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I have a 2011 Dodge Journey, and I hate it. I could write a lengthy article enumerating the reasons why, but right now the focus of this article is on how to check the transmission fluid through the anti-consumerist filler tube. For now it sufficeth to say that this is one of the worst models of Journey which you shouldn't buy, regardless of it's J.D. Power score. I'm writing this mostly as a reminder for myself.
First of all you need to locate the transmission fluid filler tube. In some models it's located just to the left of the air filter, down low. It can be quickly identified by its cap labeled, “For dealer use only.” Remove the cap and you'll find that it has no dipstick. That's right: Dodge expects you to take your Journey to a dealer and pay up the nose to get your transmission fluid checked.
Instead, we'll have to improvise by repurposing the oil dipstick.
Keep in mind that when you check the transmission fluid, the engine will need to be running and the fluid at normal operating temperature. Driving around for a mile or two should be sufficient to bring up the temperature.
Remove the oil dipstick and wipe it off well. Next, measure out about 19⁄16 and 21⁄16 inches from the tip and mark them out with a black marker, or better yet, carefully scratch lines at those positions so that you don't have recreate the marks at a later date. These indicate the minimum and maximum fluid levels you should have.
Now, with the engine running, jam the oil dipstick into the transmission filling tube. It should go down far, with the handle dropping below the air filter cover. If it's gone as far as it can but is still above the air filter cover, you need to turn it around so that it can go further.
If you need to add fluid, get yourself a long funnel so that you can reach the filling tube without making a mess. Daisy-chain multiple funnels if you have to. Each time you add fluid, slowly shift the transmission from park to reverse, to neutral, to drive, and back again, pausing briefly at each gear. Do this with the engine running, then check the fluid level again.
Bonus: What to do if you overfill the transmission fluid
Remember how I pointed out that the dipstick will fit properly one way but not the other? I didn't know this when I started checking my transmission fluid, which explains why the first time I checked the dipstick it was bone-dry, so I poured in a full quart. Every time I checked the level, the dipstick came up dry, so I added another quart. And another. I eventually inserted the dipstick correctly, purely by accident, at which point I discovered that I'd clearly way overfilled the transmission fluid—by about a gallon!
You might think, “Why not just fill up the transmission fluid reservoir like you would a tank of gas?” Well, apparently a heap of bad things could happen, culminating in a ruined transmission.
You will need to siphon the excess fluid out. You could very well use a brake bleeding kit. But, if you don't have one on hand, and like me you live on the Edge of Nowhere and the nearest far-away hardware or car part store closes early on the weekend, you might be able to rig something up with materials you already have lying around.
I had some 5⁄16-inch tubing which I used to make a vacuum siphon with a two-quart wide-mouth jar. I drilled two holes in the lid just big enough for the tubes to slide into. I cut a length that could comfortably reach from the engine to the floor, and a shorter length to do the sucking.
The proper thing to do would have been to seal those holes with caulk, but I didn't want to wait for it to dry, so I used tape. Not as good a seal, but it did the job.
For suction I used a shop vac. I held the short tube in the end of the shop vac hose and put my thumb over the end of the hose, choking its air flow just enough to get it to suck on the little tube without stressing the shop vac.
Slowly but surely it pulled the excess fluid out of the engine. I paid attention to the jar to make sure it didn't overfill, periodically emptying it into other containers.