right, my @$$! My Journey is just over a year old and have 21,000 miles. Depending on cost and problems I may just bite the bullet and get aftermarket rotors and pads all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munner Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Has anyone had problems with SCREECHING brakes. Two weeks after I bought my Journey in December, 2011, a horrible screeching started coming from the front brakes!! I have returned the vehicle to the Dealer on a number of occasions,and they have been completely useless. At first they tried to tell me it was hoar frost forming on my brake pads (I live in BC, and the vehicle is garaged every night!!!) Then they replaced the brake pads which helped for 12 hours. Finally, they told me that there was nothing else they could do: I WOULD JUST HALF TO PUT UP WITH IT!!!! The brakes screech so loudly, that it is downright embarrassing. They were filming a TV show near where I live, and I had to stop where they were filming. The screech was so loud, it ruined the scene, and they had to do it over again. I could have crawled under the seat!! But it is not JUST when I start out. Last Fall I crossed the border, and to save gas, I would turn off the car until the line moved. EVERY TIME I started up the car again (a wait of maybe 30 seconds to a minute) the brakes started screeching again. It has reached the point where I apologize for the noise when I come to the border, or to a parking attendant to pay for parking. You should hear it there, where it echoes off the walls!!!! I have written to Chrysler Canada, the dealer, Richmond Chrysler/Dodge, have been of NO USE WHATSOEVER.. Can anyone tell me if they have had the same problem and fixed it, or if they have a suggestion as to what to do?? I like the vehicle, but this has ruined all enjoyment for me, and I am sure will affect the trade in or sale value of this SUV. Would YOU want a vehicle that sounds like that?? I sure don't. I TRUSTED the dealer to treat me fairly and deal with this, and they have let me down!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germax Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 I had my front rotors replaced once again this time after 21.000 miles, 11 months only. Agreed to pay for the rotors only, cost, $190.00. Wrote to Chrysler, hope to get some more back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humansoul Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I posted on another thread about brake problems on my '11 Dodge Journey Crew. After getting the rotors machined, the brakes started having issues again with shuddering noises after 2500km and I've brought it back to the dealership to investigate. I decided to call Dodge Customer Care to submit a report as at this point it's getting a little ridiculous and I am really considering getting rid of the the Journey. Will keep you updated as to what the dealership says this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germax Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 I would not get rid of the car because of the bad brakes. If you play it right they will at least pay for the installation. If my brakes perform well for the next 20.000 miles and need to replace a part, then i will just call and ask for a proper solution. My car always goes to the dealership, have them do the oil change, fuel system clean, trans fluid change, tires. I will pay a little more to the dealership, but they help me to get only co-pays for real Chrysler parts. I spend less over the long run. I will get rid of the car once I hit 100.000 miles,which will in 18 months, and I am sure that I could not have driven a spacious car for less then the Journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humansoul Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 According to the dealership, the pads were not aligned after the machining of the rotors that were done last month, so the contact was not 100% and thus causing the shuddering noise to re-appear. The recommendation was to replace the brake pads, which they should have recommended at that time. They did offer free labour, but I would have to pay for the parts. I spoke to Dodge Customer Care and also relayed the message to the service manager. They understood my frustration and the fact that it was partially their fault for not recommending the replacement and in turn replaced it for free as a goodwill gesture. Overall, I am satisfied with the outcome, however, only time will tell as to what occurs when I reach the 50K mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) i have had my rotors turned by dealer at 11k then had to have them replaced at 29k by dealer they didnt want to cover it but i raised hell about them turning them at 11k and should have replaced them then they offered free install if i would pay for rotors and pads and when they told me how much i told them they were crazy that i could do it my self with after market parts for 1/4 their price and started to walk away the manager came after me and offered a goodwill full replacement on them i said okay. BUT when they go bad again i will replace the rotors and pads myself as not sure of the quality of the chrysler parts being used at this time. changing out the pads and rotors is not that hard go to you tube and watch a vidio on it .i do my daughters mail van ( dodge caravan) and it takes less than 1 hr parts are about $57 for pads and rotors (have only been changed once due to her fault for letting them go to long)about $65 for 2 of them.ALSO i dont believe in turning rotors as you only make them thinner thus making them easier to warp ,always replace them not that much more $$$$$ in the long run................. P. S. have about 46k on it now so far okay on the brakes Edited May 24, 2013 by 2late4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.