2011 SXT Front wheel drive in the snow. All season tires

[2011DodgeRamJourney]

Well....

I cant describe in glowing enough terms what this truck can do. Its like a tank, I dont know why. Its so soild on the road no matter what the conditions. The traction control is subtle and does what it should without inhibiting driving. I can also easily shut it off if I need to to get in a hilly driveway, etc as the button is right there on the centre console. I feel very safe with my family in this truck. We have put off the purchase of snow tires due to christmas, new baby etc and I worried endlessly about it. But Dodge comes through with a winner. I think I'll go hug my journey now.

I would love to hear how others find the truck...especially front wheel drive owners.

[Lobitz68]

I have AWD, but I do agree that it handles the snow quite well. This year I bought snow tires for the first time in my life and so far the ground is still bare. Go figure...

[rolly]

We had a lot of snow the last two winters and never had a problem. Of course the terrain is very flat in our area, but even driving in other parts of Ontario the front wheel drive performed excellently. I think it comes down to driving to the weather conditions and also the extra ground clearance doesn't hurt. I don't drive in blizzard or white out conditions. I love my DJ!

[2011DodgeRamJourney]

Someone told me (not a MOPAR fan btw) that I might like the weight of the DJ, but when I get it stuck rocking it unstuck will be hard. I doubt this. that penstar V6 will help you out of a lot messes.

[jkeaton]

Does well in light snow in a relatively flat area. Ours did not do well last year on a trip to New York. But that was driving in mountainous terrain with 4-6" of snow on the ground. Once I turned traction control off, I was able to power up the road we were on. With TC on, the car just came to a dead stop as, once slippage was detected, it cut power to the wheels, so your sitting there flooring it and nothing is happening.

[2011DodgeRamJourney]

Does well in light snow in a relatively flat area. Ours did not do well last year on a trip to New York. But that was driving in mountainous terrain with 4-6" of snow on the ground. Once I turned traction control off, I was able to power up the road we were on. With TC on, the car just came to a dead stop as, once slippage was detected, it cut power to the wheels, so your sitting there flooring it and nothing is happening.

I had that happen once-going up a steep driveway, TC cut power ENTIRELY. solved with a quick hit of the button. Glad its on the centre console.

[snowman9000]

...

Edited December 15, 2015 by snowman9000

[priell3]

I haven't had mine long enough to drive it in snow. I'm happy to hear yours performed well.

Personally, I've never had issue with snow in any of my FWD vehicles with all season tires and I live in a hilly area. Even with our Neon I was getting around quite well.

I have a set of winter tires that I will probably put on the DJ next month that I have sitting in my garage.

My FWD Jeep Cherokee got around in the snow too:

[DodgeCACares]

Well....

I cant describe in glowing enough terms what this truck can do. Its like a tank, I dont know why. Its so soild on the road no matter what the conditions. The traction control is subtle and does what it should without inhibiting driving. I can also easily shut it off if I need to to get in a hilly driveway, etc as the button is right there on the centre console. I feel very safe with my family in this truck. We have put off the purchase of snow tires due to christmas, new baby etc and I worried endlessly about it. But Dodge comes through with a winner. I think I'll go hug my journey now.

I would love to hear how others find the truck...especially front wheel drive owners.

Hi 2011DodgeRamJourney:

Glad to hear your'e enjoying your Journey!

Kathleen

Top Care Specialist

FCA Canada

[dhh3]

Soon after I purchased my DJ, I installed a set of Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus all season, with an 80,00 tread warranty. I had these on my Nitro - 0 issues in snow. With my FWD DJ, 0 issues in snow. This is the first non 4wd vehicle I have in over 20 years, but it just plowed right through the snow. I never touched the TC switch. Now winter #2 is upon me, and all we have gotten is rain, so far. I'm wearing my Packer shorts today, for good luck!

[2011DodgeRamJourney]

Last night we had a massive storm, and the DJ worked great. Even on ice where the snow was packed hard and the salt had yet to burn its way through. The truck is just solid on the road. Got into my driveway easy as well. No complaints

[priell3]

Soon after I purchased my DJ, I installed a set of Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus all season, with an 80,00 tread warranty. I had these on my Nitro - 0 issues in snow. With my FWD DJ, 0 issues in snow. This is the first non 4wd vehicle I have in over 20 years, but it just plowed right through the snow. I never touched the TC switch. Now winter #2 is upon me, and all we have gotten is rain, so far. I'm wearing my Packer shorts today, for good luck!

For several years we had Jeeps with 4WD. It was fun getting dirty looks from all of the stuck drivers when I cruised past them in my lifted Wrangler Unlimited with A/T tires. 18" of snow? No problemo!

[rolly]

Soon after I purchased my DJ, I installed a set of Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus all season, with an 80,00 tread warranty. I had these on my Nitro - 0 issues in snow. With my FWD DJ, 0 issues in snow. This is the first non 4wd vehicle I have in over 20 years, but it just plowed right through the snow. I never touched the TC switch. Now winter #2 is upon me, and all we have gotten is rain, so far. I'm wearing my Packer shorts today, for good luck!

Don't you Packer fans wear shorts year round anyway, regardless of the weather? Of course if you did get stuck you could always say a Hail Mary- it's worked before!

Edited December 16, 2015 by rolly

[hockey_puck]

Last night we had a massive storm, and the DJ worked great. Even on ice where the snow was packed hard and the salt had yet to burn its way through. The truck is just solid on the road. Got into my driveway easy as well. No complaints

Snowing like hell here today. Huge fluffy flakes. Bare pavement yesterday, traffic chaos today, because the idiots out there forget how to drive on snow. The Journey tucked away all nice clean and dry in the garage away from the idiots on the road! Plows out tonight, back to normal tomorrow.

[bramfrank]

I don't recall whether I have written about this on the board before, but the reality is that snow tires, while they do help, likely cause more problems than they solve for some because people who can't drive in snow install winter tires and then feel emboldened to go out and slide all over the place, in particular those with AWD and 4wd systems.

On my weekend drives up to the ski hill where we have a locker and ski the most common site in ditches are Jeeps and other vehicles with drive to all four wheels - I recall fondly watching a provincial police officer screaming at the top of his lungs at some idiot who managed to run off the road in his Jeep - he was wearing ski boots while driving . . . . . it takes all kinds.

With the singular exception of the story I'm about to tell, I had never had snow tires on any vehicle and I have never had issues - including drives through the Erie region of Pennsylvania during lake effect snow and a truly memorable drive from Thunder Bay to Sault Saint Marie during a blizzard. Of course, being from Quebec, our nanny state has recently mandated that we must have snow tires installed from December 15 through March 15, even if there's no snow.

And there's no snow - if fact I have ridden my motorcycle up here right through to the second week in January one memorable year. But motorcycles are effectively banned during the snow tire period, since no one I know would go out and buy snow tires for a motorcycle for the limited amount of riding that could be done.

Now; the story;

The country home that we had up in the Laurentians was at the bottom of a hill. We got a lot of snow in the winter, even if there was little to none in the city. There was a reasonably large parking area and lots of weekend visitors. The usual routine was that whichever car came in last would be the one that whomever wanted to head to town would take in the morning. The year was 1995. The vehicle was a Pontiac van - no AWD for those things.

One Saturday morning, after a reasonably dense snow fall my (now ex) sister-in-law (my brother's wife) wanted to go to town to get some artisanal baked goods for breakfast. She took the van and started up the hill, but got stuck about halfway to the road and walked back to the house, complaining that I was a cheapskate because there were no snow tires on the van. I went out, drove the van to the top of the hill, parking it on the public road. I came back down to the house, handed her the keys and she walked up to the road, drove to town, got her baked goods and returned - all the while MY (now ex) wife was giving me heck because we didn't have snow tires on the van. For the record, I didn't have snows on my car, either.

So I pleaded mea-culpa, and took the van into town to the Canadian Tire and bought four snow tires, had them mounted and came back - my ex was aware of the purchase and of my feelings about having to spend about $600 for tires, but we didn't mention it to anyone.

The next morning the Sister-in-law went to go into town to get something or other and I don't suppose I have to tell you that she used my van and managed to get stuck on the hill . . . in almost the exact same spot . . . she was fuming and came into the house yelling and screaming about how dangerous I was and how irresponsible I was because she had gotten stuck once again.

My wife gave me a REALLY dirty look to warn me not to react, but I really was never good at reading looks and such and so I DID.

I explained to her rather testily that what she had missed was that I had no trouble getting up the hill the day before and that as a result of her previous rant my ex had forced me to go out and spend a lot of money on a brand new set of top-of-the-line snow tires because SHE couldn't get up the hill and that not only had I wasted my money, but in spite of having snow tires she STILL couldn't get up the hill.

And with that I put on a pair of boots and a coat, went out to the van and drove it to the top of the hill and again parked it on the roadway and came back down.

However I did NOT give her the keys. I told her to take her own car (which was behind the van) because she clearly did not know how to properly drive in snow and if she was going to wreck a vehicle, then that vehicle should be one that she owned. I told her that until springtime she would not be allowed to borrow our cars.

It is a lot less about the tires than it is about the driver and their knowing how to handle a vehicle in the snow.

I once freed a 4WD Ford Expedition that had snow tires that got stuck in the parking lot at the ski hill - the owner had spun his wheels enough that he'd gouged four little slick semicircles in the ice - and my then vehicle had pretty worn all season tires - a tow rope and about 30 seconds of work and we had him out.

I'm about to begin my 5th winter owning a Journey and while the traction control system can work against you on a slick hill, I have found the vehicle to be reasonably competent in the snow.

Again; while snow tires do shorten the stopping distance in snow, if you drive cautiously you aren't likely to have issues even without them unless there's a huge amount of snow or you are driving on slick ice (in which case without studs it won't matter).

Edited December 17, 2015 by bramfrank

[Lobitz68]

I don't recall whether I have written about this on the board before, but the reality is that snow tires, while they do help, likely cause more problems than they solve for some because people who can't drive in snow install winter tires and then feel emboldened to go out and slide all over the place, in particular those with AWD and 4wd systems...

You have... Either that or someone else told me the exact same story one time.

This year is the first year that I have bought snow tires. I drive according to the weather, but with all of the driving we do in the winter, it doesn't hurt to have a little extra assurance. Certainly people have been safely driving on snow fore dozens of years without them, but my biggest concern during the winter is other drivers. If they help shave 10 feet off of my stopping distance and prevent an accident, then they were worth every penny.

[bramfrank]

Or, because you can stop and the yokel behind you can't, you may cause an accident by having snows .. . . . it goes both ways.

I used to go to Waseca where the company I worked for had a facility. I remember how cold and windy it always was in February - it made me pine for home, where it was only -20.

[Lobitz68]

Or, because you can stop and the yokel behind you can't, you may cause an accident by having snows .. . . . it goes both ways.

I used to go to Waseca where the company I worked for had a facility. I remember how cold and windy it always was in February - it made me pine for home, where it was only -20.

Waseca, MN?? That's in southern MN where it's fairly warm in the winter!

You have a point on getting rear ended, I guess my point was that it MAY help me to avoid an accident by providing more traction to stop or by making it harder to lose control performing some maneuvers. Either way, assuming I drive to the conditions (which I do), they are more helpful than not. Of course we still don't have any snow that has stuck around this year. They did perform great last night when the temp dropped quickly and the roads by my house in the burbs were like an ice rink.

[dhh3]

Don't you Packer fans wear shorts year round anyway, regardless of the weather? Of course if you did get stuck you could always say a Hail Mary- it's worked before!

yes

[BrianS]

I've heard it said that you can ALWAYS pick out the ones with 4wd as they are the ones furthest from the road..

I too have never purchased snow tires. My FWD vehicles(#7 now) have always performed flawlessly in the snow, and I don't expect any less out of the DJ. It truly is the driver in a lot of cases IMHO. If one uses common sense, you normally won't have a problem.

We've had one rear wheel drive vehicle recently, a Dodge Charger, that was absolutely horrible on wet or snow covered road. A great car otherwise, but I don't think snow tires would have helped this one in the winter.

And we also have a Dodge Nitro 4WD that absolutely shines in deep snow.

@bramfrank I enjoyed the story about the 4wd getting stuck. I have a neighbor like that. He has a Nitro 4wd and got stuck in the snow next to his house. He said "I had to stop. My motor was starting to overheat" He did the same thing... put it in 4wd and floored it. By the time he was done, he had dug down and, since he melted the snow, when he stopped it froze again so he was now stuck on ice. I let him dig for 30 min and when he still couldn't get out, I put some kitty litter under his wheels and drove it out for him.

[11journeybama]

It snowed 2 inches last year. No problems with fwd. It was the most snow in 5 years. Lol

[hockey_puck]

They did perform great last night when the temp dropped quickly and the roads by my house in the burbs were like an ice rink.

Get the nets out! Road Hockey!!

[2011DodgeRamJourney]

Waseca, MN?? That's in southern MN where it's fairly warm in the winter!

You have a point on getting rear ended, I guess my point was that it MAY help me to avoid an accident by providing more traction to stop or by making it harder to lose control performing some maneuvers. Either way, assuming I drive to the conditions (which I do), they are more helpful than not. Of course we still don't have any snow that has stuck around this year. They did perform great last night when the temp dropped quickly and the roads by my house in the burbs were like an ice rink.

Thats one thing a lot of people dont realize. A winter tire has a softer compound that works better when the roads are cold even without snow or ice. I believe the temp is 7 degrees where all seasons start to lose their traction.

[2011DodgeRamJourney]

Coming to work today Dec27 noticed a guy in a brand new chev 4x4 *ALL OVER* the road. we had maybe 5 cm down, and it was that slippery stuff. he did not have any weight in the back end, and goes to show you 4x4 does not mean you are invincible. It actually might mean the reverse, as sometimes it seems to be-engage 4x4 transfer case=disengage brain

[hockey_puck]

Thats one thing a lot of people dont realize. A winter tire has a softer compound that works better when the roads are cold even without snow or ice. I believe the temp is 7 degrees where all seasons start to lose their traction.

That's 7 Celcius. For the Yankees and really old folks, around 40 F.