This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
After reaching 100K miles, I took the car to the dealership to have the transmission flushed. Since then my transmission over heats when I drive 65 or more mph. I brought it back to the same dealer about a year later and they wanted to charge me $1500. I walked out! I drive 64 mph to keep it from over heating.
While driving my car speed lowered and the trans temp light and esp light and traction control and etb module light came car won't go over 40 and remains in limp mode even after taking it to the shop
Left and right a post much too wide hindering ability to see where the curb is in relation to the car. It also hinders the ability to see if a small animal is in the affected view. In relation to the transmission, my transmission had to be replaced right after the warranty expired. I've had to have 2 tie rods replaced. An engine mount replaced, and a strut replaced, I am also on my second battery. This car has cost me a lot of money so far. I know it's 11 years old but I've never had this many mechanical issues with any car I've owned so far. The newest problem is a grinding noise that sounds like the wheel is going to fall off before I get home safely. There is a new noise as well that almost sounds like a radial tire with an issue but my tires are all fine. I am taking it to a good mechanic tomorrow....again!! at one point while driving at about 35 mph and starting to turn there was a grinding noise in the front end and it sounded like something fell off, I was turning left at the time. My ABS brake light came on. I slowly went to the auto dealer, and they said there was a connector that broke and also a sensor they had to order. That cost over $400 plus I needed to rent a car to get home. Not a fan of the Caliber at all. I do love the style it's sporty and easy to drive, when it's not in the shop that is.
Left lower control arm and upper cv shaft separated from transmission while entering an on ramp, causing loss of steering and driveability. Could have been deadly had the speed been faster and any closer to the overpass barrier. I had to be towed from the side of the on ramp with the police waiving people around. I couldn't even exit my drivers door due to no traffic clearance. I was essentially a sitting duck on the shoulder of an on ramp, just a few feet shy of the overpass of the highway I had just exited to enter another highway.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving, the contact heard a loud noise. The contact later discovered that the subframe was rusted through and caused the front driver's side axle to fracture. Also, the top of the driver's side wheel was tilted inward. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the axle, subframe, one of the brakes, and the transmission fluid line were replaced. The dealer was not contacted. The contact called the manufacturer and was transferred to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 112,850.
- East Chatham, NY, USA
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The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that the transmission failed to function normally when shifting from park to any other gear. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired and was unable to be safely driven. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was not available.
"takata recall" in the year 2014 I experienced the loss of power while driving it. The vehicle would drive but suddenly would loose power and stop pulling. I took my car to the dealership and was that I needed a transmission replacement. Also I inquired about this vehicle being on recall and was told that it wasn't but after reading several complaints, I feel that something should be done about this problem because a transmission replacement is very costly. I have not been able to drive my vehicle for two years because of this problem.
I was turning onto a state highway when my brakes made the most awful grinding noise and my ABS brake light came one. I immediately took my vehicle to the mechanic. I was told by my mechanic my brakes were bad and rotors needed to be replace and there was a sensor that had to be ordered before I could use the car after it was repaired. It had 11,000 miles!! I doubt my brakes were even bad at that point I think it was just a sensor after all. (after it cost me $480 plus I had to rent a car for 3 days. My transmission kept surging at the stop lights from the day I got it at 1,471 miles. So it was probably bad from day one. I should have taken it right back to where I bought it, at least it would have been under warranty. I had my transmission replaced at 30,000 miles at a cost of $6,000.
I was driving in town when suddenly the car acted like it had no power! then it started jerking and jumping forward! then as I was going up hill it slowed and was jerking again! when I would stop at a light or stop sign it had very little power to exhilarate and then it would jerk alot until it got enough power to get going again! I was concerned about driving it any further since I live out of town, I have two children and didn't want to take a chance on being stranded on the side of the highway! so I left the car in my sisters drive way and drove her car home! I needed a car so to take the children to school the next morning. I called amco and they told me to bring it in! it took me 30 mins to drive five miles! they told me after checking it out that the transmission is gone and the car is only seven yrs old with just a little over 100,000 miles on it! these cars should not be aloud to be sold! they are dangerous! everyone of them should be recalled and sent to the scrap yard! they are lemon's and I will never buy another Dodge, Chrysler or GM product again! I still owe 5000.oo on this piece of garbage and I don't have the $3500 to pay for a transmission! so the car sets as I pay for something that I can not drive! this is not right! the dealer was to put an extended warranty on the car and he did not! now with two kids I am screwed as with not having a vehicle to drive! this car needs to be recalled and we the owners should not have to pay for something we can not drive!
Found that the engine cradle is rusting out. This cradle supports all steering front suspension and engine/transmission. Have also found that this was a problem for the 2007 models and is still a problem on 2008 models. Although 2007 models are recalled and replaced but not 2008. This is a huge safety factor as stated all steering and suspension are connected to this cradle. If failure to cradle happens all loss of control of vehicle is inevitable.
I bought my 2008 Dodge Caliber in July 2010. It had 27,000 miles on it. It was a campaign car. It has always had a problem with pickup. Acceleration is not great, but we noticed on a July 4 trip, that the car was not only making the "normal" steering/suspension noise, but it was also making a whirring noise that my husband feared was the transmission slipping. I made an appointment at the dealership where I bought the vehicle and found out that the whirring noise was not the transmission, but the alternator is bad. $550. The ball joints and the tie rod ends are bad and need to be replaced, $1040. The struts also need to be replaced as well as the front brakes. $800. Yes, my car has 110,000 miles on it, but the trade in value is only about $3500 anyway. Its luckily been paid off for many years. The ball joint/tie rod issue is very worrysome, though. It is dangerous.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving 25 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.
While traveling at 45 mph on 6 lane highway engine decelerated to between 5 to 10 miles per hour. Engine begun to idle very rough. I was approaching a side street and was able to turn off the main hwy. To access the problem. The electronic throttle light had come on indicating a problem with the throttle system.
Trouble shifting into 3rd gear. Requires double clutching to enter into 3rd gear and also grinds when entering. It will shift back into neutral if gear shift is not held in 3rd gear position when releasing the clutch. Also has instances of trouble going into 4th with grind when shifting. Only goes into gear 10% or time; I mostly skip 3rd gear altogether. Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge service bulletin #21-011-08 (March 7,2008) recommends replacement of 3rd/4th/5th & reverse gear synchronizer rings if this occurs. It recommends that if the transmission is opened from any service that these rings should be replaced regardless of condition.
My 2008 Caliber had a real bad tapping noise from the engine area, when I was reading online what it could be I found that the adjuster pulley on the alternator was the culprit, so I replaced it only to still hear when accelerating the car make a grinding noise like rubbing metal together from the transmission, I took it to a local mechanic and watched them inspect the transmission, the mechanics told me it is the gears in the transmission. The car has 80,000 miles on it, and of course the warranty is up, the dealership says they can't help as usual. Besides the pulley and the transmission the body has corrosion under the passenger door as well as in the hatch area. I still have 4 more payments on the car and should not have transmission or body failures when the car is not exposed to harsh conditions and has 70,000 miles. I will never buy another Dodge/Chrysler vehicle again.
I am writing to discuss a possible danger in the design of the fuse box. The fuse box under the hood of the Dodge Caliber appears to allow too much moisture beyond the upper seal. Every 10,15, and 20 amp MINIfuse develops excessive oxidation on the contacts. The oxidation may cause malfunctions in two ways. The first is phantom error codes and check engine lights. The second is the cvt transmission may slip out of gear while driving causing sudden loss of drive power and lead to collisions. Another issue that concerns me is the potential for circuits to overheat resulting in electrical fires under the dash and under the hood of the Caliber.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that the vehicle started to jerk violently intermittently. After the initial failure the vehicle decelerated independently and failed to accelerate. The contact mentioned that the integrated power module light was illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 58,000. The VIN was not available.
While driving my children to school, my car began shutting down on a major road putting mychildren and myself in danger. The throttle control light came on. After turning the car off and waiting a couple of minutes I was able to drive extremely slow to ge them to school safely. This sounds similar to the same problems currently happening with the Chevy cobalts. Is it going to take Chrysler/Dodge killing people before this gets recalled? I encourage everyone to contact their local news stations along with national news stations! car companies are only interested in making their money and not looking at the safety issues of the death traps they are selling to consumers. I will be endlessly pursuing this matter until Dodge steps up and pay for the repair! I will call every news station until some attention is brought to this matter and holding car companies like Dodge/Chrysler responsible for selling and manufacturing faulty vehicles. I have gone through all complaints listed on this site and numerous others. Someone is not doing their job!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Boca Raton, FL, USA