I haven't heard of any Caliber bugs yet, but I doubt any Calibers have very many miles on them yet. My father always warned me to never buy a vehicle the first year out ie. possible bugs. I had some warranty transmission work on one of the three Caravans I have owned. I have no complaints about Dodge, service, price, etc.

 

has any first year "dodge owners" ever encountered any kind of factory defect or issue? if so...was the car returned to them in "new car" fashion?

also...nobody has gotten back on the question concerning interstate speed and feeling of control and sound...how does it ride driving on constant 70+ mph...and etc...

 

This car is really too new... not enough out there for problems to show up. On the bad side, it's an all new body, engine, and the CVT is the first release of its type. On the good side, while Chrysler cars never seem to make the best list, they also don't find their way (very often) to the worse list. CVTs aren't untested... Dodge has been working one one form or another since the 50's. One hopes they are fully tested and hold up.

As for issues, the car is really too new. They did find a leak around the rear hatch, but it was fixed during preproduction, per the press release. There aren't any problems showing up on the body, which appears to be a good sign.

I've been driving mostly small new Dodge's since the 80's, but also one of their minivans. I think you'll be both pleased and disappointed with warranty issues, if you have the luck I've had. They have a great warranty and, unlike some makes, you'll find your dealer is very serious about trying to please. Unfortunately, for the few times I've had warranty issues, many *odd* probs (rattles or leaks) weren't cured on the first visit... but they always welcomed us back again. As for maintenance problems (tranny or engine) the car was fixed quickly and the first time. There's nothing like blowing a $2500 tranny at 69,820 miles and having it fixed (warranty), to put a smile on your face.

I've always seemed to have bought Dodge products where most of the parts were available in the 2nd channel market (parts stores), so parts availability doesn't seem to the be a prob. They don't seem to (traditionally) lock parts to their single source.

I stopped buying GM vehicles for the opposite reason, back in the 80's, and switched to Chrysler products. There's nothing that'll turn a person off as to have a car break at 3K miles, have it fixed, and have the same thing go wrong again at 7K... and find you've used up your warranty. (I fixed it myself & the prob didn't come back again.) That was my GM experience & I won't go back to their products. This car was a diesel and it took 3 years before they allowed AC to release their filters through 2nd source. Paying $28 for an oil filter, $42 for an air filter, can get old *very* quickly. (Same results with the *GM* Suzuki, of course... but that was mostly body parts.)

 

I commute and was concerned with interstate driving myself. I test drove a SXT 2.0 and wanted to see if it had enough passing power so I went 80 mph then floored it, the speedometer soon went to 90 then a 100mph and I backed off. I set the cruise on 75mph and kicked back, it handles well and is very comfortable on the interstate. Go take one for a ride, before you buy one. I have been on two test drives so far.

CB

 

June, 2007