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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
89,128 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
While driving on I40 from wilmington, nc the car just shut off unexpectedly throttle control light(lightning bolt) came on, car was hard to control, was slowly able to get the car off the road and restarted, moments after restart while trying to pull back onto the highway it cut off again, after attempting to get going several times it finally started and did not cut off until we reached our destination. This has happened dozens of times now with no luck finding a fix or being able to properly diagnose the problem. This is a terribly scary situation to be in on the highway, I wish NHTSA would investigate this problem as I see this has been reported to them hundres of times for this model year the oldest report of this was in 9/2006 to a brand new 2007 Caliber this is crazy, something must be done. Dodge is consistently ripping people of with repair bills that dont seem to be repairing the problem as you can read in several of the complaints.
I do not know what to think or what to do!!!! I have had multiple issues with my Caliber since I purchased it. The first time it happened was back in 2008 or 2009 after I purchased the vehicle and it decided it needed to shut off on me in the middle of the road. A while later the entire electrical system died and I had no dash-lights/headlights/ emergency lights/ wipers/ just keep going with more electrical necessary safety equipment. Then another set of issues arose... since we have had multiple parts of the whole car fixed and or replaced most recently the suspension, transmission, and the same sensory that was fixed earlier (crankshaft sensor). Now only 4 months since all of those issues were fixed my car is worse then it was before..... driving down the road the vehicle will attempt to stall (as an automatic), the rpms have a mind of their own... oh and don't let me forget that the dealer can find no issues or malfunctions with the vehicle as it does not produce an error code when connected to a diagnostic reader. (just a side note I might be an idiot but a mechanical error will not produce a error code as it is mechanical and not electrical...but I could be mistaken). Now what happens the day I am driving down the road with my children and the vehicle decides it is done and shuts off.... I can see that there are multiple complaints about the same issue and there have been no major fixes/recalls/statements. If it is a well known fact that Dodge and their cvt transmissions have malfunction issues; why can't there be one swift fix to make the vehicle safe to drive. Or since no one has died at the hand of Chrysler due to these malfunctions it is not important enough to be addressed?
While trying to accelerate on highway vehicle began to jerk and lose speed. Now when I press the gas pedal it hesitates and at high speeds jerks and loses power. Truck behind me had to slam on brakes and almost caused severe accident. Dodge needs to fix immediately. I don't have any money to even try to fix since I don't know where to start. Please help all of us Dodge Caliber owners.
On approx. Oct. 13, 2011, my 2007 Dodge Caliber stalled and quit running on fwy, and I immediately took to local mechanic. It was determined at that time that a throttle body assembly was needed to prevent this from happening. It worked fine until Dec. 23, 2011 when I was out in the desert making a trip to flagstaff, AZ. When my car once again died and stalled on hwy I40. I was in front of a semi truck at a speed about 70 mph and it started stalling and then died right in front of the semi. Luckily there was an exit that I veered the car into and coasted into a stop. It was towed to a local gas station where there they could not determine the cause. I was told since the car had cooled over 30 min. It was "ok to drive" about 20 miles to dealership in bullhead city, AZ. I took it to swantys Chrysler where it was left there over christmas holidays. I returned to be informed that they could not determine problem and the throttle body was in working order and that was not the problem. I was informed I could drive it home, and when this occurs, "to pull over and let cool for 30 min. And resume driving". I was in fear of my life and others taking the 350 mile trip home, not driving over 60 mph. I then filed a complain with Chrysler Corp. Where I spoken to numerous customer service, and supervisors. They wanted to me get a second opinion from a ca dealer, because they questioned why I "took it to AZ." To be diagnosed. I explained several times that I didn't take it there, it failed there. I can give names and dates from Dec. 28th until now of reps. I have spoken to. When I took it to moss brothers in riverside, they also determined that they could not pinpoint the problem, but suggested a couple of parts be replaced, and "it could help problem:" At the tune of $800, but could not guarantee it would solve the issue.
- Norco, CA, USA
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I have had constant problems with this car. My key abruptly stopped working last year and I have to pay $500 because the dealership said the computer could no longer recognized my key so I had to get a new one. My gear shaft began to jam and I had to pay $200 to get a chip replaced because it was shot. Now my totally incorporated power module was shot today when I took it to get checked at the dealership today. The cost is estimated to be $1150. I am sick and tired of all the problems this car is presenting in my life.
There is a faulty switch that controls the gear shifter behind my break pedal. This will be the third time in four years that I have had it replaced. When the switch goes out, I cannot drive my car - I cannot switch gears. This can happen anytime, anywhere regardless of weather conditions, etc.
Started hearing grinding noise when car was de-accelerating. Brought car to garage where I was told I needed a new transmission. I was told the cvt transmission was a sealed unit so it couldn't be repaired. It took two weeks in a Chrysler dealership to get repaired at Chrysler's expense (lifetime powertrain warranty). Even though the repair was free, I still had to pay for two weeks of car rentals since the dealership did not have any loaner cars available (amazingly there were two in the lot when I picked the car up). This car has been nothing but a nightmare since purchasing in October 2007. Seeing all of the other complaints on this site, it still amazes me there hasn't been any recalls for any of the problems associated with this car. But then again the us government owns Chrysler..........
At approx 6pm on 11/11 while attempting to enter the interstate my vehicle began to jerk violently. The check engine light began to blink and the vehicle would not exceed 35 mph. I took the vehicle to a local autozone to have it diagnostic. Multiple misfires on all cylinders. I had the spark plugs replaced that weekend because my dealers repair shop was full. Problem still occurred so I left the car at the dealer for them to check the engine. The camshaft sensor needs to be replaced. This is not covered under the 50,000 miles engine and power train warranty because it is not a moving part. I just had to replace both ball joints and upper and lower control arms on the car in June. It is currently at 42,600 miles. The alignment is off again so I'm suspecting the ball joints are going bad again.
While driving on the freeway on the way home, the engine shut off because of the transmission failure. Both power steering and brakes were lost. Had to quickly get over on the shoulder. Fortunately, not a lot of traffic. Both my grandchildren were in the car and an accident could have happened....unsafe. Took the car in and at 98000 miles was informed I needed a new transmission because the mechanic shop stated the transmission is no good and it needs replaced (diagnostic testing revealed the transmission issue).
Was driving 35-40 mph when etc light came on and car was jolting forward and losing power back and forth. Belletire wouldn't touch it cuz they said it seemed to them like a recall issue. He said that either the ECU needed reset or the drive by wire system was malfunctioning. This is also after my control arms were bad at 48000 mile. Both of these problems I have had have thousands of complaints online for them and are notorious for these problems.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a howling noise would be heard from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle needed new brakes, tie rods and a transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,500.
The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. While parked, the contact attempted to move the gear shifter to drive but it was stuck in park. The contact was able to move the gear shifter after several minutes. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.
The turn signal stayed on, everything electric shut off, then when I put the car in park and took out my key, the car was still running!! this happened twice and no one can figure out what could possibly be wrong. Then my check engine light went on. The diagnostic test read P0708. I was told I cannot simply fix this sensor, that I would need a whole new transmission. My car is 4 years old and has 53,000 miles on it! how could I need a new transmission, who can afford a new transmission!? the car has been extremely well taken car of, normal oil changes, inspections, I just bought 2 new front tires! this is unbelievable.
Almost a year ago my 2007 Dodge Caliber SXT started jerking back and forth and felt like it was going to die. The electronic throttle body light came on but as soon as I slowed down, the light went off. I called my local dealership and told them about the problem. They stated that if the light in the dashboard wasn't staying on they could not get a code from the car but I could bring it in and they could try it anyways for $105. I took it someone I know and they read the code off of it, 2120 P2110, I called the dealership back and told them the code. They told me that they would have to run their own tests and charge me to see what was happening but if there was no light than they couldn't do anything. I asked them if this is dangerous to drive then because I have a baby in the car. They said no, as long as I can pull over fast enough to restart the car. Last Friday, the car started to do it again and I was on the highway with my 2 yr old in the car. My car started loosing power and the car behind me almost hit me so I turned around and got my fiance's car. When I tried to take it to the dealership the next morning the car would not go above 2000 rpms and so I drive 10 mph all the way through the city (I got up to 30 mph down hills). I think that all of this is dangerous and having dealerships telling people that they cannot fix the problem is crazy! the dealership now wants to replace my entire throttle body and I am wondering if a replacement would have been avoided if they would have looked at the car last year!
I own a 2007 Dodge Caliber and I am the original owner. Every time I am in the shop, they say the repair is either the throttle body or the PCM and/or the cam. I believe this is connected to the gas pedal control and is a hazardous safety issue. There are several complaints on the internet for similar problems with this car. Please look into a recall. Here is a link to one place I found people complaining. There were other sites. townhall-talk.edmunds.com/webx/.F0F6bb2?displayrecent [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
My Dodge Caliber 2007 stuck in part. I take it to the dealer but they say I must pay for the repair because the gear box is not part of the transmission. The Dodge dealer told me that the chain in the gear box is broken, but I noticed on the internet there a alot of owner have the same problem. I just want to know what I can do to get them (the Dodge dealer) to look in this problem (car stuck in park).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Franklinton, NC, USA