CarComplaints.com

[Trains123]

Hi everyone I was on carcomplaints.com and I looked at the 2009 DJ. They said to adviod the 2009 DJ like the plague, would you guys agree? The 2009 DJ had a lot of complaints but 2011 up has very little, I compared the 2011 DJ to other vehicles in its class and the Journey seems pretty reliable. But when I look at Consumer Reports (CR) it says the DJ is one of the most unreliable SUV. Do you guys think carcomplaints.com and CR are reliable sources?

[Journey_SeXT]

According to this consumer I would say my 2011 Journey has been pretty good & reliable so far.

[2late4u]

had a 2011 and only real problem was with the front rotors warping dealer turned them once then replaced them once at 28k, they lasted till i sold it at 75k only thing i replaced was the battery and rear pads and tires just before i traded it in on my 2014 crossroad journey so i guess i was happy..........never really put much trust in consumer report .....

Edited December 6, 2014 by 2late4u

[redtomatoman]

I'll tell what's unreliable. . . Consumer Reports.

Don't know about carcomplaints.com. I find consumer reviews either completely inflated or completely negative and therefore pretty unreliable unless the are all pretty alike. My 2011 has been good.

Peace.

[onecrazyfoo4u]

General rule of thumb is you should avoid buying any make/model in it's first/second year of being released. Let them work out all the bugs on the next gen model. I would go for 2011 and above DJ if I were you.

[Dee]

Hi Trains,

Although I'm new here, and still getting my feet wet as to whether or not to go with a DJ. I follow carcomplaints, and Edmunds for real time, real people, and their vehicle experience. I'm not convinced CR is looking out for the best interest of the consumer, but that's my personal opinion and that of others. I expect that every vehicle may have a flaw, but a trend in flaws is what I look at, and how well the manufacturer responds.

Example; GMC knew for years that the seat belts were choking us in Envoys, they never did anything about it. I figured it was just my vehicle, nope, there are problems with a ton of them, they failed to address the issue. Seatbelt would lock and stick, if you tried to move to reach for something, or tried to move you couldn't, you are basically locked into the thing until it decides to release, not good! There's other things, but that's just one small item, let me not start on the gas tank! Nope, No GM's nor Ford's for me, for lack of response to fixing problems.

[dhh3]

CR got caught years ago for rigging tests on the Isuzu Trooper: tip overs. NBC got caught rigging tests on the pre 88 Chevy trucks: gas tank explosions when T-boned. Since then, I refuse to watch any car reports in print or on TV. If they get caught rigging tests once, what is not to say that they will do it again. I go with my gut feeling; not someone else's opinion.

One little thing goes wrong, and people hate the car. Is that a fair analysis? I've seen it here on this forum, and every forum I have ever posted on.

If you like the car, buy it. Your warranty will fix everything except consumables: tires, wiper blades, etc.

Edited December 6, 2014 by dhh3

[Dee]

dhh3, Isn't CR being paid to do reviews? That's what I had heard, but didn't want to say. I also take into consideration how fast the car manufacturer gets back to me or others with complaints or questions. Nissan sent me a response to a question, too bad it wasn't an answer to my question, and they've yet to answer it, too bad. Jeep on the other hand went well over board with a response to a question, and asked would I participate in some innovative idea thing of some sort. ???

Still say the DJ is most reliable, jmho.

[dhh3]

Dodge asked me to do a survey report about a month after I got it, but I was never contacted by anyone who rates new car ownerships. I don't believe that CR gets paid to do tests; but, there are no adds and it is hard to believe that they would be able to support themselves with just subscriptions.

Edited December 7, 2014 by dhh3

[Dee]

My question with Jeep was the back widow being able to function, the only trucks that do this anymore are Toyota, and they're too large for my needs, trying to rid of the running boards. I have a rottie, and will always have at least one, 2 if I can swing it, up to 4 if I'm not in my right mind, lol That being said, I like a back widow that can open. The only vehicle now being said to be dog friendly is the Subaru Forester, and that drinks too much oil on the new ones, and the mfg says "it's supposed to, just wait!" nahhh

Jepp wants concept ideas on dog friendly vehicles, most of us will buy a vehicle just for a 4 legged friend, I would if it were right, be cool to have a dog ramp already built in, imagine the rescues and dog sitters going for it, and of course a functioning back window.

[Journey_SeXT]

General rule of thumb is you should avoid buying any make/model in it's first/second year of being released. Let them work out all the bugs on the next gen model. I would go for 2011 and above DJ if I were you.

Well how are they going to work out the bugs if nobody buys the first year model? We need guinea pigs so we can enjoy a better car two years later.

[Journey_SeXT]

I'll tell what's unreliable. . . Consumer Reports.

Don't know about carcomplaints.com. I find consumer reviews either completely inflated or completely negative and therefore pretty unreliable unless the are all pretty alike. My 2011 has been good.

Peace.

If everyone listened to consumer reports US car companies would be out of business.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Journey_SeXT

[rolly]

My question with Jeep was the back widow being able to function, the only trucks that do this anymore are Toyota, and they're too large for my needs, trying to rid of the running boards. I have a rottie, and will always have at least one, 2 if I can swing it, up to 4 if I'm not in my right mind, lol That being said, I like a back widow that can open. The only vehicle now being said to be dog friendly is the Subaru Forester, and that drinks too much oil on the new ones, and the mfg says "it's supposed to, just wait!" nahhh

Jepp wants concept ideas on dog friendly vehicles, most of us will buy a vehicle just for a 4 legged friend, I would if it were right, be cool to have a dog ramp already built in, imagine the rescues and dog sitters going for it, and of course a functioning back window.

Dee welcome to the forum. I like the way you jumped in. I watched a TV program last night investigating dog harnesses for vehicles and only one out of 17 harnesses didn't break. One suggestion you could make is to have them offer a special built in pet harness as an option.

[Dee]

Hi rolly, thank you for the welcome!! I'm not sure about dog harnesses though? I don't like using one, I feel like the dog is trapped that way. I myself hate wearing seat belts, but do because of tickets otherwise. I've been trapped in a vehicle after being broadsided, the console trapped the seatbelt and I was stuck, all the while a crowd gathered saying "don't get close it might explode!" Really!?!? I promised myself from that day I would never leave anyone's side if they were trapped in their vehicle, only happened once to an old lady her leg was trapped, told everyone across the street to keep their traps shut, and we'd be fine. I couldn't imagine if I'd found my dog hung, if there was a chance she couldn't have been thrown and survived. That was one thing I liked about the Journey, she could lay on the folded down front seat. That might get old quick. But at least I've never had dogs that jump around a vehicle like it's a zoo. Frankly having rotts, and having had a bully Mastiff, I keep them pretty well trained due to liability.

hmm salesman never called me back? Once yesterday, once today, may have to cut him off, and try another. I'm trying to be nice and not occupy his time if he could be selling a much higher price vehicle and making more money , but sheesh, call back when you say you will!

[rolly]

The harnesses aren't to keep the dogs from jumping around the vehicle, it's to keep them from protected in case of a collision. One of the folks on the program was a firefighter who witnessed a lot of accident scenes that dogs were thrown against the front seats and through windshields, which convinced him of the need for restraints. After watching videos of the crash tests he and the other people who participated were shocked at the results of a 45 kilometer an hour impact. The crash test dog weighed 68 lbs and was a virtual missile.

Edited December 7, 2014 by rolly

[Dee]

Ohhh, OK, I may need to check some youtubes out and see about harnesses. I more afraid of the emergency brake cutting threw my leg. Seems like and odd position for a footrest underneath the emergency brake, like it is?

[rolly]

www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/Marketplace/ID/2626895422

Here's the website for the program on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - It's called Paws For Concern.

[Dee]

Thanks rolly, I'll have to check it out when I'm back of to full data speed, miser here pays little for internet, and caps out early, I guess in some respects I'm lucky to have internet at all, not complaining, not complaining, not complaining!!! 2015 is going to be a better year for me, once I move then I'll be able to get real internet service, with no data caps, I hope!

I've been reading through the postings, very interesting indeed.

[Lobitz68]

I would personally go late 2012 or later...

[Dee]

Lobitz68,the one I'm looking at is a 2013 new. I decided not to go today out of principle. I'm waiting until this sales man is off, if he can't call me back, then he doesn't deserve the deal.

[onecrazyfoo4u]

If everyone listened to consumer reports US car companies would be out of business.

You couldn't have said it better. It's pretty obvious they're being paid out when it's always BMW's and Porsche's "winning" their comparisons. Although I would hope they would win being twice the cost!

[Journey_SeXT]

Oh and don't forget Honda & Toyota....between them and German automakers all others are just sub-standard that are taking up space on the roads. You'll get better reviews of a vehicle and their problems just by visiting the forum (like this one) of a certain make and model and see what the ACTUAL consumers say about THEIR vehicle rather than biased reviews of CRs.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Journey_SeXT

[dhh3]

Oh and don't forget Honda & Toyota....between them and German automakers all others are just sub-standard that are taking up space on the roads. You'll get better reviews of a vehicle and their problems just by visiting the forum (like this one) of a certain make and model and see what the ACTUAL consumers say about THEIR vehicle rather than biased reviews of CRs.

Amen to that, brother.

[jkeaton]

I base my opinions on real world experiences. The DJ we had before was a very dependable vehicle for being the first year of production. Main reason we got another. I put zero faith in magazine/online reviews by these outfits that get paid to review things.

[B4ZINGA]

Being an engineer in the Detroit auto industry, I was told I need to consider CR to be gospel. I couldn't disagree more. I can't help but notice how they give high praise to the tin cans that Toyota produces, and then turn around and run Mopar vehicles through the meat grinder. I've owned many Mopars, including two deep within the Daimler years (still own one of them, my favorite) and I haven't had any unusual problems. Yet I'm always hearing about people being on a first name basis with the service manager at their dealer for other makes, primarily the Germans. Toyotas and Hondas are reliable, I'll give them that, but there is nothing pleasant about them and so far they're no more reliable than any Dodge or Chrysler I've owned.