Best tires for the Dodge Caliber
Top picks across four categories for the Dodge Caliber, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 215/60R17. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Dodge Caliber owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Dodge Caliber owners.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
UTQG 800 with a 90,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Dodge Caliber owners.
Continental
Pure contact ls
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
71 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; well below the segment median. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Dodge Caliber drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Michelin
X-Ice snow
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Dodge Caliber drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best quiet Michelin Defender 2 | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 820 | 800 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 85,000 mi | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 70 dB | 68 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the dodge caliber use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 205/70R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2007–2011 | 215/60R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2012 | 215/55R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the dodge caliber
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 215/60R17; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for dodge caliber
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (22) · TPMS (12) · Valve (5) · Sidewall (2)
Reported across: 2007 – 2010 (4 years)
What owners described
Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault appears in 11% of these reports; about 4.8× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 35 reports covering every model year of the Dodge Caliber that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 11% | 2% | 4.8× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 9% | 9% | 0.9× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 9% | 8% | 1.0× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 6% | 20% | 0.3× |
| Sidewall failure | 6% | 15% | 0.4× |
| Tread or belt separation | 3% | 13% | 0.2× |
Mileage at failure
22 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 20,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 4,300 and 56,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Dodge Caliber. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 DODGE CALIBER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ADDING AIR TO THE DRIVERS SIDE REAR TIRE, THE VALVE STEM BECAME FRACTURED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS ADVISED THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM AND VALVE STEM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 56,000..UPDATED 01-10-14
MY SON WAS DRIVING ABOUT 15 MPH AND HIT A SMALL HOLE IN THE ROAD AND THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE SIDE WALL BLEW OUT. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR. THE FIRST WAS WITH ME DRIVING THE CAR AND ALL I DID WAS GO OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND COME BACK ON AND THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WASN'T THAT BAD THIS WAS WITH THE LEFT FRONT TIRE. TODAY THERE WAS A VAN IN FRONT AND HAD NO PROBLEM AFTER DRIVING THROUGH THE HOLE. THE TIRES ARE FIRESTONE AFFINITY TOURING T4 P215/60R17 95T M&S. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MAY HAVE BEEN REPORTED, BUT THIS HAPPEN TO US AND AFTER TWO TIME AND ON THE FRONT WITH THE ORIGINAL TIRES, THE FIRST TIES HAD ABOUT 2,000 MILES ON IT AND THIS ONE HAS 5,565 ON IT. I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS TIRE. THANKS, TOM
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 DODGE CALIBER. THE VEHICLE HAS FIRESTONE AFFINITY TIRES. WHILE DRIVING 8 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE FAILED. THE CONTACT SLIGHTLY STRUCK THE CURB AND THE SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE FAILED. THE TIRE SIZE AND DOT NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN. THE VEHICLE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 8,410 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,300. THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,300.
I TOOK MY CALIBER IN FOR SOME WARRANTY WORK. THEY FOUND THE LEFT STRUT WAS BAD. THEY ORDERED THE PART. I WENT BACK IN THE NEXT WEEK FOR THE STRUT AND ALIGNMENT. WHILE THEY WERE DRIVING BACK FROM THE ALIGNMENT PLACE, THEY HAD AN ACCIDENT IN MY CAR. THEY FIXED IT. I HAVE SINCE THEN BROUGHT IT BACK TO A ROAR IN THE CAR. THEY TOLD ME MY TIRES WERE BAD. I ASKED IF IT COULD BE BECAUSE OF THE ALIGNMENT WAS OUT AND THEY SAID NO. I ASKED IF IT COULD BE BECAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT, AGAIN NO. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD ALIGN A CAR WITH BAD TIRES. THEY HAVE MADE NO DEAL FOR ME IN THIS MATTER. THE TIRES DID NOT GO BAD IN A MATTER OF A WEEK.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Dodge Caliber →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Dodge Caliber?
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Does the Dodge Caliber need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Dodge Caliber?
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Last verified 2026-10-07.