Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2008 Dodge Caliber
Only 4 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure gets reported
There are 7 reports of control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2008 Dodge Caliber, 4 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 20th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 90,520 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $700–$3,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 3 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2009, at a median of 55,000 miles, and latest on the 2007 at 97,500 miles.
By volume the 2007 carries the most reports, with 37; the 2008 has 7. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
08 dodge caliber se. Just riding down the road . Fuel throttle control module light comes on and car quits running while your driving. I was on interstate. Happened several times. Chrysler said it could be a fluke to keep driving it. Someone going to get hurt.. Luckily I was in a lane,where I could just roll into emergency lane. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge caliber. The contact stated the vehicle stalled when first started. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic for a diagnostic test. The test results determined a defective PCM. The contact did not have the PCM replaced. The contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. The failure mileage was 110,000.
Driving car at ~35 MPH - entire dashboard indicator lights come on - vehicle immediately slows down to 5 MPH - no power when pressing on gas - RPM to up to 3 or 4 (like I'm driving 80 MPH) malfunction indicator light and trans oil temp light comes on - almost rear-ended because of drastic reduction in speed in ~5 seconds. Took to mechanic codes u0101 (loss of communication with transmission control module and code u0402 (invalid data received from transmission control module) mechanic was able to clear codes but indicated that this is a common problem with dodge calibers - happened again on february 27th - called dodge (800-423-6343) and they said to take to dealership for $112 diagnostic (already know the diagnosis) - they could not provide any information on an actual fix for this problem - still want customer to pay for diagnosis with no actual fix - they can clear the codes (like my mechanic did for $50) and wait for it to happen again - only to (again) do the $112 diagnostic with no fix for this issue. I do not want to die driving this car. Dodge totally unresponsive - upon internet search - lots of complaints and talk of…
Also reported on the 2008 Dodge Caliber
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Other suspension problem
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Rust or structural corrosion
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 7 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 7 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure happen on the 2008 Dodge Caliber?
Across 4 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 90,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure on the 2008 Dodge Caliber?
7 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed