2011 Dodge Caliber

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A friend just got this thing. 102K miles, apparently it doesn't run all that well with some hesitation or something - I haven't looked at it yet. Apparently it has not been well maintained, his friend he bought it from admitted as much. I'll be taking a look at it tomorrow. At least it has a funny submodel/trim level "Heat" come on seriously who thought that was a good name for a 2.0L CVT turd lump?

Anyway, I'm just looking to see if anybody here has experience with Calibers? My coworker has one a few years older and except for some complaints with how the CVT operates (he bought the dipstick tool to check the fluid and we added a little fluid and it seemed to help) it's generally treated him well, though I don't think he drives much.
 
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That is a model which ended up in the junkyard faster than the average car.
The transmission is made by Jatco, the maker of Nissan and Mitsubishi CVT transmissions.
 
I owned a 2009 Caliber SRT4 with the 6sp manual Getrag transmission. Car was [censored] on wheels, and didn't cost much to insure. I loved every minute of driving that thing, but I can certainly see how a base model with CVT could make it a bit boring, The engines in those years, the 2.0 & 2.4 were solid and decent performers for the car's weight. I don't have any experience with the CVT, but I just don't see how the car can be that much of a "turd lump." They were good small economy cars with a lot of interior space and fairy reliable for what they cost when new. It is what it is; be thankful he doesn't have that same powertrain in a Compass or one of the heavier vehicles.

I sold mine at about 150k miles and the only thing I put in it was a replacement front wheel bearing/hub and replaced the electronic throttle body (gears inside stripped.) Decent car all the way around, IMO.
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
That is a model which ended up in the junkyard faster than the average car.
The transmission is made by Jatco, the maker of Nissan and Mitsubishi CVT transmissions.


I know, there are so many great cars for $6K and this isn't one of them. But the situation is what it is.
 
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The engines are great, the transmissions not so much and then everything else is a problem. Window regulators come to mind, suspension, sensors.
 
Don't forget about the bad frame rot these get up front that nearly makes them unsafe....my brother just dumped a 2007 because of it...

Replaced a ton of parts too....
 
Originally Posted by daves87rs
Don't forget about the bad frame rot these get up front that nearly makes them unsafe....my brother just dumped a 2007 because of it...

Replaced a ton of parts too....

Thankfully rust is never an issue around here.
 
Not the best bet at all for a used car coupled to poor care before. I'd just be supportive
smile.gif
as anyone would about a non optimal partner with a friend.

People wonder why Mopar has such an awful reputation, this car screams it.
 
Who knows the maint. on it -- hopefully with new plugs, acouple short oil changes to clean things up internally and at least 3 doses of Chevron Techron Complete Fuel System Cleaner ran back to back to back used "per directions" the car will run solid for him for many years to come. The 2.0L were not bad motors to start with. Best of luck to your friend. Also, do not forget about the air & cabin filters neither.


Dale
 
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Does it have a timing belt ? Is it due for a change .

Sorry , have no experience with CVT .

Best of luck to him / her .
 
Alright so I didn't drive it but my observation as a passenger was that at light throttle it occasionally hicupped/hesitated. Otherwise it seemed to run smoother than my four-cylinder Escape - I'm impressed. It definitely has that distinctive CVT sound - not that the CVT itself actually makes noise but you know what I mean - I'm used to traditional automatics. Some road noise but it doesn't seem like an awful little car.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be doing any work on this but according to the factory service recommendations the spark plugs should be changed every 32K miles, which makes sense since the factory plugs are copper type. I'm thinking just start with pulling out a spark plug and if it looks worn changing them. After that I don't know where to take the diagnosis between hooking up a scanner and looking at the live data while driving.
 
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