cruisinbill Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 I last posted my two-month impressions with our 2013 DJ R/T in December 2013. After six months, I can say my spouse and I are generally satisfied with the purchase and the experience, especially over the brutal winter we endured here in Western Canada. I have just reached 4700 km; not a lot by any stretch but it reflects a (fortunately) short commute to work, when I was working, and even less driving now that I am retired. With the exception of one trip out of town last November, all of the driving has been at speeds of 50-100 kmh. Some observations: I still have not been able to get city fuel economy below 16 l / 100 km [about 18 mpg Imperial] with the exception of the one highway trip when I attained about 12 l. The federal 2013 Energuide tells me that I should be getting 13 l /100 km city and 8.4 l / 100 km highway. I know we had an exceptionally cold winter and I likely warmed the vehicle up more than I normally would, but I am really disappointed. Please tell me this will improve over time. Or should I be taking this concern to my dealer? I just had the oil/filter changed along with winter tire changeover back to the factory Kumho's. I used regular oil. The owners manual states 5W-30 for oil and synthetic is OK as well. I had to use synthetic with my Caliber SRT4 and it was a very expensive oil change each time. Does anyone use synthetic? does anyone really believe there is a functional subwoofer in the sound system? Perhaps it's not a fair comparison, but I am thinking of how my home theatre works. Any tips on cranking out more bass? Some things I'd like to see: a power lift gate. My spouse finds it heavy to lift and close. power passenger seat; my spouse finds it difficult to adjust heated middle row seats; the leather-faced seats are really cold in winter a better EVIC system similar to what I saw in an article on the new Cherokee a rear view camera mounted high enough so that road debris does not cover it a 180 degree rear wiper; what's with the short sweep anyway? All in all, we love our Journey. I will check in on overall experience in another six months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 Wow that is horrible gas mileage...I would be pissed if I got that bad. But I drive about 30k miles a year, so it's a much bigger deal for me. On roadtrips with 100% highway, I usually get 26-27 mpg. When I'm mixed with 30% city or so, it goes down to 22-23 mpg. If you want more bass, you'll have to add a sub/amplifier. The stock sub just sucks a big one. I'm thinking about getting an all inclusive unit for ease of installation (and I can remove it easily when I carry cargo). It wouldn't be huge bass, but I imagine a big improvement. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Basslink-200-Watt-10-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B000063TJY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1399922615&sr=8-6&keywords=amplified+subwoofer I would also love to see a powered rear lift gate and powered front passenger seat. The rest of it I'm pleased with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 I haven't done my first oil change yet, but I always use a full synthetic. If you change the oil yourself, the extra cost is less (than if you had someone else change it)... Plus, with ~8,000k mile oil changes I can certainly live with the extra cost and prefer the extra protection. A power lift gate would be great. It goes up very easy, but getting it shut is a little more work... I am far from retirement age though, so I am in a bit different situation than your wife. It would definitely be nice though. The factory stereo will never compare to even the cheapest stereo upgrades... If you want a better listening experience you should definitely upgrade the speakers. Not sure what you mean about the rear wiper... It can only be so long because of the height of the window, but mine cleans off most of the back window. I can't imagine the wiper changed from 2013 to 2014... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSXT14 Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) I haven't done my first oil change yet, but I always use a full synthetic. If you change the oil yourself, the extra cost is less (than if you had someone else change it)... Plus, with ~8,000k mile oil changes I can certainly live with the extra cost and prefer the extra protection. A power lift gate would be great. It goes up very easy, but getting it shut is a little more work... I am far from retirement age though, so I am in a bit different situation than your wife. It would definitely be nice though. The factory stereo will never compare to even the cheapest stereo upgrades... If you want a better listening experience you should definitely upgrade the speakers. Not sure what you mean about the rear wiper... It can only be so long because of the height of the window, but mine cleans off most of the back window. I can't imagine the wiper changed from 2013 to 2014... They say not to run synthetic till after break in period is exceeded, 5,000k mi. Second oil change and on, fair game. I've tried MANY brands of oil, with emphasis on synthetic, and i can honestly say, IMO, Amsoil is the best. Oil of course, oils benefit/opinion can be fiercely subjective; but i did feel better throttle/acceleration and engine behavior with Amsoil! Edited June 12, 2014 by DJSXT14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 They say not to run synthetic till after break in period is exceeded, 5,000k mi. Second oil change and on, fair game. I've tried MANY brands of oil, with emphasis on synthetic, and i can honestly say, IMO, Amsoil is the best. Oil of course, oils benefit/opinion can be fiercely subjective; but i did feel better throttle/acceleration and engine behavior with Amsoil! Modern vehicles no longer have a "break in period" as used to be the case. My oil light went on for the first time at just a little over 4,000 miles so I changed it to synthetic then. I always swap over at the first oil change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinbill Posted June 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 Lobitz68, my reference to the rear wiper was not about its length, it just does not sweep 180 degrees. It sweeps about 135 degrees so there's always a dirty area (especially in wet or snowy weather) in the corner of the window. This is the first vehicle we have owned where the rear wipe does this. Does anyone else find this odd? I am happy to report that fuel economy has improved to about 14.5 l / 100 km, mostly city driving. I have no idea why the dramatic improvement but I'll take it. I have noted the recommendations on synthetic oil for my next oil change. I am just not over having to do this for my Caliber SRT4 for 5 years and the horribly expensive costs I incurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSXT14 Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 Awesome, i'll be switching to synthetic sooner than i thought then! Just passed the 1k mark. I'll be running AMSOIL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Lobitz68, my reference to the rear wiper was not about its length, it just does not sweep 180 degrees. It sweeps about 135 degrees so there's always a dirty area (especially in wet or snowy weather) in the corner of the window. This is the first vehicle we have owned where the rear wipe does this. Does anyone else find this odd? I am happy to report that fuel economy has improved to about 14.5 l / 100 km, mostly city driving. I have no idea why the dramatic improvement but I'll take it. I have noted the recommendations on synthetic oil for my next oil change. I am just not over having to do this for my Caliber SRT4 for 5 years and the horribly expensive costs I incurred. After reading this post I've made a point to look at other vehicles. You are correct, most of them have very close to a 180 degree sweep. Ours starts at about 15 degrees and stops 20-30 degrees short of a full 180 degree sweep... I guess since I never really noticed, it must not bother me. This is the first vehicle I have owned with a rear wiper though so I have nothing to compare it to. I've always driven pickups or my wife's cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rgwog Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 I will have to agree with the short rear wiper sweep. and as far as oil, The dealer gave us 5 free changes, so will have to wait till I burn through those until I go synthetic. Standard back up cams would be nice, and maybe HD radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 I wish bluetooth was standard. With laws becoming even more stringent on the use of cell phones while driving, you'd think the automakers would make it standard on all models. Rgwog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotRodLincoln Posted October 6, 2014 Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 its been about 6 mos for ours as well. Totally satisfied and happy. ZERO issues. We got as high as 28 mpg a few times but it 26~27 more the norm on the highway. Our previous car was a Honda fit which got 10mpg more, but was half the vehicle. We are happy with fuel consumption overall and the pentastar v-6 mated to the 6 speed auto is awesome. No complaints here and everyone loves it. Thanks Dodge! rolly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj cowboy Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 I'm sure your fuel economy jumped up when you removed e winter tires. Winter tires have a horrible rolling resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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