Biggest annoyances with your Journey.

[ckl]

Okay, I have had my Journey for about 8000km's and I love it. The addition of MyGig, integrated booster seats, bluetooth handsfree, AWD, roof rack, etc, etc... makes this car perfect for me and my family. Oh, and the smooth and quiet ride still amazes me.

However, there are some things that make me shake my head and wonder "What the hell?".

Here's a list:

1. Child seats. While it's great to have the child LATCH system that is 3 per seat (one on either side, and one behind the seat). The fact that the headrest cannot be adjusted up and down pisses the hell out of me. Everytime I take the child seat out or put it back in, I'm always fiddling with the stupid 3rd latch connector trying to snake it in between the headrest and the seatback. Why couldn't they have put a 1inch gap between the headrest and the seatback so that we can put the 3rd latch connector through there?

2. Poor quality brakes. I live on a hill so this may not apply to you, but at 8000Km's, the disk brakes are warped. Every american car I've owned (pontiac firefly, eagle talon, and this one) have had warped brakes. For the previous two I listed, I did not live on a hill at that time. On the other hand, all the japanese cars I've owned (Nissan altima, Suzuki XL7, and Lexus is300), did not have this problem.

3. Voice activation. I use the builtin bluetooth handsfree for my phone. It rocks. But why couldn't they have put the button to activate it on the steering wheel? And the other Voice activation button that you're supposed to control the radio with really has me confused. First of all, why two buttons? Second, if I have to push that button, I might as well just do whatever I need to do to the radio because my hand is already there and I'm looking to see where that button is anyway! I should read the manual again just in case I missed something about why there's two buttons.

4. Vehicle doesn't like to downshift. I can't explain this but it only happens when I go up the hill. The vehicle will shift up a gear at 60km/h and it clearly does not have the power to maintain speed. The car will slow down and the revs will drop to the point where the engine shudders (feels like the car is vibrating. The only other time I've felt this is when I was driving a manual stick and I accidentally started off in second gear and kept going). Anyway, I was expecting it to automatically downshift way before it got to the point of engine shudder.

That's it. I know this sounds like a rant and I'm knit picking over trivial things, but those are my annoyances. So don't flame me.

So do you have any annoyances?

PS> When I come to think of it, the first 3 items are probably due to cost cutting measures. The 4th item looks like a problem that can be fixed with an firmware update.

[sdeveau]

I know what you mean!

We purchased the FWD SXT with Performance Steering and Suspension (comes with the 19" chrome wheels). Inferno Red. She's a beauty. The upgraded suspension makes driving her a dream! We love the sound system, the fold down rotating rear dvd with dual wireless headsets makes extended trips to visit family a breeze with a toddler. Storage, utility, the general appeal; it's the right vehicle for our little family.

However, I'm very tired of continually having to return to the dealership for little glitches and "annoyances" as you called them.

There is obvisouly something wrong with the electrical/computer system in our Journey. I'm not sure what, and of course our dealer can't fix something they can't find. We've had several parts replaced and weird occurances. Kind of like our Journey has a little mischeivious gremlin.

The dealer has done very well at lessening the inconvenience, they've always provided us with a rental replacement (though I do question their concentration, very busy service centre). But if I wanted to drive a different car every other week, I wouldn't have purchased a brand new vehicle.

[W_A_Watson_II]

I agree on the Voice buttons, and I've also found that U-Connect is getting more difficult to recognize my programmed speed dials, must be time to re-enter them?

On the shifting, I have the other problem, mine un-locks the torque converter way to fast and way too often, I wish it would leave it locked up more and help keep the RPM's down and MPG's better?

[billspreston01]

folding the 3rd row and 2nd row flat annoys me. I'll open the tailgate to put something in, pull the string to make the seat go flat, then it hits the middle row. So I walk around open the door, pull the lever to make it move up (not to tilt out of the way) and I can't do it from outside the car, so I have to get in, sit down, pull the lever, move the seat up, go over to the other seat and do the same thing....ugh!

It also seems that up-shifting could be a lot smoother during acceleration

[ckl]

folding the 3rd row and 2nd row flat annoys me. I'll open the tailgate to put something in, pull the string to make the seat go flat, then it hits the middle row. So I walk around open the door, pull the lever to make it move up (not to tilt out of the way) and I can't do it from outside the car, so I have to get in, sit down, pull the lever, move the seat up, go over to the other seat and do the same thing....ugh!

It also seems that up-shifting could be a lot smoother during acceleration

Yes. I've run into this one a couple of times with the third hitting the second row. My wife, for some reason, always wants the second row pushed all the way back with the seatback tilted as far back as possible. I think she has this belief that the kids will go blind if they sit too close to the dvd screen. However, I have no problem adjusting the second row forward from outside the car though.

[Colorancher]

I really can't complain about the seat fold down "issue" I think it is a small price to pay for a rear seat that can slide back for extra room and recline, also!

For those that don't like the shifting on the six-speed auto, you might try disconnecting the battery for about a minute to reset the "smart" tranny. It is supposed to adjust to your driving style, but sometimes it gets out of whack. I personally love the six-speed for climbing the mountains here in Colorado. I just keep dropping gears to keep the desired speed on any pass (usually 72 mph).

And hey, with a lifetime powertrain warranty guaranteed by Barack Obama, how can you go wrong?

[sdeveau]

I really can't complain about the seat fold down "issue" I think it is a small price to pay for a rear seat that can slide back for extra room and recline, also!

For those that don't like the shifting on the six-speed auto, you might try disconnecting the battery for about a minute to reset the "smart" tranny. It is supposed to adjust to your driving style, but sometimes it gets out of whack. I personally love the six-speed for climbing the mountains here in Colorado. I just keep dropping gears to keep the desired speed on any pass (usually 72 mph).

And hey, with a lifetime powertrain warranty guaranteed by Barack Obama, how can you go wrong?

Uh...have you seen where the battery is?? I don't know if I can reach it!

Barack Obama doesn't guarantee my warranty... : (

[wyoram]

I really can't complain about the seat fold down "issue" I think it is a small price to pay for a rear seat that can slide back for extra room and recline, also!

For those that don't like the shifting on the six-speed auto, you might try disconnecting the battery for about a minute to reset the "smart" tranny. It is supposed to adjust to your driving style, but sometimes it gets out of whack. I personally love the six-speed for climbing the mountains here in Colorado. I just keep dropping gears to keep the desired speed on any pass (usually 72 mph).

And hey, with a lifetime powertrain warranty guaranteed by Barack Obama, how can you go wrong?

Welcome to the Club

I think the car could use a little more pep IMO. When I took mine on I15 in Utah I had the RPM's around 5k to maintain speed But I had 5 people in the car and loaded with luggage and doing 90 :o and getting about 19 mpg. I usually get 22-24 hwy mpg. I would feel more comfortable with some more passing power on the highway for me. Even when it is not loaded down it could use some more get up and go

[sdeveau]

We test drove a baseline 4-cylinder. OMG talk about no pep!

It was just my husband and I, no third row, a half a tank of gas, and there was NO "get-up-and-go"! We couldn't even imagine trying to to take a road trip with our daughter and all our stuff and a full tank of gas. We'd barely be able to get up to speed, let alone pass someone!

As soon as we got in our Journey we noticed a considerable difference. So if you take that into consideration, the 3.5L V6 is alright.

[JKJavelin]

Welcome to the Club

I think the car could use a little more pep IMO. When I took mine on I15 in Utah I had the RPM's around 5k to maintain speed But I had 5 people in the car and loaded with luggage and doing 90 :o and getting about 19 mpg. I usually get 22-24 hwy mpg. I would feel more comfortable with some more passing power on the highway for me. Even when it is not loaded down it could use some more get up and go

I think if you've got an SUV loaded with 5 people plus luggage going 90 mph, that's asking a lot from a V-6. Especially if it's got AWD. But I do agree that for a 'High Output' engine the output doesn't seem all that high.

JK

[sdeveau]

We had a shifting problem. The transmission seemed to be hunting for gears. I took it in and they reprogrammed the PCM (powertrain control module) and the shifting is much more smooth. HUGE difference.

However, we still have engine shuddering, at idle. They tell me this should never happen, yet they can't seem to find out what's causing it to fix it...

[Marco]

My car is new ( less than 1000 miles), so I can't complain about it. Just one little detail bothered me. In Brazil, Journey is an expensive car ( above US$ 50 000 - yes, our government loves taxes!), and I have to use the key to open gas cap. No electric lock. There are no sunroof, leather, GIG, voice activation, bluetooth avaiable...

So when you get annoyed about US prices and taxes: be happy!

Best wishes,

Marco

[frank journey]

I have a rt journey. I have read about the brakes before I bought it and was concerened. I have an answer I think.my journey pull very very lightly to the right. I noticed when I was the car when the water hits the left front rotor it steams. the other rotors do not do this. I will be taking it in for recalls and I have a feeling the brake pads on the right do not release all the way and slightly wear on the rotor.

Okay, I have had my Journey for about 8000km's and I love it. The addition of MyGig, integrated booster seats, bluetooth handsfree, AWD, roof rack, etc, etc... makes this car perfect for me and my family. Oh, and the smooth and quiet ride still amazes me.

However, there are some things that make me shake my head and wonder "What the hell?".

Here's a list:

1. Child seats. While it's great to have the child LATCH system that is 3 per seat (one on either side, and one behind the seat). The fact that the headrest cannot be adjusted up and down pisses the hell out of me. Everytime I take the child seat out or put it back in, I'm always fiddling with the stupid 3rd latch connector trying to snake it in between the headrest and the seatback. Why couldn't they have put a 1inch gap between the headrest and the seatback so that we can put the 3rd latch connector through there?

2. Poor quality brakes. I live on a hill so this may not apply to you, but at 8000Km's, the disk brakes are warped. Every american car I've owned (pontiac firefly, eagle talon, and this one) have had warped brakes. For the previous two I listed, I did not live on a hill at that time. On the other hand, all the japanese cars I've owned (Nissan altima, Suzuki XL7, and Lexus is300), did not have this problem.

3. Voice activation. I use the builtin bluetooth handsfree for my phone. It rocks. But why couldn't they have put the button to activate it on the steering wheel? And the other Voice activation button that you're supposed to control the radio with really has me confused. First of all, why two buttons? Second, if I have to push that button, I might as well just do whatever I need to do to the radio because my hand is already there and I'm looking to see where that button is anyway! I should read the manual again just in case I missed something about why there's two buttons.

4. Vehicle doesn't like to downshift. I can't explain this but it only happens when I go up the hill. The vehicle will shift up a gear at 60km/h and it clearly does not have the power to maintain speed. The car will slow down and the revs will drop to the point where the engine shudders (feels like the car is vibrating. The only other time I've felt this is when I was driving a manual stick and I accidentally started off in second gear and kept going). Anyway, I was expecting it to automatically downshift way before it got to the point of engine shudder.

That's it. I know this sounds like a rant and I'm knit picking over trivial things, but those are my annoyances. So don't flame me.

So do you have any annoyances?

PS> When I come to think of it, the first 3 items are probably due to cost cutting measures. The 4th item looks like a problem that can be fixed with an firmware update.

[BloodyYellowCube]

1. Child seats. While it's great to have the child LATCH system that is 3 per seat (one on either side, and one behind the seat). The fact that the headrest cannot be adjusted up and down pisses the hell out of me. Everytime I take the child seat out or put it back in, I'm always fiddling with the stupid 3rd latch connector trying to snake it in between the headrest and the seatback. Why couldn't they have put a 1inch gap between the headrest and the seatback so that we can put the 3rd latch connector through there?

I had the same problem and frustration, until I find out that you can pull off the headrest! I now have removed the one where my son is sitting, since it doesn't need it.

[doc]

1. Finicky transmission with unpredictable acceleration. Sometimes it accelerates fine, others it refuses to shift and leaves me crawling on an interstate onramp.

2. Squeaky headliner on the driver's side (it drives me nuts).

Other than that, no big problems.

[WOLF]

I really do think they are wonderful vehicles, fits me and my business perfectly .................

but in 3450-ish miles and a little over 4 months it has had 5 major breakdowns... and it is still in the garage now... getting feed up and asked for a replacement.......

[BloodyYellowCube]

2. Squeaky headliner on the driver's side (it drives me nuts).

So true !!! This is my biggest concern. They did a recall for the left turn noise problem, I hope this one will be next.

[Canada_Jay]

For me it is the cooler door does open the first time you push the button.

Annoying issues like the tranny shifts.

Oil changes every 3k-4k not the 10k they talk about.

[Pinger316]

My annoyance is minor but I'm on the anal side when I want something to run the way it should. Mine is when I use the wipers for a certain amount of time and when I turn them off the lights in the insturment panel dim and then come back. It has done this too me a few times but it wont dim when I use it for a few minutes. Does anybody else have this problem?

[Sam]

My annoyance is minor but I'm on the anal side when I want something to run the way it should. Mine is when I use the wipers for a certain amount of time and when I turn them off the lights in the insturment panel dim and then come back. It has done this too me a few times but it wont dim when I use it for a few minutes. Does anybody else have this problem?

This is not a problem. If you are on auto-headlights (and ONLY on auto-headlights), the headlights will turn on when you'll turn on the wipers and when you turn them off, the headlights come off. On the Journey, each time the headlights turns off, the instrument panel dim. This is just normal (kind of feature of the car)!

If it does not dim, it is because you are not on auto-headlights or because you didn't use the wipers long enough to make the headlights turn on (takes maybe 1 minute).

[Mort-Man]

Sunglass holder kept opening by itself... I think the dealer has fixed it though, time will tell.

[crazycarl]

1) The "cooler" does the opposite.

2) Transmission, same with what everybody else mentioned already.

3) Suspension seems incredibly weak.

[ckl]

I had the same problem and frustration, until I find out that you can pull off the headrest! I now have removed the one where my son is sitting, since it doesn't need it.

Thanks for the tip. I finally figured out how to get the headrest off. I also noticed that the headrest posts have only one notch near the top. I guess if you want extra adjustable positions, you could just take a hack saw and add a couple

of more notches for an adjustable headrest!

[catnaplvn]

Oh I have been looking for others who have had to take their Journey in for the darn rotars constantly warping! Mine seem to do it about every 2000 miles. They blame it on my driving habits or road conditions. I bought mine in May08 and didn't use it as my primary car until about Sep08. I actually have a lemon law atty looking into it, but I need to find more owners with this expensive problem that the dealership will not keep fixing under the warranty even though I took it in before my warranty was up. It inly has a little over 11,000 miles on it because I ride my motorcycle half the week. It's been in 3 times since Mar09. I wonder if it's true that the brake pads aren't releasing all the way like one of the other members spoke of. So anyone else with this problem PLEASE contact me.

Apache

[BAC]

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I havn't had any of the problems that have been reported here so far. Yet?

The only thing I don't like about it is when you hit the lock windows button it also stops the front passenger from using their window. All other cars I've had with electric windows only locks the rear ones when the button is pressed. I want to stop the kids fiddling with them but not the front passenger!