Owners have filed 1,662 complaints on the Dodge Caliber, covering 2006–2012. The system named most often is Suspension (358 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2006, 2012, 2010. 100 reports describe a crash, 26 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 6.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Caliber
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,662 Caliber complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Suspension 358 Read
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
I purchased this car january 26, 2016. 2 weeks after purchase I contacted the dealer because a weird noise came out of the bottom of the car, like a clink. I was told nothing is wrong, that the car was thoroughly inspected prior to sell and according to them, everything was fine. I suffered a minor crash 3 weeks later…
The front sub frame rusted out and almost killed everyone in the car the wheels turned out and lost all steering was really scary is there any way we can get this fixed by dodge this should be a recall I’ve looked at 6 calibers and all of them are rusted out
Electrical System 222 Read
Electric fault started a fire under the hood resulting in all components to completely burn. A burning smell started while I was driving, I checked the temperature gauge and the needle was under the cold tick. I continued driving to the nearest parking which took about 1 minute and smoke was already coming out visible…
While driving a 2008 dodge caliber se in a street between 40mph and 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly shutdown itself. Five second later and after pulling over as close as I could to the curve of the road, the car died. I tried to restart the engine to move it out of the way of the traffic, but the vehicle did not start.…
The contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber AWD. The contact stated that the wiring in the heated seat failed causing the seats to overheat leaving a hole approximately 7 inches behind the seat. The contact stated the rear of the seat was warm and an abnormal odor was detected. In addition, the wiring in the steering column…
Structure 191 Read
I had took my car to get service at jiffy lube with a air filter and oil change. When driving to school I slowly started to notice a strange smell and decided to return to jiffy lube. Well on my way the problem increased and smoke and flames started appearing, that's when I quickly got out the car and called 911. I…
My car is 8 years old under 90,000 miles and has serious amount of rust on the subframe (k frame) and damage that is making the car deemed unsafe. This part should be recalled seeing how the 07 models are in the same defect and has a recall
My complaint is not focused on the auto manufacturer. It is directed toward the auto insurance industry, and in particular nationwide insurance based in columbus, oh. I was recently involved in an auto accident, and a nationwide client rear-ended my new 2008 dodge caliber. It was less then 1 week old at the time of…
Power Train 160 Read
On may 7th, 2016 I was involved in an accident. My car stalled and no matter what I did, pressing, pumping, or mashing, my brakes would not slow or stop the car. Now, my car has done this in the past usually right as I am coming to a full stop. The first month I owned the car, I casually told the service writer at my…
Ignition key can be removed from any position. Drive, neutral, reverse or any. This lets vehicle key be removed without being in park position. The 2012 dodge caliber can just roll away. Caught car a few times rolling. Now had a very recent serious crash. It was sitting behind house and rolled down a steep hill…
My dodge caliber 2012 sxt still under warranty had a failed manufacturer component, the 'shift interlock assembly' which controls drive, park, reverse, nuetral and all transmission settings. Vehicle was parked on blacktop area behind my house and rolled forward. It plunged headfirst down a steep hill hill crashing…
Steering 144 Read
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…
Air bags didn't not deploy during a single car accident which ended in a head on crash into side of mountain then rolled over onto the roof. Speed about 30-35 mph. When tow truck turned car back over the driver's seat wasn't connected. Also prior to this accident problems with alignment, esp rear
The contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. While driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle veered slightly to the left. The contact attempted to correct the steering and the vehicle overturned. The vehicle was destroyed and the cause of failure has not been determined. The current and failure mileages were 1,400
Air Bags 119 Read
While turning at low speed car accelerated uncontrollably. Air bags did not deploy in frontal crash. Car caught fire
I was in a acccident where there was a car that stopped on his brakes quickly, and I hit the back of him and my car flipped upside down. The airbag didnt supress during the accident causing me and my fiancee to get seriously hurt
I was involved in a car accident on thursday where I hit a guard rail pretty hard and dead on. At the time I was going 35 mph in the pouring rain. My airbags never deployed. This is very bothersome as I have had issues with this car before not starting all the time when I first purchased the car. I had bumper damage,…
Vehicle Speed Control 85 Read
I was driving my 2007 dodge caliber in the parking garage at work. I was turning into a parking spot and had just taken my foot off the accelerator and was applying the brake when the car surged forward suddenly, went over the tire stop and struck the wall causing damage to my vehicle
I bought a 2007, dodge caliber. Drove it for a while. Then as I was driving in a school x-ing my accelerator stuck. I had a terrible accident with the woman stopped in front of me. My car was totaled. A week later I received a recall on the accelerator, after the damage was done. I have had no compensation, and am…
The contact owns a 2007 dodge caliber. While driving approximately 5-10 mph and attempting a turn, the vehicle rapidly accelerated. When the brakes were engaged the vehicle failed to slow down and crashed into an unoccupied parked vehicle which caused a chain reaction involving another unoccupied parked vehicle. The…
Engine And Engine Cooling 63 Read
The contact owned a 2007 dodge caliber. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the vehicle started to make a loud noise and it stalled. The contact also stated that she tried to restart the vehicle a total of three times and the vehicle caught fire on the last attempt. The fire department was notified and no…
I was approaching an intersection to make u-turn, when my car went into a stall. The engine sounded to me, as if it was still revving. But my foot wasn't on the pedal. I came to a halt in the middle of the road. Put my car in park, tried to restart the vehicle twice. Then my car caught fire. In shock I could feel the…
The 2011 dodge caliber I purchased had seven (7) miles on it when I test drove it. The vehicle has stalled without warning at the stop light and while in motion. Most of the stalls were experienced after making a turn. It has stalled five times. I have not reached thirty days of ownership. The ignition switch has…
Caliber years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 11 | 3 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 15 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 46 | 16 | |
| 2006 | Suspension | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 298 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.6 |
| Worst single series | 45 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.8 years |
A model average of 5.6 hides a worst series at 45. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Caliber?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2009 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Caliber years are the cleanest?
2006, 2012, 2010 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Caliber have?
1,662 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2006–2012. Of those, 100 describe a crash and 26 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.