2009 DODGE JOURNEY AWD Complaints

7/10/14CAR SHUT OFF, COULDN'T STEER OR USE BRAKES. ETC LIGHT CAME ON. READ MANUAL AND FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS. 7/11/2014VEHICLE BEHAVIOR REPEATED. TOWED TO DODGE DEALER TO BE REPAIRED. NEXT DAY SAME THING HAPPENED. TOWED TO DODGE DEALER AGAIN...ETC REPLACED. 8/3/2014 HAPPENED ALL OVER AGAIN. CAR AT DODGE DEALERSHIP. STRANDED WITH YOUNG KIDS IN CAR IS SCARY AND FRUSTRATING ENOUGH BUT TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN THREE TIMES IN LESS THAN 30 DAYS? THANK GOD FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY AT LEAST. *TR

HAD BEEN INTERMITTENTLY SEEING WHITE SMOKE COME FROM UNDER THE HOOD OR FRONT UNDERCARRIAGE OF VEHICLE. NO CAUSE VISIBLE TO THE EYE WAS FOUND. ON DATE IN QUESTION, ENGINE AREA CAUGHT FIRE WHILE DRIVING AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED. VEHICLE TOWED TO COLLISION SHOP WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT TRANSFER CASE/ PUA UNIT WAS "BAD" AND CRACKED. NO COLLISION OR EXTERNAL DAMAGE CAUSED IT. PART SIMPLY CRACKED FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON ACCORDING TO CHRYSLER COLLISION/BODY SHOP. DAMAGE NOT COVERED BY AUTO INSURANCE BECAUSE IT WAS SPONTANEOUS. FRONT END OF VEHICLE PULLS, IGNITION STALLS, ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, BRAKES (PADS, ROTORS & OFTEN CALIPERS) & TIRES MUST BE REPLACED EVERY 4-6 MONTHS. UPON REGULAR MAINTENANCE INSPECTION THERE IS NO SIGN OF PROBLEMS WITH BRAKES & TIRES BUT FULL REPLACEMENT IS USUALLY REQUIRED WITHIN SEVERAL WEEKS OF INSPECTION. *TR

WITHIN MONTHS OF PURCHASE HAD TO REPLACE BRAKES, ROTORS & CALIPERS IN ADDITION TO WHEELS. *TR

FOR A WHILE NOW, RANDOMLY MY JOURNEY WILL GET STUCK IN 2ND OR 3RD GEAR AFTER TAKING OFF. I WILL HAVE TO STOP, PUT IT IN PARK, SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART IT FOR IT TO RESET ITSELF. THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, BUT I'VE HAVE A COMPLETE NEW SET OF BRAKES PUT ON IT, ROTORS AND NEW CALIPERS IN THE FRONT. THE BRAKES ALSO MAKE A KNOCKING SOUND. I ALSO GOT A COMPLETE SET OF TIRES AND THEY SEEM TO BE WEARING QUICKER THAN NORMAL. I HAVE HAD 3 DIFFERENT SHOPS LOOK AT THE BREAKS FOR A DIAGNOSES AND ALL OF THEM SAY THAT THE RIGHT PARTS ON IT AND THEY DON'T SEE AND REASON FOR THE NOISES. *TR

LOW TIRE INDICATOR AS SOON AS I STARTED MY CAR. THEN THE CHANGE OIL INDICATOR FLASHED. I HAD JUST HAD AN OIL CHANGE AND ALL TIRES HAVE ACCURATE PRESSURE. SOMETIMES MY CAR WON'T START WHEN I TURN THE KEY BUT THE LIGHTS AND RADIO WILL WORK. THE SHIFTER PANEL GETS HOT SOMETIMES. THE WIPERS WILL MOVE UP A COUPLE OF INCHES WHEN I USE MY UNLOCK BUTTON ON MY KEY. MY DASH LIGHTS WILL FADE AND THEN COME BACK TO THE BRIGHTNESS I HAVE IT SET AT JUST RANDOMLY WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STARTED, DRIVING OR SITTING STILL. SOUNDS LIKE AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE. LOTS OF OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME THINGS OCCURRING, YET NO RECALLS AND THINGS ARE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH FELT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE BRAKES ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE. WE BOTH WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND ASKED WHY IT WAS SHAKING WHILE BRAKING, THE DEALERSHIP SAID NOT TO WORRY IT JUST WAS THE ABS. NOW WE LEARN WE NEED NEW BRAKES AND THAT DODGE IS/WAS REPLACING BRAKES- 36000 MILES OR 3 YEARS. WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW THAT YEARS AGO. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2009 DODGE JOURNEY IN SEPTEMBER 2013, SHORTLY AFTER LEAVING DEALER SHIP I NOTICED THE STEERING WHEEL SHOOK WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKE. THERE WERE OTHER THINGS WE WERE TAKING CARE OF WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND AT THE TIME THIS WAS NOT OF PRIORITY, FAST FORWARD ROUGHLY 2-3 WEEKS THE SHAKING GOT WORSE AND WORSE AND THE DRIVING OF THE VEHICLE BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE, APPLYING THE BRAKE BECAME DANGEROUS AND IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT IT WOULD SOON LEAD TO CATASTROPHIC RESULTS. WE RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP TO WHICH WE LEFT THE VEHICLE AND RETURNED HOURS LATER, THEY SAID THEY HAD TO CHANGE THE BRAKES AND ROTORS AND IT WAS A HEARD OF PROBLEM WITH THAT VEHICLE, THEY SAID IT WAS FREE OF CHARGE THAT TIME SINCE IT WAS LESS THEN A MONTH OF PURCHASE BUT IF IT OCCURRED AGAIN WE WOULD HAVE TO COVER ALL CHARGES, FAST FORWARD 4 MONTHS AND THE SHAKING STARTED AGAIN WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE. IT IS BECOMING UNSAFE ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS (INTERSTATE, ETC) IT IS BECOMING UNRELIABLE AS TO WHAT IT WILL DO, I HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN TO CARE FOR AND THE RISK THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO PUT US THROUGH IS RIDICULOUS. UPON INTERNET SEARCHES I LEARNED THIS IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM AND A VERY WELL KNOWN BY DODGE PROBLEM WITH 2009 AND 2010 DODGE JOURNEYS YET NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO PERMANENTLY FIX THE PROBLEM I CAN'T AFFORD TO CHANGE THE BRAKES AND ROTORS EVERY FEW MONTHS JUST SO I CAN SIMPLY CONTROL MY STEERING WHEEL/VEHICLE, THIS PROBLEM WILL INEVITABLY CAUSE A CAR CRASH IF NOT WITH MY DODGE JOURNEY THEN WITH ANOTHER, LIVES ARE BEING PUT AT RISK AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. I WILL BE CONTACTING MY DEALERSHIP SOON TO SET UP A DATE TO CHANGE MY BRAKES AND ROTORS AGAIN, BUT AT THIS TIME I DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO DO SO, SO I BARE DOWN AND PRAY TO GOD EVERYTIME I MUST APPLY MY BRAKE HOPING IT DOESN'T GET WORSE TO THE POINT I CAN NO LONGER CONTROL IT. *TR

HAD THE CAR A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AND ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK A VERY LOUD NOISE. WE HAD IT TOWED TO DEALER WHO STATED TRANSFER CASE HAS A LEAK. I HAD TO FIGHT WITH THE WARRANTY COMPANY TO COVER THIS REPLACEMENT. NOW THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM IS CAUSING MY FAN, BRAKE LIGHTS, AND CHARGERSTO GO ON AND OFF.. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME MY WIFE, DAUGHTER AND MY PREGNANT WIFE, WHEN ABOUT 1/2 FROM HOME A DARK BLACK SMOKE CAME OUT OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, I PULLED OVER AND PULLED THE HOOD LATCH, AND AFTER I WAS ABLE TO GET MY FAMILY OUT OF THE CAR, I LOOKED UNDERNEATH THE CAR,A DARK FLUID WAS POURING ON TOP OF THE EXHAUST. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE MECHANIC. AFTER AN INSPECTION, HE FOUND THAT THE POWER TRANSFER CASE UNIT CRACKED. HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET SINCE DEALER SAID THAT IT WASN'T UNDER WARRANTY AND THAT'S NORMAL WEAR FOR THESE VEHICLE. $1350 FOR TRANSFER CASE, $85 TOW TRUCK AND $450 LABOR. *TR

I NOTICED OVER THE WEEKEND THAT THE CAR STARTED MAKING A WEIRD TICKING NOISE. ALSO WHEN PUT INTO REVERSE IT SEEMED LIKE IT WANTED TO STALL SOMETIMES. I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AND IT STARTED TO BUCK AND SPUTTER. I WAS ABLE TO GET IT PULLED OVER AND THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. I HAD IT TOWED TO A GARAGE WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A CRACKED TRANSFER CASE WHICH CAME WITH A $2400 ESTIMATE! AFTER DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS A TYPICAL PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL AND YEAR AND FOUND MANY ACCOUNTS ON DODGEJOURNEYFORUM.COM. SOUNDS LIKE A RECALL NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT IF IT HASN'T HAPPENED ALREADY! *TR