2007 Dodge Caliber

EVERY TIME WHEN I WOULD BE GOING OVER ANY KIND OF BUMP,DRIVEWAYS AT SPEED BUMPS OR JUST DRIVING THE CAR. I WOULD ALWAYS HERE SHAKING OR RUMBLING NOISES IN MY FRONT SUSPENSION. RECENTLY I HAD TO GET A CLUTCH INSTALLED IN MY CALIBER. AND MY MECHANIC INFORMING ME THAT MY CONTROL ARMS WERE COMING LOOSE. WHICH MEANS THAT IF IT PERSISTS THE WHEELS CAN COME OFF SO THAT'S THE SOUND I AM HEARING THE WHEELS SHAKING WHEN IT GOES OVER BUMPS!. AND THEN HE FOLLOWED BY SAYING WITH DODGE CALIBERS CONTROL ARMS ALWAYS SEEMS TO GO BAD EARLY IN THE LIFE OF THE CAR NO MATTER HOW YOU DRIVE. I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 91,000 MILES ON MY CAR WHICH ARE ABOUT 90% HIGHWAY MILES. I USED TO DRIVE FOR UPS DROVE TRUCKS FOR LIVING WHEN HE COMES TO CHANGING GEARS AND DRIVING THE CAR I AM EXTREMELY CAPABLE. SO FOR A CLUTCH TO GO BACK IN JUST SEVEN YEARS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. MY PARENTS HAD A 1987 VOLVO STATION WAGON WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION. AND WE NEVER HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS!!! HEY DODGE THIS IS HOW A CAR IS SUPPOSED TO WORK!! YOU BUY IT WORKS TILL YOU SELL IT. WITH A FEW MAINTENANCE FIXES DOWN THE LINE. (NOT CONTROL ARMS TRANSMISSION AND ELECTRICAL AND GAS PEDALS.) SO FOR CONTROL ARMS GOING BAD AT THIS TIME IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. I WENT ON OTHER FORUMS OF PEOPLE WHO HAS THE SAME CAR AS MINE IN ABOUT 600 PEOPLE OR THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE SAYING EXACTLY THE SAME THING BUT THEY HAD TO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO GET THESE THINGS FIXED. I UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS GO BAD CARS OVER TIME BUT THIS IS EXTREMELY TOO EARLY. I HAVE WENT TO 3 TO 4 OTHER MECHANICS AND ALL SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT THE DODGE CALIBERS. CONTROL ARMS ARE A MAJOR IMPORTANT THING IS SAFETY OF A CAR EXTREMELY BASIC AN EXTREMELY SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT CONFORMS DO NOT GO BACK AND JUST SEVEN YEARS. NOTE MY CONTROL ARMS AREN'T AS BAD AS SOME OTHERS. *TR

MY DRIVERS SIDE DRIVING LIGHT WAS OUT SO I BOUGHT A NEW BULB. THAT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM SO I LOOKED ONLINE AND SAW EVERYONE WAS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND IT SEEMS TO BE THE TIPM WHICH IS AROUND 1000.00 TO FIX. IF WE ARE ALL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM I WOULD THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT DODGE SHOULD BE TAKING CARE OF NOT THE CONSUMER! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 DODGE CALIBER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE WAS CONCERNED THAT THE REAR LOWER SUB FRAME COULD FAIL DUE TO A FAILURE THAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER EXPERIENCED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHO CONFIRMED THAT THE SUB FRAME WAS RUSTED AND CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 78,000.

WHILE TURNING LEFT, I STARTED TO NOTICE AN OCCASIONAL CLUNK WHICH SEEMED TO BE COMING FROM THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE. WITHIN A DAY, IT TURNED INTO A CONSTANT CLUNKING AS I WAS DRIVING, EVEN WHILE GOING STRAIGHT. IT WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT SAFE AND WE TOOK IT TO THE SHOP. AS OTHERS HAVE DISCOVERED, MY ENTIRE UNDER CARRIAGE IS RUSTING AWAY. I ALSO HAD TO REPLACE BALL JOINTS AND LOWER CONTROL ARMS AT AROUND 50,000 MILES. THEY SAY THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE AGAIN. THE FUEL PUMP HAD TO BE REPLACED A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. THE TIRES NEED MORE FREQUENT REPLACEMENT AS WELL DUE TO THE CONTROL ARM ISSUES. SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE AND THERE SHOULD BE MORE RECALLS THAN JUST THE RECENT ONE. SPECIFICALLY, WITH THE CONTROL ARMS, THE MECHANIC SAID HE'S SEEN THEM FAIL AT UNDER 25,000 MILES. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! *TR

THE VEHICLE HAS HAD THE IGNITION SWITCH SLIP FROM "ON" TO "ACCESSORY" TWICE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. THE FIRST TIME WAS ON I-95 JUST NORTH OF RICHMOND, VA. I WAS DRIVING, SHIFTED MY KNEE (WITH A LONG KEYCHAIN), AND THE SWITCH SLIPPED. I WAS UNABLE TO CONTROL THE CAR AT THAT POINT. I HIT THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS BUTTON AND TRIED TO RE-START THE CAR. I WAS ABLE TO RE-START THE CAR AND CONTINUE DRIVING WITHOUT ACCIDENT OR INJURY. THE SECOND TIME WAS ON EDWARDS MILL ROAD IN RALEIGH, NC. AT THAT POINT, I WAS NOT DRIVING WITH THE LONGER KEYCHAIN, BUT A SHORTER ONE WITH ONLY FOUR KEYS, AND THE SWITCH SLIPPED AGAIN. BECAUSE IT HAD HAPPENED BEFORE, I KNEW WHAT I NEEDED TO DO WAS TO RE-START THE CAR, AND I WAS ABLE TO DO SO SUCCESSFULLY WITHOUT ACCIDENT OR INJURY. BECAUSE AT THE TIME, I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT, AND BECAUSE I HAD NO CONCEPT THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN A BIGGER ISSUE, AND BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT, I DID NOT STOP TO WRITE DOWN OR REMEMBER THE DATES/TIMES OF THESE INCIDENTS. I KNOW THAT THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS AT NIGHT; THE SECOND INCIDENT WAS DURING THE DAY. I REMEMBER WHERE I WAS BECAUSE I HAVE A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY; HOWEVER, BECAUSE I DIDN'T STOP TO LOOK AT THE DATE OR TIME THEN OR LATER, I DON'T RECALL EXACT DATES AND TIMES. MY BEST GUESS, BASED ON MY TRAVEL SCHEDULE THROUGH RICHMOND, VA, IS THAT IT TOOK PLACE WITHIN THE LAST THREE YEARS, AND THEN THE SECOND INCIDENT SOMETIME AFTER THAT. I THOUGHT NOTHING OF THESE INCIDENTS EVEN WHEN THE GM RECALLS STARTED HAPPENING, BECAUSE IT WASN'T A GM VEHICLE. HOWEVER, THE OTHER DAY, I READ THAT CHRYSLER VEHICLES WERE BEING RECALLED FOR THIS ISSUE, AND SOMETHING TRIGGERED MY MEMORY WITH THE SWITCH SLIPS. I WANTED TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION AND NOTICE SO THAT A DECISION COULD BE MADE ABOUT INVESTIGATING OTHER CHRYSLER MODELS, AS WELL AS TO PROVIDE NOTICE TO THE COMPANY OF AN ISSUE. *TR

I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE WITH THE TIPM (TOTAL INTEGRATED POWER MODULE.) FIRST THE A/C BLEW, THEN THE ALTERNATOR BLEW, THEN THE WINDOWS STARTED MALFUNCTIONING. NOW THE CAR SLOWS ITSELF ON THE INTERSTATE AND WILL NOT MAINTAIN SPEED. THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WILL NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY EITHER. THIS CAR HAS MAJOR ELECTRICAL ISSUES AND APPARENTLY IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF CAR. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE. *TR

THE CAR WOULD NOT STEER WITH ANY CONTROLLABILITY. UPON 2 DIFFERENT INDEPENDENT MECHANIC INSPECTIONS WE DISCOVERED THE LOWER BALL JOINT WAS SO WORN/LOOSE IF I HAD CONTINUED TO DRIVE I COULD EASILY HAVE LOST A TIRE. THE ENTIRE UNDERFRAME IS CORRODED AND I WAS TOLD IT WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED SOON OR IT WOULD ALSO BECOME A SAFETY HAZARD IN THE NEAR FUTURE. DODGE HAS TO BE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE AFTER CONDUCTING SOME RESEARCH ON MY OWN I HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF 2007 CALIBER OWNERS WITH ALMOST IDENTICAL ISSUES TO MINE. HOPING NO ONE GETS HURT BEFORE THEY REALIZE WHAT A SERIOUS RISK THIS TYPE OF LOW QUALITY MANUFACTURING IS... *TR