Dodge Caliber Engine Problems
New to the Forum. I have a SXT Manual 1.812 month old with 2400 miles, just wondering if anyone is having problems with their car stalling out when the car is in neutral or when the clutch is in at low speeds or when stopping. The RPMs drop to about 500 and then just stall out. Car starts back up with no problem but i've had this happen about 9 times since I got it. If anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it. I love the car and have had no other problems so far.
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(I usually run mid-grade to pick up a little horsepower based on the adaptice ECM's.)
IF midgrade or premium makes the knock go away, congratulations, you don't have a defect, you have a feature (I say this a bit tongue in cheek) because you will be picking up horsepower. If the knock DOESN'T go away with premium gas, you need to be more aggressive with the dealer since serious knocking, as opposed to a very, very light pinging, is really, really hard on an engine.
In the long run, of course, you really need to get a flash upgrade.
BTW, are you running a national brand of gas? The owners manual for our Chrysler/Dodge (not a Caliber) emphasized using a good brand of gas, and switching brands before upping octane. I find Shell, 76 (Conoco maybe where you live), Chevron to be best (see www.toptiergas.com ).
The problems listed in the last few postings are a red flag for new buyers.
I will not bother to test drive the Caliber.
Chrysler seems to be no different than GM or Ford: rush the new car into production. Worry about the fit, finish and quality details later.
Buyer beware!
ALSO have you asked the dealer to reflash your engine control module with the existing software? Since most owners are not reporting this problem, it could be that the program in your car is "corrupted" somehow (after all it IS a computer program, albeit written to flash memory and not a harddrive).
I'd put in premium gas for now, and push the dealer harder.
I am having the same stalling problems with the clutch either in or out and the car stalls in neutral. I filed a complaint and have called the customer CAIR 1800 number three times. Since the dealership can not duplicate the issue they tell me they can't do anything about the problem and will not acknowledge it as a problem. This is a safety concern. You may try calling the 1800 CAIR to at least put in a concern. If more vehicles start demonstrating this then the engineers will have to pay attention.
Since you are overseas you may want to find out what your rights are if they can't or won't fix the problem.
I would guess that as the car ages the noises will diminish somewhat and you'll notice them less.
When youget around to changing out a muffler or piece of the exhaust, you probably notice them again.
Congrats on your new Caliber! Be sure to rave about it in the New Caliber Owners - Give Us Your Report! discussion!
before July 2006 and has been posted on numerous
Dodge forums,there is no TSB covering it but quite a
number of owners have had it resolved by DCX and dealers
willing to understand it as a customer satisfaction
problem.
Call DCX customer line and complain or find a dealer
who is willing to help,they have to replace the exhaust
pipe and resonator assy. under warranty system.
noted on other Caliber forums regarding the 1.8l/5spd
stalling and fluctuations in rpms.
It again has been resolved by a software flash or update
covered by Tech Service Bulletin #18-033-06,quite a number
of owners with these symptoms claim this resolves the
stalling problems.
Call DCX customer service or try another dealer you deserve
service for money spent on your purchase.
Today we ran a lot of errands and were out shopping our new caliber RT, AWD. We got it 6 weeks ago it has 1880 miles on it. The check engine light came on out of no where.
Anyone have any clue what is going on?
Should I not drive the car? I have to take a few trips this weekend/holiday to families houses. Should I be worried about driving it?
Any help is appreciated.
Pam
have it checked out that's what warranties are for.
temp guage have been a common thread amongst many
owners.
I have had my SXT 2.0L/CVT since August 06 and have never
seen the temp indicate over half way,in the summer on
hot days it would sit at 1/2 of the mark just below
middle of guage markings,now with outside temps
in the high teens it takes a while to get to that
point.
Having said that I have found my Caliber is one of
the fastest warming DCX cars I have owned and that's
been quite a few,but it does seem that below 20F the
guage seems to take a while to reach mid range.
If you warm up for 15 minutes that's a lot of gas,
4-5 minutes then drive it seems to work for me,I
don't know where you are located geographically
but Canadian Calibers come with block heaters
and if you have one that maybe the answer.
By the way to see if you have a block heater check
between the fuse block(drivers side under hood)
and the strut tower for an AC cord.
Orig the dealer stated this was a normal condition and could not find a problem. Next cold morning I drove directly to the dealer and had the service manager drive the car and he finally agreed with me.
TO date the dealer has replace both the primary and secondary thermostats and re-entered the codes. The problem still has not been corrected. The car is scheduled to go back to the dealer on Monday the 12th..
I have also contact Dodge and placed a formal complaint concerning this issue.
IF anyone has had this problem corrected please let me know what they did to repair the situation. I will let you all know the outcome of my next service visit.
IF YOU HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF ISSUE I RECOMMEND YOU CONTACT DODGE @ 1-800-853-1403 and REGISTER THE PROBLEM..
Its the only way to get some action to correct this
IIRC the Dodge Caliber is installed with the new "world" engine that was developed with Mitsubishi and Hyundai and DCX. The various manufacturers will tweak their world engine as they see fit but all 3 carmakers may even find some commonality here with this problem. Has anyone actually heard a satisfying suggestion from their dealer as to what this sound might be? Maybe it's OK and nothing is being damaged or nothing is wrong at all.
I have a feeling that nothing is wrong at all with your Caliber motors.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Of course this would be something impossible to duplicate on demand!
Anyone having issues similar in the automatics so I can share with the dealer?
Vocs