2008 Dodge Caliber: jerking or lurching

Filed Nov 20, 2015 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · MO

I was driving in town when suddenly the car acted like it had no power! Then it started jerking and jumping forward! Then as I was going up hill it slowed and was jerking again! When I would stop at a light or stop sign it had very little power to exhilarate and then it would jerk alot until it got enough power to get going again! I was concerned about driving it any further since I live out of town, I have two children and didn't want to take a chance on being stranded on the side of the highway! So I left the car in my sisters drive way and drove her car home! I needed a car so to take the children to school the next morning. I called amco and they told me to bring it in! It took me 30 mins to drive five miles! They told me after checking it out that the transmission is gone and the car is only seven yrs old with just a little over 100,000 miles on it! These cars should not be aloud to be sold! They are dangerous! Everyone of them should be recalled and sent to the scrap yard! They are lemon's and I will never buy another dodge,chrysler or gm product again! I still owe 5000.oo on this piece of garbage and I don't have the 3500.00 to pay for a transmission! So the car sets as I pay for something that I can not drive! This is not right! The dealer was to put an extended warranty on the car and he did not! Now with two kids I am screwed as with not having a vehicle to drive! This car needs to be recalled and we the owners should not have to pay for something we can not drive!

Filed Jul 21, 2015 · Steering · 131,812 miles · AZ

The first day I bought the car I notice the jerking back and forth on the accelerator about 30 miles an hour or so and it also has a bad vibration soon as you start the motor and lot of play in the steering wheel column like the steering wheel is not bolted down is stalled on me about 5-6 times as it was jerking back and forth and when I go over potholes in the road or a small bump it clunks in the front and like the struts are loose

Filed Nov 1, 2014 · Steering, Suspension · 118,000 miles · WV

My vehicle won't stay aligned. And now it has a bad jerk in it. You can be going 10 MPH or 50 MPH and it still jerks you to the left. You can feel it in the steering wheel. We have put new tires on it so many times. We have bought tierods for it and nothing seems to be helping it.

Filed Sep 16, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · MS

I was stopped in traffic at a red light, train was coming so I was holding my brakes. It felt as if the car was jerking forward not with alot of power but enough for me to notice. I look at my dash and I noticed that a redlight that seem to be red lighting bolts was on. I immediately pull my car out of traffic. While trying to get the car out of the road I notice it was slowly accelerating my car didn't go pass 20mph. I parked the car and waited to see if I could just try to drive it home which was only 1.5 miles at the most away. I had no issues besides the car wouldn't go pass 20mph and when it stalled it seemed as if it would jerk forward, while driving the car home. Before that day I had no issues.

Filed Jun 24, 2014 · Transmission · 58,000 miles · OR

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. The contact stated that the vehicle started to jerk violently intermittently. After the initial failure the vehicle decelerated independently and failed to accelerate. The contact mentioned that the integrated power module light was illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 58,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Jun 18, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 72,000 miles · AR

Driving down the street at about 30mph and the car started jerking really bad the soon it died I went down and diagnosed it, come to find out the throttlebody is bad and seems to have happened to almost every caliber sebring owner.

Filed Feb 1, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 72,000 miles · NY

Car was already warmed and driven for about 5 miles, after stopping at a gas station to refuel and re-starting, it was idling very inconsistently and running rough, shaking. There was a dash indicator for electronic throttle control flashing. I tried driving it and there was jerking and pulling and the transmission wouldn't shift past 2nd, car would not accelerate beyond 12-15 MPH. I made it home (about 2 miles) and left the car for about 6 hours. Upon restarting and warming, the car drove fine. About 1 1/2 weeks later, the same dash light came on, steady not flashing, car rumbled, then light went off and the car was fine. This happened on and off for about 2 weeks. Then, when ready to leave from work one day, I started the car to warm it and the indicator light came on and stayed on, the car was running very rough, idle was fluctuating between about 500-1500 rpms and shaking. I left the car, assuming when I came back the next day it would start and be fine just like the 2 times before, but that was not the case. I drove the car to a nearby mechanic, maxing out at about 15 MPH, strangely the car seemed to pick up speed when I eased off the accelerator, and steady loss of speed while going up hill. The mechanic could not fix or even diagnose the problem, said it has to go to the dealer. It seems to be something to do with the throttle control. I will update it once I hear from the dealer later today.

Filed Dec 31, 2013 · Engine · 107,000 miles · ME

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, it jerked violently. The contact also mentioned that acceleration power was reduced. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in the manufacturer's recall. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

Filed Jul 17, 2013 · Acceleration, Airbags · 90,000 miles · ID

Car will be at a stop, then when you try and accelerate it won't go and tries pulling forward and kind of jerks. Also the airbag light will go on for a minute then turn off then come back on a minute later over and over the whole time while driving. This car has never been in an accident.

Filed May 31, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 60,000 miles · CA

While driving on the freeway, the 2008 dodge caliber loss power and began to decrease speed. I stepped on the accelerator but the car did not respond. I exited the freeway, and after I was stopped at a light, I attempted to accelerate, but again, the vehicle would not respond. When it did, it jerked repeatedly until it was able to accelerate. While driving the car loss power again. Additionally, the check engine light was on for a few months prior, a knocking noise would come from the engine, and a mechanic advised me that the transmission needed to be replaced. Lastly, when it rains, the back seat passenger side and floor was inundated with water.

Filed Aug 15, 2011 · Suspension, Wheels · 35,000 miles · OH

At around 35000 miles is when this started: when I would slow down I would notice that it felt like my driver front tire would wobble, this went on for a while, and no one could figure out what it was, blamed it on bad tires. I even took it to my dealership because my warranty was going to be up soon and asked them to look over everything and they never found anything. So I got new tires and it would still sometimes seem to wobble but it wasn't consistent. Fast forward to this summer (2011) I start to notice that it is really bad pulling out of my works driveway turning left so I think my shocks are going bad. Also I start to notice that when I start moving again from a stop it seems like the car has a little jerk. So I go to get my oil changed and tires rotated (different places) and at the dealership for the oil they fill out a little inspection sheet, only thing marked is a bad air filter. Shocks are good they said. Time to change the brakes too, so I buy some with the air filter and tell my husband when he is changing them to please look good because something is not right. Well, he finds out that he can completely move the whole wheel assembly on its own! So I take it to a local shop and both lower ball joints are bad and maybe a tire rod! At approx 48,000 miles (current) this is ridiculous!!! So call dodge dealership and out of warranty so... Unless we bring it down and all these other instructions they might be able to pay for some of it. Not driving the vehicle 45 miles when the wheels might snap off and for them to most likely say "too bad"! After seeing how many people have the same problem something is obliviously wrong with the design of the caliber, and for dodge to do nothing, we will never even consider a dodge, or maybe even a chrysler (never had issues with past jeeps) again!

Filed Jun 30, 2011 · Acceleration · 31,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. While the contact was driving approximately 45 MPH, the entire instrument panel illuminated and the engine stalled. The vehicle restarted within a few minutes and resumed in a jerking motion at an extremely low speed of 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the alternator was replaced. Nine months later, the failure recurred. The vehicle was currently at the dealer who stated the electronic throttle control needed to be replaced. The vehicle will be repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The failure mileage was 31,000.