2008 Dodge Caliber problems
Owners have filed 570 complaints about the 2008 Dodge Caliber with NHTSA. Suspension accounts for 19.8% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of structure at 15.4%.
Complaints570
Crashes29
Fires7
Injuries19
Deaths2
What owners report breaking
Suspension 19.8% · 113
Structure 15.4% · 88
Electrical system 10.4% · 59
Engine 7.5% · 43
Power train 6.7% · 38
Steering 6.1% · 35
Unknown or other 4.9% · 28
Vehicle speed control 4.7% · 27
Severity
Of those complaints, 29 describe a crash, 7 describe a fire, 19 report an injury and 2 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 5 model years of the Dodge Caliber in this data, 2008 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 2007 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 27 in the last three years against 114 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 87,607 miles.
In owners' own words
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Caliber. While driving at an unknown speed, the front end of the vehicle became unstable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who indicated that the front struts needed to be replaced and that they were prematurely worn. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000. Suspension · reported at 30,000 miles
I just took my 2008 Dodge Caliber to get inspected and it will not pass due to a rusted out subframe. I was told it is extremely expensive to get repaired and is very time consuming. This is a big safety hazard and I was told not to drive it much longer. Is there any way this is covered under recalls as the 2007 is. If not, is there some sort of warranty that takes care of this? Suspension · reported at 96,000 miles
The front crossmember has rusted out so much that it will not pass a pa state inspection and is unsafe to drive. After hearing this I found out that it is not a matter "if" it will rust out, just a matter of "when". I was not fortunate enough to have this happen during the warranty extension and feel that Dodge should have notified me that there was an extension. Suspension · reported at 78,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…