Problems with 2007 Dodge Caliber SUSPENSION

I have problems with suspension bar front was replaced under a 10 year manufacturing warranty back was rusting but they were unable to touch without a hole the following year i had to pay out of pocket at cunningham chrysler in north east, pa they will have documentation of both. now coil spring on left front side has pieces breaking off they are solid not rusted through and i will have to replace both sides on front this seems to also be a defect car was pulled into driveway no bumps when piece broke off

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.

Crossmembers front and rear subframe are rusted through and perforated. damaging front end parts by instability...car unsafe to drive. car just purchased from unsavory car dealer...

The crossmember is rusted and has a huge whole in it. i get regular oil changes at the dodge dealer, with no mention of the crossmember issue. started hearing noise in front end took to mechanic and informed of issue. after some research found 10 year extension of warrenty on this part. went to get replaced and found other suspension issues caused by the severe rust, which they will not cover. vehicle not safe to drive and the cost for us to fix is more than the worth of the car!! at this point have no trade in value for car...

Turn signals start to fail, even with the faulty bulb replaced newly replaced bulb does not work. brought the car to the dealership and diagnosed the tipm (totally integrated power module) is faulty. checked the internet and forums for similar issues other owners have worse issues such as headlights randomly going out, stalling at highway speeds, windshield wipers failing... that they are encountering due to a faulty tipm which can be a safety issue. the clockspring failure causes the airbag warning light to come on which signifies that the airbag will not work when it needs to. the cruise control system intermittently works which is also affected by the clock spring. both lower control arms bushings (left and right) have been replaced twice due to wear. seems excessive wear between 58k and 80k miles with mostly highway driving on smooth roads.

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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. while the vehicle was stationary, the cross member of the vehicle became severely rusted. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Crossmember detached from vehicle while driving causing loss of steering due to front drivers wheel and axle becoming detached. took out control arm,cv joints , transmission cooling lines. it left skid marks in pavement where the tire dug in. actually ripped the tread on new tire. come to find out this is an extended warranty through dodge. however if your not the original owner of the vehicle you may not be notified because it is not a recall.

Engine cradle completely rusted. car is not driveable. took the car in for service due to extremely bad noise. was shown condition of engine cradle and bad struts due to engine cradle completely rusted.

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

Driving 15-20 mph in residential subdivision car veered radically to the right independent of steering striking parked vehicle. right front tire turned right beyond maximum and is pinned against wheel well. left front tire straight and aligned properly with steering wheel. right tie rod bent 180 degrees with threaded portion bent parallel to it's self. obvious catastrophic failure of steering/suspension on right front side of vehicle that had the failure occurred at highway speeds death of serious injury would likely have resulted. the vehicle is a one owner dodge caliper with 33,827 miles, serviced regularly at fair oaks dodge, chantilly va

Bought vehicle used at 95000 miles. 2 years later at about 120000miles both control arms were replaced. new tires installed and alignment performed. less than two years after replacement, at about 145000miles, control arms and ball joints are bad once again and need to be replaced. tires as well do not last more than a year and a half on this vehicle.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. while having routine maintenance performed on the vehicle by an independent mechanic, it was brought to the attention of the contact that the vehicle's cross member had rust holes. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front lower control arms, inner and outer tie rods, and cross member failed and needed to be repaired. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 76,092.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. while driving 45 mph, the contact noticed that the anti skid and abs warning lights illuminated without warning. all of the instrument panel lights also illuminated. the contact drove the vehicle to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the front and rear ends of the vehicle needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact spoke with the manufacturer who approved the repairs performed by another dealer. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 140,000. updated 02/12/16*lj *tr

Noise under front of car, took to my mechanic told me sub frame was rusted through and cracked. this needed to be replaced. @140000 miles.

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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while at an independent mechanic for a routine service, the mechanic diagnosed that the subframe corroded and both front ball joints needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 110,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. while the vehicle was being serviced, the mechanic noticed that the rear trailing arm bushing was stuck to the suspension. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 89,000. the vin was not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. while driving approximately 20 mph, the front subframe fractured due to rust. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician stated that the subframe and sway bar needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 99,900.

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.

We went to get a front end alignment done but was told the drivers side tierod had to be replaced then found out that the cross member is rusted out.we just bought this car in 2013 and its not even paid off yet.what can i do about this cuz it was like this when we bought it but got worse!

Engine cradle is completely rusted out on our 2007 dodge caliber sxt. i have never seen something like this on a car that's not too old. looking at the engine cradle it has a hole about 12 inches round and along the engine cradle support or whatever its called that sticks up in the air welded to the cradle ...updated 07/30/15 *bf the consumer stated the part was replaced at not charge. updated 08/13/14*jb

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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. while driving at 40 mph, there was an abnormal noise that came from the undercarriage. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the subframe and sway bar needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 138,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while driving at any speed, the vehicle shook violently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was 116,000.

Front of vehicle started to shake and drivers side front made creaking noise. took vehicle to dealer and they stated front struts and components were bad as well as drivers side ball joint. vehicle was repaired however there is vibration in the steering and the vehicle pulls hard right. also front end makes a lot of noise. dealer performed front wheel alignment and balanced tires but problem is still there and mechanics can't find the issue. vehicle is unsafe to drive and am very afraid to drive it especially since i'm disabled with young children. there are numerous complaints about the suspension issues with these cars and the problems need to be fixed before someone gets seriously injured or killed. can't understand why nothing is being done after all of these complaints have been made by so many. this is why people don't buy american cars anymore. foreign manufacturers will actually recall vehicles and stand behind their products.

Driving normally on a town road and i heard a thud. steering wheel jerked and came back to center. car swerved into the oncoming traffic lane. drove home at a steady crawl with front end shaking and feeling real loose. checked my front end and could see my spring binding over the strut and strut mounts were squeaking and making noise while turning the steering wheel. strut rods were stuck and would not compress. ordered new struts and mounts. will be replacing as soon as they come in. glad this didn't happen on the highway and there were no cars coming in the oncoming lane or there would have been a serious crash. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. the contact stated that the cross members on the vehicle had rusted through. the contact stated that the steering wheel would shake while driving at 50 mph or over. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that the cross members needed to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 87,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the rear of the vehicle veered to the left and right uncontrollably. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the entire under carriage was corroded. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 145,000.

Upon driving home from work in february of 2015, i noticed a horrible nose coming from the front of my car. as the days progressed, the nose had become worse. i had assumed there was a problem with the struts and had them replaced right away. my father in law, a mechanic, saw that the front sub frame cross member is completely rusted out. i was then told by several mechanics that the car is unsafe to drive due to the amount rust on the sub frame and the high risk of the cross member breaking thus causing an accident. after much research, it has come to my knowledge that this is a manufacturers problem and nothing has ever been done about it. the a/c unit is located right above the cross member. this unit is leaking water onto the sub frame thus causing the part to rust.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. the contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from under the vehicle. the vehicle was driven home where an independent mechanic where it diagnosed that the front cross member, outer sway bar link, sway bar bushing, and the rear engine mount needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while driving 5 mph, the cross member became fractured and there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear and front cradles were rusted and would need replacing. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 55,500.

The sub-frame on my caliber is rusted out. this is only 6 yrs old, and dodge say there is no warranty.there will be fatalities if this is not corrected on these vehicles. *tr

My partner and i were at firestone to have a oil change for our car done. one of the repair guys came out to tell us our tie rods on our car were lose and would need to be replaced soon. our car has only a little over 61,000 miles on it. tie rods on a car are usually replaced at 120,000 to 170,000 miles. we bought this car used at a toyota dealership with only one previous owner. the carfax were provided and the previous owner babied the car. there were no previous car wrecks and we have had no car wrecks either. we are at a disbelief, as this serious of an issue on a car should not have to be replaced until it is expected. we take very good care of our car. we change the oil before it is due and regularly schedule check ups to make sure there are no major issues. now we are taking our car in this weekend to get the tie rods done and to see if also control arms and ball joints need to be replaced. for tie rods to go out while driving is a serious issue. we could lose control of the car and hurt ourselves or someone else. this is a serious safety issue and dodge has a responsibility to replace malfunctioning parts of the cars this is happening to. a tie rod should not go out on a car at 61,000 miles when the car is taken care of. i do not understand why a recall has not been in place and why dodge has not come forward to be accountable for the issues. the tie rods will be costing us $400 dollars alone to replace and if ball joints and control arms need to be replaced well over $1,000 dollars for parts that are wearing out prematurely. if our mechanic had not caught the faulty parts my new wife and i might be lying in a hospital somewhere hurt or worse. as responsible owners we are having the parts replaced as soon as possible. if dodge would have taken responsibility to have the parts replaced we wouldn't have to worry about our safety and others safety. *tr

I have a 2007 dodge caliber and the sub frame is so rusted through that it cracked while my son was driving it. thankfully he was coming home and it happened couple minutes from home. i cannot believe a car, that is only 7 years old, can rust so severely in such a short period of time. i cannot believe dodge has not issued a recall on this. what are they waiting for? are they waiting for enough people to get into accidents and possibly kill somebody, before the recall this manufacture defect? they must have some really good bean counters. when i started looking on the internet, i was shocked to see so many complaints from people with the exact same problem as i am having, and their cars were younger then mine. i was shocked to find out that there have not been any recalls issued for this. *tr

At 50,00 miles i was told by the mechanic during an oil change that the vehicles ball joints could fail without warning. i had the ball joints replaced at 50,000 miles and then again at 75,000 miles. at 80,000 miles i also have to replace inner and outer tie rods, control arm bearings, and suspension tie bar links, and struts. dodge customer service has stated there is a "unresolved" issue. the suspension issues could result in an accident when traveling at highway speeds if the suspension fails.

Sway bar gaskets & endlinks along with front struts & plates had to get replaced 2007 dodge caliber 89k miles lightly used not an abused vehicle. *tr

The car would not start (lights worked, but engine would not turn over). after replacing the throttle cable and box, as well as some broken wiring, the car still would not start. the mechanic then towed the vehicle to a dodge dealership, where the computer was reset. the car ran for another week after it was first "fixed," and then again did not start (same problem as before). additionally, the light to indicate that the air bags were not functioning turned on prior to the vehicle not starting. this is more frustrating because we have had extensive issues with this car (replaced all tie rods, bushings, control arms, have a broken door from the hinge breaking, and had multiple tires wearing unevenly due to the car's suspension problems) already, and have sunk well over $6000 in repairs this year alone. *tr

While turning left, i started to notice an occasional clunk which seemed to be coming from the front driver's side. within a day, it turned into a constant clunking as i was driving, even while going straight. it was obviously not safe and we took it to the shop. as others have discovered, my entire under carriage is rusting away. i also had to replace ball joints and lower control arms at around 50,000 miles. they say this needs to be done again. the fuel pump had to be replaced a couple months ago. the tires need more frequent replacement as well due to the control arm issues. serious problems with this vehicle and there should be more recalls than just the recent one. specifically, with the control arms, the mechanic said he's seen them fail at under 25,000 miles. absolutely ridiculous! *tr

Just filing a complaint about substandard manufacturing of my vehicle cross member parts. substandard material was used and severe corrosion is a result. chrysler has a recall for repair. could pose safety issues if parts rust completely through. *tr

Turned the wheel and heard a bump by the tire. stopped and seen that the shocks was touching the tire on the left side. *tr

My son was driving my 2007 dodge caliber on may 14, 2014 and the strut broke in half. he said that he was on the expressway which is a 65 mph zone, heard a rattle noise and then a thump. he was not sure if he hit a pot hole or something else in the road that would cause the strut to break. when i had the car towed to my mechanic he stated that he contacted chrysler/dodge for the replacement strut and was told the part was on back ordered for 1-2 weeks and there was about 35 of them waiting already. i would like to know if this is a part that is an issue for this car because there are so many on back order at this time. my mechanic was able to find one though a junk yard and it was replaced at a cost of $125 for the part. thank you. *tr

I noticed a periodic clunking sound coming from underneath. upon inspection by the dealer, the k-bar or k-frame, which is the part that holds the front suspension together, was found to have completely rusted through. it is completely rotten. chrysler was contacted and will not help with thus $1400 repair. the vehicle has only 64000 miles on it. i have never had to replace this part in any vehicle i have ever owned. this is a serious safety issue. *tr

I have a 2007 dodge caliber rt. this car has 52000 miles at 7 years old. my car sits in a garage and is well maintained. i recently replaced the tires on the car and found that both ball joints were in need of replacing to the point that the tires couldn't get balanced. i don't think that this is supposed to happen on a car with 52000 miles. *tr

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... *tr

When i was driving in town at speeds around 25-40 mph i kept hearing a clicking noise beneath the drivers seat, especially when i made turns. i took it to a shop and they lifted it up. turns out the entire suspension carriage was rusting and rotting. the clicking noise i was hearing was rusty pieces of metal rubbing against one another. we took it to a dealership and they said that the ac condensate line was directed to the subframe/undercarriage of the caliber. the water was pooling and causing it to rust. i'm grateful we found out about it when we did instead of having the whole bottom of the car fall out from under us when we were going at a high speed. this seems to be happening to many of the dodge calibers right around 7 years. we have photos of the damage. unbelievable. *tr

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. *tr

Upon hitting a small pothole, the subframe broke causing a loss of steering into oncoming traffic. luckily there were no accidents. the tires now go two separate directions. after getting the vehicle towed to a repair shop, they discovered the subframe had rusted through due to the air compressor leaking directly onto the subframe. when having our insurance adjuster from state farm out to assess the damage it was determined it was manufacturer's defect and would not be covered. i then contacted dodge who stated that the perforation for rusting was 100,000 miles. although the incident on the vehicle we are still paying for through an authorized dodge dealer happened on a vehicle that has exceeding the 100,000 miles by only 10,000 miles - we are now stuck with a car that's going to cost over $1,100 to fix due to a manufacturer's defect. this incident could've resulted in a fatality. dodge needs to be held liable for this issue. *tr

Noticed rusted subframe with big hole. we knew it needed to be replaced. no particular reason for the erosion other than the way the vehicle is designed. vehicle is only 6-7 years old. this type of erosion is usually only seen on old vintage vehicles. a few days ago, we ran over a hidden pot hole and the subframe is completely broken apart. now car is completely unsafe to drive. this car was poorly designed in this area. the company should recall the subframe to replace and install a rerouting piece for the ac to drip on and bypass dripping on the frame. *tr

i took my car to get my alignment done. while on the rack the mechanic brought me in to show me the massive hole in my subframe. the car is a 2007 with only 97,000 miles on it. *tr