[KurtistheBarber]

I'm not sure if this has been posted before. I have 50,000 miles and the past week and half I have been experiencing problems with high rpms (btw 3,000 and 4,000), haveing trouble getting up to 55 mph.

First time it happened the trans over temp light came on I took it to the dealer and they hooked their computer up to the car and it showed there was no active problems. It ran fine for a week with the rpms where it should be 1,500 to 2,000. No problems getting up to 55 and maintaining speed. Then this morning going to work it seemed hard to get up to 55 and the rpms were up to 3000. The malfuntion Indicator Light came on (not flashin) then the transmission over temp light came on. The further I drove I wasn't able to maintain a constant speed. 50 then 40 then 30 all the while rpm's over 3000. I had the car towed to the dealorship today. The first time I took it there they said I probably had it in low. But after having it happen twice I know it wasn't that. Would appreciate any help if anyone had this same problem.

 

[Prop1]

There's a guy that posted in this thread with a similar problem: http://www.caliberforumz.com/showthread.php?t=1914

He's getting a new CVT.

 

[nebredsxt]

Transmission Overtemp Light

Hi...that sounds so familiar...10 days ago, I was on my way home from work when my transmission overtemp light came on. I pulled over and pulled out the manual...I laughed when I read that it normally comes on when driving at high speeds in hot weather. I was going 60 and it was 3 below zero. While reading the manual, the light went off, so I started for home. I got to within 2 miles of my house when it again came on, this time it stayed on. I tried to make it home but was only able to manage about 20mph. I had it towed to the dealer....a week ago they called me to say that the CVT is fried, it completely cooked all of the fluid and was destroyed. I have 49,473 miles on mine and was out of the original warranty, but I had purchased an extended warranty thru CNA. CNA flew a technician out to the dealer to look at it and certify the replacement. I have been in a rental ever since. They tell me the new transmission should be delivered on Friday...they think it will be ready to go by late day Monday...I hope yours is something simple and not a nightmare like mine!!

 

[Zonestar]

This is not good news to hear. Two Calibers with high mileage in a short period of time.

 

[nebredsxt]

cvt meltdown

I ordered mine new in May 2006....got it in July 2006....average about 500 miles a week...always maintain it....so this was a shock

 

[Prop1]

You want to hear a good one? The Land Rover I owned had a JATCO tranny. Mine was starting to go (like so many others) when I got rid of it at 45K miles. I'm not getting a good feeling about this...

 

[nebredsxt]

Jatco

My dealer was absolutely stunned....the service manager called Dodge and Dodge told him there had been less than 5 fail so far...they are bringing a tech from the factory to look at it to see if they can tell what happened. The dealer tells me that dodge is a firm believer in the JATCO transmission and all are hoping this is just a fluke...but, it does make me wonder. I am just glad that I have a super dealer...I have purchased my last 4 vehicles from them so, they take care of me...they called all over the country to see if anyone else has experienced something like this...I am going to call them tomorrow to see if they found any other cases like this one. Let's hope this was just an isolated incident and not a trend that others will start seeing as their Cali's start racking up the miles

 

[KurtistheBarber]

Just got a call from my dealer with an update and they were still going through their diagnostics. Just to let everyone know that this wasn't driver abuse. The last car I owned was a '97 pontiac grand am. When I got rid of it I had 300,000 miles and never had a problem with the transmission. I too have a bad feeling with this new cvt.

 

[JOJOCHINTO]

so you've got 50,000 miles(80,000 km) on your caliber already huh?

thats a lot of miles for any tranny to handle, but if this is true and its a jatco defect, this is friggin huge, affecting the thousands of current dodge caliber/mitsubishi lancer owners, and scaring off future ones as well.

keep in mind that at least mitsibishi has a sub compact car in place, , while dodge seemingly does not. the smallest viable dodge available would be a nitro, or a caravan(?)

im just throwing it out there but... any chance that while breaking in your engine, you may have done something wrong, caused the valves to function poorly which would in turn, cause your CVT to analyze the data coming in incorrectly...??? its along shot, but other than just plain bad luck, its all i could think of.

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Ha ah ah hahhaa ha....ha......So some people said they're having a bad feeling about this. A similar quote from Starwars films was used 6 times. So....I'm having a bad feeling about this...too.

But I'm double full of feeling. My Caliber was built in....May 2006...just like nebredsxt!...............and one more for good measure.......... Oh, is that 6 times?

But look folks. Several Calibers have cruised right past 50,000 miles(even 68,000miles) & they're still running good. Let's wait for some more Big K tallies. Could be individual problems. Lets hope for the best, :wavey:& keep driving. :Racing:

 

[KurtistheBarber]

I don't believe that it was anything I did. Same with nebredsxt I drive 450 to 500 miles per week. This is highway mile not on interstate stop and go. I seems weird that we're both over 49,000 miles and live in cold climate. I'm not a mechanical genius but could driving in snow and not getting good traction cause the cvt to get a bad reading or something. Like my last post, if I can drive a pontiac with a standard transmission 300,000 miles same 450 to 500 per week it seems to me dodge might have a problem. I'm hoping thats not the case. I can only hope.

 

[loreli26]

CVT + me = bad experience too

I know exactly how you feel about the CVT, been there already but .. a lot... sooner than 50,000miles.
Thankfully everything was covered under warranty, but the time and frustration waiting for the work to be done, that's another story.
All together it took 7 weeks to fix the car, and I was shuffled through 3 rental cars. I'm still very leery about the future with this CVT also from reading about problems that have crept up for yourself and others over the 50K mark. I really don't think I'll be keeping this vehicle past its contract agreement. I'll be trading it in on something newer by then :i_rolleyes:
(just passed the 5000 km mark this week)

 

[KurtistheBarber]

Heard from dealership today and they will be replacing the cvt. Just been ordered. Hopefully it take that long. Luckily I got the 100,00 mile warranty.

 

[nebredsxt]

Cvt

Let's hope they can get the CVT's replaced quickly for us! My rental is nice but, a Chrysler Town & Country is just not my speed!

 

[nebredsxt]

Cvt Replaced

My caliber is finally back! I picked up my Caliber, with a brand new CVT, last night. Thank god I had the extended warranty. The total bill was right at $4,000 with the rental car and replacement of the CVT! My cali seems to shift much smoother and have alot better response. Let's hope I get at least another 50,000 miles from this CVT! I can't say enough good things about my dealer...Gene Steffy Dodge in Fremont Nebraska....they were awesome!!

 

[Excaliber07]

My caliber is finally back! I picked up my Caliber, with a brand new CVT, last night. Thank god I had the extended warranty. The total bill was right at $4,000 with the rental car and replacement of the CVT! My cali seems to shift much smoother and have alot better response. Let's hope I get at least another 50,000 miles from this CVT! I can't say enough good things about my dealer...Gene Steffy Dodge in Fremont Nebraska....they were awesome!!

Glad to here that!! Congrats on the new tranny!!!

 

[FeistyOne]

::note to self:: Expect CVT Issues after/around 50,000 miles. :wow: ::end note::

Thank goodness for the life time powertrain or Id be really mad.

 

[Rodentman]

I don't think 50k miles is a lot for a tranny to handle. My Caravan had 105k when I sold it with no tranny trouble, and they weren't known for their robust trannies.

FWIW the scheduled maintenance on the CVT is a fluid change every 120k miles.

I bought the bumper to bumper lifetime warranty, no time or mileage restrictions so as long as I change the fluid every 120k miles I am covered. I thought the Jatco had a good reputation.

 

[KurtistheBarber]

UPDATE ON CVT PROBLEMS

Well last tuesday I got my car back. The dealership did a good job in getting the car back in a timely manner considering them having to deal with the warranty company and having to order a cvt. Everything seemed to be running like new.

Then yesterday morning the exact same thing was happening after only driving 500 miles on the new cvt. Not to mention having it break during a snow storm. Of course my initial response is those MF's. I had them tow the car back to the shop. Tonite I talked to the head guy in service to see in they had any luck. He told me they did and will be ordering a new "main brain". I assume this means the computer is the root of all the problems. I don't how it works, but it seems sending a wrong signal or something causing the rpms to skyrocket. Which then causes the transmission to overheat. So hopefully with a new "main brain" this car will run like it should.

 

[nebredsxt]

More CVT related nightmare....In January the dealer replaced my CVT after it failed at the 50,000 mile mark...cali ran great until Tuesday when my CVT overtemp light again lit up and I went into Limp mode...dealer says now the transmission cooler has failed...initially CNA denied the claim but my dealer argued that this was an obvious covered part failure and CNA is covering. I will not get my car back until Monday...this CVT thing is getting scary