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Biggest annoyances with your Journey.


ckl

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Our 2012 Journey r/t is just over a year old and has had brake problems from day 1.

We kept complaining, and finally had to switch dealers for service..

The other location has better customer service, but the problems persist

In less then 16 months we've had 4 brake jobs, the AWD stopped working, and we just went in for an oil change and ended up with a complete engine rebuild...

The brake issues continue..

We recently had the car detailed, and within a week the brake dust on the front tires was unreal.. Plus they sound like an old creaky clunker...

My best guess is that the pad/rotor combo is simply too light duty for the size/weight of the vehicle... A mechanic said (true or not) that the OEM Dodge brakes are not the best quality... In either case, we're worried that post warrant, we'll stuck with a possible lemon, and the problems will continue...

I keep saying that it'd be infinitely cheaper for them to put on higher end pads and rotors but the mechanic said they have to stick with the stock Chrysler parts...

We've also had other problems, like squeaky doors, needing the satellite radio completely replaced and more...

At 42, this is not our first vehicle, and not our first dodge, but the most problems we've ever had with a vehicle, new or used...

Anyway . We're a little frustrated and wondering if anyone else has had similar issues....

With that many problems for a 2012 DJ it would probably be a good idea to see if Dodge will buy back your vehicle.

Edited by Journey_SeXT
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I must be fortunate. My only real gripe with my 2012 SXT is that the optional 19" wheels look like they are stained in several spots. I have had the vehicle for 8 moths and have waxed them at least 4 times with a high quality wax. If this is the worst problem/annoyance that I end up with, I will consider myself blessed.

Bruce

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Speaking of 19" chrome clad wheels... Im starting to get bother. My one year old clad starts to look ugly! Not really sure id what it is.. Kinda like corroded, more like fine chrome sand sprinkled on my wheels!

Anybody has the same issue.. I appreciate smy advice that can fix it! Didnt attemp to scrape it becaese i dont know if it would be a good idea.

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  • 5 months later...

I have a couple of annoyances with my '13 Journey. First is when I use remote start to start the car. If I open the rear hatch, to lets say grab my snow brush, and close it, and then open the drivers door, about 70% of the time the car will shut off. Kindof defeats the purpose. Second, if I get in the car, close the door, and start it, and then my wife gets in the passenger side with the other set of keys in her purse, the radio wont work. I have to shut the car off and restart it. I also hate the Kumho tires. Cant wait til there bald so I can put decent tires on it.

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There may be a reflash or update for your Journey to correct those issues. I suspect there is a fault code stored in one of the modules which may lead to a diagnosis of your problem. I did a quick check for Tech Service Bulletins (TSB) for those issues. There are TSB's for other radio issues but none contain your descriptives. Mention them to your service advisor on your next appointment for service, or set up an appointment to have them checked out. Bring both key fobs when you do.

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I have a couple of annoyances with my '13 Journey. First is when I use remote start to start the car. If I open the rear hatch, to lets say grab my snow brush, and close it, and then open the drivers door, about 70% of the time the car will shut off. Kindof defeats the purpose. Second, if I get in the car, close the door, and start it, and then my wife gets in the passenger side with the other set of keys in her purse, the radio wont work. I have to shut the car off and restart it. I also hate the Kumho tires. Cant wait til there bald so I can put decent tires on it.

Chrysler had a memo sent out well over a year ago that you can plus size the tires. I went with top of the line Coopers and are great in teh snow and ride nice. They are a 50# tires and usually run them at 42# air pressure. TireRack website has a chart to do that. Go up one size then you won't have any issues. Next size up is slightly wider but has same circumference.

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Speaking of 19" chrome clad wheels... Im starting to get bother. My one year old clad starts to look ugly! Not really sure id what it is.. Kinda like corroded, more like fine chrome sand sprinkled on my wheels!

Anybody has the same issue.. I appreciate smy advice that can fix it! Didnt attemp to scrape it becaese i dont know if it would be a good idea.

I have a 2006 PT GT cv turbo with teh chrome clad wheels. I used some CLR on a rag and wiped over them then used some Mequiars cleaner followed by Mequiars NXT Gen. Look like new.

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My annoyances are with my dealership. I took possession of a lease return 2012 DJ Crew with 31,000mi. on the first. I like the vehicle so far but I was sold the extended service contract and was NEVER told at the time (two days of interaction on this deal) that there is a $100.00 deductible per incident. The finance rep admitted it was an "oversight" on his part. Had I not reviewed the contract that came today, I would not have known. No apology. Then, the service dept called a short time later to inform me the Blizzak DM-V1s that I was promised, "a deal maker", were not available. I paid asking for this DJ in good faith that I would not be "jerked-around". As I have had the vehicle 14 days & the Michigan title came today, does anyone have any experience in taking one back to the dealership? I had the whole thing financed through the dealership. Any ideas? Thank you -

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My annoyances are with my dealership. I took possession of a lease return 2012 DJ Crew with 31,000mi. on the first. I like the vehicle so far but I was sold the extended service contract and was NEVER told at the time (two days of interaction on this deal) that there is a $100.00 deductible per incident. The finance rep admitted it was an "oversight" on his part. Had I not reviewed the contract that came today, I would not have known. No apology. Then, the service dept called a short time later to inform me the Blizzak DM-V1s that I was promised, "a deal maker", were not available. I paid asking for this DJ in good faith that I would not be "jerked-around". As I have had the vehicle 14 days & the Michigan title came today, does anyone have any experience in taking one back to the dealership? I had the whole thing financed through the dealership. Any ideas? Thank you -

Hate to hear that. Been in your shoes before as well. I finally let it be a lesson to myself to read everything thoroughly before signing anything

IMO, I would contact an owner or someone with customer relations and let them know your situation. I have found being polite and friendly goes a long way also. If they are committed to making customers happy then they should be willing to help you.

If you have something in writing then I would bring it to their attention that they are in violation of contract. If not, then you might have to take this one on the chin and chalk it up as an expensive lesson learned. I hate to say that but I am just speaking of my experience with car negotiations. Once you sign you lose all leverage to get what you were promised. :hammer_self:

Good luck I hope you can get the results you are looking for.

BTW, welcome to the forum :)

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My biggest annoyance is with my navigation system and Chryslers lack of understanding in getting this fixed. This has been a problem since I bought the vehicle 19 months ago. I have gone through at least 9 supposedly new systems, at least 3 updates. Nothing has worked, and I have to say my patience has worn very thin. The last radio and update is the crappiest "repair to date(late November). The system lags severely behind the vehicle up 145 meters (475 ft) at freeway speeds, and there are no voice prompts, in the city the lag is around 45 meters(147ft). At least if I had voice prompts, I would at the very last second in the city to turn, but get the prompt after I have passed the exit.

I have also found out that I have been given rebuilt units, which ticks me off even more. At least test the damn things to make sure that they work before sending them to the dealer, or man up and give a completely new unit. I have wasted countless hours and days, and now have a system that is completely useless and no action from the dealer.

I even went in to talk to the owner, as I have bought 3 vehicles from them and hoped that customer loyalty would have some kind of pull. However the owner suggested that I get a 2014, and they will eat part of the depreciation. Hold on, I just want my navigation fixed, as its under warranty and there are no other problems with the vehicle. This solution would cost me thousands of dollars. Not really an option at this point.

I am at my wits end here, and now I am asking our dodge reps on this forum for some help on this issue. Please PM me ASAP.

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  • 1 month later...

My husband bought me a brand new 2012 Journey Crew in April of 2012. I shopped for the thing for a while, I had a Chrysler Pacifica that I traded in, I loved the third row of seats for extra kids, wished they still made the Pacifica but the Journey was the comparable car. We bought the forever bumper to bumper warranty, thank God! I've had it for 22 months and it's been in the shop for 69 days so far. Let me begin at the beginning:

1. I wanted a tow package, they said that was an option that was offered, no problem. they forgot to mention that the hitch is ugly and hangs down in the back with the plug in bolted off to the left side looking ugly. And the that cost me 1400 to have put in after a six month wait because it was on backorder.

2. I noticed the cabin heating/cooling system was not adequate for the interior. Driving at night when it's cold, I have to have the defrost blasting the front window to keep the fog off, and that means I get no air on me or the rest of the people in the vehicle either. And it has to be on the hottest setting to blow hot air, if I drop the temp when I start sweating, it goes cold. All or nothing I guess. Dealership says that the tri zone heating should be fine, but when I go to the dealership it's daytime and not nighttime cold. I guess I need to go somewhere cold to have this verified.

3. I had an android when I bought the car, the phone interface worked great. Got an Iphone 5 and all of a sudden my handsfree won't work unless I initiate the call from my phone. Not so handsfree. Dealership doesn't have any answer for that.

4. Clock gains a minute a week. Luckily it gains and not loses, I just have to remember to reset my clock once a month.

NOW ON TO THE SERIOUS STUFF

5. the shifter shroud began to get stuck on shifting, I like to use the manual shifter, it wouldn't let me shift. I've had the little pieces replaced three times, the whole console replaced once, and now they tell me I shift too fast. I do not. I once couldn't get it to shift out of park no matter how slowly and gently I pulled or how violently I tried to shift it either. Had to shut off the car ad start again.

6. at Thanksgiving, I heard loud grinding in the brakes, took it to another shop because dealership didn't have time last minute on Wednesday to look at it, they said the master cylinder was out. I got a rental to go out of town for the last holiday before my cousin went into the ARMY, they gave me a base model Journey. Guess what that thing had way better shifting (it actually downshifted going up a hill!) and the heater worked! Back to the brakes though, turns out it was the booster not the master that was out. Whatever, took a week to get fixed.

7. Top end of the motor blew up, I noticed it was "missing" and the check engine light came on so I took it in, they had to rebuild the whole top end, service guy said it's been happening a lot with that motor at about 18000 miles and that Dodge should just do a recall.

8. Kumho tires suck! They were bald at 12,000 miles, cost $1200 to rep

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$1200 for new tires??? Dang I'm glad I dont have 19" tires. For comparison, I got a set of 285/65-16 all terrain tires on my truck for less than $600 out the door, and those tires are twice as big as the Journeys. Read the other tire thread about Kuhmos. Kuhmos in general, do not suck. The Kuhmos on the Journey were designed by Chrysler and are soft, they will wear out prematurely. Depends on your driving habits. Cant comment on your other issues. Miine does not suffer from any ills....

Edited by jkeaton
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2. I noticed the cabin heating/cooling system was not adequate for the interior. Driving at night when it's cold, I have to have the defrost blasting the front window to keep the fog off, and that means I get no air on me or the rest of the people in the vehicle either. And it has to be on the hottest setting to blow hot air, if I drop the temp when I start sweating, it goes cold. All or nothing I guess. Dealership says that the tri zone heating should be fine, but when I go to the dealership it's daytime and not nighttime cold. I guess I need to go somewhere cold to have this verified.

I noticed this this winter. The first two winters I owned the Journey had been milder. This winter however has had MANY days with temps in the low teens, single digits,and below zero. With temps 20 F or warmer, there's no real issue. But mid teens and colder, especially at night with no sun shining on the windows to warm them, the defroster really struggles to clear the side windows. If you have it set for defrost/heat, it will quickly be almost impossible to see out the side windows, mirrors, etc, at all. You have to peg the heat and run defrost on fan setting 5 or faster. And that's also noisy. If you're not wearing boots, your feet get cold and you're sweltering up top. A major irritation in this exceptionally cold winter.

System must have been designed for Arizona. Even if the front windows are clear, the rear door windows and back windows shrouded in steam. I will look at other vehicles on the road - they don't seem to have this issue.

Edited by Jay Sixspeedrt
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I usually replace OEM tires when vehicle hits 3 yrs on the road irregardless

of what they appear/have left on them and this August I will most likely go

with Hankook Optima 4S AllWeather.

The Kuhmos have done well but they are soft and by fall they need replacement

mostly due to my slightly aggressive starts prompted by the Pentastar.

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I noticed this this winter. The first two winters I owned the Journey had been milder. This winter however has had MANY days with temps in the low teens, single digits,and below zero. With temps 20 F or warmer, there's no real issue. But mid teens and colder, especially at night with no sun shining on the windows to warm them, the defroster really struggles to clear the side windows. If you have it set for defrost/heat, it will quickly be almost impossible to see out the side windows, mirrors, etc, at all. You have to peg the heat and run defrost on fan setting 5 or faster. And that's also noisy. If you're not wearing boots, your feet get cold and you're sweltering up top. A major irritation in this exceptionally cold winter.

System must have been designed for Arizona. Even if the front windows are clear, the rear door windows and back windows shrouded in steam. I will look at other vehicles on the road - they don't seem to have this issue.

Just curious and a new member of the forum. Is this a common problem across the Journey models? We were thinking of this vehicle but if this is a common problem it would be a deal breaker for us as our winters are cold.

Edited by Journey41
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Just curious and a new member of the forum. Is this a common problem across the Journey models? We were thinking of this vehicle but if this is a common problem it would be a deal breaker for us as our winters are cold.

We live in Windsor, Ontario and we've had record breaking cold this winter. I set my heater the same as bigtsr and haven't had a problem.

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$1200 for new tires??? Dang I'm glad I dont have 19" tires. For comparison, I got a set of 285/65-16 all terrain tires on my truck for less than $600 out the door, and those tires are twice as big as the Journeys. Read the other tire thread about Kuhmos. Kuhmos in general, do not suck. The Kuhmos on the Journey were designed by Chrysler and are soft, they will wear out prematurely. Depends on your driving habits. Cant comment on your other issues. Miine does not suffer from any ills....

They obviously got ripped off getting tires from the dealer...it does not cost $1200 for new 19" tires. I just bought 235/55/r19 replacement tires this summer for $600 shipped (good deal they had going on at discount tire). Then $60 to mount and balance at my local shop. This was for a very good replacement tire, Yokohama YK580. I obsolutely love the tires, and they should easily last 60k+ miles.

It should be obvious, but do not buy tires from the dealership!!

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We live in Windsor, Ontario and we've had record breaking cold this winter. I set my heater the same as bigtsr and haven't had a problem.

Could there be a malfunction of some sort? If so I don't know what it is. The reason I actually changed the cabin air-filter was because of the steaming up of the side windows.

The fan runs normally, and it seems like the air coming out of the vents is hot. The bilevel setting (heat & defrost) doesn't keep the side windows clear. I can feel hot air coming out of the sidewindow defrost vents, and there's warm air at the floor. However, it even struggles on FULL defrost, for example a fan setting of 3 and the side windows will steam up. Been doing it all winter.

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If its cold out, its cold out period. When its so cold, breathing in the car will cause moisture to form on the windows and freeze. DO you have AUTO temp control? Be sure to run the air conditioning to help remove moisture. Also, do you have the dual heat/AC? If not the front heater will not get everything. Like I said when its well below zero don't expect perfection- when its cold its cold! Just my 2 cents.....

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Could there be a malfunction of some sort? If so I don't know what it is. The reason I actually changed the cabin air-filter was because of the steaming up of the side windows.

The fan runs normally, and it seems like the air coming out of the vents is hot. The bilevel setting (heat & defrost) doesn't keep the side windows clear. I can feel hot air coming out of the sidewindow defrost vents, and there's warm air at the floor. However, it even struggles on FULL defrost, for example a fan setting of 3 and the side windows will steam up. Been doing it all winter.

We're -16 degrees Celsius today with a wind chill factor of -31C and had the temp set at 21 and was comfortable. The fan setting was at 4 and no fog on the windows. I don't know if it makes any difference but mine is a five seater.

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