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.
When we took our car into the dealership to have a transmission issue looked at they advised us that the tie rod was loose. At 79025 km this should not be happening. The warranty just lapsed 5 months ago and we are very upset with Dodge Chrysler again, they said they will not help without charging an arm and a leg. After reading many complaints of this issue,we feel like we spent $20,000 on a lemon. Your customers are what keep your doors open and this service is unacceptable. We will never purchase from or refer anyone to Dodge Chrysler again.
I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that the vehicle had to have both outer tie rod ends placed at 20,000 KMs. It doesn't get driven lot so the repair was outside of the warranty period. This is a first of three suspension and brake problems that I have has with the car and it still hasn't seen 50,000 km yet. No more Dodge products for me.
I've heard numerous complaints on different websites all types of Calibers having to replace front end suspensions!! Mine is just another one of these complaints!!!!!! Look up suspension complaints on these cars. Easy to find on internet!!!!
I AM SO PISSED. I BROUGHT THIS CAR ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO. I HAVE HAD ONE TIE ROD GO OUT ONCE AND HAD IT FIXED AT 51000 MILES OR SO.NOW MY CAR HAS 57565 MILES ON IT AND THE OTHER TIE ROD IS GOING OUT. I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS A PROBLEM ON THESES CARS THE FIRST PROBLEM WAS FIXED BY DODGE SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT, AND I AM HOPING SINCE MY CAR STILL HAS LESS THEN 100000 MILES ON IT THAT DODGE WILL PAY FOR IT AGAIN OR AT LEAST HELP.
My girlfriend has a 2007 Caliber, which she acquired "used" a few months ago. Although I am not a fan of Dodge/Chrysler, the car was clean and appeared to be in good working order, so I kept my mouth shut. But just a few weeks ago it started to shake at highway speeds. I thought it was something simple like a wheel being out-of-balance, so I took it to the local Goodyear Service Center. Imagine my shock when they called me back stating that the tie rods were bad and that it also needed ball-joints. The car only has 56,000 mile on it now! This is ridiculous! This is the exact reason that I won't buy American cars! Nice job Dodge! I'll stick with German engineering thank you very much. And I bet my girlfriend will become a BMW fan now too.
I have a 07 dodge caliber. had it a year barley had 50000 miles on it so it is fairly new and all a sudden the tie rod went out. i am so mad about it and very upset because i am a single mother that is having enough problems so to deal with this it was even harder and very unsafe for my 3 year old son. I still haven't got to get it fixed yet bc i can't afford to fix it.
The tire rods went bad and I had to get them replaced. Luckily my brother in law is a mechanic and could fix t cheaply for me. Tire rods shouldn't be going bad under 60,000 miles
Husband did annual check and rotated tires and inspected brakes. In this process just happened to notice the left outer tire rod was wobbly. Checked the right side and behold had to change both. Told me now I had to get a wheel alignment.
Caliber was purchased new and taken care of. I replaced outer tie rod ends myself. Installed Moog brand ends. Moogs been around a long time. Hopefully there quality is better than dodge. Mech. Bill
Bought this POS NEW ! in 2008, for the wife. reason number one was dodge was offering a Lifetime replacement warranty on the engine, trans, and drive train right out to the wheels. The Dealer was offering lifetime free oil changes. BUYER BEWARE if you are buying a Caliber or considering purchasing one CHECK the Tie rods and Ball joints !!!! We had been complaining to the dealer about the front end problem since day one. and wouldn't ya know 3 weeks after the warranty was up (3 years part not 36k mileage part) the Tie rod was bad. So we replaced the tie rod thinking ok The tires really suck (thump thump thump) and the dealer would not do anything about this (like replace them) I bought new tires from someone else. low and behold the Ball joint was just about falling out of the car. and these of course you cannot replace the ball joint but you need to replace the entire lower control arm. AT 30,000 miles !!!! I bitched and complained (made sure there were a lot of people in the showroom and waiting room that the could hear me).
So We bring the car in for the "Free" oil change and nothing was wrong. at 36 k mile oil change they tell my wife that the breaks are shot and she need 400 bucks in new rotors and pads. Told her she was on the breaks all the time that's why they had to do this. (they had forgotten she was married to me Loud and Obnoxious). and that she also needed a new tie rod end. That the roads are bad and she had bad driving habits. They said that would not be responsible because the car was unsafe to drive. I Said NO WAY drive it home and let me look. I took a look and huh wouldn't ya know it the rotors are fine, the pads are only half way, and the tie rod end problem was actually the other ball joint ready to fall out.
We are now in dispute with Chrysler, the dealer, the States atty office, and anyone else i can complain to. This dealership is a RIP Off artist, and their mechanics could not diagnose a dead deer in the grill !
I've had so much problem with the suspension on this car it's unbelievable. I've tallied up the cost of parts & man hours spent so far on it since 2007, and it's around $4000. You would Think it would be more economical for Dodge to give me a new one instead of fixing this one under warranty every few months.
I bought this 2007 caliber in 2007 and I can see i did not took the right year to buy this kindda car. I,ve been chamginf ti-rods, upper control arms, rear toe links. Makes noises when you drive it also, and its bs that it is good on gaz. And now I have a coilspring that is broken. Order a new piece at my car dealer shop and they do not know when it will come in. No car since a week and going on my second week. Cheeze why to we always pick the lemon in the freaking basket. Will think hard before buying anothe caliber believe me.
I don't understand how a car that is less than 5 years old can have this issue. I had the left outer tie rod ends replaced in Dec 2010. Along with the failure of the throttle body, an alignment, and a headlamp...costing $791. I had the control arms removed and replaced in Aug 2010 costing $700. I also had replaced 2 front tires in Fall of 2009, with another charge for alignment costing $385. Now I have the right outer tie rods failing so the cost of the repair and the alignment required along with it comes to $300 that I'll have to come up with. Not happy about this car's mechanical problems...I can't even go get an oil change without the mechanic telling me my car needs an expensive repair on this 2007 vehicle.
I have a 2007. I bought it with 8000 miles on it and before I hit 50,000 miles the engine needed to be replaced. I have had 5 oil leaks in several different places. I have had my tie rods inner and outer replaced twice. These cars are horrible. I would never recommend someone buying one of these.
Again another few days without my car and a total bill of $1,200 if no extended warranty. This is the second time this month I have gone without my car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Why waste my time griping, or ranting, or yelling it doesn't do any good.
- Victor M., Sault Ste Marie, MI, US