What is wrong with my vehicle?
We bought a 2012 Dodge Journey sxt with 30,000 miles on it. From day 1 we’ve had issues. One of the back brakes were hung up and turning blue. Had that issue fixed. They also replaced all brakes and rotors at the dealership. After still having additional issues we brought it back a few times and they keep claiming they can’t find the issue. It’s very frustrating because I know the car has problems. Here’s the list:
-Engine surges while stopping.
-Moment of vibration when decreasing speed/coming to a stop. It usually occurs somewhere between 20–30mph. It’s hard to catch if you’re not paying close attention because it can be mistaken as hitting some small bumps in the road.
-Feels sluggish when accelerating.
-Hard shift when accelerating.
-Car doesn’t start to roll from a complete stop when you let off the brake. The gas must be pushed before the car will budge.
Whether these problems are all related to one issue or several, I have no idea. Any ideas as to what the issue(s) could be?
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11 Answers
I have NO knowledge of things mechanical, but my first guess is something’s screwed up in the transmission.
Sounds like the CVT to me.
I must agree with @snowberry . You have automatic transmission issues and it needs overhauled. The intermediate clutch, which is applied (I think) in reverse and second gear is fried from slippage. Excessive heat warps the clutch plates so that the clutch always seems or is partially applied. I assume the transmission acts OK in reverse?
My first thought is the torque converter; not the transmission, but what’s between the transmission and engine. However, issues with the torque converter can abuse the transmission and damage it too, and like @kritiper, I question the health of second gear.
FYI, here’s what USA Today said about the Journey:
”•Transmission shifts badly. That was true on the SXT, but not on the Crew. The SXT gear changes, especially at low speed, included pauses, stumbles. The fact that the two vehicles were different is almost as troubling as the fact that one was bad.”
Car and Driver said:
“The transmission also has a hard time following the driver’s directions when left in drive. Under acceleration, downshifts can be slow, abrupt, or even absent, leaving the driver waiting and wondering. ”
That was with brand-new ones. Make of that what you will. A bit more reading has revealed that issues with the brakes and transmissions are very common on those things with chronic overheating being fairly common as well.
You might want to do a thorough reading about the Lemon Laws in your state.
You may be eligible for a replacement at no cost to you. But do it soon because there is usually a time limit from date of purchase.
@Buttonstc Possible but unlikely. Trying to have work done on a used VW Golf due to a manufacturer recall wasn’t covered, and those dealing with the CD4E automatic transmissions used in the Ford Probe and certain years of the Mazda 626 are totally S.O.L. despite it being a known issue that they melt every 40k miles and require total replacement at considerable cost.
If it were a 2015 or even a 2014 then you’d have a better chance, but my experience is that the time frame is rather short.
@jerv
You’re most likely correct, but since Lemon Laws vary state by state I figured it couldn’t do any harm to do a read-through. Ya never know…
:)
@Buttonstc True. I only know the ones for states I’ve live in.
@Buttonstc I believe in NY we have 90 days in our case (only 30,000 on the vehicle, etc).
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