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Dodge Journey door locks problems

63 of the 5,299 owner complaints about the Dodge Journey describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 2009 model year.

owner complaints
63
worst model year
2009
typical repair cost reported
$800
typical mileage
68,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.

By model year

What owners say

Filed Jun 29, 2026 · Electrical · CA · 1 injury

Incident occurred onJune 29, 2026 approximately around 6 pm. The system in question is the electrical. I was pulling out of the parking space at the Safeway parking lot, my arm was rested on the driver side door, window was down, and I heard the automatic door locks engaged. At that exact moment I felt a heavy shock go through my arm. I screamed, and at first I did not know what happened. As I was driving home, I knew the shock had come from my arm resting on the door lock. My left arm had a visible red mark. The incident had just now occurred so it has not been confirmed by anyone. No warning lights, messages, or symptoms.

Filed Mar 2, 2026 · Electrical · NE

The car door locks fail to lock/unlock. Outside, it has been intermittent, meaning at times, my key fob will unlock/lock the doors but at times will it work. I tried to lock my car after parking and the car buttons wouldn’t work and the car horn just beeped when I tried to use the key fob. Inside, the lock/unlock button does not work on either the driver or passenger side. I cannot lock/unlock the car from the inside. I cannot open the back passenger doors from the inside/outside; they remain locked. I cannot unlock the front passenger door from the inside buttons but - so far - can open the door by pulling the inside handle. The back hatch seems to be unlocked at all times now. The car doors do not automatically lock when driving like they used to. My children cannot get in or out of the car at present without climbing into the front driver’s seat. I am not sure if this is a consistent issue or intermittent at this time. My car just passed a multi-point inspection on Saturday, and I have an appointment for it to be evaluated on Wednesday. Please contact me if additional information is needed.

Filed Dec 11, 2025 · Electrical · OH

I received a card from the federal safety agency about two years ago on this issue possibly due to the federal safety agency Action Number:Â EA24003. I am still having this issue and now it is worse. 2 years ago, it started with the driver side window not opening intermittently. Then the door locks would not operate from the driver side controls. Now every window will not open and the driver door is not recognized by the car. When opening or closing the driver door, nothing happens. In the past, if I turned off the car left my key fob in the car and closed the door when it would lock, the horn would sound, and the doors would unlock. When getting out of the car, I would open the door, and the radio display panel would turn off. Now, it stays on with the engine off. Thankfully there is a delay and eventually turns off. It may be the driver's door harness as it can be easily searched on the internet as a faulty product. Again, NHSTA originally approached me two years ago and the issue has not gotten worse. $800 minimum to replace the door harness. Hopefully that fixes it temporarily. Start date given is an estimate on when I received a card from NHSTA on this issue.

Filed Aug 19, 2025 · Electrical · TX · fire

In April 2025 I was driving and the abs light came on and windshield wipers went off sporadically. Dodge dealer found nothing wrong. It happened again in June 2025. Dodge dealer had car for 1 week and stated they could not find problem but car was safe to drive. They said to return when problems were more constant. On the morning of 8/14/2025, I dropped someone off at the dr and went to Starbucks. Went inside for order. While driving back to drs windshield wipers went crazy and car started to stutter. I pulled over .4 miles from Starbucks. When I stopped I saw smoke so got out of the car and could see flames. I went to open backdoor for my purse but door would not open. Drivers door was not fully closed so was able to retrieve to call 911. Fire department arrived quickly but front of car was already engulfed in flames. Fire department was able to get Fire out. Car was a total loss.

Filed Aug 5, 2024 · Electrical · OR

Door locks Doors remain locked or unlocked. Key fob will not unlock or lock doors. Panel will not unlock or locked doors

Filed Jun 11, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · AZ

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC The light for the stability control came on and my brakes chatter feels like there's bumps on the disc .Its pulling to the right , .. Also my door locks have failed .first it started with my rear windshield wiper running with the switch off ,than my reverse lights and now the locks . The back door does not lock at all and the door locks work sometimes .The electronics on my car is failing @ 120,000 it started .Its now at 150,000 tried everything still wont work.

Filed Apr 4, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · FL

When trying to start the car in the past every now in then I would get a one click and no start I tried to shift into neutral and nothing the same , I played with the button by turning g off and back on a few time and it would start and it started to get harder to get it to start and now it will only click and no start , I replaced the battery and starter was checked out and is good all battery ends are new and new battery cables , I know Google is no auto mechanic but the post I have read there is a lot of dodge journeys that has this issue when I called dodge I was told to bring it in and I will be charged , also about every 4th time I hit the door locks from the door as soon as the door shuts the horn beeps 3 times and all the doors unlock , need help please from what I am understanding it's something to do with the anti theft or the neutral safety switch inside the transmission ,

Filed Sep 1, 2023 · Acceleration, Electrical · KY

I've gone through 6 batteries in 1 year and I still have to keep jumping my vehicle Everytime I start it. I am currently stranded in Walmart parking lot with no jumper cables and I am being forced to walk now. Also there are times when I am driving down the highway and at any given moment it acts as if I stomped on the brakes. The lights go off and on, the windows roll up and down, the door locks are out of control and the gauges on the dashboard go out of control as well. I recently bought a new TIPM and ECM because when I replaced the battery it would no longer start. This vehicle is very dangerous and I'm sorry I ever bought it. It seems as if dodge cares more about their money than a human life

Filed May 5, 2023 · MI

Follow-up with the article in regards to a possible electrical problems in older Dodge Journey after a woman was trapped and died when her SUV caught fire in December. Issues reported warning lights started flashing, windshield wipers came on, the horn started honking, windows wouldn't go down and the doors wouldn't unlock. Those are of the TIPM that have been reported for years and nothing has been done. I have personal experienced everything that others witnessed with 2009 except for I have not had a fire yet, I have been stuck in my vehicle for times due to window won't go down and doors will not unlock. Horn , lights, wipers, continue to go off I have to pull fuses out all the time just so not to disturb the neighbors as it happens at all hours not just when driving it. It caused a brand new battery to swell up that was caught by a mechanic, the TIPM has been changed 2 times now and still have issues along with the battery was replaced 3 times so far and maybe this is why I have not had a fire because I continue to get a new one. This has been happening for

Filed Feb 20, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · WI · fire

Vehicle owner was driving and pulled over when all warning lights began flashing, wipers came on, horn started honking, windows would not go down, doors would not unlock, and vehicle started on fire. Fire appeared to begin in the engine compartment, with fire eventually consuming entire vehicle.

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the Dodge Journey door locks

Which Dodge Journey years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2009 (19 complaints), 2010 (17 complaints) and 2013 (6 complaints).

How much does it cost to fix doors won't lock, open or latch on the Dodge Journey?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $800 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

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