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What 383 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Dodge Journey

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (383)Crash / fire / injury (27)Engine (113)Transmission & drivetrain (86)Electrical system (84)Brakes (52)Seats (35)Steering (34)Speed control (32)Airbags (26)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (18)Fuel system (13)

2 of 383 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jun 1, 2025Electrical systemBody & structureFire

Was driving car after cleaning it had a box in trunk that barely took a portion of the trunk up. While drive smelt smoke and electrical smell and my trunk was on fire inside. Pulled over and the back hatch inside got so hot from what I can only guess was electrical that the box caught fire. This caused a whole inside back hatch and melted part of my seat and damaged my storage containers.

NHTSA ODI 11664229

Aug 8, 2022Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngineFire

The engine/powertrain occasionally does not accelerate on the freeway causing us to backup traffic. This happens randomly and will eventually cause a major accident. I have contacted dodge but they want me to leave my car for 6 weeks with no loaner I am a single mother that is not possible. The car is under bumper to bumper coverage but they still wont fix the issue! Also my heated seats are stuck on high and often smell like they are going to catch fire! Again dodge wont help!

NHTSA ODI 11478120

Working with the data? Download all 383 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Dodge Journey verdict →