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.
Ok so let me start by saving lives there is a serious problem with all these Caliber the subframes are rotting in half I know because I have 3 other people who have this stupid car and they rusted in half on them also things to add to this car is there is no upper ball joint which cause the lower control arms to go bad is the shocks are bad I had to replace pretty much everything and also had to replace cvt 20K miles into this hunk of crap cvt is bad and the bands they use are cheap but also seems to be a cooling problem with there set up for transmission with cause them to heat up and burn fluids Chrysler shouldn't be allowed to get away with this crap and honestly you will see alot more of these cars causing people to die seriously take a look online and see for yourselves it's pretty sicking to me and I feel like Y'all ain't doing your job my 30 year old camaro subframe never rotted like this and sat and driven in all weather
Transmission failure under 100,00 miles. Took it to 3 different transmission shops and was told that this type of transmission (cvt), which Dodge only uses for the Caliber is basically junk. Precision said that he's seen so many of these cars for the same problem. They don't rebuild them because of how they are made. I could take a chance on buying a remanufactured one at a cost of $1500 plus $650 labor and a year or so later have the same problem. Or a brand new one at a cost of 3000-4000 dollars. This is ridiculous. I don't understand why there isn't a recall. After researching online this is common problem with these cars. Some stating failure at only 36,000 miles. And they put these transmissions in both, 2.0 and 2.4 motors. There needs to be a recall on these cvt transmissions as they are junk and they know it. It gave me no warning. Went to work one day, tried to go to qwik trip on lunch. Car started making this loud noise when I accelerated, RPM's shot way up and then the check engine light came on. So drove it back to my job and more I accelerated the more noise it made. Had to get it towed from my job to my aunts house because it was closer than my house which is :35 minutes drive.
Takata recall". I had a bad experience on the way home from visiting family about a hr from town I was driving had my air on cause it was extremely hot out side I drove going about 60 to 70 adverage then transmission temp light come on car start slowing down cant go any faster nothing seen gadges going all the way up and nothing foot was all the way down no power so I pull over scared wat the hell wrong with my transmission wat did I do I had no power shut off my car for 20 min point was I was driving on a major highway and for this to happend had no power to my car I could of got hit couldnt move or do nothing and no one can seem to find the problem to this sulution cause it dont happend all the time just when it wants and replacing parts after part and still not fixing the problem has to be a issue I just dont understand what the problem and Y does it happend when they say everything working fine from the Dodge place and they cant find the problems to the situation please help if U can
I've had the arm bar and ball joint replaced twice in a year's time, which causes a grinding noise. I've had the brakes replaced three times along with rattle clips, in the last year, with no prevail in changing the noise nor high speed-braking oscillating. A caliper has also been replaced. While sitting at stop lights, the car unpredictably stalls-- I've tried to reproduce the setting to have the issue happen when a technician tests it, but it appears to happen unpredictably. The car has leaked from some entry point to cause the floor boards to be wet, and in the last year, the sun roof seems to be leaking as I have water pouring onto me from the front dome lightt. The water is causing mold, which is not beneficial to the family I drive with. Based on the NHTSA site and the thousands of youtube videos, these are pretty wildly known issues by Dodge, despite the lack of complaints on these sites.
The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle restarted after the first attempt. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Deerfield Beach, FL, USA
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The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 75 mph, the transmission temperature light illuminated. In addition, there was a burning odor and the vehicle decreased in speed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure.
The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle lost power and jerked. In addition, the contact stated the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The electronic throttle control warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the hoses needed to be tightened. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000. Updated 5/19/15 updated 10/2/2017
My vehicle has a manual transmission. In January 2015 the transmission failed and the powertrain was replaced. After that, when shifting, occasionally the engine would rev as if I hadn't taken my foot off the accelerator when depressing the clutch and it was impossible to shift. Sometimes the vehicle would speed up on its own and other times it took forever to get the car up to posted speeds. The occasional engine revving became more frequent as the winter wore on as well as the fast/slow acceleration making the car's performance unpredictable and unsafe to drive. I took it to the dealership a second time and they diagnosed "throttle body failure" and replaced it. This cost me $572.68. I have now had the car back only a couple of days, but am unsure if this will happen again. Online there are a lot of complaints about throttle body failure in the Dodge Caliber. This is a huge safety issue that needs to be addressed before someone is killed or injured by an uncontrollable vehicle.
While driving our 2010 Dodge Caliber on the interstate for approximately 1 hour in heavy traffic at 75mph the car suddenly starts to lose speed. The coolant light came on and a high pitch, whining sound came from the engine. We immediately had to get off the interstate. There is no warning and the car starts to lose power. The RPM's go up. We pulled off to the side, the car is in limp mode. No power and will not start. Called Dodge 3-4 times and they only had record of 2. this has happened 10 different occasions on the interstate. The car is not safe to drive long distance. I took it into the dealership to be looked at and they said it was a service problem. It is a defective transmission and there needs to be a recall before there is a fatality. When you talk to Chrysler customer care case management or the dealership you get the run around as to what the problem is or what mileage the actual transmission service should be done. I do know that your life should not be in jeopardy if it is a service issue. Whereas this is a defective transmission there should be a recall. Chrysler initiated the call back after they knew I had made an appointment to get the car looked at. I have gotten different stories from both Chrysler customer care case management and the dealership as to just how many of the 2010 Dodge Calibers have this transmission problem. When I took it to the dealership they hadn't seen any that went into limp mode, but after they did their diagnostic they said they had seen 100's. that's a big discrepancy!!! I do not want anyone to become a statistic!!!
Imagine cruising down the tollway at 75 mph when the entire panel lights up like a christmas tree and you have no power to the engine. I was able to safely pull of on the shoulder of the road. I turned off the ignition and waited. I tried to start the engine and nothing, not a moan, nothing. It is not the battery. In a time frame of about 15 minutes, I was able to start the car and the service engine light remained on. My mechanic could not diagnose this until it was actually acting up. It repeated this 4 - 5 times over a 4 week period. Finally, diagnosed as the computer module control. This is an $1100 repair. Has anyone else experienced this?
The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 75 mph, the transmission temperature light illuminated. In addition, there was a burning odor and the vehicle decreased in speed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.
We got on the freeway for 30mins and the transmission temp light came on. Then it started smelling like something was burning. The car stopped gaining speed and we took it back too the dealership. We feel this car is not safe for the family. There is tapping sounds coming from the dashboard and it happen all the time, even when the car is not running. They need recall this car-
Dates & mileage are approximate. I'm not a mechanic and I have no idea which part would be causing the problem. I guessed. This has happened at least 10 times over the past 3 years. My 16 yr old granddaughter recently told me her older Caliber did the same thing! this lead me to believe it is a safety/power issue with the model. Why would this just be happening to our 2 vehicles? her vehicle was purchased in ga and mine in mi. I do a lot of freeway driving. Each time this occurred, I was driving on freeways at 70 mph for extended periods of time. I take an exit. When I depress the accelerator to turn off the exit ramp, the engine completely "bogs down". there is very little power. Each time, I have calibrated time for safely pulling out into oncoming traffic, expecting to have normal power. Suddenly, I have little to no acceleration and it seems like it may stall out! you can imagine the fear of not being able to clear oncoming traffic in time. The low power continues for about a minute, then resumes normal operation. I have been fortunate enough that no accident has occurred, because it's impossible to get over to the shoulder. Actually, this is so dangerous, I can't explain why I haven't had it checked out, besides inconvenience and stupidity. When my granddaughter told me about her car, that really scared me and prompted me to act. I've also come to realize that I'm putting other drivers in danger of injury or death. Please let me know asap if there's been a recall or should be one on these vehicles. I have to believe there are many more out there experiencing the same dangerous malfunction and possibly injuries or death.
The car has begun to shift hard and not engage immediately when trying to accelerate. This occurs worse in stop and go traffic, when the car is cold, and when driving up hill. I took the car to the dealer, a technician drove it and was able to replicate. He checked the transmission fluid, which was fine and decided it must be the motor mounts, but upon further inspection could not find a problem with them. He drove the car again and checked the transmission fluid immediately after stopping. The transmission fluid was foaming and he suggested a transmission service although the car isn't due until 100,000 miles and my vehicle is at 60,000. I had the transmission service done and the car appeared to be working properly for awhile, but is now exhibiting the same shifting/acceleration issues as it was before the fluid was changed.
After driving on interstate for 3 hours, the car would hesitate to go from a stop. Over the next 2 years, the problem has worsened!! it is to the point where after a 2-3 hour trip, there is such hesitation that if I'm on an incline the car will actually roll backwards while pressing accelerator!! this has shown a stored code of P0730 (which dealership tells me they won't do anything about unless they can duplicate problem). I won't allow my children and grandchildren to travel with me in this car anymore because I fear for their safety!! I would greatly appreciate any help your Agency can provide for this dangerous problem!!!!!
This standard transmission 2010 Dodge Caliber continually stalls out when the car is in neutral, such as at intersections, railroad crossings, toll booths, and parking lots. It usually takes five to ten minutes of attempts before the car will restart. This poses a serious safety problem because often trucks or other cars driving up behind me barely slow down in time, even though my flashers are blinking. Last weekend I was almost hit from behind by a large truck while I was attempting to get the car re-started at a traffic light. Dodge refuses to attempt to fix the problem unless their computer can tell them exactly what to do. In the words of the Dodge representative, "we don't want to just throw parts away." Dodge has a private message board accessibly only by registered Dodge owners. The section for Caliber owners contains many posts by other owners and former owners who have experienced this defect on their Dodge Calibers. The car is still under the manufacturer's warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Petersburg, MI, USA