Alternator or charging system failure on the 2012 Dodge Journey
When alternator or charging system failure gets reported
Owners of the 2012 Dodge Journey report alternator or charging system failure at a median of 95,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 145,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 20th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 20,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 150,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 128,023 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
30% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21,977 miles | 42,718 miles | 93,887 miles | 142,500 miles | 150,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $450–$1,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 8 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 50,000 miles, and latest on the 2011 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 2009 carries the most reports, with 27; the 2012 has 11. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I was driving on the interstate and all of a sudden my dashboard started to flicker. I couldn't increase my speed. The check engine light came on. My car began to slow down on its own accord. I pulled over to the shoulder and put the car in park. I was able to shut the engine off, but unable to turn the accessories off. My radio remained on along with the dashboard.I was unable to restart the ignition. I called for a tow truck and my car was brought to the original dealer, cortese chrysler/dodge. The next day they replaced the alternator free of charge. I am concerned that this will happen again when my car is out of warranty. *tr
2012 dodge journey hero AWD hatchback showed a check engine light then lost all power and blacked out. Battery was replaced, check engine light again came on and in less than 24 hours blacked out (zero power) again. Vehicle was towed to dodge and during a 2 week period in the shop the alternator, battery, two o2 sensors and the PCM were replaced in an attempt to fix the issue causing the check engine light. Vehicle was returned to owners and in less than 24 hours blacked out with total power loss again. Issue occured once while vehicle is in motion. Dodge has been unable to locate a solution. *js
I was driving on expressway, charging system light came on, engine power was erratic, vehicle slowed and rpms went to 4000, radio stopped, air bag light came on, ABS light came on. I exited expressway, parked vehicle and shut it off. Vehicle would not restart until battery was recharged. Mechanic determined that the alternator had failed. Auto repair shop installed a new mopar alternator and recharged the battery. *tr
Also reported on the 2012 Dodge Journey
Other engine problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Other brake problem
Other electrical problem
No-start or intermittent start failure
Other driver assistance problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 11 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does alternator or charging system failure happen on the 2012 Dodge Journey?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 95,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 145,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is alternator or charging system failure on the 2012 Dodge Journey?
11 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed