KnownCarProblems2018 Dodge Journey Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 236 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Dodge Journey, most often about the electrical (31% of complaints, typically around 22,000 miles). It is 8th of 14 Journey model years by number of complaints and has 6 recalls.
Most common 2018 Dodge Journey problems
Electrical
72 complaints · 31%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. While driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact called all star Dodge chrysler jeep ram (located at 11503 st charles rock rd, bridgeton, mo 63044) where it was diagnosed that the ambient air temperature sensor failed. The contact stated that the…
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the vehicle had electrical failures. While driving at night, the instrument panel lighting malfunctioned. Lone star chrysler Dodge jeep ram (8811 interstate 35 access rd, san antonio, tx 78211, ([phone]) did not assist with bringing the vehicle in for…
Other or unspecified
45 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 8,000 miles.
My car started off with the engine light coming on and then soon after, as I slowed down and turned, my engine shut off, I lost all power steering, and the battery remained on. This has happened since many times and is completely random. (doesn't matter if I just started the car, I've been driving for 20 minutes, warm…
On june 3, 2019, I was driving along the road and my vehicle started smoking from the AC vent near the glove box. I got me and my son and four year old passenger out of the vehicle. Air bags started blowing out and vehicle was on fire and burned completely. No one will tell me why it burned.
Engine
32 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 20,000 miles.
I was driving mid day, 35 MPH on major city street and the engine shut off without any warning. As I was in right hand lane I was able to force the car to the curb even though the power steering had shut down. With the car stopped I could see there were no warning lights on and the it was still in "drive". After my…
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. While driving on the highway at an unknown speed, the vehicle lost acceleration power and the power steering went out. The contact pulled over to the shoulder and shut off the vehicle. After a few minutes, the vehicle restarted and the failure went away. The failure recurred…
Lights
27 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 36,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while parked or driving, the headlights would become fogged. The skid and a check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed where it was diagnosed with sensor issues. The vehicle was repaired however the…
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while driving at night, the driver's and passenger's side headlights failed to adequately illuminate the roadway. Upon inspection, it was discovered that water and condensation were present inside the headlight housing. The cause of the failure was not…
Brakes
25 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock.
I bought this car brand new at about 10,000 miles started having a shuttering issue when braking wasn't to bad took it to the dealership said they fixed it I could tell somethings wasn't right it kept getting worse now where at 40,000 miles it's extremely bad the dealership replace the rotors on the front I had the…
Since around 9,000 miles I have had a vibration when braking took it to the dealership they replaced the front rotors still doing it I have took it back 7 times they claim nothing wrong took it to another dealership nothing wrong took it back again they said it was the back rotor replaced them with new and still doing…
Backup camera
25 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles. Parts named most often: sensing system, rearview system braking, display function.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera image was inverted. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 25e052000 (back over prevention), and the vehicle was taken to a dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer informed the…
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the vehicle would not immediately start, and white exhaust smoke was coming from the vehicle. Also, the message "coolant low" was displayed although the coolant reservoir was full. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the head…
Speed control
21 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 26,000 miles. Parts named most often: cruise control.
The stick shift that controls the vehicle for park, drive, neutral, reverse and manual modes is in the center of the vehicle, very much in the way of normal driving routines. 3 times now, since april, the shifter has accidentally been touched or bumped by the driver. Twice this happened and my car was placed into…
While driving from san diego to dallas with cruise engaged it suddenly started to accelerate and became eratic speeding up and slowing down. Engine RPM fluctuated at same time. Braking did not fully disengage the system. When braked transmission would not shift and had to turn system off to halt its operation. Works…
Transmission
18 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 22,500 miles.
James town outside center tx on hwy 7 going 60-65 just had my car serviced 6/3/19 transmission runs light comes on runs hot car starts jerking and decrease then increase in speed traction control is also on I stop at the first store I see turn off the car wouldn't crank for two days 6/5/19 at 11:45-50 it starts I…
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that transmission fluid was leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to dick's country chrysler jeep Dodge ([phone], located at 767 sw baseline st, hillsboro, or 97123) where it was determined that the leak was not problematic and would not be repaired.…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2018 Dodge Journey recalls
Lights: exterior lighting
Risk: A dim reflector may reduce the visibility of the vehicle to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the headlamp assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed february 16, 2023. Owners may contact fca US, llc customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Fca US, llc's number for this recall is z99.
Full defect summary
Chrysler (fca US, llc) is recalling certain 2017-2018 dodge journey vehicles. The amber side reflex reflector assembled into the headlamp may not reflect brightly enough. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard number 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Electrical: front underhood
Risk: A vehicle stall can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the powertrain control module, free of charge. The recall began october 2, 2018. Owners may contact chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is u87.
Full defect summary
Chrysler (fca US llc) is recalling certain 2018 jeep renegade, compass and grand cherokee, ram 1500 and promaster, fiat 500x, dodge journey, challenger, charger and durango and chrysler 300x vehicles, 2017-2018 jeep wrangler, dodge grand caravan and chrysler town and country vehicles and 2018-2019 jeep cherokee and 2018 chrysler pacifica and pacifica hybrid vehicles. The powertrain control module may be equipped with a voltage regulator chip in the circuit board that may fail, causing a stall or a no start condition.
Brakes: caliper
Risk: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began september 29, 2018. Owners may contact chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is u86.
Full defect summary
Chrysler (fca US llc) is recalling certain 2018-2019 dodge grand caravan and jeep compass, 2018 dodge journey, and 2019 jeep cherokee vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
Backup camera: camera
Risk: A loss of image in the rearview camera while backing up can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rearview mirror, free of charge. The recall began august 2, 2018. Owners may contact chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is u56.
Full defect summary
Chrysler (fca US llc) is recalling certain 2018 dodge journey and ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 vehicles. The backup camera may experience a loss of image display while backing up. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 111, "rearview mirrors."
Visibility and wipers: rearview mirrors/devices
Risk: If the full camera view is delayed and the driver does not check their surroundings before backing up, there may be an increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rearview mirror, free of charge. The recall began august 2, 2018. Owners may contact chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is u58.
Full defect summary
Chrysler (fca US llc) is recalling certain 2018 dodge journey vehicles. When reverse gear has been selected, the rear camera view may not be fully visible within two seconds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 111, "rearview mirrors."
Electrical: software
Risk: If the vehicle maintains its speed or accelerates despite attempts to deactivate the cruise control, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the software, and perform a software flash on the engine or powertrain control module, free of charge. The recall began june 4, 2018. Owners may contact chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Note: owners are advised to stop using cruise control until the software update has been performed. In the event that cruise control cannot be disengaged while driving, owners should firmly and steadily apply the brakes and shift the transmission to neutral, placing the vehicle in park once it has stopped.
Full defect summary
Chrysler (fca US llc) is recalling certain 2014-2018 dodge journey, charger and durango, ram 2500, 3500, 3500 cab chassis (more than 10,000lb), 4500 cab chassis and 5500 cab chassis, jeep cherokee and grand cherokee and chrysler 300, 2014-2019 ram 1500, 2015-2018 dodge challenger, 2015-2017 chrysler 200, 2016-2018 ram 3500 cab chassis (less than 10,000 lb), 2017-2018 chrysler pacifica and 2018 jeep wrangler vehicles. These vehicles are being recalled to address a defect that could prevent the cruise control system from disengaging. If, when using cruise control, there is a short circuit within the vehicle's wiring, the driver may not be able to shut off the cruise control either by depressing the brake pedal or manually turning the system off once it has been engaged, resulting in either the vehicle maintaining its current speed or possibly accelerating.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Vehicle entrapment
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe23-008 on may 1, 2023 to investigate an incident involving a 2009 dodge journey alleging occupant entrapment during a vehicle fire that resulted in a fatality. During the investigation, odi collected information from the manufacturer and involved parties to confirm or refute the defect allegation. Odi has determined that additional reports of vehicle entrapment exist for other model year dodge journey vehicles. Odi continues to explore the cause of the thermal event and its potential effect on the actuation of the door locks. Odi also continues to explore other potential causes for door lock malfunction. Odi has determined that an upgrade to
Back up camera failure
Summary
On february 27, 2024, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened this preliminary evaluation (pe) to investigate complaints alleging a loss of back up camera function in model year (my) 2018 through 2020 dodge journey vehicles.â complainants reported experiencing black screens, upside down images, flashing images, or blurred images. â a back up camera that does not display correctly increases the likelihood of a crash or injury. Analysis of warranty data provided in response to odiâs information request letter demonstrated a pattern of elevated warranty claims in subject vehicles built in calendar years (cy) 2019 and 2020.â the rate of camera related warranty repairs for models built
Active head rest inadvertent deployment
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe19014 on september 9, 2019, to investigate 128 consumer complaints alleging that the active head rest (ahr) inadvertently deployed without the occurrence of a crash or other rear impact event in model year (my) 2014 jeep grand cherokee and dodge durango vehicles.when odi opened the investigation, odi was aware of thirteen alleged injuries.a small number of early warning reports identified driver and/or passenger front seat ahr inadvertent deployments without a rear impact event.reported safety consequences resulting from the ahr deployments include concussions, headaches, soft tissue injuries, disorientation, nausea, vomiting and/or loss of
Questions about the 2018 Dodge Journey
- What are the most common problems with the 2018 Dodge Journey?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: electrical (72 complaints, typically around 22,000 miles); other or unspecified (45 complaints, typically around 8,000 miles); engine (32 complaints, typically around 20,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2018 Dodge Journey have?
- 6 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from September 29, 2022 (lights). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2018 a bad year for the Dodge Journey?
- It is 8th of 14 Journey model years by number of complaints, with 236 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.