1998 Dodge Neon Highline review from North America

I got my Neon from my brother who bought it brand-new from Chrysler in 1998. I recently bought it from him (80,000KM) and it just took the car a week to give me a headache.

The transmission pan started to leak and the gasket needed to be replaced.

A month after that, the fan relay (the switch that turns the fan on and off) failed as well.

I know these are inexpensive repairs, but after hearing that Neons are lemons when it comes to gasket failure, I speak in behalf of all frustrated fellow Dodge Neon owners out there.

After doing an intensive research, the number 1 problem about this car is that its engine, in most cases, will blow its head gaskets off because of a defective or some Mexico-made fan relay. Why the fan relay? The fan relay is the switch that will turn on/off your fan in the radiator between 200 -230 degrees 'F. When the fan is not operating, the engine will start to heat up to how hot you can imagine thus making the engine overheat and warp the gaskets and engine block. When this happens, time to spend $1000 -$2000 or just simply start looking for a new car.

To be honest, I like this car very much. After spending thousands of dollars in upgrades like mags, body kit etc., its hard to let this one go.

Comfortable ride, fine looking, but I hate its electrical and engine components.