Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | |||||
| RRT-08-070 | 09/29/2008 | 10026829 | Chrysler: lower control arm to crossmember mounting bolts. vehicles were shipped with front lower control arm to crossmember mounting bolts that may not be tightened to specification. *pe | 12/22/2008 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 08/17/2012 | 80000 | 1 | |
| I was on my way to work and drove approximately 5 minutes. as i was making a left turn to approach the entrance of the exressway, the car starting swerving and screeching and during my manuvering and engaging of the brakes, it came to a holt. the left driver's side axle had snapped and the tire was side-ways. i had to get the car towed to my mechanic, who stated that in all his years in his profession he has never seen anything like that. the axle which is made of steel was broken in half. thank god i was able to safely manuver it without crashing into something, it was quite a scary experience. if i would have experienced this occurrence on the highway, it would have been a fatal accident. this is not the only incident i have had with this car, please refer to my other submissions for this car. *tr | |||
| 07/23/2012 | 41000 | 1 | |
| At 41000 miles, our 4 year old vehicle, should not have needed new ball joints. research tells me dodge has been very aware of a problem for years, but have not done any type of a recall. all i can say is thank god we found the problem before we went to the mountains. *tr | |||
| 06/22/2012 | 56000 | ||
| The ball joints have prematurely worn out on our 2008 dodge caliber. at 40,000 miles i also had to replace the tie rod ends and the brake pads. | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 40000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while driving, the vehicle made a clucking noise. the vehicle was taken to the local mechanic. the failure was located at the rear tie rod and strut having defective material. the ignition also failed and could not be turned. the rear tie rod strut and ignition was replaced. the vehicle was repaired but continued exhibiting a noise from the rear. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 74,176. kmj | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 40000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while driving the vehicle made a clucking noise. the vehicle was taken to the local mechanic. the failure was located at the rear tie rod and strut failed due to defective material. the ignition also failed. the ignition would not turn. the rear tie rod strut and ignition was replaced. the vehicle was repaired but the vehicle was making a noise in the rear. the vehicle will take back to the local mechanic for further inspection. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 74,176. li | |||
| 01/08/2012 | 60000 | ||
| Both front and rear suspension-struts/shocks leaking and both need to be replaced-mechanic stated they have replaced so many suspensions on these vehichles, they cant keep parts instock. | |||
| 12/07/2011 | 60000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while the tires were being rotated by a private mechanic, the mechanic advised that steel was showing through both front tires. the mechanic attributed the failure to the front lower control arms, which has failed. the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was unavailable. the failure and the current mileages were 60,000. | |||
| 12/07/2011 | 60000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. the contact stated that while the tires were being rotated by a private mechanic, the mechanic advised that steel was showing through both front tires. the mechanic attributed the failure to the front lower control arms, which has failed. the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was unavailable. the failure and the current mileages were 60,000. kmj | |||
| 12/07/2011 | 60000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. the contact stated while tires were rotated a private mechanic confirmed steel was showing from both side front tires. the failure was confirmed by the mechanic being attributed to both front lower control arms failing. the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired and the vin was unknown. the failure and current mileages were 60,000. rds | |||
| 10/15/2011 | 98000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. while driving approximately 55 mph, the contact noticed a knocking coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. the contact inspected the vehicle and found that the ball joints needed to be replaced. the contact was unable to purchase the ball joints separately. the front passenger side control arm and ball joints were replaced. the contact stated that the control arm and ball joints had to be replaced on both the front driver and passenger sides because the tire was wearing rapidly and the knocking noise was still heard. the vehicle was not further repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 98,000. kmj | |||
| 04/15/2011 | 32000 | ||
| There is a serious growling road noise coming from the wheel bearings. if you check car forums and automotive chat there is a fix under chat labeled stwsti date 10-19-2008... i feel this is a serious enough problem for dodge to recall these vehicles or at least to notify owners of the problem of bearing failure at hiway speeds... | |||
| 10/15/2011 | 98000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. while driving at approximately 55 mph the contact noticed a knocking noise coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. the contact had her husband inspect the vehicle and he stated the ball joints had to be replaced. the contact was unable to purchase the ball joints separately. the front passenger side control arm and ball joints were replaced. the contact stated the control arm and ball joint had to be replaced on the front drivers side as well because the tire was wearing rapidly and the knocking noise could be heard. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate mileage was 98,000. ds | |||
| 04/15/2011 | 32000 | ||
| There is a serious growling road noise coming from the wheel bearings. if you check car forums and automotive chat there is a fix under chat labeled stwsti date 10-19-2008... i feel this is a serious enough problem for dodge to recall these vehicles or at least to notify owners of the problem of bearing failure at hiway speeds... | |||
| 09/22/2008 | 800 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2008 dodge caliber. the contact stated the vehicle has problems with the lower control and ball joint. the contact has had to have the lower control and ball joints before and the need to replace the parts has come up again. the front driver side and passenger side have been replaced once and the contact feels the bulk of the stress is on the passenger side. the failure was 800 and the current mileage was 60000. rl | |||
| 06/03/2009 | 35000 | 1 | |
| I took my caliber in for some warranty work. they found the left strut was bad. they ordered the part. i went back in the next week for the strut and alignment. while they were driving back from the alignment place, they had an accident in my car. they fixed it. i have since then brought it back to a roar in the car. they told me my tires were bad. i asked if it could be because of the alignment was out and they said no. i asked if it could be because of the accident, again no. who in their right mind would align a car with bad tires. they have made no deal for me in this matter. the tires did not go bad in a matter of a week. *tr | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 08/26/2011 | 37271 | ||
| Started having noisy front end/brake issue @16000 miles one year after purchase, have had the car in 7 different times for the same complaint, the dealer just kept replacing different parts hoping the noise would go away, it hasn't, now that the car is 2000 miles out of warranty, the dealer treats us like we abused the car, it only has 37000 miles on it!! a new car should last longer thatn 3 years without major suspension problems !! dodge has a reputation of using defective suspension parts and should be responsible for hard-working consumers that bailed them out!!!! all i want is my car fixed they choose to use inferior parts and now they should have to pay for their hindsite | |||
| 04/03/2011 | 55000 | ||
| Had my tires rotated and the mechanic showed me how much my ball joints were wore out at only 50000 miles. dodge caliber 2008 model | |||
| 04/18/2011 | 44000 | ||
| 2008 dodge caliber with 44,000 miles. both front lower ball joints were severely worn, and needed to be replaced. this car had only normal driving (no severe use). this would have been a severe safety issue if i had not happened to notice the suspension looseness when rotating the tires. there was no obvious symptom when driving the car. | |||
| 11/18/2010 | 48000 | ||
| I have been told by the dealership that, the front axils and, ball joints on my car are in need of replacement. i have talked to several other dodge caliber owner's that have had the same problem. what do i need to do? | |||
| 07/01/2008 | 3000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. after purchasing the vehicle the contact noticed occasionally that while driving at a speed of 45 mph the brake pedal would have to be depressed several times before bringing the vehicle to a stop, the contact also noticed that the front end of the vehicle would sway from left to right. the vehicle was taken to the dealership on several different occasions where the contact had the brake pads , front axle, struts, and shock absorbers replaced. however the contact is still experiencing the failures. the failure mileage was at 3000 and the current mileage is 35600. | |||