Need 2012 Journey R/T Impressions

[lg68jcu]

Hey All,

I am stuggling with the Sorta practical Charger R/T and the more practical Journey R/T. I am a more spirited driver (Last 3 cars Neon R/T, Mazda 6s & Pontiac G8). I want the Charger for its 13 second quarter mile but I have 3 small kids and the Journey keeps entering my mind. I want a sporty mid size cross over if I dont go the Charger route but want to stay domestic. I just dont find anything with 280+ HP besides the Ford Edge which is ubber expensive. If I go with a 5 seater it needs 58" plus hip room in the 2nd row for my 3 car seats which no car/suv has beside my G8 has. The Charger has 56.1 in the rear and it wont fit my seats until my middle child is in a booster which is next spring. With 3 kids under 5 the journey seems more practical.

I am wondering how sporty of a suspension etc. the Journey has. Am I able to drive it like I stole it? Push it hard in corners, Will it hold up to daily 0-40, 0-80 runs? I want a sports sedan but if it makes sense to go suv I need it to be sporty and able to withstand some abuse. Its mainly a DD for me but needds to be able to drive all 3 kids on occation. My car is a mainly a daily driver and I am usually by myself.

Just wondering what other R/T owners think about their Journey. What is the 0-60 time and quarter mile if anyone every took one to the track? Are there CAIs available? Anyone modify their exhaust?

Thanks Everyone

[Mcgusto82]

The journey is very practical indeed. Sporty?? Honestly I don't think so ( not with the 17"s anyway). The suspension is fine, smooth, but the steering is overly boosted. Feels loose, not a lot of road feedback.

The 0-60 runs are... Idk how to explain it.. Lots of torque, moves WITH authority, but doesn't have that jump you're prolly expecting with the pentastar. The tranny doesn't drop gears fast enough when you're merging on the hyway.

I say all of this because I also drive a 2011 grand caravan.

It's even more practical, and it's faster. It's feels faster! The tranny drops more gears, and it does it faster. And there's more road feedback, and well weighted.

Another thing, 3 kids, means 3rd row right? So that really narrows your search. The edge is 2 row SUV. Cost more too. Drive them both. There's also the flex, it's 3 row.

[Mcgusto82]

Oh another thing. If you're willing to pay flex limited or edge fully loaded money, then you might as well check out the Durango RT with the HEMI.

[silentdan]

Or try the KIA Sorento,I test drove that car with the v6 and I was suprised .

[CCCacher]

I feel qualified to give my opinion on this. I traded a 2006 Impala SS for a 2012 Journey R/T Rallye.

You can't really compare the performance, the journey is not a performance SUV. My Impala was fast off the line and cornered pretty good, the journey off the line isn't overly impressive but has pretty good pull at speed to pass. I guess the low end torque isn't that good but improves when the RPM's are around 3-4K, the transmission is also a little lazy but that is a common complaint. The steering ratio isn't as good either, I find I have to turn the wheel more to get the same turning circle (I go through a tight traffic circle every morning and it requires more steering in the journey). I'm not finding I'm saving much in gas either but I've only gone through a few tanks of gas so far and I'm pushing the journey a little more.

That said, I'm really enjoying the journey. It has way more technology that my Impala, much better air conditioning and fits the family better. I like the looks and the 19" rims are great. It still has pretty good performance all things considered. I find the ride nicer, don't need to worry about bumps as much. The extra space inside is great, really roomy. A car was not meeting the needs of my hobbies, I needed something with some ground clearance and more room so the journey was a good choice.

If you are looking for a SUV with performance power, you are probably not going to find it domestically. Given an unlimited budget I would have looked at a BMW X3 or X5 but for the price point I am happy so far.

[redtomatoman]

I have a 2011 R/T. Basically the same. The journey is a crossover. Not amazingly sporty, but for a 7 seater it's fairly sporty. Great technology and a lively engine. Some complain about the computer tuning being more for MPG. Yeah, it is. Use the manual shifter if you want. Nice to get 25-27 MPG on the freeway though. If find the suspension to be good on hard turns with plenty of anti-sway. Drive the thing. For a CUV, I think its pretty sporty. I can probably do 0-60 in the mid to upper 7's. Good luck.

Peace.

[Windancer]

Just wondering what other R/T owners think about their Journey.

As others have pointed out, the Journey isn't a Ferrari but I really don't think people expect it to be, or at least they shouldn't. In my case I went from a Dodge Caravan and a convertible to my R/T. I needed a car to carry all my sports gear, 4 boards and sails and booms for windsurfing to my 2 17' touring kayaks. IMO the Journey does this very well and I am very happy with it.

Terry

[lg68jcu]

I still have my G8 and we bought a 2012 town and country a few months ago. I am really impressed with the town and country and this is why I even added the journey in the discussion with the Charger R/T for my car. I am impressed with the new 3.6 power wise especially for a 5K lbs vehicle. It kinda caught me off gaurd the first time i let her rip. The power is steady and then really winds up and peaks pretty good. I had a 2008 grand caravan before with the 3.8 so the difference was very noticable. The milage on the T&C is great too. We are averaging 21-22 mpg. Given all of this I am assuming the performance and milage would be better on a journey. especially with a sports suspension (I believe the r/t has suspension upgrades over the SXT/CREW). I think it should give me enough get up and go while being practical.

When I compare the Charger vs. Journey I know that the 3 across the back will be a tight squeeze in the Charger and may be dificult for the kids to get in and out themselves. I know they will be able to fit but it would be nice if they didnt all need my help to get in. The thing with that too is all 3 kids are in my car at the same time maybe once a month so its something I could deal with if performance is that important to me.

7 seating question for you guys. I have a 2 year old, 3 year old and 5 year old today. How would you envision them seating in a Journey. Are you able to fit 2 boosters in the back when my 3 year old turns 4? And in my current situation I have 2 in regular forward facing carseats and one in a booster. My booster rider should probably go in the back with one of the carseat kids. With the flip forward access to the 3rd row will that give me ample room to easily put the child in his car seat? Does it flip forward enough and give me enough room to put the 2 kids in their car seats (One in the 2nd row and one in the third)?

Is it still true that there isnt a tune available or the computer is not tunable? I can always design a CAI in do some exhaust modifications if I need more go. power to weight ratio should give this car a low to mid 15 quarter which would be acceptable .

[jchaters]

I have a new 2012 RT with only 900 km. Was driving hia 2009 Caravan. The Journey is not a high end such but for the price it is an excellent vehicle so far. Stereo is great, navigation is excellent. Lester interior is nice and climate control works well. Quick enough for me. So far so good. Jim

[Lebowski]

Great technology

If you refer to the infotainment and electronic accessories, a) it's just average and b ) it doesn't work (at least in my car).

Edited August 1, 2012 by Lebowski

[redtomatoman]

If you refer to the infotainment and electronic accessories, a) it's just average and b ) it doesn't work (at least in my car).

Ok, maybe I overstated slightly. The technology is good. I have a few beefs with Uconnect. The Gracenotes album art integration is silly, but that does not affect functionality. I leave it off and have no album art on anything because the Gracenotes database goofs up some of the artist's names and I can't find them on an alphabetical search. Dodge engineers could have smacked it out of the park on the WOW factor here, but they went down swinging. I'm still moderately hopeful for an update for the album art. And for the 2011, the voice command system works excellent for phone calls (which is what I use it for), but not so much for the stereo (I do not use and would not use this function anyway). Currently my Uconnect text function (I think I have this) is limited by my gen 1 motorola droid. I'm hoping that I can utilize that function in the future. I hate texting but everyone else seems to love it. Texting is silly, but I guess I gotta roll with it. According to the lack of responses on my thread concerning texting, I get the idea that either no Journey owners use the texting functionality or Journeys are not equipped. Not sure which.

The short answer here is that Uconnect could be better. Find me any system for anything that can't be improved, and I'll laugh at you. I've been happy with the technology in my DJ. Some key updates would make me very happy. . .

Peace.

[Lebowski]

As I said, in my car (which has a the dreaded Uconnect 4.3, the 8.4 wasn't available at the time) even the basic functionality doesn't work. I don't ask for improvements (though they'd be welcome), I'd just like them to fix the bugs (radio not starting, mp3 skipping, search not working, etc.).

I also miss a rain sensor, but I won't complain too much since I knew it wasn't there (though I expected the automatic lights to work better).

[redtomatoman]

I don't ask for improvements (though they'd be welcome), I'd just like them to fix the bugs (radio not starting, mp3 skipping, search not working, etc.).

Not sure exactly what you mean regarding the radio not starting. I haven't heard of that as a problem. I have heard (as I'm sure you have too through this forum) about the radio starting loudly on engine start up, there is a TSB for that. The mp3 skipping baffles me. I think bug is an adequate label. Not sure what causes that. I get the idea it is related to the Uconnect's attempt at voice control for music. It seems as if the Uconnect system does not just passively play an iPod, it actually takes it over and attempts to catalog the music for VC. The skipping may be some sort of a buffering capacity issue. Not sure. My search issue is related to Gracenotes. I have turned my Gracenotes off and forgone my album art in favor of the abc search functionality.

Peace.

[doubleO7]

I have had my R/T for just over a month now, and find there are a few quirks with the infotainment. Nothing to get me rattled enough to say I hate the system or take away from my enjoyment of the R/T,

IPOD:

When I use the voice command to find a piece of music I like from my IPOD, it goes to the song but immediately skips to the next one.

As for alpha listing, versus play list order for albums, I only have one album that should be played in play list order, so not a big deal, but would be nice if there was an update in the future.

Satellite radio

Another quirk occurs once in a while when I first start up the vehicle, the satellite radio, defaults to 40s on 4.

And then for some reason, when I say the command , it tunes in a station that is not preset 7.

So, I use the touch screen for preset 7 now.

But compared to my friends Lincoln with Sync, I like the system in the Journey much better.

Cheers

DoubleO7

[Lebowski]

Not sure exactly what you mean regarding the radio not starting.

Just like that: everything else works but the radio doesn't. Dead. If you were using the radio before, you'll see the radio screen but with no sound and none of the touch buttons working. If you were listening to another source and press the radio button, the screen doesn't change to the radio and there is no sound. The only solution is to turn off and on the engine, hoping that the radio starts.

The mp3 skipping baffles me. I think bug is an adequate label. Not sure what causes that. I get the idea it is related to the Uconnect's attempt at voice control for music.

There's no voice control for music in the 4.3, only for phone calls, the mp3 drop outs are linked to radio rds function.

[redtomatoman]

the mp3 drop outs are linked to radio rds function.

OK, so the mp3 files skip because of the way the Uconnect system was engineered? What is the radio rds function? I've never heard of that.

Peace.

[redtomatoman]

Just like that: everything else works but the radio doesn't. Dead. If you were using the radio before, you'll see the radio screen but with no sound and none of the touch buttons working. If you were listening to another source and press the radio button, the screen doesn't change to the radio and there is no sound. The only solution is to turn off and on the engine, hoping that the radio starts.

Wow that is weird. So this is an established problem that Dodge/Fiat has no fix for? Dodge would be ripping my 8.4 out of the dash and installing a new one if my radio did not work! I'd be hot, I'm sure. Have you been to different dealers to see if anyone can figure this out? I'd either drive straight to the dealer when this happened or I'd video record it on my phone to show the dealer what the radio does.

Peace.

[Lebowski]

OK, so the mp3 files skip because of the way the Uconnect system was engineered? What is the radio rds function? I've never heard of that.

RDS is Radio data system, a way that FM stations use to transmit information alongside the audio (i.e. station name, short information about the currently broadcasting program, a list of alternative frequency the same station can be found, a flag telling the current broadcast is a traffic bulletin, etc.).

Using alternative frequency you can tune to the same station while traveling: when the signal drops, the radio will check that if any of the other frequency is better and carries the same station, in that case it switches to that frequency.

Apparently this is what causes the drop outs in mp3 reproduction.

BTW: the broadcast station name is 8 characters, the radio only shows 3. A cheap after market radio from the '80 could display the complete name.

Wow that is weird. So this is an established problem that Dodge/Fiat has no fix for? Dodge would be ripping my 8.4 out of the dash and installing a new one if my radio did not work! I'd be hot, I'm sure. Have you been to different dealers to see if anyone can figure this out?

Nope, but I contacted FIAT customer support (with my extensive list of problems, this is just one of them), which gave me the same useless answer: "There's no fix for it yet"

I'd either drive straight to the dealer when this happened or I'd video record it on my phone to show the dealer what the radio does.

I'll try that but I doubt it will lead to a solution

[Lebowski]

This is a video of the radio not starting. Notice also that, at 1:10, when I press the player button and it briefly plays from the CD, it shows "Unknown" instead of the artist name. The same CD showed the artist name before the first update.

[redtomatoman]

I can see why you call the radio a POS. I'd be frustrated if that was my experience with the radio. Honestly, I'd complain until the dealer either fixed it to my satisfaction or outright replaced the radio. I'd aim for the latter. I feel your pain. It will likely take some perseverance on your part, but if you're unhappy, make them fix it. Best of Luck to you.

Peace.

[Mcgusto82]

I'm s very patient man. I'd be upset.

My wife is -30 on the inpatient scale. She'd be furious if this was happening to her new car.

I mean, that's why people buy new cars instead of used ones. To avoid problems with cars.

That radio is outright broken.

[Lebowski]

And that's not the most annoying problem (at least for me). It bugs me much more than with such a gorgeous screen they can only show 3 characters of the station name, ditto for the presets buttons. Oh, and here's a video I found about the mp3 skipping, not made by me but it's the same problem:

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[Lebowski]

That radio is outright broken.

The real problem is, they do acknowledge the problems, but they say there's no fix for it. I don't want to be obnoxious, so I just call them once or maybe twice a month, but for the last 10 months that's been the standard answer.

[Mcgusto82]

so ALL freemonts in Spain have this happen to them at random times??

[Lebowski]

Well, I cannot say since I don't own all the freemonts in Spain (all 10 of them , no, seriously, they sold less than a thousand here), but I suppose so, yes, unless they wrote a special version of the software to piss me off ).

And it's not limited to Spain (the second video is from an Italian user, where, unsurprisingly, the freemont has been much more successful).

Most newer freemonts come with the 8.4 though, and supposedly it isn't that bad.