Model Year Index

Which Dodge Journey years to avoid

Across 11 scored model years, the 2015, 2014 and 2010 model years carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates.

Ownership label · Dodge Journey Full report
F
Grade 2010–2020
2015 vs model median 2.6×
Model median3× median
Engine 75
Brakes 61
Electrical 55
Avoid

2014 · 2015

Best

2019 · 2020

What the record shows

Written from this model’s own complaint and recall history.

Four of the Journey’s eleven scored years grade F, and they fall in two separate clusters with different leading categories.

The first is a single year. The 2010 car is led by braking at 107 of 392 reports, with electrical second, and it sits at 2.19 times the model’s own median. The 2011 car immediately after it grades B on 102 complaints, so this does not carry forward.

The second runs 2014 to 2016, and engine leads all three. The accounts describe the vehicle stalling while driving or decelerating and then failing to restart, with several reporting it at very low mileage. Electrical sits alongside with a related theme — pressing the start button and nothing happening. The 2015 car is the model’s worst at 2.59 times its median, and the 2014 and 2015 cars carry eleven and twelve fire allegations, the highest in this record.

One ODI investigation sat open against every single scored year from 2010 to 2020, which is unusual — most models here show investigations appearing and closing.

The Journey was discontinued after 2020, and its last two years are its best by a wide margin: 46 and 22 complaints at 0.30 and 0.11 times the model’s median.

Reviewed Claude, 11 August 2026, against the model's own record and NHTSA campaign filings

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2010
2.19× 392 F
2011
0.55× 102 B
2012
1.23× 196 D
2013
1.00× 183 C
2014
1.98× 318 F
2015
2.59× 425 F
2016
2.08× 330 F
2017
0.98× 166 C
2018
0.80× 148 C
2019
0.30× 46 A
2020
0.11× 22 A

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2014 F 318 reports · median 28,000 mi

  1. Engine 59

    The contact owned a 2014 dodge journey. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled intermittently on several occasions. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Brakes 52

    I was driving with my girlfriend. We just got over the top of a hill and going down hill at about 35 to 40 MPH. The vehicle shut off. No power steering and no brakes. Stopped 5 feet from a telephone pole. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Electrical 47

    The vehicle will fail to start initially. After several attempts the vehicle will start and the check engine light will appear. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

32 crash · 11 fire · 57 injuries

2015 F 425 reports · median 36,000 mi

  1. Engine 75

    The contact owns a 2015 dodge journey. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle was violently shaking. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Brakes 61

    While driving home my 2015 dodge journey (which only had 2,108 miles on it) died while decelerating to turn into my neighborhood. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Electrical 55

    When I attempted to start the vehicle by placing my foot on the break and pressing the start engine button, the car initially began to start but then shut off (it was on a half tank of gas). owner complaint filed with NHTSA

37 crash · 12 fire · 46 injuries

The best year for the Journey

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2020 is the best-scoring Journey model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 91.5 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

Yearvs medianReportsGrade
2020 0.11× 22 A
2019 0.30× 46 A
2011 0.55× 102 B

Recalls

20 campaigns on record.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
18V332000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING 2014–2018 4,815,661
14V373000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH 2010 722,705
17V432000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2011–2015 363,480
15V675000 ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2012–2015 275,187
25V552000 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA 2019, 2020 219,577
18V523000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER 2018 154,335
15V431000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 2011–2015 145,379
22V723000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2017, 2018 83,453
17V824000 EQUIPMENT 2014 61,791
16V907000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 2016 42,231
16V461000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 2016 26,298
10V475000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM 2010 23,237

+ 8 further campaigns

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2015 were reported at a median of 36,000 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Dodge Journey years should you avoid?
2015, 2014, 2010 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Dodge Journey model year measured over an identical 60-month window.
What is the best year for the Dodge Journey?
2020 is the best-scoring Dodge Journey model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 91.5 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Dodge Journey have?
20 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Dodge Journey model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2015 Journey
Complaints in window
425
Severity-weighted
706
Model median (weighted)
272
vs model median
2.59×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
6
Open investigations
1
Score 16.9 F