2011 Dodge Caliber Owner Complaints

** From Dealer - diagnosis says - Primary Line B: D1 C/S Multiple warning lights came on in dash (like a X-mas tree) and vehicle will not want to drive after that. C/S has to turn off and turn back on to get to move. C/A TIPM – Total integrated power module – verified customer concern found vehicle with loss of comm dts with tipm no vin mis match dtc present and more than one module aginst tipm recommend replacement of tipm and retesting at this time. The TIPM module controls most if not all of the body functions of the car or truck. Everything from wipers and headlights, starting system and so on. It accepts signals from many diff switches and modules in the car and translates them to the connected systems. $2128.00 is total cost of repair at Dodge Lithia – this should be a recall. There are only about 63,000 miles on her vehicle. ** Safety of driver (my mother in law who is [XXX] or niece) put at risk because car just slows down and stops WHILE driving. She pulls over, stops car, then when she starts car again it's okay for a while until it does this again. ** Safety of those on the road, if her car dies while she's driving it and she has to pull off, if car won't drive, she is stopped on the road or highway with other cars behind hopefully stopping to let her pull off the road. ** Yes it was inspected and reproduced by dealer. Dealer (Dodge Lithia in Kennewick, WA) gave us this information above primary line B, etc lights all come on dash looking like a Christmas tree.... ** No warning lights for this specific issues, only that ALL dash lights come on like a Christmas tree, we paid $300 for one mechanic who couldn't diagnose. Now Dodge has said it's a $2000+ fix - and hopefully this will fix the issue??? ** The only symptom is dashboard lights up, car slows down (de-celerates) and then won't go. Car is turned off, then turned back on and it drives again, then it happens again. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11670928

Incident

Jun 10, 2025

Horn started honking on its own

NHTSA ID

11614741

Incident

Sep 8, 2024

Active headrest in drivers seat deployed with no apparent cause and air bag light has been on since I bought the car August 29, 2023

NHTSA ID

11614739

Incident

Sep 15, 2024

seat headrest deployed while car was sitting in the driveway...would have been a problem if driver had been driving pass.side deployed on 1 30 24....driver side deployed 1 30 24

NHTSA ID

11569080

Incident

Jan 30, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle was making abnormal sounds coming from the undercarriage. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed and determined that the undercarriage needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11564852

Incident

Sep 1, 2023

Mileage

120,000 mi

I just bought this vehicle July 28 of 23. It was supposed to have been inspected to be sold. It’s completely rusted out the whole bottom of the car it’s unsafe to drive. I’ve been told by three people the people that did the inspection and said it was OK, and then Belle tire, which I tried to get a Alignment for him because it’s so bad and separating. I can’t get an alignment it hydroplanes and back in bounces up and down and it’s not for me to drive. I’m [XXX] and I need a good safe vehicle and I need something done with this or someone to take it back so that I can get a different car that is safe for me to drive. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11561653

Incident

Dec 23, 2023

This Vehicle was sold to me July 28,2023. It was said to be safe to sell to me by H&I, Auto Repair Shop in Sterling Hts , they let Grimaldi's Auto Sales, in Warren, Mi , on Mound sell me the vehicle I am an [XXX] woman. The repair man there said it was SAFE to drive. I took it for an alignment. Which at Belle Tire they could not be due to the fact how bad it is! now I have a vehicle that is not safe to Drive because the Rear Suspension Crossmember is rusted out and other parts in back plus struts and other parts. I need this vehicle fixed or replaced as I live on Social Security. FOR FREE I can't afford to PAY for something that was sold to me that it is junk. It was Hydroplaning, had the tires checked out! Then the back end was bosing up and down. Thats when I found out more problems. I NEED HELP WITH THIS VEHICLE NOW < I NEED TO BE SAFE ON THE ROAD PLEASE [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11560818

Incident

Dec 15, 2023

At 140000 miles I noticed that my entire subframe was ready to completely collapse and no auto shop would work on it whatsoever. I reached out and found out that there was nothing I could do about it It I had the car for 2 years and it’s had this issue the whole time Not cool safety should be first.

NHTSA ID

11544217

Incident

Sep 8, 2021

I've got a 2011 Dodge Caliber Mainstreet and during my drive home from work around 3:30am my headrest out of nowhere popped, hitting me in the back of the head and neck. There are 0 warning lights/codes present. I did not make any harsh accelerations or break, nor did I turn wildly. I was already settled into a lane on the highway and had already come to posted speed (60 mph) I was on I-610 West heading home and thankfully there were very few vehicles on the highway. Otherwise I probably would have caused an accident when I swerved out of my lane after being hit rather violently in the back of my head. The sound AND impact startled me not to mention hurt pretty bad and left a pretty good sized goose egg on the back of my head. I managed to make it back home be it the trip between my home and work is only 13 mi. Due to the fact that it was so early in the morning and still dark outside I chose to wait until daylight before I got ready for my next shift to take a look into what could have been the cause as well as checking to see what was needed to remedy the situation. I'm a personal driver for Alto so I know all about harsh events while driving a vehicle and none of which were the case in this instance. This happened completely out of nowhere for no apparent reason and with no warning whatsoever. I honestly wasn't even aware that there was anything in my headrest that could do anything like this. This is very dangerous and upon searching the internet I realize that I'm not the only person that has had this issue. So here I am now making a formal complaint. So far I'm not able to fix the headrest myself and am not sure if it needs to be replaced or can just be put back together. Looking into what to do next. I've made a short video showing my vehicle and the damage that occurred during this incident but it will not let me upload it onto the system. If it's needed please let me know and I will gladly send it your way.

NHTSA ID

11531234

Incident

Jul 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal banging sound coming from the driver's side front wheel well while turning left or driving over bumps in the roadway. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the front frame members were rusted, and the driver’s side front steering arm had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact stated that the mechanic was aware of a known manufacturer failure about the severe rusting of the frame. The failure mileage was 111,102.

NHTSA ID

11512879

Incident

Mar 13, 2023

Mileage

111,102 mi

2011 Dodge Caliber Mainstreet - Subframe is completely rotted and broke away from the sensor control. Mileage - 121,000. $2,500 to repair, in the shop for 9 days, $800 for a rental. Never again with a Dodge. They are garbage. And from research, I see that many other people are having the same issue, yet no recall and Dodge refuses to acknowledge!

NHTSA ID

11501241

Incident

Jan 9, 2023

Upon bringing our Caliber into a service shop to install shocks because we thought the severe vibration was from worn shocks, we were told the entire rear suspension subframe was rotted and rusted to the point of the driver-side rear was almost split in half. Had it been driven much farther, the left rear wheel would have been separated from the subframe. The shop did not want the car driven any further because of the safety risk to ourselves and others on the road and we had to fix this issue immediately. This is a grave issue of safety being this is a major frame component, that was clearly faulty and known about by Dodge, which could lead to a serious or fatal incident. The car has 139,000 miles on it and has been a good car mechanically thus far, prompting us to remedy the problem. Upon researching this issue, it seems as if this is a known issue by Dodge and many other Calibers are also affected. Had we known about the bulletin, we would have addressed this issue earlier.The shop costs were around $2000, which included us purchasing parts to save more money on labor.

NHTSA ID

11482593

Incident

Aug 25, 2022

The passenger side rear lower control are rusted off of the back frame crossmember which shows a significant amount of rust! This almost caused an accident while driving. It broke loose while driving down the highway.

NHTSA ID

11481783

Incident

Aug 26, 2022

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.

NHTSA ID

11468433

Incident

Jun 3, 2022

Cradle connected to front suspension is corroded and cracked. Causing wobble in steering wheel.

NHTSA ID

11465786

Incident

May 23, 2022

I started having noise problems with my car and also had inspection due so I brought it into a mechanic and he was horrified to see that my front cross member was so rusted that my sway bar came out and he said lucky my wheels didn’t come off and that a car accident would be horrible as it is that rusted , and he also stayed the back cross member is the same . This is a huge safety concern specially where my car itself isn’t even rusted only the cross members. I hope you can help me and my family so we can be safe . Thank you Richard

NHTSA ID

11458072

Incident

Mar 23, 2022

The frame has rusted out and everything attached to it has broken loose. I was driving the car when this happened. I was able to get it off the road but could have been killed if the tire had broke off

NHTSA ID

11451812

Incident

Feb 13, 2022

Car slowed down and electronic throttle control light and traction control light came on was dangerously slow to accelerate and would not maintain speed

NHTSA ID

11448659

Incident

Dec 16, 2021

Total rust of the bottom of the car. Front sub frame has to be replaced and rust on the back of the car. 107473 miles.

NHTSA ID

11447342

Incident

Jan 13, 2022

Unknown i took my car to repair shop for oil change when car was on rack they noticed the front crossmember (X69 warranty extension) was rusted with a good sized hole he said it is ready to break and would loose steering control and can wrect k they printed off a technical service bulletin from dodge i called dodge they said it wasnt a recall so they wont pay for repair a dodge dealer gave me a quote of $1400,00 and $ 1500.00 dollars to replace it i dont under stand why they didnt do a recall is there anything nhtsa can do about this problem dodge know about it to do a serice bulletin my vehicle is registered with dodge and nhtsa to receive recalls and things i got nothing about any recalls the repair shop told me about 2 recalls and i had them fixed

NHTSA ID

11442663

Incident

Dec 2, 2021

On multiple occasions vehicle completely shuts down and locks up when slowing down and turning. Almost rear-ended and then t-boned in middle of intersection. Takes several minutes to restart and unlock steering wheel then drives fine.

NHTSA ID

11437104

Incident

Oct 18, 2021

I was driving my 2011 Dodge Caliber and heard cracking sounds, I was able to pull into a parking lot. My father came over and looked under the car, the subframe is totally rusted out and my tires could have fallen off at anytime. Thank goodness we were not on the highway. The car has only 86,000 miles on it and will take more money than I can afford to fix it. This really needs to be taken care of before someone gets badly hurt or worse! I have seen other complaints about the same issue.

NHTSA ID

11432907

Incident

May 29, 2021

Crossmember frame rusted out front and rear could cause a mayor accident if the frame broke down it’s a safety issues concern about this situation .

NHTSA ID

11430192

Incident

Aug 16, 2021

The subframe is completely rusted on the front and rear of the car. This is a known issue with the car as dodge extended the warranty for the sub-frame by ten years. My issue manifested itself after those ten years but it is an issue that should be addressed with a recall.

NHTSA ID

11430122

Incident

Aug 23, 2021

New parts , problems still exist. New battery being drained and/shorting out. Negative terminal is getting hot. Has burned up 2 new altinators! Battery light comes on shortly after new battery installed. New alternators and batteries are being ruined. Prior to all this car would stall in traffic. This car is unsafe! Also can smell something burning under the hood Even when ignition is off. I have disconnected the battery in fear of this car catching fire. Faulty ticm? I'm at wits end! Money pit! Should have a recall. All ground connections are good and both battery terminals have been replaced. Nothing I have done has solved the problem.

NHTSA ID

11425055

Incident

Jun 9, 2021