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.
Where do I even begin I have had a 2007 Dodge Caliber for 2 in a half years with 100k miles on it and so far I have had to replace the alternator twice, ball joints on the front end, the intake manifold, and the catalytic converter, when all is said and done I have spent over $3,500 on repairs. A brief search online has shown me that thousands of people have had these same issues and are going broke as am I trying to fix this god awful lemon of a car.
I am at my wits end and ready for a class action lawsuit. I really want to get as many Dodge Caliber owners as possible to either sign a petition or start a class action lawsuit. Dodge released a faulty product and needs to pay its customers back for their loss of wages, time, and income. My credit card debt is growing in large part to this damn car.
Car suddenly lost all electrical power. Could not start car without being jumped. This model of vehicle also requires the A/C pump to be removed and drained of freon before work on the altenator can be done so it had to be fixed in the shop.
I EFFIN HATE THIS CAR ALREADY!! One thing after another!!! Thorn in my side since we bought it and I wish we weren't paying on it or it would be GONE!!
ADP (alternator decoupler pulley) has gone bad. POS car being towed back to the house now so I can replace the whole effin' alternator tomorrow...even though the ADP is totally serviceability the dealer will try to talk you into buying their alternator (like I am gonna replace ANYTHING on this car with FKING JUNK OE DODGE PARTS) No one locally carries ADP so I have to put replacement alternator on. FYI for fellow POS owners...you can rent the Decoupler servicel tool from Autozone for $60 (you will get the whole amount back when you take the part back) and $45 for the ADP itself right from Wells. FK DODGE AND THEIR JUNK! Not that this is going to be an easy task, they don't give you alot of room to work in there...I will NOT buy ANY OE parts from Dodge. Autozone Alternator with a LIFETIME warranty.
Alternator was making a loud whining sound. The alternator decoupler pulley was failing. Had to replace alternator, which is very difficult to access on the Caliber.
First my car started to sound like a dryer full of ball bearings the ball bearing The OEM ones in the alternator went out. There is no replacement pulley so the whole alternator had to be replaced $600+ (found out this is a common problem in 2007 dodge calibers glad I caught that before it caught fire)…
then while pulling out of the parking lot my tire fell off due to faulty/worn-out I ball joints and upper and lower control arms.. HAD TO REPLACE BOTH BALL JOINTS AND UPPER AND LOWER CONTROL ARMS ON THE CAR AND PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE FRONT END SUSPENTION $1400+! (This is a major complaint with these cars as I have found online. I have read over 200 different complaint statements it makes me sick)not to mention my ABS light was on and they had to change out my speed sensor 100 +..
Now what has been happening is my ck engine light came on 2 weeks after the entire front end suspension was replaced when I drove the car it would shake and acted like it was losing power and would not let me accelerate past 35 mph. I took it in it had several stored codes. one was then intake manifold was stuck and the other was the camshaft.. they cleared it out and only the manifold came back up so they said I had to replace that. we did (another $800 + down the drain) I picked it up and a day later it was doing the same thing now saying mult. Cylinder misfire and camshaft they cleared it and test drove it but it did not come back on so the Dodge tech. has no clue what to do to fix it and no clue on the cost (crazy thing.. this has also been a problem on 2007 Dodge Calibers) This has all happened with in the last 3 months and my car has about 86000 to 87000 mi on it (cant tell you the exact amount as its in the shop)! I’m fed up this car is falling apart and no car with this mi and age should. As I have read Dodge knows of these issues and has done nothing about it I have also called and made my complaint no call back yet..
if you know of any open lawsuits on this let me know as I’m in! I would even be happy if Dodge would reimburse me for these issues as obviously they are well documented known issues.. I have spent way to much on this car in 3 months and @ 7 months pregnant with a 6 year old I need a safe reliable car!
just a few months after replacing the ball joints the car started to sound like a dryer full of ball bearings. What do you know it was ball bearings. The OEM ones in the alternator went out. There doesn't seem to be a replacement pulley so the whole alternator needs replacing
Had to wait 3 hours for the extended warranty tow truck to come and tow my car after work to the dealership. 100 degrees outside and I am stuck in a parking lot. To top it off I had to pay the "overage" charge to get my car to the dealership. There goes another 50 bucks!
Took the vehicle into local dealer where had purchased it. Because they are such a pain in the ass to deal with after 3 recall items and we were past warranty we asked for an evaluation only. $145.00 (cdn.) later we were told that it was a bearing in the alternator but it was still working just fine, nothing to worry about.
We sounded like a deisel. We took it to our regular mechanic and were told a different story. The alternator was bitched. We also had noticed several problems occurring simultaneously with alternator, ABS light on, cruise control not functioning and occassionaly the passenger's air bag light coming on. We're still waiting for answers on those.
Mitsubishi made this alternator for Dodge and this should be a warranty item do to poor quality. But it was not! The bearings failed so a new alternator was required.
well here ya go... start your holiday shopping early! my gift to myself will be my alternator... with fairly low miles on the car, it was unexpected! at least I had some warning, (2 days) of bearings starting to grind. with everything so small and compact under the hood, I had no idea, until the battery light went on.
I have also had to purchase three batteries. When I asked the service technician at Dodge to investigate he ran diagnostics and informed me that I needed an alternator on both occasions..no duh!! How about figuring out why the hell I have had to purchase 3 batteries and two alternators in six months...how about that!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Where do I even begin I have had a 2007 Dodge Caliber for 2 in a half years with 100k miles on it and so far I have had to replace the alternator twice, ball joints on the front end, the intake manifold, and the catalytic converter, when all is said and done I have spent over $3,500 on repairs. A brief search online has shown me that thousands of people have had these same issues and are going broke as am I trying to fix this god awful lemon of a car.
I am at my wits end and ready for a class action lawsuit. I really want to get as many Dodge Caliber owners as possible to either sign a petition or start a class action lawsuit. Dodge released a faulty product and needs to pay its customers back for their loss of wages, time, and income. My credit card debt is growing in large part to this damn car.
- Seeth M., Murray, UT, US