2008 Dodge Caliber

VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW IN 2008. DECEMBER 24TH 2013 AT ONLY 43,000 MILES I HAD TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY WHICH WASN'T COVERED UNDER A WARRANTY AND I HAD TO PAY $367 TO HAVE FIXED. MY CAR IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION & WHEN I SPOKE WITH DIFFERENT DODGE DEALERSHIPS I WAS TOLD THAT IT'S JUST A GLITCH THAT HAPPENS TO SOME CARS BUT NOBODY COULD TELL ME WHY AT 43,000 MILES I WAS EXPERIENCING A MAJOR REPAIR! ALSO THE DEALERSHIP WHO FIXED THE CAR SAID THAT THE PART WAS ON BACK ORDER IT COULD TAKE UP TO 3 MONTHS TO GET PART CAUSE EVIDENTLY THE PART WAS IN HIGH DEMAND. THAT TELLS THAT THERE IS SOMETHING FAULTY GOIN ON WITH DODGE VEHICLES. THIS NEEDS TO BE RESEARCHED FURTHER TO SEE IF A RECALL SHOULD HAPPEN! I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER DODGE NOT ONLY BECAUSE THE CARS ARE HORRIBLY MADE BUT THERE DEALERSHIPS ARE NOT CUSTOMER FRIENDLY (I EVEN CONTACTED THE DODGE CO. & GOT NOWHERE) AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN PURCHASED. I WANTED TO SUPPORT & BUY AMERICAN BUT I'VE FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY THAT MAYBE BY BUYING FOREIGN WILL GET A RELIABLE CAR! *TR

DRIVING CAR AT ~35 MPH - ENTIRE DASHBOARD INDICATOR LIGHTS COME ON - VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY SLOWS DOWN TO 5 MPH - NO POWER WHEN PRESSING ON GAS - RPM TO UP TO 3 OR 4 (LIKE I'M DRIVING 80 MPH) MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT AND TRANS OIL TEMP LIGHT COMES ON - ALMOST REAR-ENDED BECAUSE OF DRASTIC REDUCTION IN SPEED IN ~5 SECONDS. TOOK TO MECHANIC CODES U0101 (LOSS OF COMMUNICATION WITH TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE AND CODE U0402 (INVALID DATA RECEIVED FROM TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE) MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO CLEAR CODES BUT INDICATED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH DODGE CALIBERS - HAPPENED AGAIN ON FEBRUARY 27TH - CALLED DODGE (800-423-6343) AND THEY SAID TO TAKE TO DEALERSHIP FOR $112 DIAGNOSTIC (ALREADY KNOW THE DIAGNOSIS) - THEY COULD NOT PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION ON AN ACTUAL FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM - STILL WANT CUSTOMER TO PAY FOR DIAGNOSIS WITH NO ACTUAL FIX - THEY CAN CLEAR THE CODES (LIKE MY MECHANIC DID FOR $50) AND WAIT FOR IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN - ONLY TO (AGAIN) DO THE $112 DIAGNOSTIC WITH NO FIX FOR THIS ISSUE. I DO NOT WANT TO DIE DRIVING THIS CAR. DODGE TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE - UPON INTERNET SEARCH - LOTS OF COMPLAINTS AND TALK OF CLASS-ACTION AND RECALL. PLEASE RECALL - THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURER COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROBLEM - A VERY DANGEROUS COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE FIXED BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR

DRIVERS SEAT HEATER STAYED ON AFTER CAR KEY WAS TURNED OFF. IT CONTINUED TO STAY ON AFTER I GOT OFF AND WENT SHOPPING..THE WHOLE DRIVERS SEAT BURNT A BIG HOLE. BURNED ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM AND BURNED THE CARPET AND PART OF THE DOOR PANEL. SMOKED THE WHOLE CAR .APPRAISER .SAID IT WAS A SHORT.IN BACK PART OF HEATING WIRING IN BACK OF SEAT. THAT STAYED ON. *TR

DRIVING VEHICLE ON MAIN ROAD APPROX 40MPH .. ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY INDICATOR FLASHED , VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER .. HAD TO PULL OVER FOR SAFETY REASONS.. VEHICLE "BUCKED" WITH A ROUGH IDLE .. TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF , RESTARTED ; ALL SEEMED OK. THIS SCENARIO OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES EACH TIME ON THE ROAD DISABLING POWER AND UNEXPECTED , LOCAL MECHANIC REPLACED SPARK PLUGS AND COIL PACKS .. THE VEHICLE STARTED BUT FEW DAYS PASSED , AGAIN THE ETC INDICATOR CAME ON , IMMEDIATELY LOSING POWER , BUCKING ON A HIGHWAY / BIWAY 45 MPH , PULLED OVER SHOULDER .. RESTARTED APPROX 15 MIN LATER ALL SEEMED OK.. THE LATEST OCCURRENCE AND MOST IMPACTED ., VEHICLE WILL NOT GO BEYOND 10 MPH, NO POWER, BUCKING .. PHONED DEALERSHIP .. ETC IS ON BACK ORDER AND NOT ENOUGH PARTS AVAILABLE TO FILL OUTSTANDING LOG OF B/O .. (REGION IS OUT OF STOCK ) PHONED CHRYSLER ADDRESSED ISSUE IS MULTIPLE ACROSS FORUMS AND SUGGESTED RECALL.. THIS ISSUE IS A SAFETY CONCERN AND COSTLY WHEN CODES ARE NOT ACCURATE( MISFIRE IGNITION COILS, CATALYST BELOW THRESHOLD , OVERHEATED O2 SENSOR , NEVER INDICATING RELATING TO FAULTY ETC .. BUT THE DEALERSHIP WOULDN'T ORDER SO MANY NOR WOULD THEY BE OUT I STOCK AND BACK ORDERED IF THIS WASN'T "RECALL WORTHY" CHRYSLER WAS HELPFUL IN ASSISTING AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL EXPEDITE PART AND ALL WILL BE WELL .. *TR

TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY IN WINTER ROAD CONDITIONS. DRIVER LOST CONTROL ON BLACK ICE. HIT HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL HEAD ON, THEN ON THE PAX FRONT SIDE, THEN ON DRIVER FRONT SIDE. MAJOR DAMAGE TO FRONT COSTING APPROX $6000.00 IN DAMAGE. AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY EVEN THOUGHT LIGHTS ON DASH WERE ACTIVATED AS DEPLOYED. WITH SEAT BELT ON PASSENGER WAS THROWN FORWARD HITTING STEERING WHEEL AND KNEES TO LOWER DASHBOARD. SEVER CONCUSSION AS RESULT, BRUISING AND SORENESS. VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IN 2011 FROM ENTERPRISE/NATIONAL CAR RENTAL WITH 31K MILES ON IT. *TR

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. *TR

I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK AND GETTING ONTO A FREEWAY ENTRANCE, WHEN RIGHT WHEN I WAS MERGING, MY CAR COMPLETELY LOST THROTTLE CONTROL AND BOGGED DOWN. IT WAS VERY FOGGY OUTSIDE AND A SEMI TRUCK ALMOST RAN INTO THE BACK OF MY CAR. I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE FREEWAY AND HOME WITH MY CAR IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS LIMP MODE. THERE WAS NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, ONLY A RED LIGHTNING BOLT LIGHT, AND MY ESP (TRACTION CONTROL) WAS ON ALSO. UPON DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY GOES OUT IN THESE CARS QUITE A BIT. NO BODY IN MY CITY HAD ONE AND LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO SOURCE ONE FROM ANOTHER STATE. EVERYONE THAT WAS OUT SAID THEY WERE ON BACK ORDER. THIS FURTHER CONFIRMED MY THOUGHTS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ALONG WITH READING ABOUT 10 OTHER CASES AND A CAR FORUM WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY MEMBER THERE ALSO. I UNDERSTAND THINGS WEAR DOWN AND BREAK AND NEED TO BE REPLACED, BUT WITH MY CAR ONLY HAVING 70,000 MILES ON IT I FIND IT A LITTLE RIDICULOUS, AND ON THAT FORUM THERE ARE SOME WHERE THEIR THROTTLE BODIES HAVE GONE OUT AT 30,000 MILES. I'M JUST SURPRISED THAT NO BODY HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED IN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. ONE PARTICULAR MEMBER ON THE FORUM I READ HE STATED THAT THE CAR HAD COMPLETELY DIED ON HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION. I HAVE A 4 YEAR OLD SON AND IT JUST BUGS ME TO THINK THAT WHAT IF I HAD HIM IN THE CAR AND THAT SEMI WASN'T ABLE TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY IN TIME? ALL I'M ASKING IS THAT DODGE EITHER MAKES A BETTER QUALITY THROTTLE BODY AND PUTS OUT A RECALL OR AT LEAST REPLACES THE THROTTLE BODY UNDER THE RECALL FOR FREE. I HAVE WROTE TO DODGES CUSTOMER COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT, BUT HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING BACK SO I FIGURED MAYBE I WOULD TRY HERE AND SEE IF ANYTHING CAN BE DONE. *TR

REFERENCE CHRYSLER TSB 23-035-07 FOR SOME (POSSIBLY) VALUABLE, RELATED INFORMATION. TAIL LIGHT LENS CONDENSING AND CONTAINING WATER. I HAVE COMPLAINED TO MY LOCAL DODGE DEALER ABOUT THIS MATTER TWICE. THE SECOND TIME I REPORTED IT, I HAD GONE IN FOR REGULAR SERVICE AND, BY CHANCE, WAS GIVEN A 2011 DODGE CALIBER AS A RENTAL. BOTH TAIL LIGHTS HAD CONDENSATION AND AT LEAST 1/2" OF WATER IN THEM. I POINTED THIS OUT THE GENERAL MANAGER, TELLING HIM I THOUGHT IT WAS A DEFECT, WITHOUT LETTING HIM EVEN KNOW THAT IT WAS 'HIS' CAR. HE ONLY NODDED IN AGREEMENT. I TOLD HIM THAT THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT COULD BE DONE ABOUT IT EXCEPT FOR ME TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT LENS ASSEMBLY. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THERE WERE NO TSB'S RELATED TO THIS. WHEN I TOLD THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT THE TSB I FOUND, THEY SAID THE REFERENCE TO "EXTERIOR LAMP" IS TO THE 'HEADLAMPS' AND NO OTHERS. THOUGH MY DEALER IS WILLING TO HELP ME WITH THE COST OF A REPLACEMENT LENS ASSEMBLY, AND SINCE I FEEL THIS IS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT, AND I DO NOT THINK IT IS FAIR TO THEM TO CARRY THE BURDEN. FINALLY, IF ONE WERE TO PERFORM A GOOGLE SEARCH RELATING TO THIS ISSUE THEY WOULD FIND THAT THERE IS CLEARLY AN ONGOING AND PERVASIVE ISSUE WITH NOT ONLY THE DODGE CALIBER LINE OF MOST YEARS SINCE PRODUCTION STARTED, BUT MANY OTHER MODELS AS WELL. IN PARTICULAR, THE CALIBER FORUM SITES HAVE MANY COMPLAINTS POSTED REGARDING THIS MATTER AND THE LENGTHS THE OWNERS HAVE HAD TO GO THROUGH TO RESOLVE THE MATTER ON THEIR OWN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 DODGE CALIBER. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE STALLED WHEN FIRST STARTED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL MECHANIC FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE TEST RESULTS DETERMINED A DEFECTIVE PCM. THE CONTACT DID NOT HAVE THE PCM REPLACED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND FILED A COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

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.