Wheel Problems of Dodge Caliber - part 1

Severe rust to vehicle frame common to this vehicle, no accident. Rust has corroded frame despite normal use and normal care. Vehicle hasn't reached 75k miles yet, and the frame is failing. How is this not a recall?.

See all problems of the 2010 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

My car is at 69739 miles and the control arms and the front and rear subframe is rotted out.

See all problems of the 2007 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

Due to the subframe rusting on the undercarriage of the car, the lower ball joint completely detached from the car, cause the driver side tire to fall off during operation.

See all problems of the 2012 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

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

See all problems of the 2008 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

Vehicle has less than 100,000 miles (strictly highway miles) and rear sub frame has completely rusted through causing back alignment to be drastically out, and fish tailing, which also causes hazardous steering control on dry and especially wet roads. Rapid wear and replacement of tires on rear end. I have researched and found this to be a consistent problem on multiple sites and forums.

Rotted subframe on Dodge Caliber I was driving home after picking my kids up from school and my front tires would not steer and were wobbling while driving, losing control of my vehicle. I had to pull over on the side of the road so I did not crash with my children in the car. I called a tow company and had it towed to the closest independent service center. Yes, the problem was reproduced by a local mechanic ase certified that the car is not driveable because the subframe was completely rotted out and needed to be replaced. No, the car is still at the garage and not inspected by manufacturer, police or insurance. There were no warning lamps, message or other symptoms prior to the failure. There were no issues driving to school and driving home it began to be hard to steer and then starting losing control over the vehicle and keeping it on the road. I slowed and pulled over to the side of the road and called a tow truck immediately. I was not going to take the chance of driving any further with my children and crash.

See all problems of the 2011 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear passenger side. The contact looked in the rearview mirror and saw sparks coming from the rear passenger side. The contact pulled over, and upon inspection, the contact noticed that the rear passenger's side tire was inward and the crossmember was corroded. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to TSB number: 23-012-14 front and rear crossmember corrosion (x58 10 years unlimited mileage). The failure mileage was unavailable.

The front calipers will not engage when brake pedal is pressed. The brake pedal sinks to the floor and has no stopping power. The master cylinder was replaced and calipers are new replacements. After replacing these parts it now smell of burnt brake fluid but there is no leak and the problem seems to worsen. The first time I was doing 45-50 on a county rd when a another car pulled out 20 feet away and I was trying to slow down when I lost the front brakes as pished in on the pushed in on the brakes the pedal sank and they didn't engage. I then bought the new calipers and it was fine for about a month. The second time I was stuck in traffic on a busy city street when the abs brakes failed resulting in me running a red light and almost getting hit. It has corroded and took hunks off aluminum from my front driver rim. I have not been able to figure out what the problem and keep replacing parts for it to tear up new ones.

In the midst of me driving across the intersection. . . My car began to shake uncontrollably. . . I had to get of the road because my wheel on the driver's side was disconnected from they entire car. . . Due to sever corrosion, yu under vehicle. . When I saw photos. . . I was terrifed!! my life was on jeopardy. . The first day I purchased this vehicle. . . I am sending photos to help support my claims. .

So , the car I purchased on Aug. 2nd, of this year. . . Has many issues! first of all about 2 weeks into having the vehicle. . . I needed exhaust work done. . . Shortly after that. . I began experiencing some pulling to the right when I touched the break pedal, now I'm experiencing some weird situation under the front of the car. Which in fact is causing the car to shake and now when I tap the break to stop the vehicle theirs a loud noise and when I give it gas. . It shreeks! it's very terrifying to say the least. . . I was unable to drive it back to my residence. . . I'm unable to drive this vehicle at all.

Tl the contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that upon turning the steering wheel or driving over a bump, there was an abnormal noise coming from the driver side of the vehicle. Upon taking the vehicle for an oil change, an independent mechanic discovered that the crossmember bar on the front end of the vehicle was severely corroded. There were no warning lights associated with the failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the corrosion was a known defect and to call the manufacturer for additional information. The contact called zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep ram of downers grove located at (2311 ogden Ave, downers grove, IL 60515), larry roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge ram located at (200 w grand Ave. , elmhurst, IL 60126), and dupage cdjr located at (433 e north Ave. , glendale heights, IL 60139), where the contact was informed that the manufacturer provided an extended warranty on the vehicle however, the warranty period had expired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and provided the same information. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 160,133.

I was turning in my vehicle for a trade in and during the appraisal test drive the axel broke and it had to be towed. The gentlemen stated that is was due to rust build up. Over the years, I have complain about the power steering feeling off, the car not driving right, etc and it has been in three places where the maintenance folks said nothing was wrong. According to the bulletin, these same issues should have been caught somewhere to prevent this from happening. I may have been notified but I am active duty military and move every two years to include deployments where I easily could have not received the notice. My car value was 1500 dollars before it was wrecked, but I should be reimbursed for the previous maintenance totals and the lost days of not having my car the other times it should have been fixed. Below, I will show pictures of the rust, inspections that was done in June 2018 showing that underneath was good, and previous work on my vehicle when I complaint of issues with steering, tires, suspension. Number: 23-007-17 rev. C group: 23 - body date: July 13, 2017.

I am a single disabled mom who was involved in a head on collision on 7/21/2019 in austell GA off veterans memorial hwy. Prior to incident I just got out of a major surgery on my stomach that I was healing from. Acccident happened a week later in process of me healing. My stomach wound opened back due to collision along with other internal and external trauma to my body. I was heading home driving on right side of lane. Heard a very loud honk that startled me. I pressed the brakes. Car started maneuvering to opposite side of hwy. I couldn't understand what was going on since I was steering but it became very difficult for me to do that. As the car was going opposite my direction no moving cars was present besides one in left lane. Im managed to steer my vehicle away from left into right. Car in left lane hit my front end which led to a head on collision. The roadways was clear and weather conditions dry. I became very traumatized from even becausey car was very hard to control and maneuver. I feel that it is a car malfunction that caused my car to go opposite side of road. At the time I didn't know but I felt it was a brake malfunction. Due to my own research, I found out the braking system on these cars had a recall. I wasn't aware of this because I just purchased vehicle from a private owner before my stomach surgery. I didn't drive the since I was in er for 2 weeks. Drove it fully for a week and ended up in a wreck. I am suffering a lot mentally and physically from incident just trying to heal along with cooperating with law enforcement which I haven't obtained a police report from yet till this day. As of right now I have a pending claim with my insurance company. No info from other party insurance company as of yet. Nor do I have representation for my personal injuries. This traumatic event has put more stress and strain on my life physically and mentally.

I was driving down the road every time I shifted gears the front end would just go like wobble wobble so I slow down from 45 to about 10 miles an hour if that I made it home with zagg got underneath there and the sub frame is literally busted the way it sits it looks like it does not have a motor in it anymore if I want to know what to do I would've wrecked if I do not get an answer soon I am going to channel 13 news I have pictures of what it looks like and I'm going to the better business bureau it's a 2008 there is no way that frame should've busted like it did no way I was on city roads.

This car has had nothing but problems had to replace all 4 control arms, ball joints bushings springs tie rods have spent more then $2000 between parts and labor and wore out tires do to control arms and other parts never a Dodge again got fixed back had be refixed 2 weeks later after control arm rebroke.

Starting January 2019, I had spent $5k of underbody replacement: bent/rusty axle-f, 2 f-tires; front brakes & shocks, rear rotors, brakes & shocks, front & rear arms. The rear right wheel was locked & I was driving that way with both of my young grandchildren 3 months after I had tires replaced. I kept being told by a friend & my son, �have you had your car fixed yet?� the suspension sucked; I felt every bump & pothole! the noise in the front to right took over a year to fix.

Subframe rotted away. Causing the drivers side a-arm to rip out. The wheel was at an approximate 90 degree angle from normal position. Caused the driveshaft to pull out of the transmission and the car to immediately stop.

See all problems of the 2009 Dodge Caliber 🔎.

My daughter was driving our 2011 Caliber back from college on st rt 14. As she went to turn right onto our road,the tire on driver side buckled under. It was later determined that the front crossmember broke. The reason for this was the metal had rusted completely away from defective metal. We were never issued a notice of this potential dangerous defect. No recall was issued only an extension of the cars warranty, which again we were never notified. The damage was extensive,tires were destroyed,front crossmember was replaced, front axleand replaced,lower left control arm replaced,flange head and shaft-axle half replaced. Because this was a warranty issue and not a recall,we had to pay for most of the damage out of pocket. Which had we known about problem we would have had repaired. Upon this happening we have notified everyone we know that own this vehicle. Of the ones that have had there cars inspected all are experiencing the same metal rusting in different stages. This is a recall issue and needs to be addressed. Had my daughter been going the speed limit [70 mph] and this happened my daughter would have been seriously injured or even killed! I am now putting Dodge and you on notice of this defect, so that if just one person gets killed because of this,they have legal recourse.

Takata recall. My car keeps on blowing the rear tire about every 6-8 months. My steering wheel also shakes/vibrates when driving over 55 mph. The tires are wearing uneven. I have discovered that there is a rear cross member recall for my car which would explain this. I will be taking my car in to be aligned however I would like to know how to get the recall honored before doing so.

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.

The contact owns a 2007 Dodge Caliber. While driving 40 mph, the subframe fractured on the vehicle. In addition, the contact replaced the tires on three occasions and the rear wheel bearings were replaced three times. Furthermore, the ignition switch caught fire. The contact extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed and repaired by a dealer and an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 162,000.

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.

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.

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 2011 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle would start shaking and vibrating and the vehicle would ride rough and be very loud. The contact noticed that the tires were worn and they were purchased new about six months ago. The contact also noticed that the vehicle whenever it rained, the front driver and passenger floors would be really wet. The contact wanted to get the vehicle some new tires and an alignment and the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed that the alignment could not be done until the ball joints and the tires were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,000. Ed.

Owned the car for almost 4 years. Tie rods have been replaced 3 times. Recently had to replace, struts, ball joints, brakes on the front for the 5th time, back breaks are out and rotors as well had them replaced less than a year ago. Manifold had to be replaced. Barrings on the front and one on the right back. Went through a set a tires in less than 6 months. Has been to Dodge and other mechanics problems still persist.

My wife was driving my car heard a squealing noise and could not control the car. The steering seemed very lose. She was by a garage and stopped and left the car there. Today they looked at the car and send the undercarriage was shot and could not be fixed. . Can Chrysler be notified of this and should we get a second opinion? its a good thing this happened on a back road with no traffic or my wife could have been seriously injured.

I bought my car used in June of 2014 and thought it was in pretty decent shape at the time, little did I know. I was driving my car (2009 Dodge Caliber) and hit a small pothole and heard some rattling afterwards. I assumed it was maybe a clamp on my exhaust and so wasn't real worried about it and figured I would have my mechanic check it out in a week of so. I got concerned after a couple days because the rattling turned into clunking. I sent it to my mechanic and he said there was major rot on the engine cradle which was rotted and broken and both front control arms were no good and sway bar bushings also needed replacing, two days before this noise I was on the highway traveling at speed limit, had this all fallen apart I could have been killed. The cost to repair all the parts which were, as far as my mechanic is concerned, faulty and should be recalled, was $1920. 13 !!! this car is 6 years old with 86,000 miles on it and should not have the rot in these places as severe as it is. I know on the Dodge Caliber forums many owners have similar problems with the major front end parts rotting. This is a major problem and I wouldn't even have noticed had my mechanic not put it on a lift and looked at it and even then once he took off the engine cradle to replace it he noticed the rotted parts that were covered by the cradle, thank god I didn't lose control and get killed as I travel a lot on the highway, this problem needs to be brought to light and Caliber owners need to have their mechanics check out their cars before someone's engine falls out and they get killed. When I purchased this car it was most likely rotted pretty bad and I didn't know that was a defect in them at the time. I see lots of these cars for sale still on lots, people need to have the front ends inspected thoroughly before they purchase one .

While turning the corner the rear tire leaned in and rubbed against the strut spring causing tire damage and damage to the strut spring. The cars sub frame is completely rusted and will not hold the suspension parts that hold the rear tire in place and straight. Tire falls in and rubs on strut spring. Under body parts are rusting from air conditioning draining into sub frame. Car was so bad it had to be loaded onto a flat bed and be hauled to the mechanic to see if it repairable and to see how bad the other side is. This should not happen with only 100,000 miles on the frame. Dodge should be held accountable for this!.

We were noticing the car being sluggish and not wanting to pick up speed so we made an appointment to get it looked at. Before that could happen the electronic throttle control light popped on when I was going through an intersection, the car wouldn't go above 20mph and felt like it wanted to stall out. I took my foot off the gas and the etc light went off after a few seconds. I was lucky it was very early in the morning and the intersection was empty. I continued on my way to work about 1/2 mile and the etc came back on. I managed to get it to work and parked it. I looked up what the light means and proceeded to google what it was for my car. I was socked by how many people have had this exact problem for the make and model. I couldn't believe this issue was not known or recalled. Car owners should have been made aware of this issue before it became a hazard. I left work and prayed my car would make it the 1/2 mile to my home. Unfortunately , the etc light came back on then started flashing. After reading other car owners posts I decided not to risk staling it on a bridge so I coasted it into a gas station were it chugged out. I walked the rest of the way home in 85 degree weather. We towed the car to our repair place, they hooked it up to the computer to read the codes, then they reset the controls hoping it would by pass a glitch. It didn't. They then had us bring the car to a Dodge dealer to be repaired. The dealer was familiar with he problem "this happens all the time with these cars. " they couldn't get to it until after the fourth of July weekend. They installed the replacement throttle body $272. 42 (part 4891735ac) at a cost of 566. 00 total. We just got the car back today. It is running smoother but only time will tell if the problem was fixed.

Had a second occasion of the valve stem corroding and failing in that the actual stem broke free of the housing and dislidges the plastic cap. This latest incident resulted in a total lose of air pressure and control of the car on a 65 mph on an interstate highway .

Driving home from work around 8:15pm. On Wednesday, February 12th, 2014. I was making a left hand turn onto one of the streets the leads me to my home as I always do. As I am making the left turn I felt my steering wheel losing control as I am turning and the car shifting to the left of the road onto on coming traffic. In order to prevent the car from going into the on coming traffic I tried to turn the steering wheel of the car to my right and I can see on my dash board of the car that my skid light was blinking on and off trying to stabilize the car but no success at this time I am not getting much cooperation from my steering wheel and to avoid the parked cars on my right as I am pressing the break the car or right wheel of the car made a hard impact with the curb of the side walk. I immediately put the car in park with my hazard lights and I get out to access the damages and there was no visual body damage at the time. I managed to get the car home which was just a few blocks from the accident site to discover that steering wheel was not operating properly it was like it was doing 360 turns and the left wheel of the car was very unstable. A few days after the weather was breaking I was able to call my insurance company, tow truck and mechanic to assist with the damages. The damages where alignment front wheels, steering wheel, steering column, right fog light, right wheel, bumper over and bumper splash guard.

The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while adding air to the rear driver's side tire, the front driver's side aluminum air valve shot out and caused the tire to deflate immediately. The contact took the vehicle to an local mechanic, who stated that the failure was a common occurrence. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 57,000.

Tire tpms valve stem completely shattered. The vehicle has had these replaced within the past 6 months with new tires installed, yet the one had shattered while adding air allowing all air to spew out of tire. This could be a major safety issue if these fragile sensors/stems were to shatter while driving.

The contact owns a 2009 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while adding air to the drivers side rear tire, the valve stem became fractured. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was advised that the tire pressure monitoring system and valve stem needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 56,000. . Updated 01-10-14.