I've had it with this 2011 Journey and lack of service! (LONG POST)

[Dre]

First off, I have to say we absolutely love our 2011 Dodge Journey. Unfortunately we were dealt a bad hand and need to deal with what you would either call a lemon or a very long string of bad luck. I'm posting this because I need a place to vent right now. I'm so frustrated with the vehicle and the service I'm getting I don't know what else to do at this point. Anyways, if anyone cares to read on, here's my experience. Sorry for the extremely long post!

We purchased our 2011 Journey RT (AWD) at the end of May 2011. I’ll try to be as accurate as possible with all the problems but since this has been going on for such a long time, things tend to get a bit blurry. I suppose I could pull out all my service reports but I don’t have the patience at the moment so I’ll go by memory.

Problem #1 - Backup camera fails so they order a new one. After about a week I get a call that the new camera has arrived so I schedule an appointment a few days later. I get to the dealership and they tell me the backup camera never came in so they're not sure why I was told otherwise. Ok, people make mistakes I'll just wait and come back. The camera comes in a few days later and is replaced. No big deal at this point.

Problem #2 – I stop for gas and since my wife is with me, I press the start button to put it on ACC and for some reason the starter kicks in and starts to crank over and over again but the engine isn’t starting. I’m not sure how but I finally get it to stop after about 30 seconds of cranking. The dealer does an update and the problem hasn’t happened since.

Problem #3 - I buy new 16" rims and Michelin xice tires from Canadian Tire. They do the install since it's free with the purchase. A few days later I feel a vibration in the seat so I bring it back to Canadian Tire and they re-balance. Problem doesn't go away so they check again and tell me I have to go where I bought my rims because one of them must be bent. They don’t find any problems but offer to replace two rims in case. The vibration never goes away. They tell me everything seems to balance well and suggest that it may be a defective tire. I go back to Canadian Tire and they agree to order two new tires. It takes 2 months for the tires to arrive and after they’re installed, it does feel a bit better but I can still feel a vibration. At this point it's time to switch back to my factory wheels because winter is over so I figure good that way I will be able to know if the problem really is with the winter wheels. After I get everything swapped out, the vibration is still there so at this point there's no doubt in my mind the problem isn't with the tires and wheels since it does it with both the winter and summer setups. So I get the problem checked out at the dealership and they tell me they need to replace the drive shaft because it’s “binding”. Once they get that replaced, I’m on my way home and guess what, still vibrating! (Don’t they test the vehicles after repair?)

Problem #4 – Now at about 33 000 kms I'm starting to not only feel a vibration in the seats but also in the steering and especially when I brake. I’m already aware the Journeys have issues with brakes so I was somewhat expecting this. I bring it in to get the brakes looked at. After charging me $60 for a brake inspection they tell me I need new rear brakes (approx. $400-$600). After a few phone calls to my salesman, he says they will agree to pay for the service if I pay for the parts. I agree but I’m still pissed that I need to replace brakes on a vehicle that’s only a year old. The new brakes still squeal every now and then. I’m also still feeling a vibration in the seats after the new brakes are installed! At this point it’s a running joke in our family and we start calling it the Dodge vibrator.

Problem #5 – My wife is out visiting some friend and as she turns into a driveway to change her direction, she hears a loud pop. A bunch of lights come on in the console, there’s a loud grinding noise when making right hand turns and she needs to hold the steering wheel about ¼ turn for the Journey to go straight! I switch cars with her and bring the Journey straight to the dealer. They find that one of the struts is bent! Nobody can explain to me how this could happen out of the blue without getting into an accident or anything. They end up replacing the strut and strut mount. I pick up the vehicle and, as I’m driving home, I can hear a loud grinding noise in the front right tire (don’t they test the vehicles after repair?). Vibration in the seat is also still present. I make another appointment and they find the right front wheel bearing needs to be replaced. I’m still feeling a vibration when I head home. As I take a closer look at the service report, I notice part of it says something like this "tested on the highway - vibration present in front....rotated tires, tested on highway - vibration gone". So I guess what they basically did is move the vibration to the rear where I can't feel it as much but it was definitely still there. So I make another appointment. When I go pick up my Journey, they tell me the wheels were out of balance and that they couldn’t get it solved with the equipment they had so they took it to the Subaru dealer next door and had them do a Road force balance. They then said that I owed them $70 for this even though nobody had called to ask if it was ok to proceed. I was so pissed at this point I told them I would go for a drive first because I wasn’t convinced the problem was solved and then we would talk about the money. Seeing how mad I was, the service manager said he would hop in with me and after going for a drive and listening to the horror story of all the problems I’d had with them so far, he agreed to drop the $70 charge. The vibration finally seems to be gone although I still feel like it’s there for the first 10-15 minutes after the Journey has been sitting in the garage for a couple hours. Maybe it takes time for the tires to warm up? The transmission isn’t as smooth as it was when I first got it either. It’s like it shudders while accelerating sometimes and also when going uphill it seems a little bit jerky. I read on another forum that a fix may be coming soon for this. We’ll see if that helps.

Problem #6 – The popup mirror in the overhead console breaks. The replacement comes in and they tell me they need to order another one because they ordered the wrong color. When the second one comes in, the color still doesn’t match so they finally decide to order a whole new console to make sure the color is all the same. It’s finally replaced after several weeks wait.

Problem #7 – My touch screen started to flicker every now and then to the point where it would eventually go black and I couldn’t use it at all. After taking a look, the dealer said my radio needed to be changed so they ordered a new one and said they would call me when it gets there. Two weeks later I hadn’t heard back so I call to see what the ETA was. The service guy says he’s not sure what happened but no radio was ever ordered. He says he will do it right away but he needs my Sirius ID to do the order. The last guy never even mentioned this so obviously he never did the order. After waiting for about 3-4 weeks total my new radio is finally in. We were planning a trip to the US so I make sure to schedule my appointment a few days before. Boy was that ever a bad idea. After getting my keys from the service desk, I hop in the Journey and press the SAT option to re-add my satellite favorites and a message pops up saying I have no signal. So I walk right back in and tell them about this and their response is “the Sirius service is probably just down at the moment or you must be in a spot with no signal”. That’s funny, the signal was working fine when I dropped the vehicle in the morning and it was parked at about the same spot. So to satisfy them, I hop in my Journey, go for a drive around the block and still nothing. They then tell me it’s probably because I haven’t activated my new radio yet. So from the dealership parking lot, I call up Sirius. The support guy basically tells me that if I get a no signal message, it means there’s something wrong with my antenna connection. I walk right back in and tell them this. The service guy then makes me hop in the car with him and call up Sirius while he’s there so he can hear the exact same response! I basically had to explain to the service guy that no matter if my subscription is active or not, I need to have a signal otherwise, how would the unit even know I’m subscribed! So he brings the Journey back in the garage and I sit in the waiting room for another hour. They eventually try an external antenna and they get a signal right away so they tell me they need to order a couple cables. This would have been around October 23^rd. So since I would have no satellite radio on my trip, I figured I would load some music on a USB stick. I plug it in and nothing happens. I try plugging in my iPhone, no power. The USB port is also dead. I call them up when I get back from my trip and they say they’ll order a cable for that also. So about two weeks later, after about two weeks with no satellite radio, no USB connection and a flickering screen, I call again. They tell me two of the three cables are in but the third one is on back-order and the ETA is around the 22^nd of November. I was not a happy camper!

Problem #8 – So while we still wait for the cables to arrive, we buy our daughter a new Christmas CD and she really wants to listen to it on the way home. As the CD starts spinning, there’s a loud chirping sound. I figure there’s a problem with the CD so I try another CD my wife just bought a couple days before. It does the same thing. To be 100% sure I try both CD’s in my old car. No chirping. So I make another appointment and sit in the waiting room while they check out the CD player. An hour later they tell me they need to replace the radio again and that it will be there in about a week. This ends up being at around the same time the cable is supposed to arrive so I tell them I’ll wait until they have everything and have it all fixed at the same time. Around the 22^nd of November I call them up to schedule the appointment. The parts guy tells me the cable still hasn’t come in and that it now says December 6^th for the ETA. I ask to speak with the parts manager and give him an earful and ask him if they’re going to pay my Sirius subscription for the time I’ve lost because of them. He pretty much brushes it off and says he can’t do anything about that. They give me the Chrysler Canada customer service number and say I can check with them. Chrysler Canada tells me if the dealership screwed up my satellite radio, they would be the ones responsible for issuing a refund. I call the service manager again and tell him since they won’t do anything for me, I would like them to replace my radio and two of the three cables they do have right away in case it may actually fix something while I wait for the third cable. He agrees so I book the appointment and bring in the Journey the morning of November 30^th. I had been told the cable install would take about 4 hours so when my phone rang at 10AM that morning I already knew something wasn’t right. They tell me they swapped out my radio but out of the two cables they had actually received, they had ordered the wrong cable so since they only had one of three cables now; it wasn’t worth doing the swap. So I ask to talk to the parts manager once more and I give him an earful again. He tells me that cable they messed up with will arrive in about a week. I ask him if the other one is still scheduled for December 6^th and he tells me it has been pushed AGAIN and I’m now looking at an ETA of December 12! I’m livid at this point. When I bring up the fact that I have to pay for two months’ worth of Sirius subscription he has the nerve to say “well if your power goes out does the power company give you a refund”. Excuse me! When the power goes out I’m not being billed for what I don’t use! I finally calm down and he says he will call the Detroit plant or something like this and see what he can do about speeding up the delivery and then he will call me back in a few minutes. 3 hours later I still haven’t received a call! So I call him up and he says he got buried in paperwork and doesn’t even apologize for not calling back. He tells me he found a cable at another dealership and he offered to buy it from them and pay the shipping but they refused to release it so there’s nothing else he can do for me. At this point I ask who I can talk to that’s above him. He tells me that would be the owner but he’s not there at the moment. He tells me he will leave my name and number with him and I should get a call back. So a little later I go pick up my Journey. The parts manager ends up being at the desk so he’s the one who hands me my keys. He then tells me he bumped into the owner and that he said to give me a refund for my two months Sirius service and that we shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. All this fighting for a $30 refund and they don’t want to make a big deal out of this!? Wow! So I then hop in my Journey and the first thing I do is put a CD to make sure they actually changed the radio. I proceed to watch the CD go in the drive, make some strange noise, and spit it right out! I figure ok its cold out maybe it’s just a fluke. So I grab a different CD, warm it up a little bit and try again. Spits it back out! (Don’t they test the parts after repair!?!) So I walk back in and tell the parts manager to follow me. He sits next to me and watches the CD go in and out a couple times as I’m shaking my head. At this point I’m so exhausted with this whole thing I’m not saying anything. We go back in and he proceeds to order a new radio for the third time. As I’m driving back home, I press the SAT button and to my surprise, I have a signal again. I then proceed to plug a USB stick and that works too! I still have the same flickering and CD player problems though so I haven’t called because I want to make sure they don’t cancel my cables. I’m definitely not taking that chance.

So as of right now, a month and a half later, I’m still waiting for my flickering screen to get fixed and they need to replace the radio for the third time. On top of all this, as if it wasn’t bad enough, I just learned a few weeks ago that the dealership was bought out by another car dealing company in town and both the salesman and sales manager I dealt with when buying the Journey have left. I feel like I have nowhere to turn.

So that’s how my Dodge Journey experience has been for the past two years. It’s too bad I have to hate a vehicle that I love so much. The worst part of all this is, if the service would have been half decent, the fact that I have so many problems may not have bothered me as much. I’m now sitting at 48000kms and for the first time since I’ve owned a vehicle, I didn’t take an extended warranty. What a tough way to learn a lesson. I know one thing is for sure, when I’m done with this radio issue, that dealership won’t ever see my face again. I have decided to try another Dodge dealer in my area but at this point this will most likely be the last Dodge I ever purchase.

Thank you for listening!

Problem summary (May 2011 to Present):

- Backup camera fails

- Starter cranking issue

- Vibration problems

- Rear brakes replaced at 33000kms (still squealing at times)

- Drive shaft replaced

- Bent strut replaced

- Strut mount replaced

- Wheel bearing replaced

- Road force balancing needed for original wheels and tires

- Vehicle shudders at times (mostly accelerating and going uphill)

- Overhead console replaced

- Touch screen flickering (still not fixed)

- Radio replaced

- No satellite service and USB port for 1.5 months)

- CD player chirping

- Radio replaced for a second time

- CD player spitting out CD's (still not fixed)

- Radio will be replaced for the third time

Edited December 6, 2012 by Dre

[rolly]

Wow, I can see why you're upset and have every right to be. It's amazing that there are so many happy Journey owners and yet there are serious issues with some dealers that boggle the mind. As a long time employee of Chrysler and now a retiree I have owned many Dodge products and they were very reliable. I had one dealership that I bought five vehicles from and after the dealership was sold, I noticed a disturbing trend in their service department. They were great at excuses and pushing unneeded service. Unfortunately this reflects back on Chrysler. There's an old saying "once burned twice shy". Hopefully this new dealer and Chrysler Canada recognize the importance of a long term positive relationship with their customers. Bonne chance!

[drb227]

Wow, that's terrible. I am very fortunate to deal with a great dealership and I haven't had any service related problems ever with them. I haven't had nearly as many issues as you but how the service is handled really does make a huge difference. I hope you have better luck with your next dealership as your current one seems pretty incompetent.

[bramfrank]

Well, I'm not a dealer, but some of your issues were quite simple and others perhaps the same issue over and over.

For example - that 'first 15 minutes of vibration issue' you're complaining about is simply the flat spot that tires get from sitting in one position being rolled out - check your tire pressure, you may need to inflate them a bit more to reduce the effect.

Vibrations in general ought to be traceable - you put on wheels and tires at Canadian Tire and started having vibrations . . . . the likelihood is that CT did something, possibly killing a bearing - again, we're listening only to your simplified version of the story. There may have been other factors at work.

Brakes? They go. Especially on the DJ - braking vibrations means warped rotors. They did the rears? The fronts take more force and may have had pad left, but possibly were not true.

Your radio issue? One big problem that needs someone to get you the right parts and install it properly.

The strut may have 'popped' if your wife turned into the driveway and jumped a curb - my ex would do stuff like that and say 'nothing was ever stressed' - my sister told me how aggressively she drove when I wasn't around. I'm not saying that this was the issue you had, but it is a possibility. At least they replaced it under warranty.

In the end, for the vibration issues, if your dealer couldn't solve the problem, you ought to have taken the vehicle to a specialist (hint: Canadian Tire is not a specialist). I once owned a car that would start vibrating 1-5K after a tire swap - they'd balance it and it would be good for another 1-5K, then start vibrating again. Tires were from Goodyear. The dealer sent me to them - they replaced tires . . . 5 times!!! I finally got Goodyear to buy me a set of MIchelins and never had the proble gain. It turned out to be that the bead on that size of Goodyear tire was just large enough that it let the tire slip on the chromed rim under power (remember my wife, the race car driver?). The Michelin's were just a tad tighter and didn't slip.

Dealers are generalists. Not all dealers are the same. They certainly aren't rocket scientists when it comes to electronics and electronic systems. If you can't get things fixed then you need to get pro-active (or learn to live with the problem). Go to another dealer as a first step.

I took my DJ in for a radio issue requiring a flash update and in spite of the fact that I told them what to do the dealer told me they'd be charging me for time if THEY couldn't see the problem. I cancelled the work order then and there and went to another dealer who not only wouldn't have charged but gave me a loaner for the 3 hours they needed to get to the vehicle and do the work when they didn't have to, since they had a couple on the lot sitting around.

Your list unfortunately is littered with dealer issues:

You had 8 declared problems, but 'summarise' it as 18 items. The reality is that you are hyper sensitive to issues and I don't blame you. but in general it sounds like you had about 3 things go wrong (plus what is likely a Canadian-Tire induced issue) and a dealer that isn't interacting well with you, for whatever reason.

[DodgeCACares]

Dre,

Like i mentioned via PM, I will do my best for you and seek out some final resolutions to your Radio issues that remain.

[Dre]

Maybe I’m seeing your post in completely the wrong way here but it feels like you’re saying I’m making too big a deal out of all this. Yes, I absolutely agree that the dealer is mostly why I'm having such a hard time here and that is the main part of my displeasure, but I still don't believe a vehicle in this day and age should have this many problems in such a short time span. I can understand how it may seem to you like I'm nitpicking with some of the details here but I've owned three brand new cars previous to this one for a much longer time frame and those vehicles did not spend anywhere remotely close to the amount of time at the dealership as the Dodge Journey in a year and a half span. And I'm not talking oil changes and rotations here. I'm talking things that are out of the ordinary that need to be addressed. But let me try to respond to you as best I can.

"Well, I'm not a dealer, but some of your issues were quite simple and others perhaps the same issue over and over."

The problem is that even with simple issues, it never ends up being a simple fix. And the reason I keep having the same issue over and over, is that they constantly fail to resolve them the first time (failing to order parts, ordering wrong parts, two defective radios in a row). How many times was I told my vehicle was ready for pickup and immediately after or while driving home something would still be wrong. This really shouldn't be a complicated process. You fix something, you test it out, if it's not fixed, you continue working on it.

For example - that 'first 15 minutes of vibration issue' you're complaining about is simply the flat spot that tires get from sitting in one position being rolled out - check your tire pressure, you may need to inflate them a bit more to reduce the effect.

I believe I did say the original vibration problem was fixed after they replaced the strut, strut mount, bearing and did the road force balance. I didn’t make a big deal out of this. The "first 15 minutes of vibration" comment was more of an observation and I did specify that "the tires may just need warming up". My other vehicles in the past never had this behavior so I think it's normal that I would question it? Those vehicles would have been lighter than the Journey so maybe that could explain it. I do thank you for the suggestion. I will definitely see if more air could make a difference here.

Vibrations in general ought to be traceable - you put on wheels and tires at Canadian Tire and started having vibrations . . . . the likelihood is that CT did something, possibly killing a bearing - again, we're listening only to your simplified version of the story. There may have been other factors at work.

Simplified version? Other factors at work? What else do you need to know? Nothing else happened in that timespan that would change the outcome. Yes the vibration did start after I had tires installed at Canadian Tire. My first instinct was also to point the finger at them. But how would you explain the problem still being there after installing my summer wheels? Am I supposed to believe that the guys at CT could have damaged a strut by swapping a set of wheels? I highly doubt it. And as for that bearing, I'm no mechanic but I seriously doubt it would cause vibrations in my seat and not in the steering. IMO, the bearing got killed when the strut let go as the grinding noise started immediately after they replaced the strut and strut mount. My main argument with the bearing was not that it was shot but that they were sending me home with a loud grinding noise in the front right tire. If they would have taken a minute to test out the vehicle after replacing the strut and strut mount, they would have immediately found that there was still an issue to be resolved. As for the vibration, my main issue was that the dealer kept sending me home time and time again when the vibration was clearly still there. They should have looked deeper into the problem instead of ignoring it.

Brakes? They go. Especially on the DJ - braking vibrations means warped rotors. They did the rears? The fronts take more force and may have had pad left, but possibly were not true.

Yes, I was aware of the brake issues with Dodge Journeys so I was kind of expecting this. You're right, "they go", but it still doesn't make it right that they use up this fast. I won't spend much time on this because all one needs to do is read through the numerous posts about brakes on the forum and it becomes quite obvious that it's a design flaw.

Your radio issue? One big problem that needs someone to get you the right parts and install it properly.

I would sure like to find that "someone" you speak of! A month and a half later and still not fixed. Not acceptable! 2 faulty radios in a row. Not acceptable! Awful quality control.

The strut may have 'popped' if your wife turned into the driveway and jumped a curb - my ex would do stuff like that and say 'nothing was ever stressed' - my sister told me how aggressively she drove when I wasn't around. I'm not saying that this was the issue you had, but it is a possibility. At least they replaced it under warranty.

I don't want to get too personal here but your ex was your ex and not my wife. My wife and I have been together for over 13 years and she's no liar. I know without a single doubt that if she’d hit a curb, she would have told me then and there. I would never blame the dealer for something caused by my own fault. I have more respect than that. The only two people that drive our Journey is my wife and myself and it was never abused. I've had some people suggest that maybe the straps were over tightened when the Journey got transported at the dealership and that may have weakened the strut. I have no idea if this is possible but it's the only logical explanation I've had so far. Even then, that would be up to Dodge to cover the damage, not me.

In the end, for the vibration issues, if your dealer couldn't solve the problem, you ought to have taken the vehicle to a specialist (hint: Canadian Tire is not a specialist). I once owned a car that would start vibrating 1-5K after a tire swap - they'd balance it and it would be good for another 1-5K, then start vibrating again. Tires were from Goodyear. The dealer sent me to them - they replaced tires . . . 5 times!!! I finally got Goodyear to buy me a set of MIchelins and never had the proble gain. It turned out to be that the bead on that size of Goodyear tire was just large enough that it let the tire slip on the chromed rim under power (remember my wife, the race car driver?). The Michelin's were just a tad tighter and didn't slip.

Why should I have to take my vehicle somewhere else? Are you saying the ones that sell the product shouldn’t be specialists of their own product? Let’s be clear, I would never bring my vehicle to Canadian Tire for repairs. The only reason I did bring it to them at the time is because the vibration seemed to coincide with the wheel replacement. My first instinct was that the tires or wheels were causing the problem and that’s why I went the route of getting them replaced first. But once I had the summer wheels put back on and the same vibration was still there, it made no sense to blame the problem on the wheels anymore. The vibration only went away after they replaced the strut and mount so that was obviously the cause. I know I keep repeating myself here but they were sending me home time and time again saying the problem was fixed when it was clearly not.

Dealers are generalists. Not all dealers are the same. They certainly aren't rocket scientists when it comes to electronics and electronic systems. If you can't get things fixed then you need to get pro-active (or learn to live with the problem). Go to another dealer as a first step.

I took my DJ in for a radio issue requiring a flash update and in spite of the fact that I told them what to do the dealer told me they'd be charging me for time if THEY couldn't see the problem. I cancelled the work order then and there and went to another dealer who not only wouldn't have charged but gave me a loaner for the 3 hours they needed to get to the vehicle and do the work when they didn't have to, since they had a couple on the lot sitting around.

I’m paying over $30000 for a vehicle and I need to “get pro-active” or “learn to live with the problem”? Absolutely not! If Dodge wants to sell vehicles full of high tech electronics, they should make sure they have trained personnel to deal with these issues at every single dealership. I shouldn’t have to shop around until I find a dealer that knows what they’re talking about. Even then, I never knew it was possible to simply switch to another dealer. I always had the idea that if you buy a vehicle somewhere, that’s where you need to go for service. Now I know that’s not the case and will certainly use that option next time.

Your list unfortunately is littered with dealer issues:

You had 8 declared problems, but 'summarise' it as 18 items. The reality is that you are hyper sensitive to issues and I don't blame you. but in general it sounds like you had about 3 things go wrong (plus what is likely a Canadian-Tire induced issue) and a dealer that isn't interacting well with you, for whatever reason.

I apologise. Some items in that summary are things that were replaced and not “problems”. Maybe I should have simply titled it “Summary”. But I’m not sure why you only see 3 things that went wrong in that list. I count at least 8. Maybe something like a broken overhead console isn’t a real problem to you. I use that console every day when I bring my daughter to daycare. Hyper sensitive? Am I to blame for wanting a vehicle that doesn’t need something repaired every 5000kms? Apparently you’ve never had a good quality vehicle. I’ve had 3 and I can tell you right now they weren’t Dodge. I’m sorry but if you can honestly tell me you wouldn’t have been mad after all these issue and dealer errors, you sir have more patience than anyone I know!

[OhareFred]

Dre,

Come on man, you buy a new car and expect it to work!!!???? :hysterical2: What do you expect from an "American" auto maker who assembles their cars in Mexico????

I hope by now you realize I'm completely on your side. Dealers are becoming less and less dependable (most anyway) and if you ever find one that is worth anything stick with them. I agree completely they should be figuring out whats wrong with your car not you. If your house is on fire does the fireman ask you how to put it out?

By the way, I didn't think steel belted radial tires got flat spots anymore, but I've been wrong before.

Hope you have some better luck. Keep the faith.......

[Journey_SeXT]

Very sorry to hear that the Journey has been a big disappointment so far as mine has been great. I would strongly suggest that you change to another dealership to do your repairs as the one you are currently using seems to be the main source of your problem.

[redtomatoman]

I'm also sorry for your problems. If feel your pain on the hate for the vehicle you love. Long story short, I went through some challenging times with my Dakota. I toughed it out now I'm glad I did. Best of luck to you.

Peace.

[redtomatoman]

Come on man, you buy a new car and expect it to work!!!???? :hysterical2: What do you expect from an "American" auto maker who assembles their cars in Mexico????

I'm sure this is a joke but leave the condescending $#!+ out.

[bramfrank]

I won't pick apart your repsponse to my post, but will say that you asked and answered the questions - and the answers are obvious. If you aren't getting serviced properly by your dealer, find another and stop banging your head against the wall at the one you've been using. So, yes. If your dealer isn't fixing your vehicle to your satisfaction and you want the issues resolved, you DO need to get pro-active.

If your vibration started with CT and then persisted through the next tire swap, then perhaps CT damaged the vehicle while installing the tires? Bearings, stering and suspension components are relatively fragile when confronted by ham-fisted mechanics.

As to your wife's honesty? Not in question. However many women do tend not to appreciate the mechanical consequences of some of their actions.

[Mcgusto82]

Get yourself a large pitcher full of cold water, add some sugar, and grab a lemon squezzer, cause my friend. You've got yourself a lemon.

I understand your frustration, and I'm

Not going to tell you to find yourself another dealer.

Buying a car is not like buying a toaster. It's a big purchase, and as a customer you tend to expect consistency from the manufacturer and the dealer network. Unfortunately that's not the case.

I too was getting the run around from a dealer before also.

It's frustrating because, Chrysler should have better dealer quality standards, and ought to do something about it when something happens.

But oh we'll. Good luck with another dealer.

[Dre]

I won't pick apart your repsponse to my post, but will say that you asked and answered the questions - and the answers are obvious. If you aren't getting serviced properly by your dealer, find another and stop banging your head against the wall at the one you've been using. So, yes. If your dealer isn't fixing your vehicle to your satisfaction and you want the issues resolved, you DO need to get pro-active.

If your vibration started with CT and then persisted through the next tire swap, then perhaps CT damaged the vehicle while installing the tires? Bearings, stering and suspension components are relatively fragile when confronted by ham-fisted mechanics.

As to your wife's honesty? Not in question. However many women do tend not to appreciate the mechanical consequences of some of their actions.

Like I said I may have just seen your comments in the wrong light but to me it really felt like you were saying "I" was the one doing all these things wrong and not the other way around. I completely agree with you that, at this point, I need to switch to another dealer because it's obviously not working with them. The thing is I "shouldn't" have to do this. I'm lucky enough to have another dealer nearby. What about those people who don't live in big cities that only have the one option? As for the CT issue, you may be right and unfortunately I will never know what really happened. It's still just one problem among a lot of others that could have been dealt with in a much better way.

[OhareFred]

I'm sure this is a joke but leave the condescending $#!+ out.

It's not condescending $#!+, it's the truth. Period

[redtomatoman]

If I understood your initial comment to be that the Journey has problems simply because it is built/assembled in Mexico, then I disagree strongly with that statement. That is Bullshit. Period.

Edited December 8, 2012 by redtomatoman

[Rodog800]

Did you ever get a fix for the vibration issue... I have an 2011 and the same Damn thing is happening to mine... New tires and rims.. Same things you have done.. Rebalanced old rims back on... Road force done.. Etc. I have not taken to dealer... Sometimes the car drives perfect then goes back to the same... I am frustrated want to trade it in now.. Yet like it..