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.
The front calipers will not engage when brake pedal is pressed. The brake pedal sinks to the floor and has no stopping power. The master cylinder was replaced and calipers are new replacements. After replacing these parts it now smell of burnt brake fluid but there is no leak and the problem seems to worsen. The first time I was doing 45-50 on a county rd when a another car pulled out 20 feet away and I was trying to slow down when I lost the front brakes as pished in on the pushed in on the brakes the pedal sank and they didn't engage. I then bought the new calipers and it was fine for about a month. The second time I was stuck in traffic on a busy city street when the ABS brakes failed resulting in me running a red light and almost getting hit. It has corroded and took hunks off aluminum from my front driver rim. I have not been able to figure out what the problem and keep replacing parts for it to tear up new ones
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.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving 70 mph, the radio and dome light automatically turned on and the vehicle stalled. In addition, the brake pedal had to be depressed extremely hard for the vehicle to stop and multiple unknown warning indicators illuminated. The contact called Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram greensboro (3710 w wendover ave, greensboro, nc 27407, (336) 790-9850), but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.
There are currently 0 recalls on the 2008 Dodge Caliber 2.0. however, a simple youtube search will bring up common issues with the lower ball joints, which cause extreme tire wear and even severe pulling to the left and right with very little control. The anti-lock breaking system as well as the throttle body are huge issues as well. However, it wasn't a youtube search that brought this to my attention but instead driving one and looking into it. To my surprise there are zero recalls on this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. After the vehicle underwent a routine oil change and tune up, the vehicle made an abnormal noise when the brake pedal was depressed. The dealer was notified of the failure more than once and provided no solution. In addition, when driving over un-leveled land, the vehicle continued to make an abnormal noise and the suspension was unstable from the front to the rear. The contact was unable to determine if the dealer would provide a remedy. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was not available.
- Calumet City, IL, USA
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I bought my car in 2009, ran great at first until I hit over 100 thousand miles. I was on my way out of town to see a family member in the hospital. It was 80 degrees out and my car just slowed down on the highway and came to a stop. I thought it overheated so I waited about 30 mins and started it up again. Today I was at the Dodge dealership to have them look at it, to find out why the passenger side front tire was making a noise(like it was going to fall off). They told me it was the controll arm and that I needed to replace it. Apparently I'm not the only one having these issues. Where's the recall Dodge?
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.
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.
Owned the car for almost 4 years. Tie rods have been replaced 3 times. Recently had to replace, struts, ball joints, brakes on the front for the 5th time, back breaks are out and rotors as well had them replaced less than a year ago. Manifold had to be replaced. Barrings on the front and one on the right back. Went through a set a tires in less than 6 months. Has been to Dodge and other mechanics problems still persist.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that the vehicle swerved and made a clicking sound while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front ball joint and the lower control arm failed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where an alignment was performed but failed to correct the failure. The contact also stated that the brake system failed. The brake emitted a metal grinding noise when the brake pedal was engaged. The dealer inspected the brake system and found corrosion on the brake lines the corrosion was removed from the brake lines however, the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 133,833. MA 10/15/2015
The lights and all dash gauges turn off while driving and all the warning lights on the dash come on. The engine light stays on until the car is turned off. When restarting all lights go away. This happens most often when I am braking. No pattern for when or what speed. ABS seems to kick in for no reason during this electrical failure. Power has been lost and car has died while driving. I am told this is the tpim module fault that requires replacement for $1,500! there is large and common problem with this tpim and Dodge has wrongly not provided a recall for the Caliber.
I was on my way to work, headlights and dash lights started to flicker, all the indicator light on the dash came on. Smoke started coming in the vents into the vehicle went to stop, brakes grabbed for a second then went out completely, even shifting the vehicle to park did nothing. Stopped the vehicle by hitting guard rail called police, within minutes the entire front end was in flames.
My fiancee and I got into the car and after I started it, it wouldn't shift out of park. Luckily we were close to home and I had internet on my phone so I could look up how to manually override the issue. If there's a manual override, it seems like they knew it would/could happen. My fiancee is disabled, if she had been driving the car (it is her car) and got stuck out in this 100 degree heat wave, she wouldn't have known what to do or have even been able to do it had she known what to do. I'm irritated because my research shows that this is a very common Dodge issue amongst many different models yet they have only issued recalls on certain models. I did call Dodge hq to find out if this model had a recall for this issue and obviously it hasn't. the drone just did their job of getting the information they needed. I can't stress this part enough, if they provide an override, they know there is an issue!
I bought this vehicle used from ganley Dodge in bedford Ohio. We have driven this vehicle aprox 12000 miles and have replaced or serviced the rear brakes six times at two separate dealers. The rear brakes have made a howling noise since the day it left the lot. Chrysler has attempted to repair this problem six times to no avail. Both dealers that have serviced the Caliber say that there is nothing that can be done to fix the problem, they also say it is cosmetic. After dealing with the dealers nonsense I called Chrysler directly, after a week of dealing with them they finally call me back to tell me that an engineer has stated that rear brakes making noise is a normal thing for this car to do. And that there is nothing they will do to fix the problem. I suppose this is what happens when you allow and american car company to be owned by an italian and german companies.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Daleville, AL, USA