AutoUtility currently tracks 552 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2015 Dodge Journey. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 129 complaints (23.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 30 filings cite a crash, 9 cite a fire, 36 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 552 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (129 reports • 23.4% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Brakes & Traction Control (123), Electrical System (118)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 30 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 9 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 36 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
552
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
30
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
9
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
36
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2015 Dodge Journey

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 23.4% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

129 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 2 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 22.3% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

123 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 10 crash reports 🩹 12 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 21.4% of complaints

Electrical System

118 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🔥 5 fire reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 15.8% of complaints

Seats & Interior

87 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 12 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 13.9% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

77 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Dodge Journey

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 2.9% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

16 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Dodge Journey

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11757940
Crash Cited Filed: 08/19/2026

"see attached documetn"

Incident Date: 08/18/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11757194
Filed: 08/15/2026

"While driving, the electric window and doorlock module started smoking. It was a heavy white smoke. There were no warning lamps or messages. I smelled the smoke and burning of plastic immediately before I even saw the smoke. I pulled over to a safe spot, turned off my vehicle, grabbed my purse and..."

Incident Date: 07/08/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11757056
Filed: 08/14/2026

"The review camera stopped working in the early Summer 2026. Sporadically, the image would display and then cut out to a blank/black screen. The warning beeps also we're not working all the time. No warning messages displayed. Eventually it almost entirely stopped working! A rear view image that is..."

Incident Date: 06/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11755419
Filed: 08/07/2026

"ABS module was recalled and replaced. The replaced piece is now not working and needs replaced. Every place says part is on backorder. Its a safety issue to continue driving my car"

Incident Date: 12/31/1969 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES
Seats & Interior NHTSA ODI ID: #11744875
1 Injury Entry Filed: 06/17/2026

"[XXX]: Driving down a city street, had not braked or slowed down when I heard a loud bang behind me and something hit me in the back of the head. My son was in the car with me and said the headrest had exploded. I had nausea and a headache for a couple of days, which indicates a slight concussion...."

Incident Date: 06/07/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SEATS
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Dodge Journey

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2020)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Dodge Journey Current Page 552 30 6 Current
2016 Dodge Journey 385 19 4 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Dodge Journey 197 12 2 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Dodge Journey 231 7 6 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Dodge Journey 100 6 1 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Dodge Journey 64 1 1 View 2020 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2015 Dodge Journey

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 132 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 75 1 0 11 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 60 0 1 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 43 10 0 16 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 35 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 0 3 1 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 0 2 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 23 4 0 1 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 16 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 12 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 6 0 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 3 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 1 0 1 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 3 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 3 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 3 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 2 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 2 2 0 7 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 1 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 2 1 0 1 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 2 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,SEATS 2 0 0 2 0
SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 2 0 0 0 0
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 1 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 1 0
CHILD SEAT,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 1 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SEATS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (552). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)

1 OPEN 2 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA24003
Opened: 2024-08-01 • Currently Active

Vehicle entrapment

Affected Component: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-008 on May 1, 2023 to investigate an incident involving a 2009 Dodge Journey alleging occupant entrapment during a vehicle fire that resulted in a fatality. During the investigation, ODI collected information from the manufacturer and involved parties to confirm or refute the defect allegation. ODI has determined that additional reports of vehicle entrapment exist for other model year Dodge Jo...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ22002
Opened: 2022-07-22 • Closed: 2025-06-16

Stall from Crankshaft\Camshaft Failure

Affected Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:CRANK/CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR

On December 13, 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received recall 16V-907 from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) that identified a safety defect involving crankshaft or camshaft sensor failures on certain 2016 Model Year Dodge Journey, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot vehicles. The failure of the crankshaft or camshaft sensor may lead to a loss of motive power (LOMP) in the recalled vehicles.  Following the receipt of...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE19014
Opened: 2019-09-09 • Closed: 2026-02-25

Active Head Rest Inadvertent Deployment

Affected Component: SEATS

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19014 on September 9, 2019, to investigate 128 consumer complaints alleging that the Active Head Rest (AHR) inadvertently deployed without the occurrence of a crash or other rear impact event in model year (MY) 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles.When ODI opened the investigation, ODI was aware of thirteen alleged injuries.A small number of Early Warning Reports identified driver...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →

Related Official Reports for 2015 Dodge Journey

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.