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2008 DODGE CALIBER — VISIBILITY/WIPER

crash · 1069994 · 2014-05-29

Vehicle

Make
DODGE
Model
CALIBER
Year
2008
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Miles at failure
70,000
Speed
25 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

DURING A SEVERE RAINSTORM IN MY AREA, I WAS LEAVING AN EVENT PARKING LOT TO DRIVE HOME. WHILE WAITING AT THE STOP LIGHT I ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS BECAUSE OF THE SEVERE RAIN. THEY FAILED TO START. WHILE SITTING AT THE LIGHT I RESTARTED MY CAR HOPING THAT WOULD ALLEVIATE THE APPARENT 'SHORT' IN THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS, BUT IT DID NOT. AS THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I WAS FORCED TO MOVE FORWARD. WHILE DRIVING SLOW, I ROLLED MY WINDOW DOWN AND ATTEMPTED TO GUIDE THE CAR TO A SAFE SPOT TO PULL OVER. I COULDN'T IDENTIFY A PLACE THROUGH ALL OF THE RAIN, AND ALSO I WAS DRIVING IN BUSY DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC. I STARTED TO SLOW DOWN MORE BUT LOOKED FORWARD AND ALL I COULD SEE WERE TREES COMING UP QUICKLY THROUGH THE BLURRY WINDSHIELD; I IMMEDIATELY JOLTED TO A STOP AS I HIT AN ISLAND/MEDIAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. MY CAR WAS SCRAPED BY TREES AND PARKING CONES WHICH WERE LAYING IN THE MEDIAN. I HEARD SCRAPING AND A LARGE THUD AS MY CAR CAME TO A STOP. STILL IN THE RAIN, I PUT MY HAZARDS ON AND WAITED UNTIL THE POLICE ARRIVED. MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND I AM EXTREMELY IRRITATED THAT MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING IN A TERRIBLE RAINSTORM. THIS ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE. MY VEHICLE IS 6 YEARS OLD; AT THE 5 YEAR MARK I TOOK IT IN FOR A FULL-SYSTEM MAINTENANCE WHERE I WAS TOLD THAT EVERYTHING WAS WORKING FINE. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN MY CHOICE IN PURCHASING DODGE. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10594758
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown