general problems of the 2008 Dodge Caliber

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.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact placed the gear shifter in neutral, turned the vehicle off and back on, shifted the gear selector back in drive, and the vehicle operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to monroe Dodge Chrysler Jeep ram superstore (15160 s dixie hwy, monroe, mi 48161, (734) 230-7872) where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the throttle body had been previously replaced three times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 176,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 mph, a significant reduction in speed occurred unexpectedly while the accelerator pedal was engaged. The vehicle was maneuvered cautiously to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic diagnosed that the throttle body control would need to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.

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.

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.

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.

After turning on my car it began to lunge while in idle. As I attempted to back it out of the driveway the accelerator pedal had little to no effect. The car would not drive more than 10 mph, still lunging. The indicator light for the electronic throttle control (etc) lit up and started blinking. I took it into the dealer and the diagnostic ($150) proved it to be the etc. The etc kit needed to be replaced which apparently is a "dealer only" part. This is such a common occurrence for Dodge that the etc kit is on back order and will not be available for 2 weeks! not to mention the part costs $600+. And by the way, I had to have the transmission replaced in 2011!.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that he was at a complete stop and attempted to accelerate but the vehicle would not respond. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and the contact was advised that the electronic throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 74,056. The VIN was unavailable.

The electronic throttle control failed on this 2008 Dodge Caliber. The car stalled and lost all power while being driven. This problem was a recall item on the 2007 Dodge Caliber. Dodge should now make this electronic throttle control a recall item for the 2008 model year.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 to 45 mph the vehicle suddenly slowed down to 30 mph. She attempted to shift gears and that did not assist with decreasing the speed of the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who advised him that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was approximately 59,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The etc (electronic throttle control) indicator started flashing and then my car would not accelerate. I was at 3 rpms and couldn't go over 10mph. It only happened occasionally at first and then it became more frequent. I was getting on the on ramp of a highway when it started flashing and then my car completely shut off. Luckily the cars behind had enough shoulder to swerve around me preventing a accident. I couldn't start my car right away I had to wait about 3 min. As soon as I restarted it everything went back to normal. This happened 2 more times and I took it to a mechanic. He replaced the etc chip and that didn't work so he replaced the etc body. That didn't work either so he sent it to a dealership. They replaced the whole etc. . . $900 later that problem seems to be fine. I find a car shutting down whenever it chooses very dangerous and I have researched it and seen many people have had the same issue. Mostly in 07' models but also 08's. Something needs to be done before someone is injured.

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.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. During acceleration, the vehicle pulls to the right. The contact has to accelerate very hard and then oversteer to keep the vehicle from driving off the road. The contact took the vehicle to four dealers and none were able to determine the cause of the failure. The failure can occur at speeds of 5 mph or greater. The current and failure mileages were 1,000. Updated 01-11-08.