We bought this car about 5-6 years ago (the date I put in is approximate of purchase of the car). While purchasing the previous owner stated that on long drives the transmission would overheat and they would have to pull over to let it cool, if not the transmission would gear down to prevent damage and would eventually stop. They told us that he bought a trans cooler but has not installed it yet. We told him if he had it installed we would buy the car. We didn't notice much at first as we didn't go on many long drives but it did happen to us when we went on drives of over a couple hours on the interstate. It was a pain but we basically just learned to not drive it long distances.

Over the years it has gotten a lot worse. Now If I drive it 15-20 minutes down the interstate at 65mph it does it. The car is great to drive around our small town on the smaller roads, but it really hurts not being able to drive it further. I see this is a common problem but we have been dealing with it for years and and new or rebuilt transmission costs more than it is worth. Can't sell it, nobody would want the problem. It really hurts my trust in the Dodge company.

THE INFIMUS CVT2 BY JATCO, In my opinion NOT the most reliable invention. CVT's are notorious for overheating issues. My Caliber has an automatic CVT2 joined with a 2.0 liter. Seems to overheat as I drive high speeds over 65mph constantly over a period of 25 minutes or more. The yellow temp lights up in the dash and if I continue driving eventually the car looses power and forces me to stop. Then I have to let the trans cool for 15 mins before I can drive again. Then if I continue driving at that high speed it will do the same over and over. I can get to my destination however it will take an eternity to get there as I will have to stop many times to let it cool. I took it to a CTV specialist and they suggested changing fluid and filters, this model has 2 filters one permanent filter inside transmission just needs cleaning, and a second on the cooler which needs replacing. The problem continued. An external cooler was suggested. I researched and all results came that was the solution for this type of problem. Shop installed an external cooler and the problem continued. They tested trans and PCM had codes P2770, PO842, PO847, PO967, PO963, P1729, PO741. trans temp at cooler 121 degrees, 166 degrees at front case half, 277 at rear case half. HAS FAILED TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY. So the transmission has gone beyond it's limits. Either replace with rebuilt or buy new, but eventually I will end up with the same problem because there is no upgraded or improved version for this model. Plus not worth blowing 4k on a trans if the car is only worth 3k. The car is great for local driving, stop and go traffic with plenty of power, just not good for long trips anymore. I wish there was a solution.

Update from Jul 30, 2017: The shop also said these transmissions usually start with these problems under 100k miles, they were surprised to see that this transmission lasted as long as it did with 182k miles. I guess I was lucky!...lol.

This is the 4th time this has occurred to me. It happened first in 2008 on the very first long trip we took, and for that reason I do not drive this car long distances. Nice to have a car like that, eh?

This weekend I needed to drive on a 6 hours trip and was forced to stop 2 times and allow the transmission to cool down, costing me over 90 minutes of travel time.

I was told by a friend there may be a permanent fix if I had a transmission fluid cooler installed, I guess that's like a radiator I can run the tranny fluid through?

I've looked up the issue online and it seems a million other people have had the same issue but yet when you call headquarters, They have never heard of it and will now put it in they files. Well I've had enough, Tomorrow I am gonna print all the web pages I can find and mail a nasty letter to dodge. They recalled this car for other reasons but not this one. This is the worst of the problems. The damn car just stops when it overheats, Ya that's what we need while driving on a highway. WTF Dodge.

Dodge in its infinite stupidity NEVER checks the transmission fluid level of the car when you bring it in for regular service - unless you report a problem. In fact, you the consumer can't check it yourself because they don't supply a dip stick and you can't buy one or even buy CVT fluid unless you get it from MOPAR. Can you say monopoly? Now, my car is beyond the standard warranty period (lost my job ... couldn't afford extended or renewed warranty because I was trying to keep from losing my home) and my transmission overheats while I'm on the freeway between Rainbow & Fallbrook and the car quits running. I barely got it out of traffic without getting hit. Just to have the Hacks at Jack Powell Dodge in Escondido check the transmission costs $105.41 (can you say extortion?). This is outrageous that they don't even check the transmission fluid level on the car before it's out of warranty. That's just WRONG!