general problems of the 2008 Dodge Caliber

My vehicle has created a rotten subframe that holds my engine.

I’ve only had the car since Aug. Im the second owner, it drove just fine. Then I got an oil change. Then the car began to rev down hill and struggled to make it uphill. Then my exhaust became excessively loud. Then the wheel became loose ,and started pulling alot. I was on my way to get an alignment this morning and the whole front end began to buckle not even a minute down the road. I tmade it in back the driveway before the front end collapsed completely.

Luckily, I was on a city street. The vehicle lost power and slowed significantly, almost stopping completely and began to reboot as if it were just being started. I am complaining because I do not feel it to be safe for consumers on any road. I have a 3 year old son and I would very much like Dodge to fix this problem before my, or anyone else's family, gets whiplash from a rear collision. I'm reaching out to NHTSA because, I lack the tools and knowledge to fix it myself, and don't find it fair that I pay for a mistake that Dodge made in making the car.

I purchased this vehicle knowing of rust but when I climbed under it I seen the subframe is almost rusted all the way through this is a major issue I've heard of a few other Caliber owners who's whole drivetrain fell out of engine bay due to this, this could be a dangerous problem if someone is driving at highway speeds Dodge needs to take action and recall this part and put a better component on the vehicles they produce.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds in the rain, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the power steering became inoperable. The battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that an unstated computer needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

Motor cradle is rusting out! that's very dangerous and there should be a recall on call Calibers. I can not afford to bay over $1,000 to fix my car. And the maker should use poor quality parts knowing how serious it can get. Recall recall recall !!.

Took our Dodge Caliber 2008 (manufacturer date: 11/2007) to a mechanic for repairs thought to be struts and was told the front cradle was rusted out and need to be replaced to continue any safe driving. This was a 2007 recall but was never included in any titled 2008 cars that were manufactured in 2007. This is a very dangerous issue and seems to be reported more often now at the 10 year mark. This is something that is not a traditional problem on most vehicles and seems to be a manufacturers defect. I would like to see it recalled, because the replacement cost on this is in the thousands and it is a severe safety hazard.

Noted mounts rust and I almost lost the engine thanks to a due inspection I was save a bad accident. The 2007 Dodge is covered but not the 2008.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving at approximately 50 mph, the vehicle inadvertently turned the steering wheel to the left and right. The contact also stated that the failure occurred while braking. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the case frame of the engine and the control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.

There are currently 0 recalls on the 2008 Dodge Caliber 2. 0. However, a simple youtube search will bring up common issues with the lower ball joints, which cause extreme tire wear and even severe pulling to the left and right with very little control. The anti-lock breaking system as well as the throttle body are huge issues as well. However, it wasn't a youtube search that brought this to my attention but instead driving one and looking into it. To my surprise there are zero recalls on this vehicle.

While traveling at 45 mph on 6 lane highway engine decelerated to between 5 to 10 miles per hour. Engine begun to idle very rough. I was approaching a side street and was able to turn off the main hwy. To access the problem. The electronic throttle light had come on indicating a problem with the throttle system.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While having maintenance performed at the dealer, the technician diagnosed that the engine cradle was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

As I was attempting to merge onto the cross county pwy east a lighting bolt appeared on my cluster panel. The car began to misfire and I could not speed up cars swerved to avoid crashing into me. Pretty scary!.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while having maintenance performed, the technician noticed that the engine cradle was corroded and holes had developed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 87,607.

While driving my children to school, my car began shutting down on a major road putting mychildren and myself in danger. The throttle control light came on. After turning the car off and waiting a couple of minutes I was able to drive extremly slow to ge them to school safely. This sounds similar to the same problems currently happening with the chevy cobalts. Is it going to take Chrysler/Dodge killing people before this gets recalled? I encourage everyone to contact their local news stations along with national news stations! car companies are only interested in making their money and not looking at the safety issues of the death traps they are selling to consumers. I will be endlessly pursuing this matter until Dodge steps up and pay for the repair! I will call every news station until some attention is brought to this matter and holding car companies like Dodge/Chrysler responsible for selling and manufacturing faulty vehicles. I have gone through all complaints listed on this site and numerous others. Someone is not doing their job!.

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 . .

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.

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.

Second time this as happened in less then 3 yrs. Driving car no warning light ever came on the first time. Lost power car died. Had it towed to dealership $600 cost no real answer from dealer ship. Now Dec 25th 2013 driving home and light electronic throttle control indicator light comes on . Car putt's along . Again this is the second time this has happened, someone is going to get killed and Dodge will have a law suit on their hands. I and many others will tell our friends and families not to buy anything made by Dodge . Pretty sad someone will have to die to get this company to do a recall and fix the problem.

I had just left for work and after driving for two minutes, the engine, coolant and navigational lights turned on, and would not allow me to drive over 15 mph. I returned home, checked, and top off the coolant level, which was not very low at all. Reset the panel and once I started to pull out of the parking space, the same lights turned on. This is not the first incident I have had with this car. Please refer to the other incidents I have submitted, affecting other parts of this car.

I was on my way to work, headlights and dash lights started to flicker, all the indicator light on the dash came on. Smoke started coming in the vents into the vehicle went to stop, brakes grabbed for a second then went out completely, even shifting the vehicle to park did nothing. Stopped the vehicle by hitting guard rail called police, within minutes the entire front end was in flames.

My 17 yr old daughter was driving our 2008 Dodge Caliber when acceleration was lost. The car started shaking when she tried to give it fuel and the electronic throttle system like came on. Needless to say, she was very shaken by this ordeal. We have an extended warranty that we purchased through carmax, with a 300. 00 deductible, however the warranty company would only pay 144. 00 dollars of the 647. 00 total bill. The car has approx 70,000 miles so I don't understand why the throttle system would be defective. According to the repair shop, the needle inside the throttle that feeds the fuel was defective. Luckily my daughter was not on the main highway when it went out, otherwise it could have been more serious. I am voicing my complaint on this part and all be ware of the throttle needle going bad. I will also make this a formal complaint with Dodge as well.

Driving the car down the road at approximately 35 mph and all of a sudden the electronic throttle control light comes on. The car lost engine power will running very rough. Car would not accelerate and became hard to handle. Was eventually able to get the car to the side of the road. I was on a city street. If this had happened on a very busy street or the highway I could have been stuck right in the middle of traffic with no or very little power to get it out of the road. This could have been a very dangerous situation at higher speeds or more traffic. There was no warning other then the light that came on when it happened.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving approximately 25 mph, the contact noticed that the etc warning indicator was illuminating on the instrument panel on an intermittentl basis. The engine began to exhibit a significantly reduced amount of power and the road performance was extremely poor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the computerized system was reset. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure was 86,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that the O2 sensors continue to fail and causes the vehicle to drive roughly. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop at least ten times and they keep replacing the sensors each visit. There is no recall for this failure. The failure mileage was 5,500 and current mileage was 18,438.

My engine ticks when idling and the gas gauge jumps. The engine did not sound like this when I purchased it. I have taken the car to the dealer twice and have been told that there is no problem, and that all cars sound like that.