2016 Dodge Journey: jerking or lurching

Filed Jan 7, 2026 · Transmission · AZ

Started off with check engine light reaching the end of November 2025 then about a week later started to experience whining noises when accelerating, jerking and fluid started leaking. My safety and of others was put at risk because as the jerking happened out of nowhere when driving other vehicles could of hit me from behind. I looked up to see if there was any recalls and some did show up but when i reached out to the dealer they did not respond back. Then a independent service center looked into it and on their end they also saw the recall without me mentioning it and they reached out to the dealer and they were told there was no recall.

Filed Nov 1, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · VA

While driving the car, car stalled and began displaying the lightning bolt icon on the cluster. The power steering stopped working and the brake was very stiff and hard to depress. I pulled off the road and waited a few minutes and started the car again. The idle was very rough, icon was still displayed on the cluster, and car began jerking and stalled again. I had the vehicle towed to the house and began looking into the issue. Error codes read on the car was P0365: Camshaft Position Sensor “B” Circuit, and the red lightning bolt indicating an issue with the electronic throttle body. The battery was taken out and tested bad so it was replaced. The throttle body was cleaned and tested good. When I tried to start the car after the codes were cleared, the vehicle attempted to start but wasn't able to turn over fully. The P0365 code returned. I then had a mechanic come check out the car to see if he could do anything to help. He determined that the valves in the engine were bent and the cars timing was off. With all of this being said, This issue I am complaining about is the P0365 Camshaft sensor code. There was a recall for the camshaft sensors in some 2016 Dodge Journeys but my VIN did not fall in that range. When I called FCA, I was told there was nothing to be done because my VIN wasn't included in the recall. A bad camshaft sensor would cause all of the issues that I am experiencing with the car. If the sensor is bad or doesn't perform as it should, it could effect the overall timing of the engine's firing sequence, causing stalling, failure to start, and damage to the engine, like in my case with the bent valves. This incident posed a severe safety risk to myself and the other drivers around me due to the loss of power steering and partial loss of braking ability. Luckily this incident did not occur on the interstate or major highway, where there are speeds in excess of 55 mph.

Filed Jul 3, 2023 · Transmission · 126,000 miles · SC

The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard a grinding sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle started to jerk. The contact veered off the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact then stated while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle started to jerk and decelerated while the accelerator pedal was being depressed. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled off the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was inspected by an independent mechanic who retrieved DTC codes for transmission failure. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.

Filed Mar 10, 2023 · Acceleration, Engine · MO

I was driving on the highway and my car started to jerk when I accelerated and hit the brakes. I pulled over to see what was wrong with the car. It hesitated to start back up and when it did it stalled. My ESC light came on and my engine light came on before I pulled over. I was stuck on the side of a busy highway with a car that almost caused an accident when it jerked. Took the car to AutoZone for a diagnostics check and got 3 error codes, P0344, P0128, and C121C-00. Was informed that there are similar issues being reported about cars of the same year, make, and model that was not included in a 2016-2017 recall and that there is an open investigation referring to the camshaft sensor being intermittent (Code P0344). There was no other warning lights on the dashboard. All the lights came on at the same time.

Filed May 24, 2022 · Transmission · MI

The AWD light keeps flashing and it’s making my car jerk and not able to drive it. I have 3 kids and can’t be driving it and get stuck on the side of the road.

Filed Feb 26, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 119,235 miles · KY

This has been happening for about a month now. While driving my dash board lights go on then off,my radio will turn up by itself, my heat/ AC wont come on. I will have to shut my car off and then back on.for it to work. And it makes my car to jerk and now today.feb.26 2020. My wipers go out as well on the highway in a down pour. Again I had to pull over turn my car off wait about 5 mins and then start my car again. I had to do this about 5 time during my hour 1/2 drive.

Filed Feb 11, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · IL

The vehicle is jerking and the radio is changing channels on it s own. The engine is making a sound, that sounds like it's about to give out. The vehicle haves less than 40000 miles on it. The traction control light came on while I was driving straight on dry pavement

Filed Oct 2, 2019 · Engine · 63,000 miles · NC

Vehicle simply turned off on its own while I was driving. I had just began accelerating from a stop light and in the midst of a turn when the vehicle failed. After stopping then the check engine light illuminated. I was stuck at a large intersection for a few minutes as trying to turn the vehicle back on resulted in it just kind of jerking/stuttering initially. Eventually I was able to turn it back on and drive a bit down the road when it turned off again but at least I made it to a business' parking lot. I had the vehicle towed to a repair shop and they could not find an issue. No error codes and would not cut off on them as it did me. I still had them replace the crankshaft sensor as the technician said that is usually the issue when a car cuts off during driving.

Filed Sep 19, 2019 · Transmission · 1 miles · GA

My wife was driving our 2016 dodge journey our pf the driveway. She drove 2 blocks when the car suddenly lost acceleration and became jerky when shifting. Engine light went on without warning so she immediately turned the car off. She restarted and managed to get it in reverse to try to pull over to the curb but the car jerked forward while in reverse. We towed it to our dodge dealership and had it diagnosed. Was told that our hydraulic pump failed causing irreparable damage to our transmission. We were told we needed to replace our entire transmission. We have only had the car for 2 years and there is only 65000 miles on it. Discovered that there was a recall for faulty hydraulic pumps causing transmission failure (s44) but was told that it doesn't apply to our vehicle. Sounds very suspect. Transmissions are not supposed to fail after just 3 years. Seems to be a recurrent issue with this make, model and year. We still owe a lot of money on the car so we cannot scrap or trade it. Not getting much help from customer service despite all of the similarities with the prior recall. Maybe forced to pay thousands for this repair. Warranty just expired at 60000 miles which would have covered the power train. This issue has been a perfect storm. I wish my family could get some help.

Filed May 24, 2019 · Brakes, Engine · 71,000 miles · TX

I was driving my 2016 dodge journey crossroad and the ABS lights came on and then I felt my car jerk like it was going to stall. I tried to get off the freeway and my car stalled out. I put it in drive and it would stall again. It sounded like the engine was going to fall out of my car. It would stall out even in reverse. It would only run in park. The tow truck driver said it sounds like the crank shaft or transmission. My car is only 3yrs old and well taken care of. No check engine light came on, the scanner wouldn't read any error codes. I am currently waiting on the mechanic to look at it this weekend, my 9month old niece and I almost died by being rear ended by traffic coming off the off ramp.

Filed Jan 6, 2019 · Fuel system, Transmission · 40,000 miles · FL · crash

Vehicle while drive fine for many miles usually after driving on the highway but when I need to make a turn it becomes difficult for the vehicle to accelerate and will suddenly jerk forward or pop. My car was recently serviced due to the drive shaft cracking in an abnormal way according to mechanics which costed $4200 I expected the issue to be solved after the repair but it seems to have gotten worse there was a humming sound now while turning I'm afraid the problem may be manufacturer related since it's happening again after the repair

Filed Apr 24, 2018 · Acceleration, Transmission · 53,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 dodge journey. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate. In addition, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle made a whining noise and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted and the failure persisted. The contact also stated that when attempting to reverse, the vehicle would jerk and failed to reverse. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.