New 2017 Journey Crossroad Plus

[lmoore1436]

It's been about two weeks now since I've purchased my new Dodge Journey and I have to say, I really like it. It has the backup camera package, heated seats and wheel, V6 engine and a sporty appearance. I came from a 2016 Honda Civic, and while I loved it I needed more space so I traded it in, took a hit on the negative equity and haven't looked back. One thing I do miss though is the LaneWatch camera, where a camera on the side mirrors would display on your screen when changing lanes to show you what is in your blind spot. 

 

The engine is smooth as silk, and I think it fits this vehicle size perfectly. It's no race car but it definitely has some grunt when you need it. The transmission does tend to jerk abruptly when shifting from park if it isn't warmed up though, but hopefully that will iron itself out. 

 

My main concern is reliability and quality. The reason I stuck with Honda for so many years is that I have never had a problem with any Honda I had. Though searching online will give you unlimited results for Dodge Journey (recently the australian couple who crushed theirs with a tank). Has anybody here had any major problems with the newer Dodge Journeys (13/14 and up)? I say quality because I nitpick about rattles and things like that. The plastic trim around the dash likes to rattle on occasion and the passenger door also takes a little bit more effort to close than it should. 

 

Other than those two minor things I love my new Journey. I want to get the extended warranty through Mopar but I am waiting until the first year is up to see if I will be keeping it or trading it in before the manufacturers warranty is up. Also, we were told by the dealer that in order for them to honor the 5/60 powertrain warranty we had to have everything done through them. Has anybody else heard of this? 

 

Thanks!!!

[bramfrank]

Start off by looking up the Magnuson Moss warranty act and then find an honest dealer.

The Journey (in fact every modern vehicle) is filled with expensive electronics and dealers are by and large poor diagnosticians, so if you plan to hang on to the vehicle it is more than possible you'll make money with an extended warranty, especially if you can score one at a discount - and that means shopping  . . . . also noting that if you buy online from out of state you will save any sales taxes that may have otherwise been applicable.

Buy or extended warranty from an online FCA vendor and ONLY buy the OEM one - they are available in different durations and to cover different total mileage - and both without deductibles and with a deductible that applies per claim.  Price-wise the trick is to solicit a quote from one of the online dealers and then follow through - they'll send you a follow-up every so often and you'll save a further couple of hundred dollars.  Note that depending on the age and mileage of your vehicle when you buy te plan Chrysler may require a inspection and the cost could be higher . . . . . .

[jkeaton]

Love my 2013. Approaching 60,000 miles. Only thing we've had done is front struts replaced under warranty and new tires. Still on original brakes. No problems. 

[redtomatoman]

I have a 2011 and it has been a solid vehicle.  It is not my daily driver so I cannot comment on the daily grind sorts of wear and tear, but it still runs like the day I brought it home with 60,000+ miles on it.  I think one simple rule to avoiding a lot of problems is to let the DJ idle down to below 1000rpm before shifting or driving.  It takes 20-30 seconds.  Definitely get the extended warranty to cover any problems, especially electronics.  

 

Peace.

[rolly]

My 2013 Journey has 80,00 kilometres (50,000 miles) and virtually trouble free. Had the radio replaced once and only replaced the tires in that time. I bought the extended warranty for the reasons that others have stated. I make sure to do the regular maintenance- oil changes, tire rotations and alignments as required. It's the best vehicle I've ever owned and we are a 3 Journey family with similar experience.

[Journeyman425]

Our 2013 Journey Crew has been very reliable for us. Like many others, we had to have the radio replaced. The unit functioned perfectly fine other than a corrupted navigation map which required the replacement of the radio to correct. We have 67,000 miles on the car and that is really the only problem we've had with it. No warning lights, no ominous noises, and it runs smooth and straight.

 

It is worth noting that this car was in a major collision at 30,000 miles which required the nose of the car to be replaced and some welding of the driver's side frame rail (yes it's unit body but it's the structural component to which the engine and some of the suspension it bolted to). Even with that kind of damage, the car came back to us in perfectly good working order, and we've more than doubled the mileage on it since that work was done with no issues.

 

I am a dealer service manager, and I still purchased a Mopar Maximum Care lifetime service contract despite the fact that I receive discounted parts as a dealer employee. Some of these components are very expensive as was mentioned in an earlier thread - like the aforementioned radio - and you can recover the cost of your contract in as little as one major repair. Plus, if anything should happen to me, all my wife has to do is pay a $100.00 deductible on any covered repair (and Maximum Care excludes very few items) for as long as she owns the car.

 

We've had very good experiences with our Chryslers. My daily driver is a 2000 300M with 309,800 miles, my 18 year old son drives a 1999 300M with 142,000 miles. Both run perfectly with no warning lights or odd noises. The Journey has been fine so far as I said. You do NOT have to purchase your service contract from your selling dealer. You are free to shop around as bramfrank suggested. Your dealer told you what they did in an attempt to keep your business in-house. A Mopar Vehicle Protection Plan is good at ANY FCA dealership.

[larryl]

My 2013 Crew has almost 80000 miles and aside from the Nav being replaced numerous times nothing else except the battery was dead this morning so a replacement is in order

[OhareFred]

Your dealer is just trying to get your service money.  Your 5/60 warranty is good as long as you have receipts for regular maintenance items (oil changes, etc) and you do the required items when they are due.

[2late4u]

my 2011 journey had about 70k and no real problems traded for my 2014 crossroad and i bought the max lifetime miles and yrs (if i had bought it on my 2011 would have kept it) about 53 k on this one and had to use the extended warranty at about 45k for the oil sensor going bad while on vacation only cost me 100. for the deductible and just put on new tires ( 19 inch) at about 47k, love it and plan on driving the wheels off it hench the warranty.....

[lmoore1436]

On 12/16/2016 at 3:05 AM, bramfrank said:

Start off by looking up the Magnuson Moss warranty act and then find an honest dealer.

The Journey (in fact every modern vehicle) is filled with expensive electronics and dealers are by and large poor diagnosticians, so if you plan to hang on to the vehicle it is more than possible you'll make money with an extended warranty, especially if you can score one at a discount - and that means shopping  . . . . also noting that if you buy online from out of state you will save any sales taxes that may have otherwise been applicable.

Buy or extended warranty from an online FCA vendor and ONLY buy the OEM one - they are available in different durations and to cover different total mileage - and both without deductibles and with a deductible that applies per claim.  Price-wise the trick is to solicit a quote from one of the online dealers and then follow through - they'll send you a follow-up every so often and you'll save a further couple of hundred dollars.  Note that depending on the age and mileage of your vehicle when you buy te plan Chrysler may require a inspection and the cost could be higher . . . . . .

 

Is the Mopar warranty through the Dodge owners site considered an OEM warranty? I like that they allow you to spread out the warranty payments. 

[lmoore1436]

On 12/17/2016 at 6:35 PM, OhareFred said:

Your dealer is just trying to get your service money.  Your 5/60 warranty is good as long as you have receipts for regular maintenance items (oil changes, etc) and you do the required items when they are due.

 

Yeah I know, that's why I didn't purchase there. Same story with Honda, they try to charge an arm and a leg at the dealer then when you get home you find you can buy it for 1/3 of what they tried to charge! I've learned my lesson in regards to that haha

[2late4u]

12 hours ago, lmoore1436 said:

 

Is the Mopar warranty through the Dodge owners site considered an OEM warranty? I like that they allow you to spread out the warranty payments. 

yes

 

[Journeyphenia]

Regardless of Dodge's lack of taking care of my warranty issues, I love my 2014 Crossroad. I decided I'd have to live with whatever issues come up and realize that I had to accept those issues because I do like the car so much.

1. Mine had a production flaw with a front bumper looseness. Inside the bumper, the support frame and interior of the bumper have too much play. The left side of the front fender began gapping from the fender panel. The brace which joined the two broke and replacing it would only cause it to break again. I had to remove the grill and retrofit mine to fix the problem. Now it's super tight and aligned better with the headlights and the fenders.

2. The granite crystal metallic paint doesn't match exactly from the rear doors to the rear panels

3. From 3rd to 4th gear, it doesn't shift that well

4. The driver seat had a looseness that had to be replaced. Took lots of work to get them to replace it.

5. The sunglass/map console has a flawed design and keeps breaking. The spring inside will slip off it's location. I glued mine and it's been fine since

6. The rotors warped and had to be resurfaced. It only showed on downhill braking.

7. Getting Dodge to take care of things was like pulling teeth, filled with expletives and frustration on my part, truly a company that is clueless on building brand loyalty.

 

With all this, I still love the car and will probably buy another.

 

[2late4u]

well i also have a 2014 crossroad with 58 k on it no problems with my rotors just checked my pads and they look like over half the pads are still left,never had any problems with my sunglass console on any either of my journeys, sometimes my trans gives me a hesitation once in a while like it is trying to find the gear for the speed i am going doesn't worry me a bit. my divers seat every so often might move back or forward a quarter of an inch  just enough for me to feel and then it doesn't do it again for a long time so no big deal, my dealership is great so i would suggest to find a different dealer as you are not tied to the one you bought from. i pass up the closest  dodge dealership to me ( as they are they worst dealership) to go to. the one i like and have bought most of my vehicles from over the years is about 10 miles furthest but worth the drive. glad you like your journey as i really love mine.

[Journeyphenia]

One other glitch, the gas tank holds 19 gallons and the gas gauge isn't very accurate. I ran my tank dry and out of gas until coming to a coasting to a stop, to find out what the issue was with the fuel gauge inconsistency. The tank only took 19 gallons when empty. That explains better why my gauge is on E and I can only fill up about 16 gallons.

 

Sunglass case - Dodge ordered 5 replacement map/sunglass consoles because each came in with a blemish on the sunglass cover. They finally told me that there was nothing they could do and that the blemish was acceptable to Dodge. I repaired my original replacement, which had broken again, because it was the best looking blemish of the ones they ordered. They come out of Mexico and seem to have a real issue. If your return spring snaps, it's an easy repair. It goes back onto it's seat and need some glue to hold it from sliding off. The unit pulls off of the ceiling but putting it back on and having a tight fit required me to put a backing behind the headliner so that it snapped into place completely. 

[bfurth]

To answer the question about maintaining the warranty by only using dealer service: In short, probably not.

 

The Magnusson Moss Warranty Act of 1975 prohibits a car manufacturer (and others, but this part is pertinent here) from imposing service with exact parts and from a specific location (read: at the dealer, using on OEM parts) UNLESS they pay for it.  So, if that dealer is actually telling people this, they are either violating federal law, or they are offering to perform all powertrain maintenance (oil and filter changes, transmission fluid drain/fill, spark plug changes for 2.4L, engine air filter, etc.) for no cost for the duration of the powertrain warranty.

 

That act specifically allows you to perform your own maintenance with appropriate parts of your choosing (but they better be compatible - no jury rigging).  Keep your receipts, and know that the dealer is lying to you.

[bramfrank]

My '14 Crossroad has suffered exactly none of your issues.  Not one.

And the fuel tank capacity is not related to what YOU can pump in and you can't drain it completely (and you wouldn't want to, because of sediment and water that collects at the bottom) ad you don't want to run it too far below empty, because that fuel is used to cool the fuel pump - expose it too many times and it will burn up (not a Dodge thing, MOST cars use the fuel in the tank as coolant for the fuel pump).

I have the extra cost silver paint and it sure looks like the colors differ from panel to panel, but the reality is that it is an optical illusion on my vehicle - testing the color with a meter shows that they are exactly the same.

I managed to mildly warp the disks on my '11, which were a lot smaller and thinner than the ones on my '14.  It would take a fair amount of hard braking to kill those.

There is an annoying vibration/rattle-sort-of-sound from the passenger seat back, but there isn't anything I can do about that.

All in all, and especially considering their price point, the Journeys (plural) I've owned have been great vehicles.

[larryl]

As stated you cannot beat the price point.... no one is close when they are compared to any other similar suv.

You cant even get a heated steering wheel on a Acadia unless you get the $55000 Denali version

[lmoore1436]

On 5/9/2017 at 9:03 PM, Journeyphenia said:

Regardless of Dodge's lack of taking care of my warranty issues, I love my 2014 Crossroad. I decided I'd have to live with whatever issues come up and realize that I had to accept those issues because I do like the car so much.

1. Mine had a production flaw with a front bumper looseness. Inside the bumper, the support frame and interior of the bumper have too much play. The left side of the front fender began gapping from the fender panel. The brace which joined the two broke and replacing it would only cause it to break again. I had to remove the grill and retrofit mine to fix the problem. Now it's super tight and aligned better with the headlights and the fenders.

2. The granite crystal metallic paint doesn't match exactly from the rear doors to the rear panels

3. From 3rd to 4th gear, it doesn't shift that well

4. The driver seat had a looseness that had to be replaced. Took lots of work to get them to replace it.

5. The sunglass/map console has a flawed design and keeps breaking. The spring inside will slip off it's location. I glued mine and it's been fine since

6. The rotors warped and had to be resurfaced. It only showed on downhill braking.

7. Getting Dodge to take care of things was like pulling teeth, filled with expletives and frustration on my part, truly a company that is clueless on building brand loyalty.

 

With all this, I still love the car and will probably buy another.

 

The only thing from this list I can so far verify after 9k miles is the hesitation from 3rd to 4th, and my Dodge dealer is a nightmare as well. The paint is fine, and I think I may have a phobia of something going wrong from reading a tad bit too many complaints about the journey. I'm sorry that you have so many problems though, every vehicle has a few that cause their owners problems out of the factory (maybe yours was assembled on a Friday at 4:52pm). The issue with Dodge dealers seems to be rather common too, as I have friends who have had similar nightmares with their dealership almost 100 miles away. 

[Journeyphenia]

Thanks. Something will probably go wrong at some point but just accept that and it's much easier to appreciate the good in this vehicle. We have 3 cars and it's a reality that something will eventually break.

 

My list of problems isn't a complaint as much as a list of things for other owners to keep an eye out for while under warranty. As an example, I didn't catch the bumper looseness issue until out of warranty. With Dodge being a pain to work with, we need all the info and background we can get to lobby for fixes.  

 

The term SUV is used loosely and most have very little utility. I have the 5 seat version with a ton of storage below deck in back. All my work tools go there and by flipping the cover deck upside down, I am able to fold it back to access all underneath without having to lift it away. The totally flat seats in back, passenger seat folding flat, the cargo tie downs, the other storage and a roof rack make it the most utilitarian car out there from what I have found.

 

The driving position is also one of the most comfortable in that, sitting in the car, many vehicles cause your right leg to have to angle to the left rather than straight ahead. I went to carmax and sat in most cars on the market back when they left all the cars unlocked. This angled driving position was common. I'm not sure there is anything more important that the drivers comfort and in this vehicle, it's just about perfect for me.

[lmoore1436]

10 hours ago, Journeyphenia said:

Thanks. Something will probably go wrong at some point but just accept that and it's much easier to appreciate the good in this vehicle. We have 3 cars and it's a reality that something will eventually break.

 

My list of problems isn't a complaint as much as a list of things for other owners to keep an eye out for while under warranty. As an example, I didn't catch the bumper looseness issue until out of warranty. With Dodge being a pain to work with, we need all the info and background we can get to lobby for fixes.  

 

The term SUV is used loosely and most have very little utility. I have the 5 seat version with a ton of storage below deck in back. All my work tools go there and by flipping the cover deck upside down, I am able to fold it back to access all underneath without having to lift it away. The totally flat seats in back, passenger seat folding flat, the cargo tie downs, the other storage and a roof rack make it the most utilitarian car out there from what I have found.

 

The driving position is also one of the most comfortable in that, sitting in the car, many vehicles cause your right leg to have to angle to the left rather than straight ahead. I went to carmax and sat in most cars on the market back when they left all the cars unlocked. This angled driving position was common. I'm not sure there is anything more important that the drivers comfort and in this vehicle, it's just about perfect for me.

 

Nice, well I'm glad you decided to share! When leaving the gym today I actually stopped and looked at how tight my front bumper was, haha and happy to report no looseness! A lot of people, including myself, turn to forums like these to research cars before they buy too so it's definitely helpful information. I agree about the driving position too, I'm 6'2 and I fit in the drivers seat perfectly, even when I want to sit a bit higher (kind of bus-driver like) I can bring the seat up almost as high as it will go and I'm still comfortable. 

 

I went into the dealership to get my first oil change after 9400 miles (the message hadn't popped up yet because I drive like a slug) and the dealer was a nightmare. Waited two hours for the oil change that I scheduled for 9am. Then they come out and ask me who removed or replaced my tires, I said nobody has touched them, I bought the vehicle in december. Then they said the threaded piece that held the tire on was broken, so I asked them to show me what they meant. Well, they took me back and it was broken off with the lug nut still on, so my only assumption from that is that they broke it off themselves. Took another two hours to get the manager to admit they broke it off and get them to cover it. Then when I get my paperwork after finishing up, it says at 9:20am they typed in that they broke it themselves! Believe me, I am going to place a call to Dodge to let them know about this little snafu, I wish there was another Dodge dealer around but I'll suck it up for now. Safe travels! 

[PitCarver]

On 5/10/2017 at 10:24 AM, Journeyphenia said:

One other glitch, the gas tank holds 19 gallons and the gas gauge isn't very accurate. I ran my tank dry and out of gas until coming to a coasting to a stop, to find out what the issue was with the fuel gauge inconsistency. The tank only took 19 gallons when empty. That explains better why my gauge is on E and I can only fill up about 16 gallons.

My '17' is the same...

Fill it up and watch the gauge drop from full to 3/4 in less than 50 miles.  It only begins to stabilize when it hits the 3/4 mark.

I'm a bit OCD and it drives me nuts.

[Separate Ways]

On 2016-12-16 at 1:58 AM, lmoore1436 said:

The plastic trim around the dash likes to rattle on occasion and the passenger door also takes a little bit more effort to close than it should. 

I have noticed the exact same issue with my 2017 DJ Crossroad, both passenger side doors (Front & Rear) do not close as easily as the drivers side doors......with regards to hearing the trim rattle, I have not noticed any rattling sounds.