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374 owner complaints and 1 active recall campaign on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
The data says walk unless this exact vehicle has documented proof the brakes was repaired or replaced.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
2012 Dodge journey hero AWD hatchback showed a check engine light then lost all power and blacked out. Battery was replaced, check engine light again came on and in less than 24 hours blacked out (zero power) again. Vehicle was towed to Dodge and during a 2 week period in the…
Passenger side of vehicle had no heat just cool air coming out of vents. Drivers side had heat coming out of vents. Vehicle was taken to an independent facility to have cooling system and heater core flushed. Was told by independent shop if problem comes back to take vehicle to…
Heater core has to be replaced! I have no heat coming out of the passenger side vents! Will cost over$1300.00
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Dodge journey. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the brakes failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, an on coming vehicle crashed into the passenger side. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
This could lead to loss of braking ability increasing the risk of a crash.
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. EA24003 on NHTSA →
How NHTSA investigations work, and what's open now →
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.0 out of 10 based on 374 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2012 Dodge Journey is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
On the NHTSA data, the 2012 Dodge Journey is one to avoid unless a specific vehicle proves otherwise. The data says walk unless this exact vehicle has documented proof the brakes was repaired or replaced. The record behind that call: 6 fire-related complaints on the engine; Brakes: 53 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 25,000–95,000 mi; Reliability score 7.0/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is electrical, with 99 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 80,844 miles. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop.
The electrical is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 80,844 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 374 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $850, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.