Dodge Caliber makes loud noise when accelerating

General Discussion
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1

i bought a Dodge Caliber & when i accelerate it makes a really loud noise . i guess i would describe it as sounding like a lawnmower kind of . the car drives fine & everything , it just makes that really loud noise when accelerating , but when i let off the gas it’s quiet .

2

Did you not test drive this thing ?

3

Could be from an exhaust leak.

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4

could be the cvt trans.
Yep, cat conv trans.

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5

Perhaps someone has stolen your catalytic converter.

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i did , but i thought it was just a muffler issue . but i’m not sure & can’t get it looked at yet .

7

this is what i thought .

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what does that mean ?

9

If there’s a local exhaust specialty shop, they’ll be able to diagnose it quickly.

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10

+1 for exhaust related problem.

The noise changing with the RPMs (acceleration) is a clear indicator.

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11

I’m guessing OMG is probably right, post above. Someone has stolen you car’s cat. Common theft item. A neighbor recently had their cat stolen from a Honda, and that was the symptom. It was louder than normal even at idle, but really loud when accelerating from a stop.

If not that, by reports here Chrysler products seem to have two problems, the first is a gadget called the TIPM (totally integrated power module), and valve spring breakage (mostly w/engines that have the variable displacement feature.) Neither of those seems a likely explanation for this problem though. Does your car have the variable displacement feature? Sometimes that’s called active fuel management I think. Turbo engine?

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12

Well hopefully we get an answer, personally I am leaning towards an exhaust manifold gasket.

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13

so it turns out that somebody has stolen the catalytic converter .

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14

That would make the car too loud to test drive, is your hearing OK?

15

Was the catalytic converter missing when you bought the car? I think it’s illegal to sell a car without the cat. If stolen afterwards, your auto insurance should pay for it, less your deductible.

16

Hopefully his comp deduc is low. Theft coverage will replace cat. I’ll make a wild guess the cat was there when he bought car.

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My neighbor told me his insurance company paid for at least part of the replacement cost when his cat was stolen. I’m not sure if they’ll pay the entire fee b/c they could argue the cat is a wearing item, as used not worth as much as a new one.