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Wagons Dodge Caliber New Caliber Owners - Give Us Your Report!
170 messages, Last post on Sep 07, 2009 at 4:37 AM
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| 2007 R/T AWD owners watch your 18 inch tire wear they seem to be cupping on all four wheels | |
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 28, 2006 7:23 am)  I purchased my SE w/2.0L, AC & power package yesterday, and I'm still under 200 miles on the odometer, but so far I've enjoyed it. For perspective, I traded a 2001 Corolla. Don't regret the choice. Wish I could have afforded the SXT but the SE with upgrades is a good alternative. Judgment's been an adventure. I checked specs and the Caliber's footprint is actually SMALLER than the Corolla's. Between that and the fact that I'm used to having a trunk behind the back window, I've been badly overjudging the back. I'm also still slightly overjudging the right. But I'd rather overjudge than underjudge. I noticed the blind spots right away; they're most definitely there. But in my case the higher seat goes a long way toward mitigating them. I've also been long used to glancing over my shoulder since I wear glasses and thus have less-than-reliable peripheral vision anyway. So far, it's been annoying at times, but no real problems. My initial impression of the CVT was that it was sluggish and required a lot more gas pedal than I expected. But out on an Interstate this morning it handled itself very nicely in the 70 mph range. Per the break-in section of the owner's manual I revved it a couple times and made it from 70 to 80 just as fast as the Corolla. After doing a bit more research, I have started to wonder if the "sluggish" feel has to do with the fact that the Caliber is heavier than the Corolla. More to come. My chief concern at the moment has to do with the fact that I drive Atlanta's Downtown Connector daily during rush hour, and more days than not I end up doing some hard accels/decels in the 30-60 range. The car seems to lean to the driver's side even though the car does not drift to the left when I take my hands off the wheel. To me the non-expert this suggests shocks instead of tires or alignment. That being said, the shocks on my last new car (a Nissan) also required a break-in so my current plan is to re-evaluate at 1000 miles. Also, the accelerator sometimes acts a little strange when I have cruise on but not enabled. This, too, is something I'll just watch for right now. I've got the base audio and it's well more than I need. Road noise is about what I expected, and I noticed that most of it is tire noise not engine noise (i.e., the engine is well insulated). I can drown it out with the audio at 12 or so. The difference between a cassette adapter and an aux jack for my mp3 player is pleasantly noticable. I wish the pedals were mounted a little further back. I'm only 5'5" and have to sit a bit closer to the steering wheel than I particularly like. But these are really my only complaints. Handling's fine, performance seems at least decent, etc. And when I got home from the dealership, I barely even made it out of the car before someone came up asking me questions and wanting to check it out. 
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Replying to: airnos (Jul 21, 2007 12:00 pm) Several owners have reported improvement, including myself!
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Replying to: justabeegirl (Aug 18, 2006 12:28 pm)  70 mph. It been about 27 mixed. I understand that Chrysler is now offering a UNLIMITED POWERTRAIN Warranty for as long as you own the car. Too bad they don't offer it on ALL 2007 owners.
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The Caliber has almost everything I want on paper. Reasonable price, auxiliary audio input, and available bluetooth and stability control. There are not many other vehicles for the same price that have those particular features. However, the quality control issues, cheap interior and bad gas mileage for a smallish vehicle make in unacceptable. It barely gets better mileage the V6 car I'm driving now. Many midsized cars like the Camry and Accord get much better gas mileage than Calibers with their larger and more refined 4 cylinder engines and 5 speed automatics. |
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| I've just gone over 43K in my 2.0 cvt caliber and the car still drives like new. No issues with it what so ever. I change the oil and filter every 5 to 6 thousand miles with Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic. Now that I've had Sirius Satellite installed I like it even better *L*. | |
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Replying to: burritomaker (Apr 30, 2007 12:48 pm) Other than that minor annoyance, I have been enjoying my car so far. Averaging 29 - 30 MPG on my daily commute. |
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Replying to: airnos (Jul 21, 2007 12:00 pm) I'm definitely going to ask the dealer about the flash update when I take the car in for the first oil change (which I'm planning for around 2500 miles). The sluggish acceleration and the hard "downshift" at 20 mph -- I assume this is the rpm governor kicking in -- are driving me crazy. Per the label inside the driver's door, it came out of the factory in June 2007, so I'm surprised the update wasn't already done. I'm also going to get a couple other small things taken care of at the same time. They're minor -- the door hinges need lubrication; the Chill Zone latch won't stay open; and the brakes have a funny squeak. Other than the accel/decel the car is doing fine. Took the car, which is now named D.C., to see family in another state (900 miles round trip) and it did great out on the highway. The shocks have settled in fine and there has been a marked reduction in tire noise now that I, and not the dealer, am monitoring the pressure. Given that I live in the South with CONSTANT a/c use, I'm pleased with the 26/30 mpg I'm getting. I'm very glad I bought this car. I'm still getting used to it, but I've already had one rather close call and the car did exactly what I wanted it to do. To me that's the most important thing: can I rely on the car to perform well enough to keep me out of wrecks. I'm pleased to say I can.
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Replying to: airnos (Aug 03, 2007 5:38 pm) My SXT 2.0L/CVT has only been back to the dealer for my free oil changes and the TSB# 18-031-07. It's drives the way I expected sporty and fun to use and the MPG has gotten better after the TSB, last tank 30% city driving with hiway driving 4 adults and luggage at 70-80 mph with A/C on averaged 30 mpg US. The downshift at 20 mph is the result of the engine programming,when you lift off the gas it goes to economy mode at 20 mph reducing gas consumption and that with the CVT adjusting felt harsh in mine also,after the flash and at about 8,000 miles it became less noticeable. I fixed the chillzone door myself with piece of velcro.
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Replying to: bigtsr (Aug 04, 2007 6:18 am) |
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