Dodge Journey
Problems & Worst Years

Owner complaints about the Dodge Journey change character almost completely depending on the year, which makes it worth knowing exactly which one you're looking at. The 2010 is the heaviest file by far — 654 total occurrences — and it reads like an electrical casebook: a horn that honks randomly (161 occurrences, safety severity), horn malfunctions tied to the electrical system (154), an engine that fails to start (117), stalls at idle blamed on electrical failure (117), and the vehicle randomly shutting down (51).

The 2015, second-heaviest at 382 occurrences, carries the most safety-severity problems of any year — six — and the strangest cluster: headrests deploying without cause, including 53 reports of the passenger headrest firing while the vehicle sat stationary, plus 42 reports of airbag deployment without impact and 59 of brake failure during operation. Engine misfires with a check engine light round out its top five. The 2016 and 2017 files thin to 183 and 117 occurrences, mixing engine stalls and misfires, electrical power loss, transmission shifting complaints, and lingering headrest and airbag reports.

Recall exposure is substantial through mid-decade: 10V475, 14V373, and 16V273 on the 2010; 14V711, 15V431, 16V273, and 18V332 on the 2015; 16V273, 16V461, 16V907, and 18V332 on the 2016; 18V332 on the 2017; and 18V332, 18V523, and 18V524 on the 2018. Confirming that work is done is basic due diligence here.

By 2018 and 2019 the tenor shifts to lower-stakes electronics — backup camera malfunctions lead both years, joined by reverse-light and seat-belt-sensor complaints — and the 2019, at 78 occurrences with a single safety-severity problem and no recalls listed in this data, is the cleanest sheet in the set. Read that gently, though: complaint counts capture what owners filed with NHTSA rather than true failure rates, newer years have had less time on the road to accumulate reports, and on any Journey a pre-purchase inspection and a solid service history will tell you more than the model year alone.