Mysterious electrical system flaw caused car to stall in traffic, completely dead with NO electrical power at all, on many occasions. Dealers had no workable answer on the first 2 visits--first attempting to blame a loose bolt on the battery cable. The second visit, again nothing certain, claiming to have "flashed the power control module" per a service bulletin. Third visit they blamed a faulty connector between the battery and the chassis.
So far, the third time fix worked; however, I can't help, but think it will stall again, when I can least afford to be without wheels.
Car is a little too noisy, but handles great and feels tight. While not a road rocket, the four-speed automatic offers good acceleration whenever it is needed.
Interior materials and finish is much better than most other cars in the compact class, except perhaps the Corolla. I noted the 2005 Civic's interior materials at an auto show, and fould them to be amazingly cheapo.
Hello.
Well, I just bought one of these cars from a dealership in Seaside, California.
It was previously a rental car with almost 46K miles on it.
The Carfax said it was a good car and it seems to be okay.
When I brought it home, a friend of mine said that I have about 50K good miles left on it.
My friend has a friend (yeah, we know how that goes) who said his Neon lasted fine until it hit 100K.
What does anyone know about this 100K "poop out?"
Is it true?
Lennie.
Lennie, the reason for the 100k mile point of destruction is because that is when most American made cars have their timing belt break. When a cars motor snaps its timing belt, a whole slew of problems can occur from the damage of it rattling around inside your motor. Everything from manifold problems to head and gasket problems and even piston problerms can occur because of a snapped timing belt. Again this usually happens around 100k. Most people usually get their timing either replaced or at least thoroughly inspected for wear BEFORE this point. I hope this helps you out a little.
Timing belts are not like the timing chains in older cars. They have a required replacement interval. The belt usually requires replacement between 60 and 100 thousand miles. At the same time the water pump usually gets replaced as well. Any car with good maintenance will give you well over 100 thousand miles. Also driving habits are also important. This is a four door economy sedan. You cannot drive it like it is a sport car. It has good power and pick up, but not like a sports car. Also if you bought it used you have to wonder why it was traded in.
I have a 95 neon and it has 205,000 miles on it.
'Nuff said.
I had the same problem with the car. I lost all power, no lights, nothing at all. If I wiggled the battery cable, it would start and run. Neon cars are very sensitive with the battery cables. Changed the cables after 4 trips to the dealership. They couldn't figure this out? 2 years later, it still runs great, never dies.
I have an 2002 Dodge Neon with 130,000 and it runs fine. Nuff said.
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