Front Suspension Lower Ball Joint problems of the 2007 Dodge Caliber

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the headlights failed to illuminate. Additionally, the brake lights remained illuminated while driving. The contact that the driver's and passenger's side ball joints and tie rods were replaced several times at brandywine Chrysler Jeep Dodge ram (3807 kirkwood hwy, wilmington, DE 19808). The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 43,000.

Passenger side control arm lower ball joint came apart and threads on ball joint was damaged.

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. . .

March 12, 2014 my mileage was 56700 miles I had to have my lower ball joints replaced because they had both failed. The last issue I had with steering & suspension was in March 2012. My mileage at the time of the diagnosis by the Dodge dealership was 34,898 and I needed to have the passenger side tie rod replaced. There have been numerous reports to the NHTSA/ federal government regarding both the tie rods and ball joints of the 2007 Dodge Caliber. I have done research and have found that the tie rods and ball joints are known to Dodge to be common failing parts on the 2007 Dodge Caliber. When I replaced the tie rod on 2012 I did notify Dodge directly, my vehicle warranty had expired at that time and Dodge closed my case and I was brushed off. Dodge stopped replying to my emails and would not return my voicemails. I have found no fatalities in my research so far, but it is only a matter of time with this vehicle design. How many reports are required before an investigation is launched. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while having regular maintenance performed on the vehicle, the technician advised her that the lower ball joints were loose and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 63,000.

Vehicle taken in for tire rotation. Located excessive wear in lower ball joints,tierod ends and control arm bushings. Many entries on internet of others with same vintage Calibers finding same prob with premature wear. Failure of any of the above components.

After two sets of tires we were told the lower ball joints had to be replaced on front end. Had to park the car and wait a week before the parts came in. We were told it wasn't safe to drive and there should be a recall due to the many problems of this nature. Also the water pump had to be replaced two months prior to this problem. This vehicle was serviced each time at the Dodge dealer who informed us these problem should not have happen so soon.

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.

I have a Dodge 2007 Caliber sxt 2. 0 l bought from dealer in may 2011 has approx. 57,250 miles on it. I have replaced two front tires only to find out lower ball joints/control arms and tie rod ends need replacing. At 57k miles?! that's absurd and if you look on autobeef. Com it is an ongoing/recurring issue with this make and model. Dodge will refuse to do anything about it and will not accept responsibility for this problem. Something must be done, I will fight until my voice is heard, this is a major safety hazard and something needs to be done about it. If anyone cares please help me with my fight against Dodge/Chrysler. They need to take ownership.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that vehicle was taken for state inspection when she was informed that the driver side lower ball joint was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer also stated that the passenger side lower ball joint was likely to fail as well, at some point. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that there were no related recalls to the failure and the manufacturer took a complaint but provided no additional assistance. The current and failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact took the vehicle to a tire shop to have new tires installed when she was informed that the alignment could not be performed because the front lower ball joint was defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who took a complaint but provided no further assistance. The current and failure mileage was 51,424.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. While the vehicle was undergoing state inspection the mechanic noticed the front passenger side lower ball joint and control arm needed to be replaced because they were defective. The contact stated while driving a knocking noise could be heard coming from the right front of the vehicle at any speed when driving over a bump in the road. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.

I have had on going steering vibration issues with my Caliber since 15k miles and many times it has been determined that nothing is wrong and the vibration was a normal characteristic of the vehicle. Most recently the tires began excessively wearing on the front (2 replacement sets in 6 months). Extensive diagnostic found that the front lower ball joints were failing. It was determined that the ball joints had been quietly failing for about 30k-40k miles. My vehicle currently has 88k miles on it and the ball joints are being replaced. Dealership admits that 1,200 replacement ball joints have been sold by Dodge in the last week and the part number has changed 5 times since 2007. I feel that a manufacturer defect lead to this issued and I am one of the lucky ones that find this "quiet" failure before it leads to an accident. Had it not been for the tires wearing I would have never know it as they did not become noisy like most ball joints. It should be noted that no signs of abuse or damage was found to the ball joints and the rubber boot was completely intact with no signs of leakage. Further, the ball joints on this model are not serviceable and are self lubricated. The life expectancy for ball joints are at least 100,000 mile. Chrysler customer service deemed this normal wear and tear but this is a serious issue that should be address before this 5-star rated vehicle seriously injures someone. This is not an issue with the servicing dealership, this is a Chrysler issue that should be promptly addressed and corrected.

Vehicle was purchased new, and at 29k service dealera replaced tie rod end at our expense said to be out of warranty. 4 new tires were put on the car and an aligemnet could not be done beacause of excesive play in front end. Car was brough back to dealer and it found thet teh lower ball joint was severly worn to the point where it was almost falling out of the car. This also was replaced at our cost. With 6 months gone by and 6000 miles we were told that the otehr tie rod was bad and the the car was unsafe to drive but that they could not repair it at this time. We then called chrystler and they soad the woudl work with teh dealer but we woudl have to pay to get thsi fixed also. When we brough the car back to teh dealer again they again found that the ball joint was bad also. Thsi all comes after teh car goes out of warranty and we have been conplaining about the front end almost evert time we bring it in for the oil change. It was stated by teh service manager that the reason for thsi was teh bad driveing habits of the owner. And this was also the same reasoning behind all teh otehr claibers with teh same issue. When questioned why they did not find this earlier and why the fill out a special checklist that includes stearing and suspension, it was stated that this inspection is only a visuale inspection, and that if I had noticed that teh repor form point to teh actual steering wheel not the steering componients.

2007 Dodge Caliber. Consumer writes to express that he believes there is a serious design flaw in the vehicle. Consumer states vehicle is not capable of aligned due to defective front ball joints the consumer was informed the ball joints were designed with a sealant with no capable means to lubricate them and repair was not possible. The replace them would cost $750.

I am very sad to report that my 2007 Dodge Caliber that I have had no trouble with ever, with 48,000 miles on it, the left lower ball joint is so bad that it needs to be fixed immediately. I didn't believe the dealer, so I brought it somewhere else. Still going to cost $500 to fix one stupid little part that looks like a manufacture defect.

Premature upper and lower ball joint failure. Parts are plastic and cannot be maintained. Wheels travel and very hard to control. Almost created an accident when passing. Car jumped to one side (pulled severely). This model needs to be recalled. Check all the websites out there with complaints about this problem. Some cars it is failing as early as 18,000 miles.

Had to replace struts at 46,000 miles, then at 59,000 had to replace lower ball joint with control arms, was told no to drive car until it was fixed because it was very dangerous, the vehicle is a 2007 Dodge Caliber. Also know of 3 others in small community that have same problem, with same car. Also courtesy Dodge in altoona PA, knows of problem with the Calibers and are doing nothing about it.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. While having the vehicle serviced by an independent mechanic for unrelated issues the contact was informed that the front passenger side strut was destroyed and both front lower ball joints have excessive play. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 48,600.

I have a 2007 Dodge Caliber sxt that I have owned for just over 3 years. It has 38,000 km/23,612 miles on it. I took it in to the Dodge dealership today to swap out my winter tires for my summer tires. When I picked it up, I was told by the mechanic that the lower ball joints on the front need to be replaced because they are worn. In fact, he told me that this is a very serious safety issue and I should get these replaced immediately. He then told me that the warranty had just expired and that the cost to replace these would be approximately $1000. 00. He said that the clunking noise in the front end indicates that this is true. I do not hear any clunking noise and my vehicle runs and drives very smoothly. I have not pursued this matter with Dodge yet as at the moment I am in shock. This vehicle is a highway driven vehicle and used very seldom in the city. The roads that I drive are paved and very well maintained. I drive the speed limit and in no way, shape, or form, abuse this vehicle. The vehicle is practically new given the very low mileage. I just wanted to document this problem in case there are other Caliber owners out there who run into this problem. Not only do I not have $1000 to replace the ball joints, I now have the stress of knowing that my vehicle is dangerously unsafe to drive.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact indicated that while having maintenance performed, the contact was informed that both tie rods and ball joints were defective and needed to be replaced. The contact indicated that the vehicle was repaired for the same defect on multiple occasions but the problem recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The failure mileage was 19,000.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front wheels became unstable as the vehicle shook violently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed the front tie rods and ball joints needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,000 and the current mileage was 110,000.