JRodMTB Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Hey Guys- newbie to the Journey world here. My wife is due in March and we were in the market for a vehicle with a bit more room than her old car. Being the Ram fan-boy I am, I talked her into thinking she wanted a Journey so last month we picked up a 2014 R/T w/AWD. As luck would have it, we ran into an issue with the car already with less than 1700 miles on it. It dropped down to -15 here in Detroit and she started having a problem with the push button start when initially going out to the car in the morning after it sat overnight (garaged). The brake pedal was harder than a rock to push, which prevented her from being able to utilize the push button start. I went out on New Years Day to drive somewhere and had the same issue with the pedal, however I was able to push it enough to allow the push button to activate. You know the feeling when your car is off and you pump the brakes a few times? That's exactly how it feels when you get in it in the AM. She swears the couple times she's had an issue with it starting that there was ZERO play in the pedal but the couple times I've gotten in it, I was able to push it down about 1/4" to start it. We took it to the dealership and they had it for 2 nights. Both mornings the pedal was hard but the mechanic was able to push down hard and get the car to start. Long story short, we were told that Chrysler said this is "normal" operation, which I think is BS. Has anyone experienced this problem? I'm not sure if this is the correct spot to be posting this, but it's brake related - feel free to move in necessary. Let me know your thoughts. Aside from the starting issue it's been a nice car. I did end up swapping out the OEM Kumhos for a set of Pirelli's because she had a bad vibration at 72mph that the dealer said was normal. Right… the new tires cleared that issue right up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yes the pedal can be hard to push Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yeah, the firm brake is the norm. LIke you said, it does seem quite a bit worse when it's cold. You just have to push down hard to get it started. If all else fails, just use the remote start to get her started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRodMTB Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Wow… I'm somewhat surprised to hear that. Has it ever completely locked you out of the push button start? I did have to have her use the remote start the one day she couldn't push the pedal down. Edited January 10, 2014 by JRodMTB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to Dodge Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think the Kuhmos contribute a lot of problems to the new Journeys, especially with AWD. I have had good luck with mine (I have them on my Journey and the wifes Town & Country). But I am not driving in the same conditions as you are up north and I don't have the AWD. Both Kuhmo and AWD seem to be hot topics here. You might have solved a lot of peoples concerns. I have noticed a little more pressure needed on my pedal as well when cold, but I definitely wasn't having to stand on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lytefall Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Funny....I have the same issue but only when it's hot out. A couple of times I have had to use the remote start because I couldn't depress the brake far enough to use the push button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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