Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2015 Dodge Journey
7 crashes 4 injuries 11 of the 15 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure gets reported
Owners of the 2015 Dodge Journey report ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at a median of 55,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles, from 12 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 13th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 95,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 66,106 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.
17% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,167 miles | 39,000 miles | 56,898 miles | 80,165 miles | 96,273 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
Of these reports, 7 a crash and 4 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,500 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 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2016, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 2013 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 76; the 2015 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.
One week after purchasing vehicle, navigation system had errors. When attempting to find route, received two error messages. "can't unlock maps" and "detailed maps are required for routing. No detailed maps found on this unit." took vehicle to the dealership (still under warranty) and they performed software upgrade and said it was now working. Went to leave dealership, started vehicle, and error messages returned. Dealership said they'd now have to order new radio as this was a common problem. Also told the dealership about message that appeared on dash that said "key has left vehicle" - even though I had the key fob on my person, was sitting in the driver's seat, and my engine was running. Also received an error message about the fuel cap and the low fuel icon stayed on for two days after filling with fuel. Readjusted the fuel cap twice and icon still remained and then disappeared after two days on it's own. Dealership said they'd look at it if it happens again. Possibly related to the computer system issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 dodge journey. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the air bag, throttle control, and tire pressure warning indicators illuminated intermittently, along with the key fob light. The contact mentioned that the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed to operate, causing the vehicle to crash into the woods. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a sprained right arm that needed medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the diagnosis was undetermined. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000. *tt
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 dodge journey. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the air bag, throttle control, and tire pressure warning indicators illuminated intermittently, along with the key fob light. The contact mentioned that the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed to operate, causing the vehicle to crash into the woods. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a sprained right arm that needed medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the diagnosis was undetermined. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000. *tt
Also reported on the 2015 Dodge Journey
Other engine problem
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Other brake problem
Other electrical 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 ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure happen on the 2015 Dodge Journey?
Across 12 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 55,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2015 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