1997 Dodge Neon Sedan from North America - Comments

The head gasket blew around 60,000 miles, but luckily it was still under dealer warranty.

The "check engine" light would go on for a while, then shut off. When I took it to the dealer to have it checked, they could find nothing wrong.

The transmission would occasionally skip, usually around the time that the "check engine" light came on.

Very hard to handle in the snow.

The tires wore very unevenly and the car always needed an alignment. My mechanic told me this is because the Neon uses camber-adjusting bolts on the wheels, which require tire rotation every 10,000 miles.

Overall, this was not a bad car, but the dealer's inability to discover why the "check engine" light came on was problematic.

This was the worst car I have ever owned in terms of snow handling.

The interior is very roomy and comfortable.

Poor in the snow? I live in central New York state (out in the country, NOT New York City) and is snows a LOT here! In the wintertime it snows nearly every day, and that is a fact. My 1995 Neon is the only car in our driveway that can get out and about if the snow is over 8-10cm deep. I have a 5-speed manual transmission in my car. You must have an automatic transmission, as they make it much more difficult to control wheelspin. Also, the American version of the Neon has a 2.0L engine, and mine is the DOHC version which makes 150 hp, far more than your 1.8L SOHC so power isn't the issue.

Dodge never offered a 1.8L engine in the neon.

I am currently driving a 1997 Neon that was given to me. The previous owner was being nickeled and dime with problems from the "Check Engine" light coming on and not going off to the oil pressure light coming on at idle to the engine temp rising when the air conditioning is turned on.

It was taken to several mechanics with no solution to the problem until it was finally found that the drive shaft in the car has free-play and can be moved from side to side by hand. This car only has 85,000 and shouldn't, by the mechanics opinion, have this sort of problem.