Wheel & Tire complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
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. …
Driving home from work around 8:15 pm. 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 traffic. In order to prevent the car from going into the on coming traffic I tried to turn the steering wheel of the car to my right and I can see on my dash board of the car that my skid light was blinking on and off trying to stabilize the car but no success at this time I am not getting much cooperation from my steering wheel and to avoid the parked cars on my right as I am pressing the break the car or right wheel of the car made a hard impact with the curb of the side walk. …
Severe rust to vehicle frame COMMON TO THIS VEHICLE, no accident. Rust has corroded frame despite normal use and normal care. Vehicle hasn't reached 75k miles yet, and the frame is failing. How is this not a recall?
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caliber. The contact stated that while adding air to the rear driver's side tire, the front driver's side aluminum air valve shot out and caused the tire to deflate immediately. The contact took the vehicle to an local mechanic, who stated that the failure was a common occurrence. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 57,000.
I took my wife's 2009 Caliber to our mechanic because she heard clunking noises from the front end. We were informed by our mechanic that a piece of frame stretching across the front of the vehicle is severely rusted. The steering rack and sway bars attach to this frame work. Also front end components. The vehicle makes loud plunking noices when going over small and large bumps and much worse when hitting pot holes. No other rust is apparent on any fram work under the vehicle. This vehicle is only nine years old. I think that's extremely odd for such a young vehicle. I feel this May become a safety issue very soon and think there May have been a recall that I am unaware of.
Subframe rotted away. Causing the drivers side a-arm to rip out. The wheel was at an approximate 90 degree angle from normal position. Caused the driveshaft to pull out of the transmission and the car to immediately stop.
I was turning in my vehicle for a trade in and during the appraisal test drive the axel broke and it had to be towed. The gentlemen stated that is was due to rust build up. Over the years, I have complain about the power steering feeling off, the car not driving right, etc and it has been in three places where the maintenance folks said nothing was wrong. According to the bulletin, these same issues should have been caught somewhere to prevent this from happening. I May have been notified but I am active duty military and move every two years to include deployments where I easily could have not received the notice. My car value was 1500 dollars before it was wrecked, but I should be reimbursed for the previous maintenance totals and the lost days of not having my car the other times it should have been fixed. …
The front calipers will not engage when brake pedal is pressed. The brake pedal sinks to the floor and has no stopping power. The master cylinder was replaced and calipers are new replacements. After replacing these parts it now smell of burnt brake fluid but there is no leak and the problem seems to worsen. The first time I was doing 45-50 on a county rd when a another car pulled out 20 feet away and I was trying to slow down when I lost the front brakes as pished in on the pushed in on the brakes the pedal sank and they didn't engage. I then bought the new calipers and it was fine for about a month. The second time I was stuck in traffic on a busy city street when the ABS brakes failed resulting in me running a red light and almost getting hit. It has corroded and took hunks off aluminum from my front driver rim. …
Related recalls (1)
Wheels › Hub
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with rear disc brakes fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) no. 135, "light vehicle brake systems." the length of the rear wheel hub mounting bolts May prevent actuation of the park brake.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rear wheel hub mounting bolts and repair the park brake free of charge. The recall began on May 8, 2007. Owners May contact daimlerchrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
Frequently asked questions
Which Dodge Caliber years have wheel & tire problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2007 (43), 2008 (26), 2009 (16) and 2011 (5) model years. Wheel & Tire complaints make up 4% of all complaints for the 2007.
Is there a recall for Dodge Caliber wheel & tire problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 07V-196 (hub, May 7, 2007). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Dodge Caliber wheel & tire problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 51,000 miles; 51% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the pressure monitoring and regulating systems (13 mentions), followed by the valve (5).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.