Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, backup camera).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Dodge Journey owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while reversing into a parking space the rear-view camera screen inadvertently turned black. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that as she opened the hatchback, the rear-view camera functionality returned. The contact also stated that the interior lights of the vehicle remained on for a month. The vehicle was taken to the local Pep Boys auto store who diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. Then, the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that no issues were found with the vehicle however, an unknown software was reprogrammed. The contact stated that the interior lights remained on and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear wiring system needed to be replaced. …
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the contact can a grinding sound coming from the rear brakes. No warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, however the diagnosis was unknown. The vehicle was repaired as the front brakes were repaired. The contact mention while attempting to reverse the vehicle the rearview camera takes a few mins to display an image. The contact was relating the failure to related to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V523000 ( SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was also relating his second failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V398000( BACK OVER PREVENTION )however, the VIN was not included in the recall. …
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera image was inverted. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25E052000 (Back Over Prevention), and the vehicle was taken to a dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and scheduled an appointment with the dealer on the contact's behalf. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who declined to perform the recall repair because the VIN was not included in the recall. However, the contact stated that the recall indicated that the recall was part-specific rather than VIN-specific. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue, but no assistance was provided. …
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the rear brakes. No warning light was illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The front brakes were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera image was slow to be displayed. The contact related the failures to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V523000 ( SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC) and 18V398000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 61,200.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the rear brakes. No warning light was illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed; however, the result was not provided. The front brakes were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated while attempting to reverse the rearview camera image was not immediately displayed. The contact related the failures to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V523000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC) and 18V398000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recalls. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 61,200.
The contact's husband owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rear-view camera image was either blank or upside-down. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where the camera was repaired. Despite the repair, the contact stated that the failure had recently recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the recent failure, but informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN related to the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V398000 (Back Over Prevention) which was linked to the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 83,258
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank image. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not inspected. The contact was informed that an unknown recall was not associated with the VIN. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact later received an unknown recall notification with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that the vehicle would not immediately start, and white exhaust smoke was coming from the vehicle. Also, the message "Coolant Low" was displayed although the coolant reservoir was full. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the head gasket was faulty. The head gasket was replaced but the coolant message continued to display. The contact also indicated that the back over prevention camera was faulty, and condensation was present inside the driver's side front headlight housing. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that after shifting into reverse(R), the camera image was upside down or the screen only showed static. The contact stated that the failure had become a recurring failure. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who determined that the back over prevention camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V398000 (Back Over Prevention) by the mechanic. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the back over prevention camera was foggy or the image was displayed upside down. An independent mechanic was not contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the back over prevention camera wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V396000 (VISIBILITY); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 140,000.
Related recalls
Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2018 Dodge Journey and RAM 1500, 2500, and 3500 vehicles. The backup camera may experience a loss of image display while backing up. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rearview mirror, free of charge. The recall began August 2, 2018. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403.
NHTSA investigations
Back up camera failure
On February 27, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to investigate complaints alleging a loss of back up camera function in Model Year (MY) 2018 through 2020 Dodge Journey vehicles. Complainants reported experiencing black screens, upside down images, flashing images, or blurred images.
Collision Avoidance complaints in other Journey years
Frequently asked questions
How common are collision avoidance problems on the 2018 Dodge Journey?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2018 Dodge Journey, 12% of the model year's 237 complaints. The component named most often is sensing system › camera (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2018 Dodge Journey collision avoidance problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 18V-398 (camera, Jun 14, 2018). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2018 Dodge Journey collision avoidance problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 68,000 miles, and 18% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.