CarComplaints.com Notes: A prime example of why you should never buy the first model year of a new vehicle.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,769 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Dodge Journey accessories - exterior problems

accessories - exterior problem

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2009 Dodge Journey Owner Comments

problem #19

Jul 272022

Journey

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

SYMPTOMS -€" Dangerous Malfunction Critical Component Failure -€" Wipers constantly on slow speed, even in driving rain. No Rear Wiper. No TURN SIGNALS Engine rough and limited to ~2,500 RPM. No HORN. Left signal initiated by Driver in Vehicle#1 when turning left in front of other driver Vehicle#2, no left signal light resulted; Driver in Veh#2 presumed Veh#1 was proceeding straight and pulled out; Result was Near Miss frontal collision. Right Steering column stalk - Front Windshield Wipers constantly on, can not shut off. No WW washer activation. No wiper speed control -€" almost like default: lowest continuous operation (not intermittent and not high speed). No rear WW wiper and wash operation either. Left steering column stalk - No turn signals, no bright lights, no dash light control. Most dash gauges do work except Navigation compass. No horn, Engine limited to about 2,500 RPM -€" rough acceleration Even with ALL the RR WIPER FF Wiper and washer fuses removed, front wipers and lights still continuously -€˜ON-€™. All fuses, relays, electrical grounds, and both multifunction switches checked and good. Malfunctions were sudden, abrupt, and first time experience after normal starting of this vehicle.

- Bentonville, AR, USA

problem #18

Feb 042022

Journey

  • miles
Me and my son were sitting in the car waiting for my wife and the car started dying lights started were flashing the horn was honking wipers were going interior lighting and gauge cluster was all flashing then smoke started to come through the vents so we jumped out and that-€™s when I seen flames under the hood the wiring harness from the firewall to the fuse box was completely in flames. I eventually tamed to fire with snow beings that it was all I had at the moment. The vehicle hasn-€™t been inspected by anyone yet I wasn-€™t sure how to go about this never had to deal with anything like it. It is available for inspection anytime.

- Nashport , OH, USA

problem #17

Nov 252016

Journey

  • miles
The heat/defrost does not work and I can't see out the front windshield in winter. I take it back to the dealer every winter and pay for a new heater core and flushing, but I have been told that the problem is more fundamental--the residual sand from the casting is forming a "sludge-like" residue in the heater core and radiator. The vehicle cannot be safely driven in winter due to visibility issues created by the lack of working heat/defrost due to this issue.

- South Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #16

Oct 052018

Journey

  • 136,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Drivers side has semi warm air when heat is on vent, passenger side blows cold. The defroster blows freezing cold air on passenger side. Does not always switch over to defroster causing it very hard to see when windshield is fogged over. Actuators have been changed out. Rear heat works great.

- Pulaski, TN, USA

problem #15

Sep 082018

Journey

  • 175,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the passenger side window was in the down position and failed to close. The contact placed a bag on the window; however, water entered the vehicle. Afterwards, while driving at unknown speeds, smoke emerged from the passenger side door, the other remaining doors failed to lock, and the windows failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact to call NHTSA. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 175,000.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #14

Nov 012017

Journey

  • 100,000 miles
Heat blows out of driver side vents but blows cold out of passenger side vents

- Topeka, KS, USA

problem #13

Feb 202017

Journey

  • 89,100 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This is not the first time this has happened. My windshield wipers come on by themselves and will not turn off, had to remove fuse. As I was driving home from work they came on and wouldn't turn off. Then the turn signals, headlights, and dashboard lights stopped working. This car has a mind of its own and these work when they feel like it; meaning they come and go, working one second then not the next, then working again....usually they don't work and stop for a long period of time then eventually work again like nothing happened. This time I'm not so sure how long it is going to go on because it is worse and ongoing. I am finding just how dangerous it is not to be able to use turn signals, etc. I am unable to drive to work now because of the headlights! and now the rain is coming in and I am not going to be able to drive without headlights or wipers. There should be a recall on this - there are sooo many complaints! if something happens to me or my children or grandchildren there will be a lawsuit filed as there is no reason for this not to be recalled with all the complaints and danger it entails. Complaints I have read are about air bags not deploying, cars stalling in the middle of driving down the road, etc. This is totally absurd!!!!! and as bad as my car is getting these problems won't be far behind. I do not have the money to dole out for this being a single mom as it is a costly fix, which is exactly why they refuse to recall I am sure!!

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #12

Dec 042016

Journey

  • 144,000 miles
"takata recall" my Dodge Journey was stationary, I tuned the key and my windshield wipers came on, they were in the "off" position but yet they are going back and fourth. None of my lights except the front and back are working, my dash is dimmed, and it sounds like my cars is ready to stall. Upon looking online, I see several complaints about this issue, but I'm not sure if it is a recall...this is a very big problem that needs to be corrected by Chrysler/Dodge! 2009 144,000 miles

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #11

Jan 012015

Journey

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Journey. While driving at 60 mph, the windshield wipers activated independently. In addition, all the windows rolled upwards and downwards intermittently. All the warning lights on the instrument cluster illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to multiple independent mechanics who diagnosed that the power train control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

- El Paso , TX, USA

problem #10

Dec 182013

Journey

  • 83,800 miles
Wipers come on and want stop. Signal lights want work while wipers are going.dash board dims also which makes it a hazard to drive.car has been to the Dodge dealer three times and they say that its the tipm module and its $1500 to fix. It is happening more often now. I got pulled over by the police and he told me to park the its my only transportation I think Dodge need to fix this problem U can google Dodge complaint and I am not the only one having this proble

- Troy, MO, USA

problem #9

Apr 132015

Journey

  • 74,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Attempted to used the remote to unlock the doors but it would not work. Changed the battery still did not work. Had to use the key to unlock the driver door manually. Once in the door locks buttons would not unlock the other doors. Had to open front passenger door manually from insidchre the car. Pull up the door locks on both rear doors in order for the to be opened. Once the car was on we noticed the rear wiper blade does not work nor does the trunk open. There is no manual way to open the trunk at all. I've checked the manual and it never described this issue. Googled it and a lot of others has described this happening to their car but no one can pin point the issue. We changed the fuse this now allowed the driver door only to unlock using the remote, but we still have to manually unlock the rear doors to open them and pull the handle on the front passenger door to open it, as it can't be opened at all from the outside. Changing the fuse did not have an affect on the rear wiper or the trunk. I've never seen a vehicle where the trunk has no other way to be opened. This made it very hard to get to the handle for the spare tire. Received call from customer service after a facebook complaint and they advised we needed to bring it in to the dealer so they can figure it out. We are skeptical because a few months prior to that we took it to the dealer to fix a very bad drag. When you make a left hand turn the car drags and goes really slow and takes a few seconds to get back to normal speed. The dealer charged us close to $500 and did not fix the problem. They fixed something that did not need fixing and told us if was fixed we had to turn around not even a minute after pulling off the lot with it to advise them it was not fixed. They wanted to keep charging us for different things because they could not figure out what it was. We declined because no money for guesses.

- Rochester , NY, USA

problem #8

Aug 022010

Journey 6-cyl

  • 31,000 miles
All the vehicle dash lights started flashing, gauges bounced to 0 and back, wipers would activate, and vehicle made chime noise - repeatedly. The problem will sometimes last only for a few seconds and other times for the duration of the drive, and even continuing upon startup of the next drive. This problem was very intermittent to begin with and now is becoming more common. I have not been able to find a solution and the dealer originally told me that they could not help me because they could not duplicate the problem. This problem is well known on many online forums and is a huge safety concern for my wife and children. I believe that it may be an issue related to the tipm and related to NHTSA action number :DP14004. Dodge really needs to recall this issue, immediately. The problem is happening very frequently now.

- Danielsville, GA, USA

problem #7

Dec 302013

Journey

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Journey. While in park, the windshield wipers failed to function intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.

- Garrett, IN, USA

problem #6

Jan 092015

Journey 6-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
Vehicle battery drained. Replaced battery and wipers stayed on continuously. Multi function switch was inoperative which controls the turn signals, high and low beam, and fog lights. Factory navigation with surrounding area caught fire with no key in the ignition while car was parked in driveway resulting in total loss of vehicle.

- Pace, FL, USA

problem #5

Oct 012014

Journey 6-cyl

  • 135,171 miles
The part that is defected is tipm(total integrated power module) which I guess you can say the brain. I was driving on my way to work and all of a sudden my whole dash board goes dark and then that's when things went crazy. The wipers starting going and would not stop, this was a dry day can you imagine. The gauges went haywire such as my thermostat went to zero, signal lights would not work, radio died, gas light came on and no speed odometer. All this to say that I travel about 65 miles or so one way to work. Did not know what to think of this and as I continue driving thank goodness to that. The dash board start again to go dark and things came back on and this happen again before I got to work. Need less to say what a way to start out the morning, I thought there may have been a gremlin in my vehicle or some ghost from pass. Trying to brush this off and said this was a fluke or something. I did finally take it to a dealer and this was what was told to me and the cost is almost $900 just for this part, that is crazy. I did not fix this that day because I said this is ridiculous. Then in reading up on this issue there have been numerous complaints about this situation with auto/dealer and they refuse to recall and take care of this real safety issue. This was one of there first cross over vehicle made so there was room for error and errors should be fix by them. Shame on them not to. I need this to be taken care of by them not me the consumer who still has to pay for this vehicle. I need your help! thanks

- Warrenton, NC, USA

problem #4

Aug 122013

Journey

  • miles
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the windshield wipers made an abnormal noise and failed to clear the windshield when raining. The dealer repaired the wipers, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

- Williamston, NC, USA

problem #3

Jul 232014

Journey

  • 77,600 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Journey. While the vehicle was being serviced for routine maintenance, the technician noticed that the windshield wipers activated independently. In addition, the instrument panel indicators dimmed and failed to illuminate. The dealer stated that moisture and condensation inside of the wiring harness caused the wires to become corroded. As a result, the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 77,600.

- Matamoras, PA, USA

problem #2

Oct 232013

Journey 4-cyl

  • 64,000 miles
The A/C control head needs to be replaced only because the fan knob is not working. I just bought this car 15 months ago and not happy to be making a 400-500 dollar repair so soon. My research has shown that so many people are having problems with the A/C control head and when I brought it into the Dodge dealership he said its his most common repair. I called Dodge and asked why this was not being recalled. I do not have the money to be throwing down on repairs like this. I bought this car for my son's asthma and wouldn't this be the first thing to break. Just my luck. I think that this needs to be investigated and recalled. The same with the breaks, they are not good, and the car just burns right through them. I am not happy with my Dodge Journey.

- Lima Ny 14485, NY, USA

problem #1

Oct 032011

Journey 6-cyl

  • 34,936 miles
I purchased a 2009 Dodge Journey (VIN: [xxx]) on September 19, 2011 from the stetler Dodge car dealership in york, pa. It was a certified pre-owned car. Since that day I bought the car I have been back there over 4 times for various problems. The first time was about 2 weeks after I purchased the car (10/3/11), but this last time was it for me. The car makes a hissing noise when I press the brakes, not all of the times but a lot. During the winter months, I hadn't noticed anything else occurring along with the noise, but I had still taken it back to the dealership not long after I bought the car. I was told that it was nothing because they couldn't hear the sound. So, when it got very hot, I turned the air conditioner on in the car. I noticed that if I take a long trip, about an hour or so drive on the highway, a fume/gas smell is released into the car when the air it on. I took it to the dealership on 7/10/12 for this issue. They couldn't get the smell to occur, but I told them that it happened after I took long trips. There is also a grinding/humming noise that occurs sometimes while driving and it happened twice when they were driving it with me in the car, but they don't know what the problem is they say. I was told to bring it back if the problem got worse, even though I had already told them it was already getting worse, that's why I took it in. The steering wheel shakes when I press the brakes. The brakes and rotors are not good. The gear shift moves easily without the brake being pressed so it will go into park while driving. The car finally stalled while driving on July 25, 2012. It's in the shop again. They say a box or case is leaking badly and needs to be replaced. Countless other problems but not enough character space allotted to tell. I have 3 pages of problems. Scared to drive this car. Want my money back now. Help! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- York, PA, USA

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