For someone who says they have too many cars you don't seem to know much about them. There are many reasons to run a transmission cooler even if you aren't towing as excessive heat is the enemy of an AT trans. The CVT transmissions in the Calibers tend to run hot and on some cars an aux cooler is very helpful.
I probably know a lot more than u . First off there is a stock nice size cooler in front already . All transmissions run hot brother .....its when your towing a boat or something heavy that you'll need xtra protection . If you want more then just run full synthetic oil which keeps it cooler by itself . I dont see anyone towing anything with a 4 cylinder dodge caliber and if they do they would be known as Ding Dongs
CVT transmissions have a pressure differential. That means that when you lay on the gas pedal, the pressure has to “build” up enough to engage, thus making it lurch.
I have maintained my cvt meticulously since 08 when bought brand new. At 130k now. Bought trans dipstick and have had both filters and fluid (mopar branded cvt+4 full synthetic )changed 3x already (@50k, 90k, and 120k, first two by forcing the dealership, but they will not change the round paper filter, had to have my mechanic do that, and the third change was all done by him) drive very carefully all these years and transmission will overheat with trans overheat light on at the drop of a hat. If weather is over 80 and I drive a few minutes on a slight incline, tranny starts to whine fiercely and overheat light kicks on. This only started happening after 50k miles. Live in Washington state so temp is pretty mild. My next solution is an external cooler so Im going to have to be in the group that disagrees with you that this thing needs an external cooler to function in the heat and hills at all. I have the lifetime warranty on the powertrain from dodge and the dealership is less than no help when it comes to troubleshooting the trans overheating. They actually recommended to me i didnt need to ever change trans fluid as it was a "sealed" design from jatco and was not necessary unless it was a fleet vehicle🤣. I'm so over this transmission its hard to describe my frustration. I am keeping it however because of the lifetime warranty and im going to drive it till it blows up or the wheels rot off.
I never trust a mechanic to do any job unless I see it done with my own eyes . Too many crooks out there and they could easily be telling you filter change without touching it . No need for a cooler....have you seen the stock cooler on the car ? Good size cooler . And no such thing as lifetime trani fluid ....they are full of chit
@@mike7044863 , as far as the engine is concerned, and at 168,000 miles, my Caliber runs fine. No complaints there. With mine, when I got it, the crossmember had rotted out causing the axle to be pulled out and then collapsing as it crossed the tracks, letting all the tranny fluid to leak. Got that fixed, and now the transmission is “hinkey”. Starting to whine, overheat and stall. My greatest concern with this vehicle isn’t the motor, it’s the transmission and they knew about its faults. From what I’ve gathered so far, it’s the “valve body” that is now on its way out and I am considering dropping another tranny in the Caliber. I used to work for Subaru and I can tell you that two cars on the same day are not the same. Most of those vehicles that come off the line, if they have been screwed up during the build, are put in a lot until we can run them through the plant at each stage to fix the problem. It’s a crap shoot no matter the manufacturer.
U r so rite a lot of ppl want to junk these cars cuz of the transmission. Going into limp mode or overheating an all it is the top filter under the battery . I had a man to tell me I need a new transmission 3500 I said nope an took an changed it myself an 12$ part an the cars drives fine but the mechanic did try an tear the transmission out smh.
I want to junk mine for the same reason but have to keep it cause of the warranty. I have changed both filters and have kept this transmission meticulously maintained since 2008. You can read above my other comment where I go into more detail. This thing still overheats any chance it gets on a hill or if the temperature's over 80°. And theory according to the way I drive and the way I've meticulously maintained this thing it shouldn't overheat but it does. Light comes on, goes into limp mode, transmission screaming etc etc. utter garbage design by jatco
Hey Mike, we just bought a car like yours with 189k miles. Ran great for the first 3 hours on the road but light came on for the transmission fluid. We nursed it the rest of the way to our destination but it was frustrating
Didn't know trani had a light .Wonder if it's for oil change reminder or overheat . 189k is good mileage but ya when I buy my cars I change all the oils n fluids 1st thing. Just bought a van from Florida a month ago and had to revamp everything to tow my boat ...especially the trani
Also in your case I think most states have lemon laws in place. If that trani is bad ....take it back and they have to either fix or refund . I personally won't buy a car with over 115,00 on it . My van I just got from Florida is a 2003 with 44,000.....mint Florida cond
Remove the battery cover and you'll see the dip stick port for the transmission fluid. You'll need a trans dipstick from the auto parts, then you can make sure it's around 40-50. If it's low, make sure to add cvt fluid.
Now why did she have to pull over ?? Engine overheating ? Transmission ? Reason I'm asking is because that can happen on any car depending on the cause . So far so Good with mine .....yes its a little 4 cylinder but surprisingly it gets up and goes pretty well . I put in 4 quarts of full synthetic tranny fluid and will do more on first pan drop . Full syn 0w40 oil and also I drained the pink Rad fluid and going green . I run 100% concentrate Radiator fluid in all my cars ( No 50/50 ) And Not a problem such as heater cores rusting out ect .
If you just bought a used one I'd drop the pan , change the filter . Now there may be 2 filters , check with autozone when u buy . Replace with Full synthetic cvt trans oil and DONT OVERFILL . If you dont have the dipstick then buy one on ebay . These trannys on the little 4 cylinders seem to slip as your giving it the gas but thats how they are designed , they wind out while shifting gears . I just took mine to florida and through the mountains she ran great . One spot By Chattanooga My van would always lose power because of elevation , like your giving it the gas and she doesnt want to go ......Caliber did the same thing so its definitely an elevation issue and not mechanical.
@@Bajaheat what year and how many miles are on that car. I'd say as long as you got the fluid level correct you should be good to go. yeah depending on the year of the car and how many miles it has it may not run exactly perfect and it could be a number of things causing that. that's pretty much what you expect with any car
@@mike7044863 08 and 75k miles, I changed the plugs today and it seemed to help, I think the cars cvt just took some getting used to because I don’t notice it anymore except sometimes when cruising it feels rubber brandish if that makes sense lol
For someone who says they have too many cars you don't seem to know much about them. There are many reasons to run a transmission cooler even if you aren't towing as excessive heat is the enemy of an AT trans. The CVT transmissions in the Calibers tend to run hot and on some cars an aux cooler is very helpful.
I probably know a lot more than u . First off there is a stock nice size cooler in front already . All transmissions run hot brother .....its when your towing a boat or something heavy that you'll need xtra protection . If you want more then just run full synthetic oil which keeps it cooler by itself . I dont see anyone towing anything with a 4 cylinder dodge caliber and if they do they would be known as Ding Dongs
CVT transmissions have a pressure differential. That means that when you lay on the gas pedal, the pressure has to “build” up enough to engage, thus making it lurch.
I always wondered why that was. I absolutely loathe that lurch and hate this transmission with a passion.
I have maintained my cvt meticulously since 08 when bought brand new. At 130k now. Bought trans dipstick and have had both filters and fluid (mopar branded cvt+4 full synthetic )changed 3x already (@50k, 90k, and 120k, first two by forcing the dealership, but they will not change the round paper filter, had to have my mechanic do that, and the third change was all done by him) drive very carefully all these years and transmission will overheat with trans overheat light on at the drop of a hat. If weather is over 80 and I drive a few minutes on a slight incline, tranny starts to whine fiercely and overheat light kicks on. This only started happening after 50k miles. Live in Washington state so temp is pretty mild. My next solution is an external cooler so Im going to have to be in the group that disagrees with you that this thing needs an external cooler to function in the heat and hills at all. I have the lifetime warranty on the powertrain from dodge and the dealership is less than no help when it comes to troubleshooting the trans overheating. They actually recommended to me i didnt need to ever change trans fluid as it was a "sealed" design from jatco and was not necessary unless it was a fleet vehicle🤣. I'm so over this transmission its hard to describe my frustration. I am keeping it however because of the lifetime warranty and im going to drive it till it blows up or the wheels rot off.
I never trust a mechanic to do any job unless I see it done with my own eyes . Too many crooks out there and they could easily be telling you filter change without touching it . No need for a cooler....have you seen the stock cooler on the car ? Good size cooler . And no such thing as lifetime trani fluid ....they are full of chit
I can tell u 100% certain, the upper 1/4 of the condensor is the trans cooler, learned the hard way
@justinsmith6860 And that may be Good enough . All I know is that the tranny lines lead up front to the condenser which looks to be a decent size
I got one of these recently and they are a piece of work. Enjoy.
Mine runs great so far
@@mike7044863 , as far as the engine is concerned, and at 168,000 miles, my Caliber runs fine. No complaints there. With mine, when I got it, the crossmember had rotted out causing the axle to be pulled out and then collapsing as it crossed the tracks, letting all the tranny fluid to leak. Got that fixed, and now the transmission is “hinkey”. Starting to whine, overheat and stall. My greatest concern with this vehicle isn’t the motor, it’s the transmission and they knew about its faults. From what I’ve gathered so far, it’s the “valve body” that is now on its way out and I am considering dropping another tranny in the Caliber. I used to work for Subaru and I can tell you that two cars on the same day are not the same. Most of those vehicles that come off the line, if they have been screwed up during the build, are put in a lot until we can run them through the plant at each stage to fix the problem. It’s a crap shoot no matter the manufacturer.
@@pastmasterdan4080 As with most vehicals ....They all have their weak points . I only paid 4 grand for this one with 3000 miles on it . I'm good
U r so rite a lot of ppl want to junk these cars cuz of the transmission. Going into limp mode or overheating an all it is the top filter under the battery . I had a man to tell me I need a new transmission 3500 I said nope an took an changed it myself an 12$ part an the cars drives fine but the mechanic did try an tear the transmission out smh.
I want to junk mine for the same reason but have to keep it cause of the warranty. I have changed both filters and have kept this transmission meticulously maintained since 2008. You can read above my other comment where I go into more detail. This thing still overheats any chance it gets on a hill or if the temperature's over 80°. And theory according to the way I drive and the way I've meticulously maintained this thing it shouldn't overheat but it does. Light comes on, goes into limp mode, transmission screaming etc etc. utter garbage design by jatco
awesome! Where do you guys get that deal?
Shop around
Hey Mike, we just bought a car like yours with 189k miles. Ran great for the first 3 hours on the road but light came on for the transmission fluid. We nursed it the rest of the way to our destination but it was frustrating
Didn't know trani had a light .Wonder if it's for oil change reminder or overheat . 189k is good mileage but ya when I buy my cars I change all the oils n fluids 1st thing. Just bought a van from Florida a month ago and had to revamp everything to tow my boat ...especially the trani
Also in your case I think most states have lemon laws in place. If that trani is bad ....take it back and they have to either fix or refund . I personally won't buy a car with over 115,00 on it . My van I just got from Florida is a 2003 with 44,000.....mint Florida cond
Remove the battery cover and you'll see the dip stick port for the transmission fluid. You'll need a trans dipstick from the auto parts, then you can make sure it's around 40-50. If it's low, make sure to add cvt fluid.
thank you so much
my grandma has an 07 caliber, she drove up north a few days ago and had to pull over 5 times, shes getting rid of it tomorrow.
Now why did she have to pull over ?? Engine overheating ? Transmission ? Reason I'm asking is because that can happen on any car depending on the cause . So far so Good with mine .....yes its a little 4 cylinder but surprisingly it gets up and goes pretty well . I put in 4 quarts of full synthetic tranny fluid and will do more on first pan drop . Full syn 0w40 oil and also I drained the pink Rad fluid and going green . I run 100% concentrate Radiator fluid in all my cars ( No 50/50 ) And Not a problem such as heater cores rusting out ect .
good car trust had mine 16 years had minor issues
Ya ive had some haters but every car has issues of some kind . ....such is life
When you’re taking off gently does it lug? Just bought one and it seems to lug a lot
If you just bought a used one I'd drop the pan , change the filter . Now there may be 2 filters , check with autozone when u buy . Replace with Full synthetic cvt trans oil and DONT OVERFILL . If you dont have the dipstick then buy one on ebay . These trannys on the little 4 cylinders seem to slip as your giving it the gas but thats how they are designed , they wind out while shifting gears . I just took mine to florida and through the mountains she ran great . One spot By Chattanooga My van would always lose power because of elevation , like your giving it the gas and she doesnt want to go ......Caliber did the same thing so its definitely an elevation issue and not mechanical.
@@mike7044863 changed it yesterday with amsoil cvt fluid, did both filters too
@@Bajaheat what year and how many miles are on that car. I'd say as long as you got the fluid level correct you should be good to go. yeah depending on the year of the car and how many miles it has it may not run exactly perfect and it could be a number of things causing that. that's pretty much what you expect with any car
@@mike7044863 08 and 75k miles, I changed the plugs today and it seemed to help, I think the cars cvt just took some getting used to because I don’t notice it anymore except sometimes when cruising it feels rubber brandish if that makes sense lol
@@Bajaheat Ya little 4 poppers wind out during shifting . Plugs , air filter , Gas filters are always the 1st things i check . Good luck
Let me know when the front crossmember rots out and the wheels fall off. Literally….
I dont drive it in the winter ...Rust free
I replaced that on my sons car in 2021. Runnin great
Hey mike. Just picked up same car, can I interact with you for info please.
Only if im not sleeping ...Sure
No this car needs extranal gear radiator this car gear is a trouble machine I have checked 34 cars
No problem with mine yet ....keep fluid changed n filters every 35,000