Vehicle Data Hub

2008 Dodge Caliber engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 56 complaints for the 2008 Dodge Caliber, 10% of the complaints on file.

At a glance

Complaints
56 10% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
84,000 miles 47 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
1 and 1
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2008 Dodge Caliber Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 84,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 5 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 0 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 6 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 10 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 8 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 2 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 2 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 2 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 84,000 miles
Based on 47 complaints that include mileage. 23% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles5
20k to 40k miles0
40k to 60k miles6
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles10
100k to 120k miles8
120k to 140k miles2
140k to 160k miles2
160k to 180k miles2
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 47 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 84,000 miles, and 23% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 1 fire, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

I was on my way to work, headlights and dash lights started to flicker, all the indicator light on the dash came on. Smoke started coming in the vents into the vehicle went to stop, brakes grabbed for a second then went out completely, even shifting the vehicle to park did nothing. Stopped the vehicle by hitting guard rail called police, within minutes the entire front end was in flames.

Reported at 67,000 miles, November 2012 CrashFire

Car was already warmed and driven for about 5 miles, after stopping at a gas station to refuel and re-starting, it was idling very inconsistently and running rough, shaking. There was a dash indicator for electronic throttle control flashing. I tried driving it and there was jerking and pulling and the transmission wouldn't shift past 2nd, car would not accelerate beyond 12-15 MPH. I made it home (about 2 miles) and left the car for about 6 hours. Upon restarting and warming, the car drove fine.

Reported at 72,000 miles, January 2014

Other problems reported for the 2008 Dodge Caliber

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Dodge models