[Prop1]

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

As I posted on another thread in answer to your post:

I've been pondering this, and I'm inclined to believe the cooler was the original cause of the CVT failure. Your dealer failed by not verifying the cooler's operation, and changing it out when the CVT was replaced. Hopefully, your dealer's short comings won't come back to bite you with the new CVT.

 

[raylc1981]

hi guys, i have a few stories on the infamous "cvt", mine also , when i first noticed, overheated when i was on my way to Virginia beach on a really hot day from New Jersey, i first notice a loud whining noise from the trans when i muted the radio to talk to my wife about something, at first i dint know what it was, so pulled into a rest stop and ate , then continued driving, it went away, might i add i had 52,000 on the car. Took it to the dealer they said it was normal because of the hot weather, i knew better. Happened again the folling week on my way back from Philadelphia, this time i experienced the fluid overheating light for the first time, and yes i had an extended warranty up to 75,000, took it to the dealer several times same run around, really regret buying this car for the simple fact of this CVT b.s., im trading this thing in because all it did was get worst with age and mileage!

 

[raylc1981]

By the way i change the fluid , with the recommended , arm and a leg fluid Chylsler require, so in my beliefs, i also think it the cooler and not the trans itself! And the fuid is very easy to change , dont let them tell you its this big time consuming job, its a drain plug on the side of the trans, its takes one gallon of the fuid exactly, chylsler sells it exactly in the gallon!

 

[24exwadehab]

OMG i need some help here. What a piece of **** car and the dealerships are aweful. 3 weeks ago I was going on a long 4hr trip and about an hour from home my temperature light came on....I was losing power quickly so i pulled over and got out my owners manual and it stated that it was an overheat temperature light due to driving in hot conditions and it was cold outside. I was in a bad location so i waited for the light to go out and then drove a little further to a spot i could pull off the road and call a tow truck. The dealership that it was towed to said that the diagnostic test indicated a transmission problem. The tranny tech looked at it but because the light was no longer on he could not detect what needed to be replaced so they told me to come and p/u my car. In doing so, i drove to the dealership i purchased the car at and advised them of everything that had happened and left the car with them. The following day they called me and said that the car was fixed and to come and pick it up. They said that it needed to be reprogrammed. Almost 2 weeks later i was on another long journey and was about 45mins. into it and this light came on again. Again i got it to a dealership but by the time they looked at it the light was off again. That dealership called me the next day and said that they couldn't find anything and to come and get my car. Again, i picked it up and on my hour drive back home the light came on again. It took me 2hrs to drive the car 25mins. to my home dealership where i purchased it again. When i got there the light was still on as i literally crawled the last little way. They saw the light on but before they could hook anything up to the car to diagnose the problem the light went out again. I made the technician there come with me for a drive but that damn light never came back on. I explained to the dealership that this is very dangerous and that i do alot of highway driving and if i lose power on the highway that this could result in my death. The lady said, "I hope you have good life insurance" and laughed. I was pissed!!!!!!!!!!! My car is there as we speak but i know that they are gonna call me and say that they cannot find anything wrong and to come and p/u the car. I too purchased the extended warranty and my car is still covered under the original warranty. How can i contact this CNA person that everyone is talking about. I DESPERATELY NEED HELP!!!!!

 

[24exwadehab]

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!!

wow, what an experience i am having with both this car, and the dealerships. My car is still under warranty and is a death trap and nobody will fix it. My overheat temp light came on for the first time about 3 wks ago. My car went into limp mode and i had it towed to a dealership. They did a diagnostic test and said it was the transmission. The tranny tech looked at it and said that he couldn't find the problem because the light was no longer on and i had to come and get it. I p/u the car and brought it to my dealership where i purchased the car. They called me a day later and said that it was fixed. They said that it needed to be reprogrammed. 2 wks later it came on again, again i limped to a dealership and they said they couldn't find anything and i needed to p/u the car. On my way home from that dealership it came on again and it took me 2hrs to drive 25 mins to my dealership where i purchased it again. When i got there the light was on but by the time they were ready to hook it up for testing the light went out. They did see that the light was on tho. I made a technician come on a road test with me to see if it would come on again, but it did not. I told them that this car is a death trap, i drive on the highway everyday and cannot be having this happen because i am going to be killed. They looked at me and my wife and said, " I hope you have good insurance" and laughed. Can you believe that!!!!!!!! I have seen on other posts that some people have mentioned that they had a CNA fly in. How do i get this to happen for me, is there a # i can call. I NEED SOME HELP HERE.

 

[shadowtrim]

the transmissuion cooler is built into the transmission itself so don`t think a cooler can be the cause when it is actualy inside the tranny or if the cooler is bad geuss what folks you gots a bad tranny. There is no more radiater cooler that is inside tyhe radiater for your engine with the cvt it is internal of the tranny itself!

 

[bigtsr]

the transmissuion cooler is built into the transmission itself so don`t think a cooler can be the cause when it is actualy inside the tranny or if the cooler is bad geuss what folks you gots a bad tranny. There is no more radiater cooler that is inside tyhe radiater for your engine with the cvt it is internal of the tranny itself!

Shadowtrim I am not trying to pee on your parade but you are partly right
with the info regarding the CVT cooling.
It does indeed have an internal cooler but contrary to your beliefs
there is also an external cooling rad located directly in front of the
engine rad.
I have both the service manual and the parts manual for the standard
Calibers and it shown in both manuals along with #'s and srv specs.

 

[FeistyOne]

ahh just think.. once the warranty is done, they will tell you all kinds of stuff thats wrong with it. Something to look forward too i suppose

 

[bigtsr]

Must be tough going thru life when your glass is always half Empty!

 

[zackman17]

im having bad transmission problems
grinding noises and accelerating issues as in not wanting to let me merge and so dealership says nothing ohh it's fine called hd office told me to take it back been to the dealer over 15 times dont kno what to do anymore 50,000km sounds like a bad age for these guys

 

[Prop1]

im having bad transmission problems
grinding noises and accelerating issues as in not wanting to let me merge and so dealership says nothing ohh it's fine called hd office told me to take it back been to the dealer over 15 times dont kno what to do anymore 50,000km sounds like a bad age for these guys

No, it sounds like you got stuck with a bad CVT, and a STUPID dealership. Try a different dealer.

 

[zackman17]

No, it sounds like you got stuck with a bad CVT, and a STUPID dealership. Try a different dealer.

yeah i went to 3 diff dealers i found a new one went there...they are ordering me a new transmission should be here by friday took 3 days of going to the dealership talking to them i was there for about 1-2 hours each time...pathetic but hopefully these problems are finished

 

[Guest]

Does anyone know how to check and see if the transmission fluid level is good. My caliber start to "slip" the other day... No lights but I called the dealer and they wanted $370. just to examine the vehicle. Could that be right.

 

[Excaliber07]

Does anyone know how to check and see if the transmission fluid level is good. My caliber start to "slip" the other day... No lights but I called the dealer and they wanted $370. just to examine the vehicle. Could that be right.

Sounds expensive, but the dealer would be the only one that could properly check your fluid levels.

 

[Prop1]

Does anyone know how to check and see if the transmission fluid level is good. My caliber start to "slip" the other day... No lights but I called the dealer and they wanted $370. just to examine the vehicle. Could that be right.

You need a $70 dipstick and a ScanGauge to verify the temp of the fluid so the level can be cross referenced to a chart.

$370 just to check the level is way out of bounds. Either there is a mis-communication, or your dealer needs his head examined. Clarify that you just want the level checked, or try another dealer.

 

[DKazoroski]

Does anyone know how to check and see if the transmission fluid level is good. My caliber start to "slip" the other day... No lights but I called the dealer and they wanted $370. just to examine the vehicle. Could that be right.

Please define "slip"

 

[lovemikats]

Hi. I have s 2007 dodge caliber trying to sell it, but it has s whining sound when driven. It has only 56,800 miles, I have driven it for 9 years with the whining sound, I was told it sounds like it's in the transmission. But before I spend s lot of money on the transmission. Can someone help me. Some ideas, I thought it could be the alternator, what do you think?

 

[672aq]

For slipping, I would suggest having the CVT fluid and both filters replaced (not a flush), and forget about figuring out fluid level.

You can take your oil dipstick, clean it off well, and check the CVT fluid when the engine is cold - has sat overnight and is at "room temp." Same level reading.

There is a special (expensive) dipstick with instructions written by a quantum physicist that you follow up the the point it says you need a special (expensive) computer to continue.

F— that! All that really won't do anything for you. These cars are so old, the the CVT fluid has degraded past its "sealed lifetime." It needs to be changed out every 60-80k miles. And at this point, you'll want to change the CVT filter, and the transmission cooler filter.

I highly suggest letting the Dodge dealership mechanic do this. It's pricy, but when it comes to who would be responsible for this rubber band powered transmission, let the dealership deal with that, should something go wrong. I never trust just "mechanics" to work on a CVT.