hey everyone,
lately I've kind of noticed my 2009 Dodge Journey 2.4L have lost of a bit of its power and pickup. specially on the higher speeds on the Highway. The engine almost revs too much.

Also, it might be psychological thing but I almost notice it using a bit more gas than it used to. I know It seems to prompt for change oil every 4200km.

is there anything I can check into or ask the techs to look into when bringing it into the shop?

I was thinking get them to check the Spark plugs to see if they need cleaning or maybe even replacing. The car now is almost at 90,000k. I purchased it used from the dealership.


Thanks

 

If I were you I would start with a basic tune up before taking it to the dealer. Plugs are supposed to be changed every 30k miles, at least thats what the owners manual for my 09 2.4 l states. If yours have never been changed, your 60k past due and that could affect mileage. Have you done any maintenance work on your own? Air filter, plugs, wires, etc.

The dealer will probably just do the recommended 90k mile maintenance and call it a day. Save yourself money and time, look in the owners manual and do the 90k mile recommended services yourself. Plugs take about a half an hour to do.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am going to replace the Air filter and cabin filter my self as those are simple enough. I'll bring it in to the Dealership for spark plug change next time I do an oil change.

 

If you can turn a wrench, you can change the plugs yourself. You could save yourself literally hundreds of dollars.

 

Do they need to have anything done to them as far as oiling or greasing them?

or do I just take the old ones out, put the new ones in and away I go?

 

I usually put some anti-seize on the threads. Not really required, but I've gotten in the habit of putting that stuff on them. You also need to set the gap on them. Sometimes they say pre-gapped but I always verify myself. The gap is listed on the engine label under the hood. You can buy a spark plug gap tool for like $1 at most auto parts stores. I also put a little bit of thin oil (WD40 or something like that) on the inside of the spark plug boot. Just makes it easier to get the boots on and off.

 

Thanks for your help so far.

I replaced the Air Filter and pickup seems to be a tad better on the HWY. But still not like what it used to be. I think I am gonna go ahead and get the Spark Plugs replaced next oil change since I am closing to 100k.

I guess my next question would be should I stick to OEM Spark plugs from the dealer? or should I buy after market stuff like NGK?

I tried to do some searching around and of course everyone seems to get different results, but havent been able to find anyone with a Dodge Journey who has used other spark plugs than stock OEM.

When I was at the dealership picking up the Air Filter, I spoke to the parts guy and he said he put NGK in his dodge Caliber SXT, but he said his car also had some other mods. My Journey is all OEM/Stock. Unless the dealer offers "Performance" Spark Plugs that I can get. The parts guy with the Caliber said there has been a number of cases where a person puts after market SparkPlugs in a stock car (Dodge) and notice performance drop. Any opinion on that?


Thanks

 

It has been my experience that plain ol copper plugs work best on a stock vehicle that originally came with copper. I go to the parts store and let them tell me the "OEM equivalent" and thats what I get. No since on going exotic since the plugs gotta be changed every 30k anyway. I tried a set of platinums in my Dakota once, big mistake. Idled rough, no power, gas mileage stunk. Put copper core back in and it ran like a dream. If your bound and determined to let the dealer replace the plugs for you, tell them to just put in the OEM plugs. IMO, "performance plugs" are a waste of money unless you have other performance goodies to take advantage of them. Kinda like running premium gas in an engine designed for regular gas. Waste of money.

It's a shame the air filter in these cars is so oddball no one carries them. I have to get mine special ordered from a parts store. I would never buy from a dealer though. ay too expensive that way.

 

I think i'll stick with OEM original Spark Plugs. I'll probably buy them from the dealership and take it to my usual mechanic that I've been going to for years.

As far as the air filter, I wanted to stick with original OEM stuff to see how it goes and I think i'll stick to it for now since I've noticed a slight performance increase. Nothing huge but the engine definitely sounds like its breathing better. Next time i'll go online and look for a canadian parts shop and see if I can get it from there. Through Chrysler Dealer it was almost $50. oh well, live and learn.

thanks again for all your help. really appreciate it.

 

If your air filter was dirty, getting a clean one, no matter who makes it, will increase the performance. The engine has to breath. You should at least check the air filter at every oil change. Replace it at specified intervals or earlier if it looks dirty.