Alternator or charging system failure on the 2014 Dodge Journey
When alternator or charging system failure gets reported
Owners of the 2014 Dodge Journey report alternator or charging system failure at a median of 130,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 145,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 85,780 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
13% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59,320 miles | 70,000 miles | 129,000 miles | 143,000 miles | 145,100 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 2014 has 15. 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 dodge journey. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the battery saver light illuminated and the radio shut off. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery door might have been left open, which caused the battery to die. The technician charged up the battery, but the failure recurred and the vehicle shut down completely. The vehicle was pushed off the road and was towed back to the dealer. The technician diagnosed and replaced the alternator. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The failure mileage was 34,400.
My cruise control quit working and the traction control light came on and it wouldn't turn off. The doors started locking and unlocking by themselves. I went to church and stopped at food city afterwards. I started the vehicle and put it in reverse and I can smell something weird and it was like the brake was stuck and it was holding back. I proceeded because I was in traffic and needed to move. Acceleration was limited but I made it home which was less than a mile. When stopped there was smoke rolling out from under the front passenger side area and there was fluids running all over the ground. This was a very dangerous situation because I had my children in the car. There is a scrubbing and pecking noise but it sounds like it's coming from the rear end. I have had nothing but problems with this vehicle. Check engine light is on but it's been on. I've had it checked and shows nothing wrong and had it turned off and it continues to come on. Alternator has been replaced as well as new battery. It seems to have electrical issues with the doors locking and unlocking. So dangerous! Affects steering and control of vehicle and could…
My cruise control quit working and the traction control light came on and it wouldn't turn off. The doors started locking and unlocking by themselves. I went to church and stopped at food city afterwards. I started the vehicle and put it in reverse and I can smell something weird and it was like the brake was stuck and it was holding back. I proceeded because I was in traffic and needed to move. Acceleration was limited but I made it home which was less than a mile. When stopped there was smoke rolling out from under the front passenger side area and there was fluids running all over the ground. This was a very dangerous situation because I had my children in the car. There is a scrubbing and pecking noise but it sounds like it's coming from the rear end. I have had nothing but problems with this vehicle. Check engine light is on but it's been on. I've had it checked and shows nothing wrong and had it turned off and it continues to come on. Alternator has been replaced as well as new battery. It seems to have electrical issues with the doors locking and unlocking. So dangerous! Affects steering and control of vehicle and could…
Also reported on the 2014 Dodge Journey
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Other brake problem
Other body or interior problem
Other driver assistance problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 15 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 2014 Dodge Journey?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 130,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 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 2014 Dodge Journey?
15 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