NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Dodge Journey. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
The active headrest deployed while sitting in the car hitting my wife's head. It is damaged and cannot be reset.
My headlights become unseeable at times, its difficult to see the road. My cruise control has got stuck and at one point accelerated on its own, and my 3rd row seats have no seat belt buckles. No one has confirmed my vehicle. There has been some recalls.
My car stalled and showed the check engine light. I took it to my usual repair shop. The first diagnostics indicated coils and spark plugs were the problem. So they we re fixed. Shortly (a few miles) after the repair, the car stalled. The second diagnostic at the shop indicated a new battery was needed. That was installed. (A few more miles after this repair) the car c ontinued to stall. For the third diagnostic, I was told to take it to a transmission shop.(and "I wouldn't drive it til it was repaired") I had it towed to a transmission shop. They rebuilt the transmission, and found (what I consider the reason for a recall) the flex plate had its center torn out. This may have caused shards to damage parts of the engine. There was a lot of fluid leakage and they had to install a new radiator. They wanted me to have them check it out in 2 weeks. In less than a week the car stalled and died,(thankfully in a parking lot) with all the dashboard warning lights. I was close to a dealer, so I had it towed to the Dodge dealer, hoping they would know how to fix it. There was still a lot of fluid leakage. They replaced the radiator and other stuff, and for the past week or so it is driving well.
My headrest deployed while driving with a passenger in the seat.
***Radio system not working properly no longer connecting properly to phone, sounds muffled to the receiver on the other end of call, audio connect is not allowing me to be heard and I got a brand new updated phone! Thinking that was the issue. It wasn’t the phone, there was a precious recall regarding system updates issues, that I saw on here, but I was never notified about it!! *Audio hands free won’t map my iphone, to the car Bluetooth system will not connect at times, ****instrument panel lights are not showing, Radio goes off while driving often, not working properly, *****BACK UP CAMERA NOT WORKING PROPERLY: *Back up camera not working properly, noticed blurry, not able to see properly at night. ****Back up parking assist lines are not as bright and clear when backing up, image is no longer vivid! *Difficulty seeing behind you at night when Backing up, looks like snow on a tv screen ! ***off road system comes on by its self and stays on at times, car is serviced regularly!
Door locks Doors remain locked or unlocked. Key fob will not unlock or lock doors. Panel will not unlock or locked doors
All doors get stuck locked and/or unlocked. Key fob will not lock or unlock and door panels will not unlock our lock. 999 Back wiper only works intermittently.
There is a malfunction in the ABS module and it is so prevalent that it is making it hard to get the new/used part.
The back up camera does not display an image. It will only show black, with a camera slashed out symbol.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle with the cruise control activated, the cruise control failed to immediately deactivate, and the vehicle failed to decelerate while depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the rear-view mirror and back-over prevention camera failed and displayed a black screen, creating a visibility hazard for the driver. The cause of the failure has not yet been determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who diagnosed a failure with the ABS unit; however, the parts to perform the repair were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted again to confirm parts availability and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The manufacturer was also made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
1. The power steering system keeps leaking for multiple different locations and is intermittent. The leak is never in the same spot. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. 2. There is a potential for safety problems with this if someone does not realize what the noise is coming from the vehicle. There is a whining noise that starts but not until there is no fluid in the reservoir. There is also no change in steering ability. If the power steering should lock up, that could cause a potential deadly situation. 3. The problem has been reproduced at an independent shop. 4. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone else but the independent shop. 5. There are no warning lights that come on and no message pop up for low fluid levels. The vehicle makes a whining noise that progressively gets louder but only when there is no fluid in the reservoir. This started about 6 months ago with the intermittent problem. The 2016 Dodge Journey did have a recall for a similar problem like this.
Not wanting to start code P0562
It started with third brake light out, then,tail wipers intermittenly work, then camera not working- had to have someone watch the back of car to see also right inside light out AND Tailgate wont lock with rest of doors After looking on YOUTUBE this has been going on since 2012
Back up Camera has black screen, it flickering sometimes upside down
The car will turn systems of the car off and own without anyone touching anything windows rolling up on their, traction turning off, and climate controls and A/C coming on by itself. I contacted Stellantis last year about this vehicle and received no substantial resolution. This exact thing happened when I owned a 2014 Dodge Journey and I submitted the same complaint. I have taken video of this occurrence, there is no way to demonstrate issue via still photo.
Hey, The Power Steering Hose Busted for the 2nd Time Last then a Year apart. I believe this is a safety concern because of of no where the car becomes hard to Turn. I also seen that there was a Recall on the Steering hose for 2016 Dodge Journeys. I believe you all should Look into 2017 and 2018 as well. I Live in Minnesota and i Only have this Problem when it gets Extremely cold out.
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 gasket was faulty. The head gasket was replaced but the coolant message continued to display. The contact also indicated that the back over prevention camera was faulty, and condensation was present inside the driver's side front headlight housing. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
When dry window, turn windshield wipers on, they jump violently .
When shifting car in Reverse the image on the rearview mirrior for the backup camera was twice inverted. The next day while the car was in reverse the mirror display just consistantly flashed black and white with no real image.
Failure of the back up camera to function while in reverse. Unit generally displays a blank screen although occasionally does work but image is extremely blurry.
A stall/no start condition situation occurred while driving, and has occurred a few times over the last couple of weeks. I have had the issue checked by a trusted mechanic, and it was suggested that the power control module(pcm) would likely need to be replaced. No warning lamps appeared prior to the problem, but appeared when the stall/no start condition situation occurred. The most recent occurrance of the problem was on Saturday, October 4th, 2023. I located on the NHTSA website that there is a recall listed, NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V524000, for replacement of the pcm. On 11/06/2023 I spoke with Chrysler support, according to them a recalibration of the pcm was done on 01/07/2021, and they will not support replacing the pcm because it has been more than 2 years. According to the customer rep, the unit was just recalibrated, and not replaced, but the remedy in the recall notice states that dealers will replace the powertrain control module, free of charge.
Car shuddered while driving, started making metal clanging noises’ and stalled in the middle of an intersection. I just had it worked on and had to fully replace the transmission (approximately $4000) due to the torque converter shredded metal in the transmission and seized up. Car after stalling would not go into reverse or drive. Would start up, but once in gear would make loud metal clanging sounds and shut down. No warning lights shown on dashboard.
I received a card from NHTSA about two years ago on this issue possibly due to NHTSA Action Number: EA24003. I am still having this issue and now it is worse. 2 years ago, it started with the driver side window not opening intermittently. Then the door locks would not operate from the driver side controls. Now every window will not open and the driver door is not recognized by the car. When opening or closing the driver door, nothing happens. In the past, if I turned off the car left my key fob in the car and closed the door when it would lock, the horn would sound, and the doors would unlock. When getting out of the car, I would open the door, and the radio display panel would turn off. Now, it stays on with the engine off. Thankfully there is a delay and eventually turns off. It may be the driver's door harness as it can be easily searched on the internet as a faulty product. Again, NHSTA originally approached me two years ago and the issue has not gotten worse. $800 minimum to replace the door harness. Hopefully that fixes it temporarily. Start date given is an estimate on when I received a card from NHSTA on this issue.
My 2018 dodge journey shutdown when driving. There is recalls for this but not for my dodge journey. This is unsafe. The manufacturer should pay for it to be fixed. I have read so many store on all makes of dodge journeys they all have same problem but only certain ones are being recalled.
My back up camera isn't working and none of the locks work with the key fob. I bought my car from a car lot and it was a fleet car and it says all recalls have been fixed but my car hasn't been fixed at all and I don't know why. My car won't even charge my phone at all in either port so it has a big wiring problem. I have kids and grandkids in my car all the time and I can not see behind me because my camera hasn't worked since the day I got it which is 10/20/23 and that is really dangerous and I can't even charge my phone to call someone even if I do have an accident
Speed control will not work unless you are going around 70mph and step on gas a little.
The headlights in the "auto" position will turn on the headlights and then after 5 or so minutes of driving, the interior dash board will dim and brighten, and then the headlights turn off entirely. If you move them off the "auto" position, the headlights will not turn on even when switched to the headlights. When you switch back to auto, it puts the brights on instead of the standard headlights. Rinse and repeat while driving, lights on/off/then only brights.
My backup camera doesn’t work at all! Just a black screen. so it doesn’t comply with the law… I can’t see to back up at all. If you google the 2018 journey it says there is a recall on the backup camera but when I put my vin number in it doesn’t pop up as a recall but this needs to be a recall and is very dangerous it hasn’t been inspected but it readily available if h would like to came inspect it. There was no lamps warning signs or anything?
The vehicles warning lights have all lit up and the engine has stalled. We have taken it to multiple mechanics and they believe it to be the voltage regulator chip that is faulty which is accusing the engine to stall. It has also lost the back up camera capabilities which is also another recall of the 2018 Dodge Journey.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the adaptive cruise control (ACC) mode failed to disengage as intended and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the windshield wipers engaged unintendedly and remained engaged after the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was pushed to the side of the road. The contact's husband disconnected the battery terminals to turn off the windshield wipers; however, the vehicle failed to restart upon reconnecting the battery terminals. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V332000 (Electrical System, Vehicle Speed Control). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.
While driving car at 45 mph car stalled. Unable to start car. Continued to read service AWD system as well as Press clutch to start car, the car is an automatic with no clutch. Once started continued to stall while driving. Check engine light, battery light illuminated while driving not while car stalled.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed, and the contact heard an abnormal grinding sound. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Midas where the vehicle was diagnosed that the rear brake caliper pistons failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that she was informed by the mechanic that the vehicle was included in a recall. The contact then stated that she received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V523000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The dealer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
At Approximately 77,700 miles my Backup Camera is starting to fail intermittently. when I go to start the car and put it in reverse the screen will just show black and some static bars might show up and later on when I go to reverse again it usually works then but now sometimes it may not, yet my vehicle is not covered under the 2 separate recalls affecting the backup camera though I also have not had time to contact my local dealer about it giving its difficult nature to reproduce the issue..
In my journey my back up camera is the mirror not the center one. The thing is my mirror doing the same thing cant even see and idk how. Its all blurry the thing is the mirror looks really good and the camera. Im original owner. Also the cruise control doesn't even work or operate. Its wild how having a vehicle will have so many important things fail. I see Hondas from the 90s and their cruise working, and cars that had their first back up like a 2010 acura zdx I tinted worked like it was brand new still and its still ome for tht owner.
We had problems with axels. After that the throttle control system light would turn on. Now the backup camera doesnt work and we changed everything and still doesnt work. Currently the car starts getting hot when we drive in the freeway and the AC blows hot air
Headlight assembly both full of moisture. I bought the vehicle on this day an noticed them then and there are both full of moisture all over lenses.
2018 Dodge Journey, my backup camera is not working as designed and apparently is not part of a recall. When putting the vehicle in reverse it is very difficult to all most impossible to see the image on the screen.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the engine was slow to turn over and start. There was an abnormal chugging sound at start up. The contact stated while driving, the vehicle shutoff unintendedly and failed to restart. The contact stated that the half-circle symbol to depress the brake pedal was displayed. The engine and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was determined the failure was due to the electrical system. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the failure was due to the oil. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at undisclosed speeds over a bridge, the steering wheel and the brakes became inoperable, and the vehicle shut down. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the electrical system, transmission, timing chain, camshaft, and engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Cylinder misfire. Cylinder leak. Engine damage. Dodge issued Service Bulletin TSB-09-002-14 for model years 2011-2013 for vehicles with the same 3.6L engine and same issue. TSB provided warranty extension for covered models up to model year 2013. My 2018 model year has the same defective engine type and Dodge refuses to repair because the TSB, which predates the manufacturers date for my vehicle, doesn't cover my vehicle.
225 65 R17 bought the car on 03/31/23 and the dealership sold these tires on vehicle. All 4 dry rotted in sidewalls. Big O tires would not even touch them.
Cylinder 2 is misfiring, for coils and spark plugs. Vehicle had tune up and replaced all spark plugs and coils in March. Check engine still coming on reading same code, has been checked multiple times, coils and spark plugs are perfect and brand new.
Both headlights on the vehicle have a major amount of moisture in them. Also, when using the headlights the lights surge. They will get really bright and then dim down the whole time they are being used. The dealership looked at it and said other models of the same car have been recalled for issues with the headlights but mine were not included. I'm not sure how that can be. No warning lights or anything come up when using the headlights. The lights have been collecting moisture for about 9 months and it's gradually getting worse. They have been inspected for cracks that would result in the moisture but there aren't any. I'm not sure if the moisture is causing the headlights to get bright and dim while in use or if that is another issue all together.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-over prevention screen delayed in responding, before going black and then returning to normal operation. Additionally, the vehicle failed to stop in a reasonable amount of time while depressing the brake pedal. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made not aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,862.
Went out to my Dodge Journey 2018 to go run errands and noticed the passenger side head rest was apart. The vehicle had been sitting for two days Feel this should be a recall issue Fortunately this didn’t happen while the car was in use Contacted dodge dealer and FCA And was advised there is no recall or warranty coverage This is a safety issue and should be covered
Passenger side front seat headrest airbag deployed while driving. The airbag feature deployed while my 13 year old daughter was sitting in the seat. When the safety feature deployed, it hit my child in the back of her head causing pain and injury. This safety feature deployed without warning or cause. The headrest broke when it deployed is now just hanging from the seat.
Back up camera glitches to flicker black screen or is upside down. Works intermittently, most of the time it is a black screen. Driver window does roll down when the door is opened.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V723000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
When backing up, with the sun at the rear, the camera goes to a over exposed or washed out screen. There is no picture and this makes the backup camera worthless and dangerous. Happens every time in reverse with the sun at the rear of the vehicle.
Rear veiw mirror camera started coming on late and then completely quit
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026