I have owned this care for nearly 7 years and I am currently replacing the lower control arms for the third time. I have known multiple people with this same vehicle that have had the same issue. The first time it happened it was just out of warranty by 3000 miles, not it has happened less than 30000 miles each of the two other times. Please have dodge recall these vehicles as research shows this is a very common issue and something needs done to fix it so you can get normal wear.
2007 Dodge Caliber AWD suspension complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 26 of 26, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Upon driving a loud metal to metal clunk began. Owner looked under vehicle, but was unable to see any problem. Noise was so distinct that vehicle was carefully driven to our independent mechanic. He started to go out on a road test to try to locate the problem and immediately returned to his garage. He found one sway bar link was unattached at lower end. He then used a mirror to view the top side of the sub frame and found it was rotted out. Upon removal of the subframe a fist sized hole was found in the top of the subframe and there were also cracks radiating back through more of the frame. Looking at the removed item, it was obvious that the degradation was so severe that hitting a bad enough bump or hole could very possibly cause loss of integrity in the suspension, steering or engine mounting. All in all, this situation looked extremely hazardous. And considering that a visual inspection from underneath, as during an oil change, one of which had been performed recently, did not show the damage, I would say this is a very bad situation. In researching this condition online, it sounds possible that the air condition dripping could be a contributing factor. There were a number of cases to be seen. I feel that we are very lucky there was no major incident due to this condition. This vehicle, while a 2007 has an in service date of february 2008. I hope you will find this situation serious enough to review, and I have taken a series of pictures which will help to document the problem. Thank you for your time in reviewing this for us.
I purchase a used 2007 dodge caliber se 4 door sedan in october of 2008. The car had 14528 miles at time of purchase. The car always had a front end issue. In 2010, with less than 40,000 miles, I brought the car for tires because I was informed that the tires were worn on the inside tread, and it was dangerous to continue driving with them in that condition. I took the car to have the tires replaced at the cost of $600, but was informed that it was because of the design of the car that the tires wore the way they did. I took the car, with new tires to the shop for an alignment and was informed that the car was built to only be aligned in two directions and should have the ability to be aligned in three ways.the car always had a problem with steering when there was a seam in the pavement on the roadway; the front end would ?follow? The seam in the road and had to be forced to drive properly. In march of 2012, I still had a problem with the front end, but by now it sounded as if the front tires were going to go through the hood with the amount of clunking from the front end each time it hit bump in the road. He found that the left and right control arms were bad, and the bushings were broken through. This issue cost over $500 to repair. The front end issue was greatly diminished with this repair, but not gone. In february 2013, the front end started having more problems, I returned to the mechanic and he discovered this time it was the strut assembly, front struts and tie rods. I was informed that the car was so bad that he was amazed the front tire didn't fall off the car. This repair cost over $1100, but also mine and my passengers? Safety was greatly at risk while riding in the vehicle.
The c/member-f or subframe was cracked in three places and so rotten that while in the shop someone put their thumb through it. It was deemed unsafe to drive by our repairman. This is a 2007 rt, how many cars five years old does this happen to? The new part was $572.00 purchased at dealership, not including the labor from our repairman. We do have some pictures taken, but not viewed yet. The repairman has had the old sub-frame on display showing everyone that comes in, only because it is so unbelievable. I did read on http://www.aboutautomobile.com/forum/dodge/caliber/consumer+complaint/5641-5641 of someone else having similar problems. I contacted dodge and they said sorry not under warranty. On dodge on facebook they asked for phone number and VIN, but they have never contacted me. The air conditioning hose runs onto the sub-frame, the other person indicated this is the problem. I know my warranty was over, but I would say this is defective equipment; we had a 5 hour trip planned for the day after I brought it into the shop. I was coming home from work traveling around 45mph when it began to make cracking and thumping sounds. We had cancelled the trip due to the front end started to make a noise. Glad we did would have hated to have been zipping down the interstate when it broke. We could have been injured or killed or taken other cars with us, scary thought.
Car swerved to the left suddenly and forcefully twice. First time was on a 3 lane road. If another vehichile were in the lane next to me there would have been a serioius collision. Second time nearly avoided a head on collision with oncoming traffic. Then when I pulled into my drive way, the u-joint on my front passender tire broke completely. Car became undrivable and had to be towed.
I own a 2007 dodge caliber awd and recently had the tires replaced and requested an alignment check. The tire company notified me that the lower ball joints/ control arms are bad and need to be replaced and said they have seen this problem in the caliber frequently. The vehicle has less than 30,000 miles, has never been in an accident that involved the front suspension and has only been driven on hard surfaced roads. These components should not have been defective with this low mileage. The fault was covered under warranty and repaired by the dealer, but if the part failed at highway speed, it could have been catastrophic.
2007 dodge caliber awd, tie rod ends had to be changed with only 17,000 miles on it. Back in sept. 2009. Now with only 29,000 miles on it . During a state inspection on 22, oct. 2011 now I am told both front lower control arms with ball joints are bad. Their should be no reason for this . The car drives only on well paved roads. What is dodge doing about this ? Dealership knows about this big problem. But can not do anything until a recall.! ! ( cost 800.00 dollars )
In february 2011, I had my 2007 dodge caliber r/t serviced and tired rotated, at this time firestone told me that I have bad ball joints and need them replaced, it only had 46,000 miles on it. I had it replaced and now I am having trouble with it again. Someone needs to investigate this and get it in for a recall before someone gets really hurt.
2007 dodge caliber required ball joint replacement at 71,100. Vehicle was serviced regularly and was correctly aligned.
At approximately 23,700 miles, my 2007 dodge caliber rt had to have both front ball joints replaced (chrysler reimbursed for the ruined front tires that had been put on 9 months before due to this problem). Within a few weeks after the ball joints were replaced, I started hearing a noise like something lose in the front driver's side tire area. Upon having my annual inspection at the beginning of march, my mechanic told me I have a busted drivers' side strut. There is only a little over 25,000 miles on this car and this is two major problems with the suspension in less than 6 months! I keep reading of similar problems and am wondering if this is something that dodge/chrsyler is going to fix via recall (of course, the struts started making the noise within weeks of coming out of my basic 3 yr/36,000 mile coverage - I am now into extended coverage with a deductible).
I bought a 2007 dodge caliber and the following things have happened that resulted in a accident. 1.) the blower motor went out only 2 months after buying the car. 2.) the steering wheel controls for the volume and changing the channels have never worked. I have brought the car into the shop 14 times and the issue has never been fixed. 3.) first brake failure was about a year after buying the car and was due to the booster cylinder and master cylinder failing. Ourisman dodge put me into a rental car for about 10 days. 4.) cruise control has a mind of its own and could also be a reason why the car was in a accident 5.) transmission issue, the car has already had transmission issues where it was not able to upshift while driving and the automatic transmission was not able to be used. 6.) computer issues, when my battery died the entire computer went out and $300 later had to be reloaded and fixed 7.) the exhaust system has already failed on the car 8.) I have had the engine light go on 3 times with different sensors failing needing to be replaced. 9.) the control arm and suspension has currently failed and now has to be replaced for around $2000. 10.) everything leaks and retains water. The back lights fill with water and I have had it in the shop for this issue 3 times. The doors also fill gallons and gallons of water which will take 5 to 10 minutes to drain sometimes. The car has been brought in for that issue 2 times and never repaired. 11.) many seals have rotted in the car causing leaks and other issues to occur. 12.) second brake failure, this LED to a 3 car accident and the totaling of multiple cars. The brake pedal shook and then went straight to the floor. Cruise control was on during this braking attempt. The car hit another car going 51 MPH. Dodge has been contacted to investigate and they have not gotten back to me at this time. They were contacted on the date of the accident.
2007 dodge caliber broken front arm control in suspension the car is 3 years old . According to the parts store it is an on going problem and should be a recall. Read many complaints on line it is a safety hazard.
Unexplained failure of both ball joints at 45800 miles.
Both tie rods on my 2007 dodge caliber rt awd failed at 30,000 miles. The drivers side tire could be wobbled with the push of a pinky. The car would not stay in it's own lane and was extremely difficult to drive, every bump or dip in the road would cause the car to lurch to one side or the other. I was told by my mechanic that I was lucky the drivers side tire did not fall off while driving. The local dodge dealer did acknowledge that 30,000 miles was low mileage for tie rod failure, they said that there was nothing they could do as the warranty expired 3 months ago. While the car was being repaired the mechanic also noted that the drivers side control arm bushing is separating and will need to be replace soon as well.
2007 dodge caliber - steering pulls to both left and right for about first 10 minutes of driving (feels very sloppy). Pulls hard to the right while braking. Doors lock with car running.
There were no events leading up to any of these failures. I simply bought a brand new 2007 dodge caliber in june of '06 and to date have experienced the following problems: 1. A humming noise (similar to that of a "rice burner" car) in the rear of the vehicle that took over three trips to the service department (from august 2006 to january 2007) and a total of 20 days being out of service is at present repaired. 2. There is a rattle underneath the car, either coming from the middle or the rear when not applying the gas and simply "cruising" down the road. But when I hit the gas it goes away. 3. There is a noise in the front tires when I am driving between 1 and 3 rpms. 4. The car pulls to the right. 5. The headlights dim intermittently for no reason, as if there is a power drain. 6. The volume control on the steering wheel intermittently doesn't work. 7. The station changer control on the steering wheel intermittently doesn't work. 8. When driving the car without the auto stick, the delay in pick-up is very slow. This is a constant problem. 9. The cruise control has a mind of its own and increased in speed all by itself on a straight stretch of road. 10. The AC fan began making excessive noise one month after we bought it and it was serviced properly and remains in working order. 11. When I am sitting in the passenger seat and we go around sharp corners or stop or start quickly, the seat makes clicking noises underneath and moves slightly even though it appears to be in a locked position. 12. The middle armrest console is loose and causes injury when entering the car and placing your elbow/arm on it for balance. 13. The pin striping began to wear off the first time I washed the car which was within weeks of purchase. I filed lemon law after problem #1 was in service for three attempts and 15 days out of service. I'm told that since it is fixed, they will address and attempt to fix the remaining issues.
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