Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-47
The interior light sensors for the doors work when they feel like it. They have been replaced previously and only worked properly for about 6 months.
Head gasket blew at 96,000 miles. Head was seriously pitted and had to be shaved. Cost me $1,500 and the mechanic more due to other parts going bad during the test drive to see if the car was running right.
Since the head and head gasket problems the car has a significant loss in power. The car loses speed on small hills, not to mention I live in the mountains. My mechanic had it for 3 months and could not find the cause of the problem.
Lapis Blue paint peeled 6 months after purchase. Dealer refused to repaint the car. I paid over 1000 dollars for the car to be repainted and it peeled again. Dealership informed me that the paint or metal has a defect and has to be treated with a chemical and repainted again which they will not pay for either.
Speedometer sensor went out and acted erratic at 24,000 miles. Had to wait for a week for the dealer to even look at my car to determine what was wrong with it. In the mean time I had to drive not knowing how fast I was going.
Windows have an air leak making the ride very noisy. Have to turn the stereo up to stand the ride.
Both front and real light assemblies leak water into them. Which could be the cause of back up lights going out every 2 months.
Air bag did not deploy in crash involving the front end of car. Dodge recalled a sensor that was causing the airbags to deploy randomly without cause. Now mine does not work at all.
Brakes are very noisy. Cleaning or replacing them does not correct the problem.
The "Fuel Accumulator" as Dodge calls it or Fuel Filter connections using O-rings blows out causing fuel leak of over a quarter of a tank. This has happened 6 times to date. Dealership claims the fuel pump is putting out to much pressure, but when tested it comes back in normal ranges.
Car hates starting in warm weather. It takes me 3 to 5 times to try to get the car to start now.
Urine smell in the air conditioning. At times this odor is so strong it makes me gag.
Car previous to the head work, had misfiring problems that were unable to be recreated by the service department. Therefore the dealership said nothing was wrong with the car.
During turning the front-end makes a clunking noise, blamed on strut bearings and struts. Even after replacement the sound is still present. Dealer claimed the sound was normal while the car was under warranty, and when the warranty expired then the struts were bad.
I would not recommend a Neon to anyone.
Chrysler has repeatedly refused to repair my car at reduced or no cost for manufacturer's defects.
The cars resale value is nearly nothing due to all the problems with it.
I hear that the smell that you (and I) have in the AC is from a fungus. They say that if you spray Lysol in the air intakes (under the wipers) that it will kill the fungus. Also, this can be prevented by running the vent for the last 2-3 minutes before you turn off the car. Hope this helps, Dona.
My dodge shadow 1992's paint keeps peeling off. Do you know of any other case and was there any recall for that? I've seen a lot of them with the same problem. Thanks.
Man I don't know where to start this car is just a big headache! I think we have the same exact problems. First my transmission got a leak in it around 45,000 miles, then one day out of the blue I'm doing about 65 mph then look down and me speed gauge is reading 0 mph, the paint is coming off, the brakes scream even after I have replaced them 3 times (also they seem to have some kind of crystal layer over them? go figure) and last, but not least the thing that has urked me the most my doors! They will be all the way shut and my interior light will still be on! I can't stand that I got so mad one day that I punched the glass out of my drivers window which that cost me a good chunk of change to replace! But serioulsy like you say this car is worthless! I would trade it for a scooter in a heartbeat! But if you have any good tips on maybe fixing all those many problems e-mail me Ccaldwell0928@aol.com Thanks and good-luck.
I too have a Neon with a strange odor in the AC. I tried spraying Lysol and using numerous air cleaners and odor removers. Nothing I do seems to fix the problem. It seems the odor is most pungent when it rains and the weather warms up! I hate my car!
My back up lights have stopped working as well and the trunk has puddles of water in it whenever it rains. I'm not sure what caused the back up light problem, but after reading this and knowing about the water, I'm wondering if the two are connected. I really need to fix the back up lights, only I haven't a clue.
I have a Dodge Neon 1996 L4-2.OL SOHC and the paint is peeling. I would like to know if there's been any recall. I've seen other Neon with the same problem. What can I do?
My 1996 Dodge Neon is also peeling. I have seen many other cars of the same make peeling in the same way. As well, there are many threads of discussion on the Internet about other Neons peeling in the exact same way. Obviously, this is no coincidence and I would like to have my car repainted at Chrysler's expense. Some people have been successful on having this done, but it is on a hush-hush basis.
I also have a 1996 dodge neon with a single overhead cam. The paint is blue and is peeling in a bad way. Maybe we should all consider one attorney to file a civil lawsuit against Dodge. If you think this is a good idea, contact me at RanMagWarner@aol.com. It might be worth it to consult a civil attorney. Also, I am having trouble with my fuel system. I have replaced the ignition coil, the fuel pump and given the car a recent tune up. When the car runs hot, it drops below 500 r.p.m.'s and just dies out. Any suggestion?
I have a 1995 Dodge Neon and have experienced several problems with it. I have only had the car for a year. Since then I had to buy a brand new radiator and hoses to go along with that because of certain parts dodge has made the cars out of. The color of the car is green and the paint is also peeling. I have replaced my breaks 3 times already. Also the car doesn't want to go in reverse after it has set awhile. And just yesterday my car decided to act up again. It dies when I come to a stop or if I am slowing down. I don't know what is wrong with it. All it has done is cause problems since I have bought it. If you have any suggestions email me at elmo91185@myself.com.
My neon has had almost all of the aforementioned illnesses. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one dealing with screaming windows, peeling paint, finicky interior lights, a popping noise when turning, and brakes that can be heard miles away. One ailment not mentioned that also bugs me is a ticking noise that comes from the dashboard when it has rained. Thanks for your comforting words!
I have a 1995 Blue Dodge Neon and my paint is peeling off too! After reading your website, I see many, many cars are peeling! Can we not create a "class action suit" and force Chrysler to issue a re-call?
Please let me know.
Thank you!
I've had a lot of similar problems with my '96 Dodge Neon. Right now the thing sounds like a Go cart, and I'm not really sure what that is. I had to have the Head Gasket replaced at 35,000, (of course it was not covered), and just had a few other minor problems with alignment and such. As for the window air leaks, I have that, too, and I've found that if you close the door, roll the window down and roll it back up tightly, the leak stops. It's kind of a pain, but it works.
~Sarah :)
Cooling fans and tail lights!
Cooling Fans.
I've had a serious problem with the cooling fans on my 96 Neon. I think perhaps the motors are burned out or a switch/relay is messed up as well.
Tail Lights.
Well, I finally got around to looking at why my trunk filled up with water when it rained. It seems to me that there was no sealant put between the foam seal (attached to tail light assembly) and the unibody. I think I am going to use a RTV or Epoxy sealant on the foam and see what happens.
These issues really make me wonder what sort of Quality Control procedures the Dodge factories have in place? I am unpleasantly surprised at the amount of negativity surrounding Dodge Neons and will not purchase another vehicle from them.
Best of luck to all you Dodge owners. Go Wyo Go!
Doug.
Mr. 1996, do you want to hear about a lemon?
I own a 1997 Plymouth Neon Expresso. I purchased this car in 1999 (September) with 71,000 km on it. By the time I hit 73,000 km my first head gasket was due for repair. $1,200 later it was fixed. At the same time I replaced my stretched timing belt and my exhaust manifold which had a nice hole in it. When the car was finished I picked it up drove it home and called the tow truck to tow my car back to the place where it got fixed so they can put new belts on for the ones that broke off on my ride home.
The car didn't do too bad until spring 2002. I couldn't shift gears. Well the breather cap on my manual transmission fell off and little tiny pebbles went into my transmission and wrecked it. $2400 later the transmission was rebuilt with a new clutch because the original one was close to being toast. There were about 155,000 km on car.
Fall 2002 I needed to do an emissions test for the car so I had to put a new exhaust on the car. $1000 for factory equivalent. Funny part is, the car passed with specs better than new yet I was burning oil.
Fall 2003 the car was misfiring. Timing belt was replaced again because it was stretched and some teeth were broken off of the belt. $380.
Spring 2003 the oil burning finally stopped and the head gasket broke again. I thought well hopefully this would fix everything. $1400 later head gasket was fixed. Drove the car home and then drove it back to the shop to see what the oil leak was. Rear main seal. About $300 later the seal was fixed and I was told the guy who fixed my transmission put the previous rear main in wrong. Took car home drove it for about a week and my motor started ticking. What else could it be, but my block has bearings that are worn out. To fix the block cost just as much as a new motor. $3000 later the car is fixed and I take it home.
For a long story short for the next 5 months I replaced roughly 5 alternator and 5 power steering belts. $15 each. September long weekend I decided to go to my family's cottage before school starts. I get half way there and I can't shift gears with my clutch. My luck 1-year warranty and about 14 months later is when it breaks. Lesson to you who spends $400 on a replacement clutch that is factory equivalent. $600 later I get a factory clutch and put it in. For the next 3 months I replace more and more belts until the reason was found why they keep breaking. My crank pulley does not line up with any of my other pulleys. So I order an under drive pulley. $140. Pulleys now line up perfectly. I bought 2 new pulleys started the car up and took it for a drive. I got to use it for about 20 minutes before I took it home, I looked underneath and realized that my fuel pump is leaking. A new fuel pump costs $432 from factory. That is where I stand now.
So for all you guys out there worrying about wind noise or the paint not looking to great don't worry about it. I have those problems to. Be thankful you don't have all of my problems.
P.S. As far as the neon goes, when it does work there is nothing on the market in its class that can beat it.
Mike (the guy with a bus pass)
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one going through things with this piece of trash car. All this time I thought it was the dealer just selling me a lemon, but now I see that the car is a lemon itself. I just got the car about two months ago and after the first month, everything went bad. First, the AC went out. It seems as if the O-rings don't last very long. So now I need to charge the AC every month until I can sell this car. Secondly, after getting an oil change, I found out that there was an oil and transmission leak. One whole day after the oil change, the gas tank got a leak that leaked out all of the full tank gas that I had just put in it. I wanted to blame the oil change company, but after viewing the video tape, I saw that there was no wrong-doing and I know that I didn't run over anything that would've made the tank bust. I see now that if I don't get rid of this car, I will pay way more than what was paid for the car. I would almost rather giving it away, so that someone could use the parts for spares if they would even work.