2015 DODGE JOURNEY Complaints

This vehicle has a known design defect with the oil filter housing and cooler assembly. This plastic assembly will crack and leak oil into a valley in the engine compartment and eventually will leak oil over the rest of the engine and onto the floor. Other times it will fail completely and leak a large amount of oil and/or coolant causing engine failure. Repair if this occurs out of the warranty period is over $800US. There are many web sites with this same information and they are all the same cause. Chrysler will not affect repair for this issue unless it is in the warranty period. Problem is the failure can happen during the warranty period or after but it WILL happen. This should be a recall due to potential safety issue. If this happens while traveling at highway speeds, the engine can sieze and suddenly stop possibly causing a crash and injuries to the occupants or other nearby vehicles. Attached is the diagnosis from my mechanic.

I have made several attempts to fix the continual misfiring, loss of power while driving performance to no avail. After spending thousands of dollars at the local Dodge dealership(s) and mechanics, I now have a car that is unsafe to drive due to known issues with the 3.6 Pentastar engine. This engine was recalled by Chrysler for years prior to my 2015 year. However, the Dodge cars like my Journey are experiencing the very same problems. I have reached out to my state of consumer department in Georgia. They have referred me to NHTSA as they have declared it a safety issue which outside of their scope.

The Anti-Locking Braking System, Electronic Stability Control & Braking warning lights stay on all the time. I have absolutely no traction at anytime. The worse incident occurred when I was headed down a mountain and it had just started to rain. I could not slow the car down. I started at 35 MPH at the top of the mountain and was at 60 MPH by time I got at the bottom of it. Every time I barely touched the brakes the car started fishtailing. I notice the no traction mainly when there are wet roads. I can tell I have not traction at times even on dry roads but lots worse when they are wet. I have noticed in many searches that the ABS/ESC being disabled is a common recall for the 2015 Dodge Journey; however, when I enter my VIN number to my car it states it is not included in this recall. I would like to know how recalls work and why my car would not be included. I have been watchin recalls hoping that my car would be included because I am still making payments on this vehicle and do not have money to fix this issue. This is my main means of travel and I am extremely nervous driving with no traction. I'm considering getting rid of this vehicle because I do not feel it is safe to drive.

I was driving and I had a passenger. We were just driving like normal. All of a sudden the passenger headrest snapped. It was pretty loud. The pieces inside the headrest are broken and will not snap back together. Luckily there were no injuries despite the force when it broke.

The Antilock Brake System (ABS) is not functioning and warning lights are on. I understand there is a recall on Dodge/Journey 2012-2015 for ABS control module: Safety Recall R61/NHTSA 15V-675. I took it to the Dodge dealership for repair, but they declined as my car, based on the vin number, is not covered under this recall. They said only specific vin numbers are recalled and mine is not one of them. Since my Dodge falls under the 2012-2015 general recalI and I have a faulty ABS module, may I get approval to be included under that recall, as this is a safety issue? I talked with the FCA and they suggested I address this issue to you. Thanks.

While my car was stationary, my passenger headrest safety mechanism (or Active Head Restraints (AHR)) deployed. The soft piece of the headrest unexpectedly and violently popped out from the plastic unprompted. Luckily, nobody was in that seat, but the noise startled me so badly I thought I was hit. Upon inspection, two PLASTIC clips that hold the strap in place had snapped and broken, releasing the mechanism. I promptly called a Chrysler dealer and they scheduled me for a warranty replacement. The serviceman said this is a known issue, and that a lady suffered this same issue a couple weeks ago but on the driver's side. He said that although this is a known issue, there is no recall. When asked if I could have the driver's side preemptively replaced, he said it would have to be at my expense. If I had been driving and it happened on the driver's side, I likely would've gotten into an accident and/or been injured. If this is a known issue (and if you research online, it is), why is there no recall? What if this causes a crash and death?

The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle was jerking. The contact stated that the RPM’s increased; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted and while coming to a stop at a red light, the vehicle was stalling. The contact pulled over and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was then towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed there was no recall associated with the VIN. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Drivers side headrest deployed without warning and without a crash. Internal Plastic clips broke causing deployment. Thankfully I was only sitting in the car and not driving. It is a powerful jolt to the back of the head.

My car battery dies over night. Leaving me stranded. I have replaced the battery 5 times in 2 years. I have looked this problem up and there are a huge number of complaints online from Journey owners with the same issue. As a company, Dodge should stand behind their products & issue a recall to fix this problem. I can not keep affording to have my car towed and replacing batteries.

The engine started racing, but did not show on the Tachometer. No dashboard lights. This problem started this morning (9-19-22). When I put it in gear, it jerks. I have to be extra cautious not to hit anyone or anything. I have had this car almost 2 years. It has been doing fine. I don't understand what could be causing this problem.