74/6
Well-Known Member
I'm looking to get a different car.. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of the Journey. 3.6L engine. Likes or dislikes.
Thanks
Thanks
Dodge Journey
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GONEFISHIN'
Well-Known Member
I've had 2 of them, after 10 Magic Wagons. If you get one go for the higher end - heated seats and steering wheel nice in our winters. Have had no major problems, put 100K km on the 1st one, have 43K km on the current one. I read the reviews and have to ask "what the heck car were THEY driving?", because mine have both handled quite well and put out tons of acceleration. Drove across the Rockies a couple of years ago and seldom touched the brakes, the sequential shift handled the ups and down as well as a manual. Wife likes that we sit high and yet not top-heavy or sloppy handling, lots of foot-room and cargo space.
dano
Evil Handy Man
Got a 2015 SXT AWD new. The 3.6 is a pretty sweet engine. We like it as our primary family hauler. Have about 9k miles on it so far, been a nice change over out 2007 Escape (that we bought new and went 100k without issues as well). Its quiet, roomy, good power, and handles pretty good for what it is. My only complains are the throttle delay (drive by wire) and the cruise control will drop off a few MPH on a hill before it recovers. I did a ton of homework when we were shopping and the Journey was the best value per dollar compared to others in it's class. If you have to use child seats in the 2nd row, the 3rd row is unaccessible. There are nice storage bins, fold down seats etc....
Do not bother with the 4cyl version.
Do not bother with the 4cyl version.
I rented a new 2012 for a vacation out west 3 yrs ago. I had it for over a week. The 3.6 Pentastar engine was on Ward's 10 best engines for a few years and it was really nice. Plenty of power with the 6 speed automatic. We took it up to 110 one time and it had a lot left. The mileage indicator said we averaged about 30 MPG with 3 guys and camping gear. I liked the Sirius and in-dash graphics package.
I agree that these car testers must be splitting hairs. I may end up looking for a slightly used one.
I agree that these car testers must be splitting hairs. I may end up looking for a slightly used one.
My wife and I bought one this past May. 2011 Journey Crew. She loves it. Have to agree with everyone else. This is a great vehicle. Handles great. No problems.
Fred B
Fred B
kt340sport
Well-Known Member
We had 2 also an 09 with the 3.5 and now 13 with the 3.6 had no issues with either, but got the 13 with heated deats steering wheel and auto start .Great power too you will like that
dano
Evil Handy Man
There was a major overhaul for 2011, new engine, better suspension, interior, etc. I'd pass on the 2010 and down ones.
FYI, the R/T version is nothing more than options. No Power improvements and the suspension improvements are still debated to be different than the SXT.
FYI, the R/T version is nothing more than options. No Power improvements and the suspension improvements are still debated to be different than the SXT.
74/6
Well-Known Member
Thank you all for the response. I have read a lot of bad reviews, but have also read it is one of the most popular cross overs in Canada. Go figure!!
Keith Mopar
Mopar Nut
Yea the wife's Journey (2012) has been trouble free as well, Ours is the RT with heated seats and steering wheel with auto start and she loves it, the awd works great. The 3.6 is a great engine and has a bit more power than the older 3.5 and agree I would opt for the 2011 and up version.
straightlinespeed
Sometimes I pretend to be normal
Well Im with the rest of the guys. The wife bought a 2014 SXT AWD and she loves it.
My only complaint for the vehicle is to select the heat/AC controls you have to go into the radio and use the touch screen. Kind of a hassle when going down the road to sit and look at the radio to figure out what you need to push to get the defrost on.
I do have one question for you all that have these. I notice when the wife starts hers up it has a loud whining noise, not pulley or belt, but a engine noise. Always on start up, Even when we bought it I thought it seemed kind of noisy. After its run for a few seconds it seems to quite down. Has anyone else noticed this.
My only complaint for the vehicle is to select the heat/AC controls you have to go into the radio and use the touch screen. Kind of a hassle when going down the road to sit and look at the radio to figure out what you need to push to get the defrost on.
I do have one question for you all that have these. I notice when the wife starts hers up it has a loud whining noise, not pulley or belt, but a engine noise. Always on start up, Even when we bought it I thought it seemed kind of noisy. After its run for a few seconds it seems to quite down. Has anyone else noticed this.
kt340sport
Well-Known Member
Its the power steering pump, mine only does it at cold temperatures lasts a few seconds, both the 3.5 and my 3.6 do it.If you check any of the chrysler forums it is the number 1 thing as far as the Journey ... I never had a problem with a pump thoughj
straightlinespeed
Sometimes I pretend to be normal
I test drove one a few months ago when car shopping for the wife.
Let's just say it was a very short test drive. It felt like a 2x6 on steel wheels, didn't handle well, and I just didn't like it at all.
And I was really set on getting the wife in a Mopar, but not that one.
Let's just say it was a very short test drive. It felt like a 2x6 on steel wheels, didn't handle well, and I just didn't like it at all.
And I was really set on getting the wife in a Mopar, but not that one.
maybe you was a driving a ford
It may as well have been, I test drove 6 different cars/crossovers and the Journey was at the bottom of the poo pile.
Maybe it was just that particular car, I dunno, but I didn't like anything about it.
My wife is looking for a crossover to use in her real estate business. She needs a better vehicle to transport her signs. We have been looking at Honda, Toyota, and Mazda. I didn't even think that Dodge had a crossover. I will look into it.
BTW, I usually rent the car that I am seriously considering to purchase. I always rent it for at least a week and sometimes include a trip to Las Vegas to check out the long drive comfort. In my opinion, you really can't tell if the car is a good fit for you based on a 3 to 5 minute test drive.
BTW, I usually rent the car that I am seriously considering to purchase. I always rent it for at least a week and sometimes include a trip to Las Vegas to check out the long drive comfort. In my opinion, you really can't tell if the car is a good fit for you based on a 3 to 5 minute test drive.
That's exactly right, but in my case I couldn't have stood anymore.
I usually just take the one I'm interested in from the dealer on a dealer plate for a few days, for free.
gold66cuda
Well-Known Member
My wife bought a loaded R/T new in 2012 and she loves it. I don't drive it very often, it drives OK but I feel the steering is very twitchy and light. No problems with it so far 60,000 KMs. Thinking about replacing it with a new Durango as an upgrade.
kt340sport
Well-Known Member
Its funny about the way people think of things differently , we also drove everything else , Hyundai,Edge, Gm whatever, Mazda. But if you look at what you are getting compared to the price of everything else , some of the others were close to 10 grand more .And to me the Journey is alot better looking vehicle then the rest for sure .And as far as handling well she is going to work , not to a road coarse lol
Keith Mopar
Mopar Nut
Ours is very quit on start up, my sister-in-law also has a Journey (13) and no noise from it either.
It was probably the particular car that we drove, I can't imagine they are all that bad. The one we test drove was very rattly, sloppy steering and it rode like we we sitting on a 2x6 with steel wheels.
It was truly a piece of crap. I seriously hope they aren't all that way.
yes ares does the same
call the dealer its the way the gears are cut in the trany he said
he said dont worry about
Hersbird
Well-Known Member
My daughter got a good deal on a used 2009 R/T AWD. that year had the 3.5 and smaller brakes but she really likes it. We have the 3.6 in our 2011 Town and country and that is a much better motor power and economy wise, but the 3.5 has a proven good reliability record, where the early 3.6s of 2011 have had head cracks and not a ton of high mileage examples running around trouble free out there like the 3.5. The Journey is really just the minivan with a different body, especially the redesign. You can get it with AWD because it doesn't have the stow-and-go seats taking up all the room, and they never made a 3.5 minivan for actual sale. They did have a concept RT Grand Caravan with the 3.5. I personally have a true 4wd SUV so all I wanted was FWD so the minivan is a better price and has more room. My daughter is one of those "never" get a minivan elites. We'll see after she has a couple kids to go along with he dogs. We had an AWD Enclave with the GM 3.6 before our van. Very nice inside but a reliability nightmare and always had a weird rear end wiggle at highway speeds. Enough to make rear seat passengers nauseous. The van gets much better gas mileage. We can get 30 mph with the van steady at 65 mph. We got a 28 mpg tank once on a 350 mile trip over the mountains, and average 19-20 mpg mostly around town.
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