1995 Plymouth Neon from North America - Comments

I have had my Plymouth Neon since 1996 (it's a '95 model). It has been pretty much awesome. Yes, I have some paint peeling problems (but it's ten years old!) and, like I've read in other's complaints, the speedometer works when it wants to (but I can feel how quickly I'm going by what gear I'm in). I've never had a problem with it until today. Went to go to work and it wouldn't start. I am a high school teacher and am poor as all get out and I hope it's just the starter (as my kids assured me when I described the problem to them). I got lucky...I've read, for the past few years, horror stories about my car. I do get ticked off about the fact that the controls in the cabin have been cracking / falling off for the past few years, but since I've put, probably, less than $300 bucks in this car since I got it (less oil change / lube job expenses), I don't feel like I should complain. This baby drove me up and down all of Virginia two years ago when I was even poorer than I am now and was looking for a job. I like my Neon; let's pray that tomorrow (when I hear from the garage) that I still do!

Fun to drive. A bit too low to the ground. Shocks way gone. Can feel every bump in the road. No problems with clutch or transmission after nearly 100K miles. Gas mileage awesome. I don't have a problem with trunk leakage. Controls in panel start breaking after about 6 years. Radio still works. A/C needs freon every two years. Brakes squeal like crazy when wet, but work.

Dear 1995 Plymouth Neon don't know from North America.

"I am a high school teacher and am poor as all get out and I hope it's just the starter." (What does this mean?)

$300 bucks. Tautology. You say the same thing twice.

Other's complaints. (Shouldn't that be others' complaints, as in complaints of others, rather than complaints of other?)

Does the battery turn the engine over quickly?

Summary: an interesting and much better written review than most of the other reviews found here.

But, you are a teacher, so we expect higher standards.

Must try harder 7/10.

I had the same intermittent speedometer problem with my 1996 Plymouth Neon, and fixed it by:

1. Remove the dash by just pulling it up and back.

2. Remove the instrument cluster by removing the 4 PH screws.

3. Using a 1/8" tip soldering iron, add a light coating of solder to each of the 10 pins in each of the 2 rectangular connectors. They are already tinned so it flows easily.

4. Just put it back together the same way it came out.

The mating contacts for these connectors lose their spring, and this makes the pins slightly thicker for better contact.