Steering Problems of Dodge Caliber - part 2

I was changing the oil of my wife 2007 Dodge Caliber when I looked over and saw that the lower control arm was completely almost completely cracked through the middle portion of it. A day prior my wife mentioned that the car was driving a little weird. This could have been extremely dangerous for my wife and other motorist if it failed on the public roads.

See all problems of the 2007 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

Heard a clunking noise when turning and stopping, got home thinking the strut was broken and found that the sub-frame for engine, sway bar and tire assembly completely rotted and cracked on the drivers side ready to break in two. Car is unsafe to drive. Mileage 91k.

See all problems of the 2009 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

I took my wife's 2009 Caliber to our mechanic because she heard clunking noises from the front end. We were informed by our mechanic that a piece of frame stretching across the front of the vehicle is severely rusted. The steering rack and sway bars attach to this frame work. Also front end components. The vehicle makes loud plunking noices when going over small and large bumps and much worse when hitting pot holes. No other rust is apparent on any fram work under the vehicle. This vehicle is only nine years old. I think that's extremely odd for such a young vehicle. I feel this may become a safety issue very soon and think there may have been a recall that I am unaware of.

Subframe rusted cracks very dangerous frequent noises!.

Sub frame rust on 42,000 mile car, will not pass PA state inspection. Steering rack not securely attached to sub frame. Car steers erratically.

I have replaced both front struts both sway bar links passengers side front lower control arm and bushings (ball joints) still here something hitting and while driving the car goes where it wants in steering goes into other lanes to oncoming vehicles have to pull back onto my lane like it looses steering.

Tl- the contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated while driving in a parking lot, the front driver side wheel fell off the vehicle and the vehicle crashed into a light pole. The air bags did deploy. Their was no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was told to the dealer: canandaigua Chrysler Dodge Jeep 2591 rochester rd, canandaigua, NY 14424 who diagnosis the vehicle as a failed control arm. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the vehicle can not be repaired do to the accident and the contact would be responsible for cost of repair. The failure mileage was 130,000. Hk.

My car horn, lights, power windows will not work and the car will not start the car stopped without warning and my lights when off. Now the car does not turn on at all after getting a tow truck to my mechanic he stated that my power train module needed to be re program but he could not do it so I had to get another tow truck to take the car to the dealer which told me I have to replace my tipm @ $1700. Plus tax. Too expensive this s/b cover by Dodge this was scary for my car to stopped while I was driving I could have kill myself and someone else I already paid over $200. In tow trucks.

Took car in for inspection and was told by mechanic that the frame was shot, totally rusted out and could break anytime.

I was driving my vehicle on our county road, and lost control because the car quickly and sharply veered off to the right towards the ditch. The cause is the sub frame assembly was badly corroded and the control arm assembly broke free from of the frame. We had the vehicle inspected on a recall two years ago to be checked for a corroded crossmember. We were not informed of any problem down then with the sub frame. It was very frightening, and had I been going faster I don't know if I'd be here today. It's in the repair shop now. This occurred today, August 22, 2017.

The front end makes all kinds of noises. Locks dont work cant open trunk. Head lights work when they want to.

After making slight turn (either direction), and hitting small bump. Ie, transition between highway and side street. Vehicle stalls. Loose all steering and excelleration. Have to quickly put into nuetral while coasting and restart engine. No accidents yet. Maybe Dodge needs a few more deaths on their hands to consider fixing these issues. Has happened multiple times over last 2 months.

See all problems of the 2011 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

"takata recall"my wife and I purchased a vehicle and we thought we got a good deal until the car quickly became a death trap that was so unsafe to drive. The steering would pull too the left and when we went around a bridge on the freeway or any turning of the wheel. We had to stabilize the car because it would almost hop to the left and there would be a lot of traffic regardless on freeway or streets. We told them there was a lapse in the speed and this has just been a nightmare. We already paid almost all the car and we still have our warranty but they want us to pay 400 dollars, what we pay as a car pymt every month. Or they said they'd finance the work they do on the car through car finance department. My wife said absolutely not. We have kids and instead of enjoying time in the car, we've spent stressed paying for it since the first week. We've been to the point of so much fear to feeling as though it's an icy day and the roads are wet and so slippery but the problem is. . . It wasn't even raining or snowing. . Fear of crashing or something breaking. My wife read a lot about the same thing happening with our vehicle. She saw too many people, iust like us and it said recalled, but it said things that have been reported that should be recalled but hasn't been at that time. I'm reporting this because we aren't going to pay to die in a car the mechanic didn't even want to drive far because it wasn't safe!! the mechanic from the same dealership we purchased the carfrom.

See all problems of the 2010 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

Where do I start! from day one we have had issues with this car. Cruse control didn't work, brought back to dealer the first week to be fixed. One month later, front speaker went out, another trip to the dealer speaker was replaced. At 34,611 miles, car was stuck in park, would not shift at all. Towed to dealer, replaced stop lamp. At 35,031 miles, front end making loud knocking noise, you guessed it, another trip to Dodge, lower control arms replaced. Skipping to January of 2017, car now has 124,000 miles loud crunching sound coming from front driver side. Thought OH, another ball joint needs replacing, which has been replaced in January of 2016, along with more control arms, sway bar link, and struts, about $1200. 00 in all. Took this pile of crap to local merlin's shop, showed me the rotted cross member with large holes in it, completely rotted through, back cross member was in bad shape as well. Absolutely disgusted with this car, traded it in for a 2011 chevy and got $ 500. 00 which was pretty generous. How could Dodge not recall this issue, my wife would drive this 5 days a week 40 miles a day on the highway, lucky she could of been injured or worse, she always said the front end was not right, this has been rusting out for years. I guess safety is not a priority with their customers, they never sent any warning out to have this checked out. I will never ever buy another Chrysler/Dodge or Jeep product.

I had a dangerous situation. I first noticed a vibration in the wheel at 55 mph. I then started hearing clunking sounds while steering or going over bumps. I took it in thinking that it's a ball joint, because I had the lower control arms replaced at around 75,000 mile, while they were still under warranty. . The motor cradle was completely rusted out. I had to have that replaced plus 2 lower control arms. It cost me 1458. There's already been a recall of the 2007 model. Mine was manufactured in August of 2007, and the cutoff date was July 2007. I have photos and invoices attached.

See all problems of the 2008 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

My oils and fluid levels were fine. I have about 74,000 on my vehicle, and just had a recent oil change about 300 miles or so ago. While driving around 35 mph on a local street, my vehicle''s check engine light and abs light came on. The steering went out and I immediately lost the ability to steer or maintain speed. I coasted my vehicle into a wendy's. I immediately restarted my car, and made it into the parking lot before losing the ability to steer and manage my speed, again. I managed to get it the 2 miles or so home. I got it towed, and I am waiting to hear from the dealership.

See all problems of the 2012 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

My 2009 Dodge Caliber has the same issue as the 2007 and 2008 Calibers in that the main crossmember in the front steering/suspension has rotted through. The rest of the car is rust free but both the front and rear members have rotted out. This car was in colorado springs for the first 4 years of its life where they do not use salt and moved to vermont after that. At 59k miles Dodge will not cover them even though they have replaced them on 2007 models extensively. There are stories of accidents and injuries but Dodge is still not being held responsible for the poor quality and premature failure of the inferior steel parts. I have been a tech in the auto and truck industry for 40 years and am disgusted that there are thousands of stories online about these and millions of cars in the 2007-2009 years that are failing. Can we ask that NHTSA call them out on this before there are more accidents. I am afraid that I and thousands of others will have to pay out of pocket for safety issues that is clearly a failure on Dodge that they are so far sucessfuly hiding from. Issues also include 2007 jeeps and stx vehicles.

Driving and steering got lose. Pulled into work and was turning the wheel heard crunching nose. Got out at looked steering gear box was moving on frame and all kinds of rust was falling off. I have taken my car to Chrysler dealer ship and waiting on to see if the subframe being rusted out is covered in any way. This seems to be a consistent problem with this car. This car is driven about 24 miles a day and keeped in a garage and washed. This was a problem in 2007 model Dodge Calibers.

At less than 10 miles per hour the rear suspension failed while turning on to a public highway. The drivers side wheel on the back is ready to fall off it is laying against the coil spring. The car is no longer drivable. This is all within close proximity to the fuel tank also and in my opinion could be a puncture risk also. The car has 106779 miles on it ,one owner with no collision repairs ever performed and no undercarriage damage ever. Chrysler is performing repairs on select vehicles with the same problem but refuse to repair this one. Had this failure occurred at highway speed it is possible the results could have been catastrophic. This vehicle is less than 9 years old and has seen very little winter weather and has never been in a salt air environment. I see no difference in this problem and the one associated with toyotas truck frames of several years ago. Please help before someone dies from this problem.

I did some work on the front end, I replaced tierod end and ball joints,also put new tires on the car. I was scheduling an alignment when the front would make a pop sound and a slight snap when going over bumps and when the steering wheel is turned to the left. I looked to see what the matter was and the sub frame was cracked and rusted. . . I wash the car 2 a month especially in winter. The sub frame also connects the swaybar, struts and it cant get aligned due to the broken frame. . All too prematurely.

I have a 2008 Dodge Caliber garage kept 49000 miles with a rusted busted frame. Didn't realize until knocking in front end. Always done repairs and recalls and this is dangerous. Called to request Chrysler to be accountable and they basically told me its my problem. Where do you go from here in liability.

My son was driving this car to work noticed a severe change to the steering. It cause him to veer into the other lane and luckily there was no other oncoming traffic. He was able to drive it onto work and called me to let me know of the problem. After driving just 10 feet it was obvious that it was un-drivable and unsafe. After calling the towing service they suggested that I call Dodge to see if there was a recall since they had already towed other Dodges of similar years with a rusted/ broken sub frames. Call local dealer with the VIN and ask to if there was any recalls for a broken sub frame. They stated that there was not a recall and did not offer to make a repair even at my cost. I took it to a local service center who had seen the same problem before on other Dodges and was familiar with the repair. After $600 for the part and $600 for labor the repair was made on a car with 89,000 miles. While the car was getting repaired I was able to tell a CO-worker about the recall for the exact same issue on her 2007 Caliber which I discovered while researching. She was able to get hers repaired with no charge. Contacted Dodge and since there is no recall they are not willing to pay for the repair at this point. They know that there is problem so I guess that means Dodge stands for Dodge responsibility at the cost of the consumer. I not be purchasing any mopar products in the future.

2007 Caliber. 30,068 miles on car and lower control arms are bad and need to be replaced. Noise in front end. Mechanic said borderline failure.

Transmission over heating on highway. . Front steering and suspension keep needs repaired. Noise in front when turning to the right.

Rotten subframe - my control arm separated from the frame and my tire/wheel went sideways causing me to screech to a stop, luckily I was coming to a stop anyway but it easily could have happened at a high speed and killed myself and others.

Took my 2008 Dodge Caliber to the dealership for an oil change, was told by the service rep that my front cross member needs replaced due to substantial rust through and that to continue to drive the vehicle could be dangerous because if this part broke, all steering control would be lost. Was told the 2007 model year Calibers had the warranty extended to 10 years for the same issue, but that no 2008s were affected. Was told it would be $1094 plus tax to replace this part. This part is a structural member and should never rust through in such a short period of time. No other substantial rust on the vehicle including the undercarriage. This vehicle has been well maintained and cleaned regularly. Called Dodge customer care and was told that there is nothing they would do as the extended warranty applied only to 2007 Calibers.

The 2009 Dodge Caliber was deemed unsafe and unable to pass a maine safety inspection. The front and rear cross sub frames were heavily rusted and completely rusted through in several places.

Unable to steer after swerving to avoid a collision while in an interstate highway.

Husband was driving our 2007 Dodge Caliber making a u-turn and noticed a jerk in the steering. Proceeded to drive to our complex as it was only two miles away. Made a second u-turn and same thing happened. Once in our complex and proceeded to go over the first speed bump. The car stopped with the front driver side dropped. He exited the car to see what happened and noticed the subframe had snappened in half and was rusted beyond extreme.

Tl-the contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at 55 mph, the horn independently activated, the steering wheel completely seized. All warning lights on the instrument cluster illuminated and all gauges and meters gave incorrect readings. Finally, the vehicle stalled as it veered into a ditch. In addition, the contact noticed smoke coming from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 129,023. Oo.

When driving the car sways and it jerks the steering wheel it wears tires out every few months it does this on all highways.

Sub frame was so rusted it affected the steering, motor mount collapsed into the sub frame, lower control arm was almost separated from the frame. I was traveling at about 65 mph on the n. Y. Thruway when I started having problems with the steering . When I arrived home I investigated and found the car was so unsafe I couldn't drive it again until sub frame was replaced. I saved the frame that was removed from the vehicle if needed.

The front cross member is rusted through so bad you can put your hand in side we bought the car last year. Now as we take it to the mechanics to get allignment he gave us the bad news about this. What I don't understand is why this most important part is rusted so bad while the parts around it isn't. I've got to come up with 1250 dollars for parts and labor. Why no recall on this there is no warning of this part fails and while we're driving and it breaks well. Crash and die . So Dodge this is what you do to your customers. I'm so what I can to get the word out.

The engine cradle was completely corroded and had to be replaced, along with the attached lower control arms w/ ball joints. This cost $1,800. There was a recall on the 2007 model. Mechanic said that it was so corroded that it was a miracle that it hadn't broken. The car had about 57,625 miles on it at the time.

Brakes on this vehicle are no good, very hard to stop. Ball joints no good steering on this vehicle is not safe either I have noticed all the recalls and complaints.