CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2007 Dodge Caliber has all kinds of suspension problems at relatively low mileage: typically 40-50,000 miles.

The most commonly reported problems are with ball joints & control arms going bad. Tie rods & leaking struts are also reported failing in the same mileage range.

Unfortunately all the suspension problems means some owners only find out after they notice their tires are ruined.

We've given the 2007 Caliber our worst rating because these problems happen at such low mileage, & it involves a wide range of apparently defective parts. With most other cars, major suspension work is pretty rare under 50,000 miles.

8.6

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$570
Average Mileage:
84,300 miles
Total Complaints:
17 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (11 reports)
  2. replace throttle body (2 reports)
  3. fuel injection cleaning (1 reports)
  4. replace alternator (1 reports)
  5. replace intergrated power module (1 reports)
  6. replace relay (1 reports)
2007 Dodge Caliber engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2007 Dodge Caliber:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2007 Dodge Caliber Owner Comments

problem #17

Nov 222016

Caliber SXT 2.0L 4 cyl

  • CVT transmission
  • 116,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On Nov. 22, 2017 my 2007 Caliber started making a hissing noise after driving for 15 miles/20 minutes on both highway and secondary road. After 2 minutes of this, the engine died and all lights went out. Lights came back on after 3 seconds. Car would not restart, not even turn over. All lights went out when tried to restart. Towed to garage and starter replaced. The same thing occurred 2 weeks later. This time only problem found was a weak battery. Again it occurred on Dec. 20. Starter replaced again along with a faulty cable on alternator. Same problem again on Jan. 9. Starter again replaced, this time with a Mopar starter. Same problem again on Jan 20. Starter fried again, waiting for repair to be completed. Any one else face this problem and what could cause it?

- Brian M., Boyertown, PA, US

problem #16

Aug 052016

Caliber SXT 2.0L

  • CVT transmission
  • 150,000 miles

I got this car used about a year ago. It has 150K miles on. Two weeks ago while I was driving at 30mph on a city road, the lights in the dashboard came on unexpectedly and the car stalled. I moved to parking, turned it off and two minutes later turned on again. Two days ago, it stalled before I could park and didn't want to turn on again.

Took it to the dealership, but they couldn't replicate the problem, and found nothing wrong. I took the car, before leaving the dealership's place. the car stalled again. Got it to the testing computer pushing it. Finally the computer pointed to the junction block, located behind the driver's side headlight. The starter relay there was corroded and the connections as well. They cleaned it and replaced the bad connection. I drove for 3 hours straight the second day, the engine never stalled. That junction block has five relays which mess up with the functioning of this car all the time. Always suggest that to be checked.

- Valter C., St. Cloud, MN, US

problem #15

Aug 122014

Caliber SE 2.0L L4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 58,000 miles

Driving down street car suddenly slowed and would not go over 20 mph. Had my mechanic look at car and run diagnostic however nothing showed up. Quit driving this car as could not afford more diagnostic and had no idea when it would happen again. Had an emergency several weeks later and drove car - nothing wrong. WTH?

- Char P., Spokane, WA, US

problem #14

Jan 062015

Caliber ES 2.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 155,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We were on the 401 East Toronto and the car shut off 3 times, the 3rd time wouldn't start again, so called tow truck, now sitting at garage 3200 km's from our house with a big electrical problem. Now from reading here, it sounds like the tips electrical box with about 8-10 fuses in it.

My wife was driving on the 8 lane 401 and thank god we were in the far right lane when it happened first time and stayed in that lane for 2 more times of shutting off, we were only 15 km's into our 300 km trip home. I earlier complained to the local Dodge dealer that there is no skid pan (plastic one) on this car its missing they said there is none on these models so all the snow and salt road dirt gets into the tips and f*cks up the electrical system big time and in dangerous situation on interstate Hwy. 401, etc.

This is a extremely dangerous when driving and will or may cause death, of loved ones. Dodge needs to own up here the f*ckers.

Was going to buy a Dodge truck after 40 years of driving GMC but I'm now going to buy GMC again, and if I can get rid of this piece of sh*t Caliber, then we will be going to Chev. or GMC for our SUV.

- Robert R., Sundridge, Ontario, Canada

problem #13

Dec 022014

Caliber 2.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles

Vehicle towed to shop. Died wile driving & would not crank. Found starter burnt out. Replace starter. Vehicle start's & run's fine. Returned to customer. 1 month later vehicle towed in with same problem, no start due to burnt out starter after dieing on highway. This time customer state's she heard whining sound as car died & gauge's cut out. Found starter burnt out again. Check all wiring & replace ignition switch suspecting starter engaged while driving. 1 month later car towed in with same problem. Now I am pissed.

Check all tsb's. Talk to dealer about similar problems to no avail. Follow wiring diagram to TIPM. Come to find out that there is a problem with TIPM that at time's it will engage starter wile driving and will not stop until battery is dead or disconnected. A problem I did not experience. Thank god I had a support network of fellow tech's to talk to. I guess this has happened quit a few time's but Dodge is not telling anyone. So if your starter activates while you are driving & you get stuck in the middle of nowhere, at night in the rain, all alone, with your phone battery dead with no way to charge it, because your battery in car is dead, because starter killed it, you know who to send a f___'n thank you card to. DODGE.

- Chris L., Lynn, MA, US

problem #12

Oct 102014

Caliber SE 2.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 129,000 miles

My 2007 Dodge Caliber lost power at a stop. It wanted to turn off every time. I put the window down the car stalls,

so I know there is a electrical problem. Dodge need to recheck there cars before any accidents happen and then they be getting sued like GMC.

- Robert C., Bakersfield, CA, US

problem #11

Oct 022014

Caliber

  • Automatic transmission
  • 114,560 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased this car last year around this time 11-22-2013 from a used car dealer in Dallas Texas. Had car checked before purchase. Not one problem with the car until the last few months. Loud noise keeps getting louder and eventually car stops accelerating, engine light comes on. Per mechanic, censors A and B, one went out. ordered part, fixed it so we thought and done.

Pick it up from the mechanic drive it 6 miles away, begins the same thing. Only this time, it shuts off while in the middle of traffic, could have killed someone. This time same problem with before except now red lightening bolt is now coming on and flashing. Took it back to mechanic, he runs a test and looks up the issue on the internet and tells my husband, IT CAN'T BE FIXED! I say this is a huge problem.

- lynnmosley47, Whitehouse, TX, US

problem #10

May 072013

Caliber SXT 2.0L

  • CVT transmission
  • 116,500 miles

Car would shut off while idling or at complete stop. Happened few times at first and Dodge couldn't figure it out. Finally I had it towed to Dealership and had the throttle body replaced. Oh and don't forget the computer module must be updated on this car at least once a year or it won't run properly. Pathetic attempt at a CVT model Dodge!

- crankycaliber, Lenexa, KS, US

problem #9

May 072013

Caliber SXT 2.0L

  • CVT transmission
  • 116,500 miles

Engine stalled and shut off while sitting at red lights and constant grinding sound as accelerator pushed down. Mechanic did a fuel injection cleaning and it worked for a week. In the end I had to replace the throttle body. That I will post another complaint about.

- crankycaliber, Lenexa, KS, US

problem #8

Nov 032010

Caliber SXT 2.0L

  • CVT transmission
  • 45,000 miles

this is ridiculous. It is extremely dangerous. My family was in the car and the car died on the expressway.

- Mike M., Adrian, MI, US

problem #7

Dec 152011

Caliber 2.0L

  • Manual transmission
  • 55,302 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This is an annoying and very scary problem. It seems to be worse when the car is warm (made me think moisture in gas/plugged fuel filter). But I can be idling in neutral or first gear (no foot on gas/brake and no foot on gas) and it will go from 800rpm (idle) to 2700 and drop right down to 100 dimming lights. This is horrible! It will even do this when you are driving (example: shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear you will get your rpm up and then it will drop and you have to play "find the gear" in traffic. I have almost been rear ended several times and have had trouble with changing lanes while accelerating (no shifting involved). I have had trouble getting above 70kms per hour on the highway (dangerous and illegal in Ontario). I cannot wait to give this car back!!! I have LOVED dodges my entire life, but they dropped the ball and did it at the operators cost for safety. I wish someone knew what the problem was. I have no lights and therefore cannot retrieve any codes. I do not want to replace my fuel filter as it is in the gas tank and could cost me $700 bucks and not even fix it. VERY disappointed, reporting them to the BBB on this one for not issuing a recall on the hesitation and inconsistency.

- Charla H., London, ON, canada

problem #6

May 052009

Caliber SE 1.8L

  • Manual transmission
  • 35,990 miles

Noticed vehicle stalls, when going from reverse to forward. I have driven a stick shift for may years. I have had junk that runs better than this.

- Jennifer T., Browns Mills, NJ, US

problem #5

Jan 072011

Caliber

  • Automatic transmission
  • 78,000 miles

Ok I bought my car about a week and a half ago. The test drive was perfect and the drive home was even better. But the next day, less than 24 hrs later, I'm driving down the freeway with my son and my car starts stalling and sputtering. Scared the crap out of me and my son. We pulled over and waited a minute, took off (hoping that the problem fixed itself) and low and behold it does it again. It felt equivalent to riding a four wheeler and downshifting several times too soon. It did it when we'd take off and as we would slow down, all the way to the house. I called the dealership where I got the car and complained of the problem and the sales guy said "you can bring it up here and if anything is wrong with it we can give you a discount on parts" so, as you can imagine, this rubs me the wrong way. He goes on to tell me that I signed papers stating that I was buying the car AS IS. So I proceed to tell this idiot, that yeah I did...but I was also under the impression that "nothing was wrong with the car". He then gets his manager to call me back and tells me to bring the car back, they'll look at it and fix it free of charge. They keep the car from Saturday to Wednesday only to tell me that because the check engine light isn't on they can't tell whats wrong with it and nothing has been done to it because they can't find any problems. So now (as you can imagine) I'm pissed because I know I'm not crazy and I know cars just don't act like that. But there's nothing I could do. Well wouldn't you know....six days after I get the car back (today) the damn engine light comes on. Rrrrr. So I take it MYSELF to get a computer diagnostics ran on the car and it showed #420 Code...which had something to do to the callibers. (Ironic the car is a Caliber.lol) Anyhow, the guy puts it on a lifting machine, spends some time out there looking at it and says, "you see the water coming out of the tailpipe? Well that means that your callibers are working good because if they were bad, it wouldn't be doing that....because they wouldn't be doing there job." Rrrrr. So now I ask the guy, "Ok so what IS wrong with it?" and he says, "I don't know, if mechanics rely on a computer to diagnose the problem and the problems not the problem then we don't know whats wrong with it. I recommend looking up any and all recalls that has been on the car and take it and have all the recall work corrected and maybe that might eliminate the problem. There might be something wrong with its sensory system" So I get home, I start looking up recalls and notice that there are alot of the same complaints about this dang car. OH ME OH MY, I wish I would have never bought this stupid car.

- aflanagan3, Houston, TX, US

problem #4

Oct 302010

Caliber 3.2L

  • Manual transmission
  • 31,069 miles

I bought my used 2007 Dodge Caliber in October 2010, from Park Mazda in Edmonton Alberta. From the first day of ownership to now, the car has consistently stalled out for no reason, driving flat roads, up hills, waiting at light, everywhere and all the time. I immediately took it back to Park Mazda, who sent it out to THREE (3) Dodge dealerships in Edmonton and Sherwood Park, all of which denied finding any problems whatsoever. What I find so disturbing, is finding so many consumers on these website voicing the exact same complaint. Clearly, it is a common problem with this vehicle, which Dodge is denying. I find the honesty, integrity and customer service at Dodge Canada to be completely non-existent and will NEVER buy a Dodge/Chrysler product again. I feel the overseeing authority should force Dodge to recall these vehicles.

- Lauren W., Edmonton, AB, canada

problem #3

Jan 012011

Caliber LX 2.4L

  • CVT transmission
  • 78,000 miles

My car died, while i was driving on the high way. the steering locked up, the brakes didn't work and i almost died. i replaced the battery and all it did was drain. this car is 4 years old. If nothing is done about this soon i will take it into my own hands and sue. i have come across at least 30 people who say that they have had problems with the 2007 caliber. They should have never sol them in the first place. they would rather have deaths and get money then have people live and lose money on a product that is not safe. Dodge does not pride themselves on safety. that is the most important thing a car should be judged on not looks not how fully loaded is it but safety. The news papers will be hearing about this.

- Amanda P., Lexington Park, MD, US

problem #2

Mar 102010

Caliber

  • CVT transmission
  • 33,554 miles

I was driving down the road with my 4 week old baby in the back seat when the car, for no reason, stalled. There was no lights, power steering or any power. Luckily, there was no cars behind me and I got pulled over. After a few minutes it started again and I took it to the dealership. They hooked it up to the computer and said that there were no codes coming up. They drove it for several days and said there was nothing wrong with the car.

I am afraid to drive the car for fear it will happen again and I will not be so lucky. This was not the first time this car has died. This is the third time the car has been in the shop for electrical problems. The last time it was in the shop for almost a month getting fixed and the electrical problems persist.

- hglenn, Bolton, ON, Canada

problem #1

Feb 012010

Caliber SXT 4 cyl

  • CVT transmission
  • 40,000 miles

2007 Dodge Caliber - 40,000 mile. The engine stalls at a stop. Not always but it happens most frequently after the engine has been running about 10 minutes and I come to a stop -- 40 degrees F or colder. Maybe the fuel line gets temporarily plugged?

Had it to the dealer; they ran diagnostics, but could not replicate the problem. As I said, it doesn't always happen under these conditions.

Just had the fuel injectors & induction serviced -- new spark-plugs installed. Very aggravating. Other than that, I'm very pleased with my car.

- vss5461, Silver Spring, MD, US

Not what you are looking for?