my brake problems are "normal" ... *facepalm

[sexyRTboi]

Well the brake saga continues on my 2012 R/T ... This past weekend we were out in the Journey, and I had noticed over the last few weeks that when coming to a stop the brakes would give a "grabbing" "wet rotor" sound just before the wheels stop turning. On Saturday it suddenly started doing it when coming to a stop ... the sound was just crazy .... so we went directly to the dealership in town and a mechanic came out for a drive ..... right away he knew the problem and said the brakes are out of adjustment so I'll need a service right away.

I showed him the service reports from 14,000kms ago when i had the brake service completed ... THAN from 12,000kms ago when i had to get compete front brake pads and rotors as mine were totally shot - this was through a "Goodwill gesture" from the dealership - The mechanic advised me to go right back to that dealership as something is not right.

Took it in today for the oil change as well as the brake problems (and the center dash going on and off by itself) ... right away they said the brake sounds are "normal" and even if they do need servicing, it wouldnt be covered because there is "NO WARRANTY" on the brakes at all because they were a "Goodwill Gesture" ------- he actually said, they do NOT warranty any parts or servicing done through a goodwill gesture --- wtf?! ---

So alas, I left, feeling burned yet again -- plus the fact that they took over 2.5 hours to do an oilchange and couldnt duplicate anything else.

--- Didnt someone say something about a class action suit being tossed around from the Journey/Caravan owners? .... this is just insane!

[2late4u]

kind of hard to follow what you are saying but brake problems on journeys are quite frequent as i had some problems with mine and the dealership replaced the frt. pads and rotors on a goodwill gesture like your dealer did but i also understood that this was done as a last time fix under warrenty to try to keep me as a happy camper. so when and if i need more brake problems i will take care of it my self and not go back to the dealer for more brake jobs. and since my last brake job that was done at 28k i am now at 61k and the brakes are still fine. also 2.5 hrs is a little long for a oil change but if they were checking out your car for brake noise or other problems that time lag is not to bad. did you have a set appt. time for the oil change? hope things get better for you~!!!!!

[Journey_SeXT]

I didn't even bother going to the dealer for brakes once I passed the first year, I just knew that they will not do anything for me so the work and maintaining the brakes i do myself. I guess your 2012 model doesn't have the bigger brakes that came with the later 2012 models and up? You do have that option to upgrade them to the bigger brakes (expensive to do) so your brake issues will not be so frequent.

[Addicted to Dodge]

I didn't even bother going to the dealer for brakes once I passed the first year, I just knew that they will not do anything for me so the work and maintaining the brakes i do myself. I guess your 2012 model doesn't have the bigger brakes that came with the later 2012 models and up? You do have that option to upgrade them to the bigger brakes (expensive to do) so your brake issues will not be so frequent.

I agree, the dealer will just change it with the same crappy brakes and soon the OP will have the same problem again. I was lucky when I bought my Journey to get one with the upgraded brakes and they are great. But Chrysler must do something soon with these dealers that refuse to keep people satisfied. I absolutely hate going to my local dealers, I become tense and almost confrontational before even getting there.

Chrysler must do something with the corrupt dealers these days ASAP.

[jkeaton]

I let the dealer do the front brakes on our 09 at @12000 miles. Not long after the rears started causing a vibration and the fronts as well. I replaced everything myself (rotors/pads) using a quality aftermarket brand and had no more brake issues for the next 70,000 miles. If you keep replacing the factory junk with factory junk, you will continue to have brake problems. This is not a Chrysler specific issue. Many car manufacturers, in their haste to save weight and reduce costs are cutting corners. Thinner rotors (which warp early on) saves weight and costs. It took them awhile, but Chrysler finally started putting beefier brakes on the Journey. The brake hardware (rotors, calipers, pads)on my 2013 are gigantic compared to the ones on the 09. Don;t know anything about a class action lawsuit though. I imagine that would not likely go very far.

[onecrazyfoo4u]

^{Just replace with good quality aftermarket rotors/pads. That's what I plan to do when mine wear out instead of dealing with the dealer/oem crap shenanagins. Save yourself the headache and do it yourself. Should only be about $400 for parts for good quality stuff for all 4 corners.}

[Doug D]

Stay away from the "Valueline" pads the dealers like to use. They are basically cheap pads that won't last long. A few years ago they used Valueline pads on my Ram (rear pads) and they have last 100K, but in the time since most posters that have used them recently report short lifespan of the valueline pads. You can opt for the higher grade pads, but they do cost quite a bit more. You'll probably have to ask for the higher grade parts. Otherwise they'll just use the same crappy pads.

Brakes are considered a "wear item" and are only covered under warranty for the first 12M/12,000 miles. Having said that, Chrysler did reimburse me the full cost of having to service the front pads at 22K miles on our first Journey (a 2009 - we now have a 2010 - long story). If you got the dealer to replace pads for no charge (goodwill gesture) consider yourself fortunate.

Class action suits only benefit the lawyers. As a participant you'd be lucky to see $50 and even then it won't be cash, it'll be towards future services or purchases.

[martinbec05]

I bought my 2011 Journey Mainstreet with 43,000 miles on it. Needless to say, it soon needed brakes. I purchased a set of pads and rotors from Callahan Brake through Amazon for $186.00. I had the wet rotor sound on these new pads right after I installed them. I contacted Callahan and they sent me a break-in procedure for the pads After performing the break-in they are working efficiently and quietly. Been about three months now and perfectly happy.

The pads are ceramic and so they do need the break-in. This consisted of five hard brakings from 40 mph to 5 mph. And then 5 medium brakings from 40 to 5 mph. Then drive for at least ten minutes with little or no use to let them cool. The hardest part of all this is finding a road that you can do it on. This deposits some of the pad on the rotor and creates a good, smooth surface for breaking.

It all worked great for me.

Edited December 21, 2013 by martinbec05

[Fábio Sato]

Hello all,

Besides Callahan can someone recommend other aftermarket brands for brake rotors and pads?

Thanks!

[Journey_SeXT]

Any premium set from Centric, Raybestos, Wagner, NAPA are good and reputable aftermarket brands. Rockauto sells the Powerstop rotor and pad kits which are also good.....my advice is to stay away from any of the cheap Chinese slotted rotors and pads that sell on ebay.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Journey_SeXT

[jkeaton]

Journey_SeXT nailed it. If you want good rotors/pads, get the "premium" line of raybestos, wagner, etc. Brake performance has good stuff too. Dont get slotted/drilled, those are a waste of money unless you're into rally cross or something.

[Fábio Sato]

Thanks guys!

[Journeylemon]

Well the brake saga continues on my 2012 R/T ... This past weekend we were out in the Journey, and I had noticed over the last few weeks that when coming to a stop the brakes would give a "grabbing" "wet rotor" sound just before the wheels stop turning. On Saturday it suddenly started doing it when coming to a stop ... the sound was just crazy .... so we went directly to the dealership in town and a mechanic came out for a drive ..... right away he knew the problem and said the brakes are out of adjustment so I'll need a service right away.

I showed him the service reports from 14,000kms ago when i had the brake service completed ... THAN from 12,000kms ago when i had to get compete front brake pads and rotors as mine were totally shot - this was through a "Goodwill gesture" from the dealership - The mechanic advised me to go right back to that dealership as something is not right.

Took it in today for the oil change as well as the brake problems (and the center dash going on and off by itself) ... right away they said the brake sounds are "normal" and even if they do need servicing, it wouldnt be covered because there is "NO WARRANTY" on the brakes at all because they were a "Goodwill Gesture" ------- he actually said, they do NOT warranty any parts or servicing done through a goodwill gesture --- wtf?! ---

So alas, I left, feeling burned yet again -- plus the fact that they took over 2.5 hours to do an oilchange and couldnt duplicate anything else.

--- Didnt someone say something about a class action suit being tossed around from the Journey/Caravan owners? .... this is just insane!

I am having similar problems with our pos 2012 Journey that we bought brand new.

I had to replace the rear brake pads at only 18,000km. At this time it became apparent that the rear calipers were sticking and probably the cause of the premature brake wear...and horrible fuel economy

The local stealership said this was normal, and that it was not covered. They also never said anything about this extended brake warranty that I have been reading about online (http://www.autosafety.org/sites/default/files/imce_staff_uploads/Dodge%20Journey%20Brake%20Warranty%20Extension.pdf).

Now the car has 37,000km, and again the rear pads are "metal on metal"!! And again, the stealership (a different one this time) has told us this is normal, and not covered. I still have not had to replace the front brakes btw, so this rear wear is definitely not "normal".

I know there was a class action filed in the USA, but don't know what the result was, or if we would be covered here in Canada. Here is the link;

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/08/20/ChryslerCA.pdf

I definitely think this is a design flaw! There needs to be a recall, plus compensation for anyone with these problems.

...and this is not to mention the other flaws of this lemon, such as the horrible seat fabric(stains by itself, and can't be cleaned), the horrible hard shifting and miss shifting transmission (4 speed), horrible fuel economy that is much worse than advertised, burnt window motors, hard time starting, etc, etc.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Journeylemon

[jkeaton]

Welcome to the forum! A great place to rant!!

[bramfrank]

I don't agree. My '11 had the 'small' brakes and they were still fine when I traded the vehicle at 60,000 km - probably had about 15,000 km left on them. They were starting to pulse a bit, mind you, but nothing dramatic.

My ex used to go through pads and disks on her van (when we drove identical vans) in about 8,000 km while mine simply never wore out - after 2 years we swapped vehicles and the van she was now riving started going through brakes like crazy while her old one (which I was now driving) had brakes that lasted..

I suspect it is more about one's driving habits than it is about the vehicle being the cause.

In my experience OEM pads are grabbier, and so do wear more quickly than harder pads which may have 'lifetime' warranties - but then they require more effort to stop the vehicle.