Dodge Caliber Brake Questions

PF_Flyer

Discuss any branking issue about your Caliber here.

bdyment

Me thinks you mean braking issue not branking issue.

PF_Flyer

Got me! Guilty of flying fat finger syndrome! :P

moparfamily

I probably have the most mileage on my Caliber than anyone else (since I average 250 miles/day in my car). I have 22,000+ already. We have already had the rotors cut and now we are waiting for brake pads to arrive so that we can have the 2nd brake job done on the car. We are a "Mopar Family" and belong to the Mopar Car Club, and the general consensus of my husband and his "car buddies" is that because of the CVT transmission, the car will probably go through a lot of brakes, since there are no gears to help down shift.

bigtsr

I see by your other posts on the board that your Caliber
is being used for "extreme" duty in your business.
Brake wear is a very subjective topic as there are so
many factors involved i.e. driver(s),terrain,traffic
loads,# of stop & go cycles and speeds in cycles.
The only suggestion I have is when your slowing that
you try dropping the CVT to "L" and use the engine
to brake the car first,I often do this in the city.
I am not sure what the wear factor will be on the CVT
but then again I am not driving 250 miles a day nor
do I have expediency factor of a courier service to
deal with in my daily routine.
All that being said I think your Caliber is a good
test bed for not only us but for DCX to watch and see
how much abuse the CVT can take although I hope they
will honour your warantee because of the use involved.
Good luck!!!

bigtsr

I read in the local newspaper this morning that DCX
has issued a recall concerning ESP,ABS and brake
distribution software upgrade on 62,000 2007 models
including the Caliber.
I believe the recall refers to the AWD Caliber as
those are the later models with ESP/ABS.
Todate I personally have had no brake issues
on my 2.0L/CVT SXT.

airnos

Hey guys,

My brakes are squeaking pretty badly especially when I stop while going down a hill. The dealer INSISTS there's nothing wrong with them. I'm at 8K so there's no way it's the pads, and I'm wondering if there's a mis-adjusted caliper.

I'm thinking of taking the car to an independent mechanic and having him check the brakes for me. Does anyone know if DCX will honor the warranty if he found something, I had it fixed and then showed up with receipts?

bigtsr

If you can determine which set of wheels it's coming from
that would be a help in resolving the problem.
I had a slight squeak develop this week in the rear wheels
so I took it to my dealer and they pulled the rear drums
only then cleaned and lubricated the assys and resolved the
problem in 25 minutes.
I have 21,000 kilometers on the odometer.

amyrf25

Hi,

Anyone have any ideas what this might be? 2007 R/T AWD caliber, when we put it in reverse and back up, if you hit the brake it makes this awful noise. We have it going to be looked at tomorrow, but just curious if anyone else experienced something like this?

bigtsr

You don't mention how many miles/kilometers you have on your RT.
The RT is equipped with disc brakes on all 4 wheels so it eliminates brake
adjusters,I would say best bet is let the dealer resolve your problem.

teigan

So I have a '07 caliber... less then 50,000 kms sxt, manual trans. and I have a terrible shimmy to the front end when applying the brakes... I know ...I know.. its probably the rotors right..... but I can't understand it a MT and its geared down to scrub off any speed and the the brakes are used ... alot of the driving is hwy not stop and go city driving... I just have a hard time believing that the rotors need to be turned already.... any one else have this problem, or is it all in my head and I should just suck it up and get them turned... ??

bdyment

You are right it is probably the rotors. Late model rotors--most manufacturers--have been reduced in weight to enhance mileage, etc. They don't last as long as they used to. Fifty thousand kms is over 30,000 miles so they are likely out of round and need turning or replacement.

bigtsr

There have been posts about the rotors warping under 50,000kms
however some of those have turned out to brake pad problems.
I would take it to a reliable repair shop or dealer and have it varified.
Some claim it occurs because the brakes were not "bedded" properly,
that's the process of setting new brake components by driving at
moderate speed and applying brakes sharply several times while letting
them cool off between applications.
Others claim that if after a panic stop you sit there with the brakes
apllied for a period of time it develops a hot spot on the rotor which
causes them to warp prematurely.
What ever the case maybe I would have them checked and replaced if
necessary for safety reasons.

rarcr

My Caliber is a little over 2 years old I have close to 70k miles on mine, and it looks like I'm going to have to put a second set (not including the ones the car came with) or rotors on it. I think that it is complete crap, that I have to repleace the rotors every 35k miles. of the 70k I have one it, 75% of it is highway, there is no way rotors should be warping that fast... that is just the start of many of the problems I have been having with this car.

galvarez

I have to say you are lucky you only had to replace brakes twice. I have a little over 46,000 miles on my caliber and have had to replace the brakes about every 15,000 miles, 3 total and can already hear my brakes wearing down again. Prior to having this car I owned a Scion TC. My driving routine has remained the same and after 30,000 miles I traded in the SCION for a CALIBER. I never had to replace brakes on the Scion and I REGRET trading in a great car for the piece of [non-permissible content removed] caliber I have now. BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. The transmission on my caliber was replaced after 30,000. And only six months after purchasing the car I had to have a $700 part replaced for the AC unit.

ben225

When every i back my car out of my drive way or parking spot it makes a really bad noise when i turn the steering wheel and when i press on the brakes i would really like to know what it is.

bigtsr

How many kilometers/miles on the car?
Are they the original brakes?
What kind of enviroment(snow/salt)?
What is rear brake drum or disc? (front are discbrakes on all Calibers)

Any excess noise is not good/right it's worth having them looked at
by someone who knows what they are doing.

morpar1dude

I had # tsb 18-031-07 service done on my 07 caliber it runs like different car I hope to report better gas milage soon .thanks for imfo.

mike_7078

Hey We have a 2007 Dodge Caliber,SXT Front Wheel Drive, Its not AWD. Its a 2.0L and I just have a question that maybe some of you Caliber Owners may or may not know. I need to know the Standard Rotor Size on this particular car, as There are two different sizes First Size is 10.86" In and other which I believe is the one on our Caliber is 11.57"In, ? I tried to measure it but the Wheel Hub sticks out so it's hard, to get an accurate measure. It looks like it is the 11.57"In. But I just thought I would ask someone, this if anyone knows Please let me know. Thanks

Mike

bigtsr

Yes there are 2 sizes of front rotors.
The smallest 10.8" x 1.0" for use with front disk/rear drums.
The largest 11.5" x 1.0" for use with front disk/rear disk.
In the service manual it states the 10.8" is for wheels 15" or larger,
while the 11.5" can be found on cars with 16" or larger.

zsaba077

Are you ready for this one.....I brought a 2008 Dodge Caliber last year it was doing fine....except for the grinding noise on the left side front wheel....than at 63000 miles the light with ) ( comes on and the car starts to shake and shuts down the brakes stopped working so I put my blinkers on and pull over. I shut the car off and start driving again....the same thing happens.
After they tow me off the turnpike....ohhh!!! did I forget to mention I was driving on the turnpike when this happen.....when pple are driving over 60mph in the am.....So the guy who tow my car told me that its the cylinders...two were not working...but he could not fix it because apparently dodge has a software for their cars and my was not put in so they could not diganiose the car and had to tow it to a chyslar dealer who said i needed a software and colis, and clean the throbble? then they wanted to fix my brakes i was like whats the point if the cars engine doesnt work they way it should.....then four days later it happen again!!! I dont know what to do....Im so mad....if they are known for having problems like this why arent they trying to help fix it instead.....can i sue? :sick: :mad:

burritomaker

My 45000 miles Caliber has been repaired of leaks from somewhere flooding all inside replacing no once but twice the carpet and scratching doors while repairing,console and dash board,rear door never closes at first time,the windshield broke when I close the door just leaving de bodyshop,brakes and lower arms and joints were replaced recently, :mad:

mswebb

When every i back my car out of my drive way or parking spot it makes a really bad noise when i turn the steering wheel and when i press on the brakes i would really like to know what it is.

msims734

My '11 caliber just hit 13000 miles and with that came a loud noise when braking. It happens as I'm coming to a complete stop and sounds like the brakes are wet. I had the dealership look at it when they were doing an oil change and they said nothing wrong. I know brakes Arnt covered under warranty, but come on, already? Is this normal? Do they need to be replaced?

skcamper

Hi guys,

2007 Dodge caliber- Don't like the car but I'm stuck with it. It has a violent shake and the oil light has been dining and coming on and off for like 2 months now. Found out I need an oil switch which I can probably do myself instead of paying the mechanic $195+ to do it. Also, I need front rotors which I knew already.

Advanced auto and other stores have them for $45 each. I know there r 2 different sets,so I have to figure out which one. The mechanic is telling me the cost to install them and the brake pads I need, is gonna be $600.

I am laughing rn.
I sort of am very weary of mechanic shops. Especially the chain ones. This is a private owned shop. And I am wondering if they think I am stupid or something. They say each rotor coasts $95 plus tax. Hmm. the oil switch in the store will cost me 7.99. If I don't need a new connector. I am a female so maybe that had something to do with the high price jumps. I don't know.

So I am going to buy the parts on saturday and use my new jack, though I like car ramps a lot better. And I will try to install all the parts myself. Does anyone know of anything I should look out for? Such as hard to remove screws or nuts? This car already supposedly had the rotors cut before 48 k miles. ridiculous, but stuck with it.

skcamper

skcamper said:

Hi guys,

2007 Dodge caliber- Don't like the car but I'm stuck with it. It has a violent shake and the oil light has been dinging and coming on and off for like 2 months now. Found out I need an oil switch which I can probably do myself instead of paying the mechanic $195+ to do it. Also, I need front rotors which I knew already.

Advanced auto and other stores have them for $45 each. I know there r 2 different sets,so I have to figure out which one. The mechanic is telling me the cost to install them and the brake pads I need, is gonna be $600.

I am laughing rn.
I sort of am very weary of mechanic shops. Especially the chain ones. This is a private owned shop. And I am wondering if they think I am stupid or something. They say each rotor coasts $95 plus tax. Hmm. the oil switch in the store will cost me 7.99. If I don't need a new connector. I am a female so maybe that had something to do with the high price jumps. I don't know.

So I am going to buy the parts on saturday and use my new jack, though I like car ramps a lot better. And I will try to install all the parts myself. Does anyone know of anything I should look out for? Such as hard to remove screws or nuts? This car already supposedly had the rotors cut before 48 k miles. ridiculous, but stuck with it.

The mileage is 83k atm.