10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,940 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.

2012 Dodge Journey steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Dodge Journey Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #23

Jul 042020

Journey

  • 77,000 miles

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

It's been a few weeks now that my steering wheel started turning hard.. when it got really hard to turn was when I took it serious that something may be wrong.. about three week ago, being at the end of June I checked my power steering oil I noticed I had major oil loss.. I had it serviced as a local garage thinking it may have been the rack and pinions. When they serviced it was serviced with a new power steering cooler and pump..costing me over $1000 in repairs.the problem wasn't fixed because the wheel was still hard to turn. The next day I took it to good year, they clean the rack and pinion with degreaser from all the oil leaking.. the told me to drive it for a couple day and see what happens.. it drove normal for a week, July 4 2020 while out in about, it started smoking and squeaking.. I pulled over and has it told to a garage.. I'm thinking it may be the serpentine belt.

- Liverpool, NY, USA

problem #22

Jan 272020

Journey

  • 107,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound in the vehicle. The contact stated that the steering wheel became firm and difficult to maneuver. Upon investigation, the contact associated NHTSA campaign number: 16V273000 (steering) with the failure. The vehicle had not been taken to be serviced by a dealer or a mechanic. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 107,000.

- North Brooklyn Park, MN, USA

problem #21

Apr 012019

Journey

  • 203,000 miles
This vehicle has electrical issues. The doors lock automatically when the tailgate is opened. The radio and climate control come on by themselves even after turning it off multiple times. The steering makes a whining noise especially when you are turning to the left. The AWD and traction control is off and the service AWD light comes on. The cruise control stopped working when there was a loud "thump" in the rear end and all the traction and AWD dashboard lights came on. All these problems are evident and occur while driving.

- Doniphan, MO, USA

problem #20

Aug 262019

Journey

  • 125,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. While driving 55 mph, the ABS failed and traction control warning indicators illuminated. The contact also mentioned that the power steering seized. Once restarted, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000.

- Taswell, IN, USA

problem #19

Mar 162019

Journey

  • 87,756 miles
On multiple occasions over the past two or three months, my vehicle loses all power, and at same time the power steering goes out and brakes have to pushed extra hard to get them to work. This has happened when driving under 40 mph in town. It has happened most often within the first 5 minutes of starting the car, but today it happened after I had been driving 30 minutes on the highway and then in town for several minutes. It has happened when slowing down, when accelerating, or when going stable speed, as well as before a turn, after a turn, or while going straight. I have been able to pull over to side of road and stop, put car in park, and restart it. We took the car to a local car repair shop twice, and they could find nothing wrong after hooking it to their computer. The car has 87,756 miles on it. I am concerned that this is unsafe, and I'm worried it could happen at a dangerous intersection or at highway speeds.

- Mt. Pleasant, IA, USA

problem #18

Mar 012019

Journey

  • 110,000 miles
On multiple occasions my vehicle will loose all power. If I'm going over 45 it usually restarts itself. If under 40 the steering locks up, all electrical shuts down and I cannot get hazard lights or pull over. I can throw it into neutral and hit the push-to-start and it restarts. Sometimes, like at stoplights, I have had to throw it into park then restart it. There have been a few instances of it not restarting no matter what we try. Through trial and error we got it to start again after serious rocking. I have noticed it happens more if the usb port or aux port are being used, although it has happened a couple of times without those being touched. Has only been happening since the majority of the functions with my on-board entertainment unit went out. Dealership can not diagnose, say they cannot get the problem to duplicate. I have videos of this happening but dealership has not been interested in seeing them.

- Lakewood, WA, USA

problem #17

Dec 032018

Journey

  • 150,000 miles

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

Myself and my 3 young children were driving down a pretty dark highway at about 10 pm. 3 hours from home. In a storm and very heavy rain. Vehicle suddenly lost power. When I gave it gas the engine just revved. Lost all power including windshield wipers and power steering I quickly dropped from 75 to 40 with semis barreling up behind me as I was trying to get to a shoulder to pull off on. Car died and would not restart. We were stuck on the side of the road for 5 hours with no heat and no power to the car. Even callled roadside and they tried to jump it. It would start but then go haywire again. Battery light and etc as well as all others lights come on. It has left me and my kids in the cold more than once. No one seems to know the problem as the battery and alternator are testing fine. Vehicle is now sitting in my drive way and won't do anything. At all.

- Sayre, OK, USA

problem #16

Apr 122018

Journey

  • 119,450 miles
I took my car for recall few days ago for steering and cover for the engine now my car wont start the computer and everything is not working everything is locked I have no issues boforee the recall.its sitting there not able to start wheel is locked and brakes I everything is going off wipers and other stuff going crazy....... I drove one time after the recall I dont know whats going on... I never had any issues with the car until I took the car for recall.. its not the same the car was in the shop for recall appt on Thursday April 12 2018 soon as I left the car would not start on fri the following day and its going crazy what do I need to do they did something to it making the car not start it wont let me choose what is wrong with the car on the form is unknoown or other and elec stabilty control and electrical

- Caldwell, ID, USA

problem #15

Jan 172018

Journey

  • 114,000 miles
Power steering return line burst on a cold start 01/17/18 in moorhead mn at about 0 degrees F. he is a new driver as of 09/13/17 and was scared at an intersection when turning left with oncoming traffic that the vehicle was very hard to steer. He avoided an accident narrowly. Despite many many models of the Dodge Journey vehicle being covered under NHTSA campaign #16V273000, his vehicle isn't. this type of mfr defect should not be presented live in traffic to an inexperienced driver. His exact vehicle model and engine are covered under the campaign if it had a block heater? the lack of block heater had nothing to do with this failure and owners of this vehicle should have been notified.

- Moorhead, MN, USA

problem #14

Jan 092018

Journey

  • 69,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. While driving at 30 mph, the power steering was difficult to turn left or right. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. A police report was filed of the incident however, there was no crash. The vehicle was towed and taken to larry roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (200 w grand ave, elmhurst, il 60126, (630) 333-9121). The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000.

- Des Plains, IL, USA

problem #13

Oct 202017

Journey 4-cyl

  • 125,000 miles

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

The car cut out traveling down the highway with engine light fault and lose of power, brakes and steering. This is a common problem with the crankshaft position sensor (code P0335) and needs Dodge to recall on this and fix this lethal fault of complete lose of control at speed. Yesterday was the 3rd time this has happened and I had my family in the car this time...updated 10/23/17 updated 10/25/17 updated 10/30/2017 updated 11/2/2017

- Oviedo, FL, USA

problem #12

Aug 182017

Journey

  • 32,000 miles
On August 3rd 2017 I purchased a 2012 Dodge Journey with 32000 miles. On August 4 2017 I picked the vehicle up. I noticed that evening that the front right headlight was not working. I brought the car back to the dealer and they fixed it. On August 13, 2017 the tire pressure light came on. I went to fill the tire but it seemed fine. I figured it was just a sensor that needed to be fixed. August 15, 2017 the change oil light came on even though it didn't need to be serviced. August 17, 2017 as I went to put the car in drive the car seemed to be pulling and the traction control light came on. Then the ABS light and the maintenance AWD light came on along with the others. The car will hesitate to accelerate and makes a kind of grinding noise off and on. The lights don't always stay on and will come off the screens but eventually they do come back on and grinding underneath the car starts again.

- Princeton, NJ, USA

problem #11

Jun 192017

Journey

  • miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 16V273000 (steering). The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer (ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram on 310 broadway ave, bedford, oh 877-639-6813) who refused to remedy the recall repair based upon where the vehicle was manufactured. The contact was unable to determine if the dealer could repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Garfield Heights, OH, USA

problem #10

Mar 242017

Journey

  • 136,516 miles
Driving at low speed, during left hand turn vehicle engine stalled out and power steering ceased functioning. Power to radio, lights, etc. Remained functioning. Upon coming to stop in snowbank, placed vehicle in park, pressed ignition button and vehicle restarted.

- Derry, NH, USA

problem #9

Jun 162016

Journey

  • 90,000 miles
Twice now while driving my car it has completely shut down. The car goes from the speed I am doing to everything in my car shutting down with no warning. I had several problems with my radio not working(touch screen) and my car charger in the car doesn't work, ireally thing that the car has an electrical roblem

- Mechancvillie, NY, USA

problem #8

Dec 312014

Journey 6-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Journey. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the throttle and traction control warning indicators illuminated and the vehicle shook violently. On a separate occasion, while driving at low speeds, the engine stalled without warning. The failures recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the BCM needed to be replaced and reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. While driving at approximately 15 mph, the check engine, throttle, and traction control warning indicators illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the BCM needed to be replaced and reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000. Updated 05/03/16

- Lilburn, GA, USA

problem #7

Dec 012014

Journey 6-cyl

  • miles
2012 Dodge Journey. Consumer writes in regards to steering issues, fuel leaks and brake system problems. The consumer stated upon picking the vehicle up from the dealer, it was leaking gas while driving on the freeway. The vehicle stalled. Also, there was an issue with the steering......updated 02/11/16 updated 9/27/2017

- Belleville, MI, USA

problem #6

Aug 012012

Journey 6-cyl

  • 900 miles
I purchased this car new on July 23,2012, and almost immediately there was a loud groaning noise from the front end, also started to pull to the right. My first dealer contact was on Sept 4, 2012 and worked on the brakes, and this somewhat corrected the problem for about a week. The dealer has worked on the steering and brakes a total of 8 times, replacing the brakes several times, also deglazeing and lubricating and whatever, each time it worked for a week or so. The last time, April 29, 2014, a complete brake job was done on the rear brakes, a front end alignment, and repair the front brakes. This cost me $499. Mileage is 46700. They also rebuilt the engine due to head and valve failure. As of May 25, 2015 it is again making the noise and pulling hard to the right. I think Chrysler should take this car back. VIN [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Hampshire, IL, USA

problem #5

Aug 012014

Journey

  • 33,000 miles
The contact owned a 2012 Dodge Journey. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle veered to the right without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into a boulder and the air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained shoulder, chest, neck, and head injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,000.

- Bradford, NY, USA

problem #4

Jun 062013

Journey 6-cyl

  • 13,000 miles
We purchased a new 2012 Journey in March 2012 from are local Dodge dealer...bought a new vehicle because we did not want to be shelling out money for repairs....have been a Dodge customer for some 20 yrs... all in all..I love my Journey...can't say the same for the dealer or Chrysler.. in March of 2013 at about 12,500 my mechanic suggested I might want to get alignment checked out because the front tires were wearing abnormally...I tried to call the dealer about the warranty to see if this was covered...they never called me back....on 6/15/13 at about 13,000...I went back to my guy...he informed me that the front tires were indeed bald already, and suggested I go to the dealer to see what they could do....I was greeting by a very smug, cocky and rude service manager named john.....he told me Chrysler does not stand behind the tires or the alignment.....really john"??? even at 13000 you don't see a possible problem ?? what did I pay 26,000 $ for ?" at this point john and I exchanged some words and he said you too.....ended up having my guy take care of this...600 $ later, and feeling much safer, I now have two new tires on the front, fixed the alignment and also put in two front camberts. Which he thought were defective from the factory knowing the car has not been hit.. also have noticed the when driving at lower speeds (10-30) that it seems like the acceleration seems to struggle or wants to skip at times....I have seen this issue mentioned before. While my issues do not compare to some of these others on here....an issue still the same that cost me 600 $ and an issue that will lead me to another dealer when the time comes !!!!!!

- Binghamton, NY, USA

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