Dodge Journey JC.I (2008-2011)

13 warranty claims in 2 months and left out to dry by the new car dealers that sold it to me! – 2010 Dodge journey before I took delivery needed something changed on the engine then did 20,000kms in the next month to unleash a barrage of issues! Rear bumper replaced due to flexing in 45+ degree heat first under warranty in Australia on the 2010 model. Rated fuel consumption totally bogus didn't get anywhere near it even driving it like a… Read more

granny. Only good thing is it was comfortable and the stereo system I paid to upgrade was awesome! Downside is I lost over $20,000 in all with my additional options and what I lost trading it in after 6 months of Dodge avoiding the issues the car had. Avoid them at all costs they are cheap Mexican junk and no after sales service.

Absolutely useless – Once you reach 150+klms auto electrical issues happen out the wazoo. Confirmed with a mechanic these cars a rendered useless come 150klm with auto electrical problems we have had the horn blasting when the car is parked in the garage, battery drainage when nothing is left on and alternator is fine, error signals popping up when nothing is wrong,… Read more

indicator errors when nothing is wrong, airbag errors when nothing is wrong, engine lights when nothing is wrong.

Absolute lemon of a car. Never again.

Worse Car I've Ever Experienced – TERRIBLE!!!! My wife and family deserve better than whar this car gives you... Looks grear, big size but terrible in evety way. First 2012 Dodge JourneyR/T Diesel purchased in Nov 2016 was so bad it needed a new transmission after only 136,000kms. The car dealer even told us this car shouldn't have been sold. So took 6 weeks to find a suitable… Read more

replacement.

They replaced it with a 2011 Dodge Journey SXT which had done less kms (126,000kms) and on face value it looked good. No real issues for a year, then starting having transmission issues at only 132,000kms. In April, the water pump was replaced ($4,000 job because water pump is in a bad spot). Now at under 140,000kms the cylinder heads or head gasket is gone and needs replaced. Basically a new engine is required.

This car has basically become a near 2 tonne front yard ornament as it's pretty much worthless now. It can't even be traded as you can't drive it anywhere.

A beat up 30 year old Holden or Ford station wagon is a better choice than this American P.O.S

Save your money and don't even bother with a Dodge. You'll regret it in the long run.

Problem after problem – In 2010 only three months old the transmission goes.....first time I ever buy a car brand new and never have a experienced so many problems with any vehicle like this in my whole life. The transmission was the first of many expensive issues, If I didn’t know any better I’d think my car was having an affair with the mechanics. Spends enough time… Read more

there. ......At present it has a horn that randomly goes off like its possessed which apparently is quite common in these cars along with everything else that breaks. This car is a heap of junk. My last car was a second hand Mitsubishi and not once did it break down in the 5 years I owned it. Didn’t even get a flat tyre which of course this “Dodgy Dodge” has had. Im so over this rubbish of a car and the expensive repairs. Dodge Journey you’re not fooling me with your good looks and sleek interior any more. You are rotten to the core and I will never look at you or your family ever again.

??? – So spacious, lots of storage, love the built in car seats and surrounds are perfect. However I have owned since Jan an have had so much problems with it, right now I have to wait up to a week if not longer depending on when the parts arrive as I'm getting a oil compartment replaced an full service even though it got full service in February  Show details

Total LEMON! Dodgy Dodge 2010 – If this post saves only one family from experiencing what we have, it is worth it. Our 5-year-old Dodge Journey started having problems since it was 2.5 years old. Initially it was a radiator leak, which a Fiat dealer apparently fixed. Our DVDs/cd unit stopped working & was replaced, our alarm & horn would randomly go off even while driving the… Read more

car & we couldn't turn it off. The horn was disabled by a fiat dealer & they attempted to fix it twice without success. We were told to take the car home & they would call us when they figured out the problem. No call came & we were driving without a horn, all of these problems after 2.5 years. Not to mention the rotors being machined or replaced alternating nearly every year. Then after 6 months (1 month out of warranty) the head gasket blew while travelling at 100km on the freeway & we lost brakes & steering & we're only able to get to a very narrow side lane. My husband, myself & 4 kids were in the car with cars & trucks flying past us. Fiat refused to help us even though it was related to the initial radiator leak. Meanwhile our DVDs/cd player stopped working once again & our horn/alarm problems continued. The issue with the horn/alarm was also draining our battery, so we were constantly late or unable to go places due to a flat battery, even though we replaced the battery. Again no help from fiat! We paid to have our head gasket problem fixed (fiat provided the measly part out of good will) we were still $2500 out of pocket for the mechanics bill. For the next 2 years we dealt with battery & horn problems until a non Dodge mechanic revealed the problem & fixed it. The horn plate was warped. This is a problem you see with many other Dodge Journeys since 2009, you would have thought they would have figured it out by now. Finally that problem was fixed & then, yes there is more, just before the car was 5 years old, the Welch plug was leaking & needed replacing, $900 later. A cheap part, but they had to pull the car apart to get to it. We had been in touch with fiat, as they finally decided the should speak with us & they have refused to help us in any way, except by replacing the DVDs/cd player again (in good will) & replacing the rear mount. We have also started to experience the common ignition problem with these cars, where it doesn't always turn on the first or even 5th time. And still that is not everything, this weekend while heading to the coast for a family night away (which we don't do often) the car overheated when we arrived at the coast. So we were an hour from home & our usual mechanic. We had the car towed to a local mechanic & again it looks like the head gasket. Oils were spraying everywhere & no doubt in our radiator, which will also need to be cleaned again & more $$$. The customer service from Fiat Chrysler is the worst I have ever seen. How they can ignore real issues like this, is absolutely disgusting & they shouldn't be allowed to just get away with it. But they can & will get away with it, as we have nothing in place to help us little guys out. We could spend tens of thousands of $$$ on a court case, but we would end up out of pocket, as when we would have won (because we would win) they would have to cover part of our legal costs, but not 100%, so when you do the math, it just isn't worth it financially for us. The Dodge Journey is a nightmare! Yes, there are owners out there that haven't had a problem at all, but for those who have, Fiat Chrysler are not there to help. Oh, fuel economy is no where near what they promised. We get 450km out of a 70-75 litre tank. Don't risk it.

No issues – We have a 2009 Journey and with around 95,000km on the clock and it still runs well. The only serious we have had was a sensor went awry and shut the vehicle down....great when one is one a freeway. After 2 occurrences within a year, and the threat of legal action, the Dodge stealership saw fit to replace the offending sensor, All has been well… Read more

since then.

As an aside, at 95K+ we've just replaced the original 4 Khumo tyres, The original brake pads are still okay for another 30K or so.

Guess it all comes down to whether one bought a Monday/Friday or Wednesday built vehicle.

Won't start!!!! – We bought our 2009 Dodge Journey (2nd hand) back in 2014. Only a year since we've had it. We've serviced it regularly. But for the past 5months we've had issues with getting the car To actually start! . To this day It never clicks over on the first go. Unless We've tried at least one of these to start the car from locking to unlocking, chucking it… Read more

into neutral, try moving the gears or even pumping the breaks! It's annoying!! Totally regret buying a. Dodge Journey never again!!!!

love the car but cost me a fortune – we brought a 2008 dodge journey 2nd hand for $23,000 and have owned it for 15 mth and have paid around $5,000 in repairsand the car is still not right. i love the space and how cheep it is on fuel just hate the ongoing cost our last repairwas cylinder and they now have told me their is a probllem with the wiring in the exaust and its not worth repairing. very disappointed  Show details

2010 Dodge Journey SXT – Purchased our Dodge Journey sxt 2010 brand new. Brakes and rotors have been replaced, Rears at 22,000km and Fronts done at 30,000km. Spoke to the dealer about the brake issue and was told it wasn't covered under warranty. I let him know that I was unhappy about it this and what made this even worse was he tried to tell me there wasn't any issues… Read more

with brakes with other journeys.

Price for the dealer to replace was $1500 thats just for the Rears. Went to my local mechanic and he suggested a change to non genuine at less than half the price. Sometime between services the fronts went on me and changed them to non genuine as well. Had the rear pads checked at this time and found bad wear had already started. Done some research and changed all pads to bendex 4wd pads. Car has done 108000km and have just replaced the rear pads again, pads had done 78,000km much happier with the this result, inspected fronts at the same time very little wear was found. Also worth noting the tyres that came on the car from the dealer wore really fast, changed out fronts at 29,000km and rears a further 10,000km later. Have maxxis bravo H/T 760 on there now and they are a really great tyre a little loud but can't knock the wear on them like i said have done 108000km and they have plenty of meat left on them.

Have read also about the Engine light issue on here, again I have had the same issue. Taken it to my local mechanic and have found a range of issues associated with the light. The first being the catalic converter censor, second being fuel system running lean to name a couple. I put a fuel system cleaner into the fuel tank and have only bought premium unleaded from caltex since and the light now only comes on when I pick up fuel from Shell or Bp stations. Have started to buy Standard unleaded every second tank and still no issue with engine light.

I have had a starting issue as well less than 2 years after purchased, found the battery to be crap quality changed out no problems since.

Looking to offload the car soon and will not be buying usa made crap.

Don't bother buying it!!!! – Bought a second hand Dodge Journey 2008 it has a great look and feel to it but servicing the damn thing costs a fortune! The engine light constantly turns on & every time we take it to get fixed it's always a different problem. That wouldn't be a problem if each time it didn't cost $500+. We've almost spent $10k on repairs and the engine light is… Read more

still on. Maybe they just have it switching on so we take it to get fixed and spend more money. Dont bother buying this car unless you can afford repairs or have a trustworthy mechanic!

It's a love hate relationship – We have a 2010 Dodge Journey 7 seater. It has just clocked over to 56,000kms. Mother in-law was driving at 80km/ph over the top of the gateway bridge fully loaded with our small children inside. The car just shut off for no reason, Mum had to think fast and just roll to an eventual stop as there were no brakes because the power shut down and… Read more

would not restart (electronic of course). There is no explanation to the car doing this either. Honestly I am scared to drive the car if it's going to be so unsafe. We purchased the car in 2010 it was a demo model and it had 12,000 on the clock. We have serviced the car as often as it needs it, treated it with the utmost care... This car is our first new car and we cannot afford to buy another. Not sure what to do now, it seems that we're stuck with it...

Dodge journey RT 09 – BAD MISTAKE! They have common electrical fault $3,000 brakes and bearings massively expensive $850 just for bearing part.. Absolutely love the comfort and look but by gawd small problems = HUGE $$$$  Show details

Dodge Journey 2010 – Life expectancy of front and rear brakes is less than 20,000 klms. Have replaced front brakes 6 times and now up to 3rd for the rear brakes - total of 9 set of brakes in 3 years. Current brakes for 2010 models are too small and it is known to the dealers however not passed onto the buyers. Front and Rear brakes

Pathetic pathetic customer service!!! – Car - awesome, love it, fantastic value, comfortable, looks great, kids love it.. No problems, breaks have been good (been using non oem rotors, much cheaper). Very economical to run. Cons - customer service is shocking! The worst i have ever dealt with. I have been waiting on a turbo hose for my 08 journey r/t diesel for a month, still… Read more

waiting. If i was driving a holden, ford, mitsubishi or hyundai this would not be happening. This is inexcusable, my car has been off the road for a month and they don't care!!! Why am i waiting so long for a simple turbo hose? Why can't they source a non obscure part for a car they still sell? Pathetic, do not buy products from chrysler/dodge/jeep australia. They will not look after you. Never again! It is simply unacceptable to be waiting a month for a part keeping you off the road no matter how good the car is. Lovely car, a little rough around the edges in build quality but the car itself is fine. The worst customer service I have ever dealt with. Take a good, hard look at yourselves and the way you conduct your business and treat your customers. Stock parts in Australia. It should take no more than a week to import parts from the US anyway.

Terrible car. Dodgy and costs more to fix!!! – Brakes replaced twice in the first year of purchase. Was not covered by warranty. Replaced it 2nd time through someone else with Bendix Brakes which lasted a lot longer. Both sets of Fob car Keys stopped working, we thought it needed new batteries but found out via dealer that the actual fob was broken. Engine light keeps coming on. Went to… Read more

dealer a few times and was told to keep driving until light stays on permanently. Took to dealer again 2 weeks ago regarding light and they assured us that it was fixed. Today 28/02/14 while driving, car suddenly died in the middle of nowhere!! We had to pull over. Checked under bonnet and some smoke. Car was towed to dealer at a cost of $243. They advised us that the engine needed replacing at a cost of almost $8000!!!. My cousin had the same problems with her Dodge Journey, as well as our friend, who has a Dodge Nitro. Keep an eye out as I now understand that the Dodge has been rebranded as a Fiat. Have already advised various people to Review the negative comments on the Internet before they decide to buy. I wish I had.

Heap of Junk – What a huge mistake buying a dodge journey. Dodge by name & dodge by nature. Within the first 18 months had to have a new transmission so was off the road for almost 12 Weeks!!! Had to also have a new stereo. Then new brake pads. Now issues with the transmission again & also the ignition!!! Be warned do not buy one. Only travelled 48000km in 3.5 years.

Dodgy dodge journey – Biggest mistake of my life.bought journey sxt and have had it just over a year and a half ive replaced the front brakes twice and rears twice but had a bent rear calliper replaced.Car is extremely sluggish have to stay in left lane so as not to offend drivers behind as i have to wait for motor to finally decide what it wants to do tempted to cut… Read more

holes and do a flinstones ,and every service ive taken it for ive reported it but might as well be talking to a brick wall.dealerships are extremely unhelpful and down right rude im seriuosly contemplating trading it in even though it will be at a great loss to me but ive had enough and would rather loose than have to deal with dodgy dealerships and dodgy car and cannot be replacing brakes and tyres every 6mnths . Do not buy it you will regret it !!!!

Expensive, bad brakes ,engine lacks power.

Would never buy another Dodge – Journey RT 2010. This car is really lovely to drive. Quiet, smooth, powerful. Great bits and pieces (audio system, aircon, cruise control, etc). We have had to replace all the breaks every year we have a standard service. Apparently, the Journey was built using breaks fit for a smaller car. This kept the price down apparently. I believe there… Read more

is a class action against Dodge regarding this issue. This was costing us around $1500 more per year. Costing us more than our 23 year old van that we traded it in for.

Upon our 46,000 service, the standard service cost for this is $1600. This was before looking at the car.

Anyway... keep away from Dodge. Smooth and responsive. Great appointments. Lovely to drive. Expensive to service. Break replacement every 12 months.

Thank god dodge have left the UK – We are having continuous problems with the Engine management system, it has been replaced but still to no avail, again the car is booked into the garage in an attempt to rectify the problem. We have had dodge specialists even come from HQ to solve the problem. On top of that we also suffer from poor economy, heavy on tyres, new radio and 3 new turbos. Comfortable, plenty of storage and child booster seats are great  Show details

It's ok, lovely to drive but wouldn't buy another – 50,000km on the clock, up to second set brakes AND rotors (they both go at the same time). Had 2 recalls done on it already, but one has to go back again as it's still not fixed. Services expensive (through Dodge dealership). Seen it mentioned before so will add my experience; at 3 months had to replace windscreen due to stone chip you almost… Read more

needed a magnifying glass to see. Not practical for a large family - 3 car seats squeeze into the middle row (although built in boosters are great!), but 2 teens in rear row find it too cramped to go any more than a few minutes down the road. Forget adding luggage or shopping or even a stroller in behind the seats if all rows are up, it won't fit. Extremely disappointed that our Nav system has maps from 2005 (for a 2009 model) and will cost us $280 to upgrade to more current maps. I wouldn't bother as it's funny listening to the system getting antzy when you drive through a non-existent lake, but I need to get around and need to know where streets are. We're using the nav systems on our phone more. Overall, it's great to drive comfort wise and is smooth, but I wouldn't buy another due to costs, and number of, problems it has. Love all the built in features like the eskies in the floor, 2 glove boxes, and extra storage in the very back. Love the zoned climate control. Nice to drive. Fuel is pretty respectable for mileage considering it's size. Expensive to maintain. Tried to get set of tyres only to be told that the only ones that would fit were truck tyres at $600 each. Not roomy when you use the 3rd row of seats and not practicable for a large family.

Keeps breaking down! – Thought we were buying a great diesel car. Yes it is great to travel distances and excellent on fuel.Purchased our dodge journey in November 2010 Brand "new" , 1700kms down the track the battery collapsed,he dealer told us we weren't driving it enough, then when the tow truck winched it onto the back the bolt on the car broke and it fell off… Read more

hitting a small tree, then the turbo went, then the turbo went again, then the dealer couldn't get the engine light to go off, when repairing it the dealer broke the front bar, then i had to ring and advise, and guess what the turbo has just gone again August 2011. It is an accident waiting to happen, overtaking a truck on the highway and the car dies from 105km to 60km, tell me this is safe??? Going through and intersection...no power..scary Great on Fuel Purchased our dodge journey in November 2010 Brand "new" , 1700kms down the track the battery collapsed, then when the tow truck winched it onto the back the bolt on the car broke and it fell off hitting a small tree, then the turbo went, then the turbo went again, when repairing it the dealer broke the front bar, then i had to ring and advise, and guess what the turbo has just gone AGAIN August 2011. It is an accident waiting to happen, overtaking on truck on the highway and the car dies from 105km to 60km, tell me this is safe???

Dodge Journey turbo problems – Dodge Journey 20 k miles on the clock turbo broken in for repair as i type, two recalls on this model key falls out and air bag passenger wire loom failed Not a good indicator of build quality despite its excellent looks reliable not according to the talk on the web ,brakes seem to be an issue on all models energy wise ok mid priced car… Read more

with good extras

Dodge need to resolve this or it will become a name of bad manufacturing and shoddy workmanship Dodge please please look to make this good and supply an upgrade on turbos and brakes to sort this before it becomes a class action case Mid price good looks Warranty service needs improvement

Good – I'd buy one again, particularly if they upgraded the diesel [vibration] or NVH improved, its one of the best well featured wagons on the market [looks ok as well], fit and finish is fine, and that this model can seat upto 7, with heaps of features particulary on the top range R/T..the R/T diesel fully loaded for just over $50K is well worth a… Read more

look, with petrol cheaper but fuel economy 30+% less .. 2010 R/T 2.0 diesel turbo 6spd auto [DSG style]- great economy even around town driving 8.0L/100km low 7s on highway, had our since April 2010, excellent versatility, can seat 7 in comfort if need be [with air to all rows], fold flat seats great for loading, purchased new washing machine slid straight into the back no problem [tight fit height wise..but it fitted tho]. stereo nav works is excellent with BT and voice control for calling or use voice to enter destination for nav on the run [best system I've had so far, 30gb music hard drive fits plenty of music as well as 6 CD/DVD stacker in dash. Nifty storage areas, and very comfortable leather seats, heaps of features on top model..it all works really well. turbo diesel has great usable power/torque..there is some lag but after 10 mins of driving you can get used to its power delivery, DSG style auto works well can use it manually but in the end just leave it in D, and use the throttle and the auto and turbo respond well.. altho diesel/DSG style gearbox are excellent giving great economy, good power delivery and long range touring 77L tank upto 1100kms, with solid performance, the vibration felt in the car thru mid rev range of the diesel isn't good, we also have a SWB diesel Pajero 2009, it has virtually no vibration at all from the diesel its well insulated from the cabin..once Journey over 60kph its fine highway no problem, but under that and in town acceleration vibtration can be annoying..

Bad – Nice to look at but a money pit,I have had mine for 15months and new brakes for it $850.00 though dealer,servicing costs around $400 to $500 every 12000km would i buy another "NO" very roomy and very comfortable really bad blind spot between windscreen and front doors,Very very heavy on brakes and expensive to service,

great tourer – Owned the car 12 months travelled 21,000km over all types of roads. No problems great for long distance touring, extremely quiet and comfortable. Good power delivery and economy once you fit a K&N air filter, the best has been 8.5l/100kms, most of the time it averages low 10's combined city and country driving. Serviced recently, cost $290,… Read more

brakes front 30% worn, rear 20%.

Wife considers the Dodge an improvement over her 06 Honda Accord in regard to performance and practicability. Loves driving the car,the 7 seat configuration and all the standard extras.

I thoroughly recommend this vehicle for families. Comfortable, reliable and practical. Great buy for $38K drive away. Heavy car for city driving.

Dodge Journey a good amercan car! – Our Journey has 65k on the clock and is constantly loaded with teenage kids and sports equipment and on occasion two large greyhounds. Does this all without problem. Does like a drink if you push it hard -as do all cars-. Brakes are an issue as consumes them rather quickly,we are getting around 35 K for front rotors and pads and around 50 K for… Read more

rears. Engine and transmission is good but does hunt for gears sometimes. Original tyres went in under 25 K they where replaced by a set of Coopers. These are still going well and seem to suit the vehicle-not a sports car by any means.

Interior is standing up well to the family onslaught and is easy to clean. Things like door trim being washable. Seats are very easy to sponge clean. Had a windscreen fitted in the first twelve months -rock from a truck- had problems getting rubber trim but now have a spare set of these for the next one. Fact of life with many long trips to western QLD.

This vehicle does what it says on the box very well and would recommend one to any family. Good for long trips -Very comfortable to drive-Seating is good. I am 1.82 as is my partner Brakes-work well but wear rates are high

OK – The little lady and I had our heart set on this car. I can't see me buying a diesel ever again (have one give you issues and you'll know why) so we drove the petrol. It was gutless and I mean gutless. A 2.7l v6 should go better than this (but it is lugging quite a heavy car), a 2.4l outlander will leave it for dead. Test drive both petrol and… Read more

diesel but I would bet on the diesel going better. Still, I would have one of these over a Kluger any day. The features - even the base model has enough to keep you occupied. Built in bolster seats are awesome, and it has heaps more room than a kluger.I recon it looks good too (like nearly all dodge's) Petrol won't pull the skin off a rice custard. Factory warranty is disappointing.