2000 Dodge Neon ES from North America - Comments

I had a water leak on to the passenger floor under dashboard when it would rain.

At 39000 miles I have a oil leak said to be (by a service station) headgasket Failure or a bad cam seal.

After researching head gaskets are a problem on Neons.

Head gasket shouldn't be a problem on the 2nd generation model.

Took the car back to Dodge and it was a head gasket!!

I have a 2000 ES Neon and have a problem with the radio. It seems at times when I close the door, hit a bump this terrible noise comes from the back speakers. The only way to stop it is to turn the radio off and push it back on. The dealership said they could not find the problem, as the car did not do it for them. Any one else have this problem?

I have a 2000 Dodge Neon and having to replace the head gasket as we speak at $569.00 if they are having head gasket problems why haven't they been recalled

Diana.

I say that we all set up some sort of chain letter and get signatures from all dodge neon owners friend, family, or stranger and petition Dodge! All we have to do is get the news involved!! I'm down for that!

tynrose@peaknet.net.

We have a 2000 neon and we are now being told that our head gasket has gone bad. Said vehicle has been maintained by dealer, we reported that it was idling funny, but dealer said it was nothing. Now at 70,000 miles this. chalk it up to coincidence? Don't think so.

Hi I have a 2000 Dodge Neon and the head gasket is being replaced as of August of 2003. I took it to the mechanic before finding out I was under a limited warranty. When my church offered to help with the dealership to see if there was any way they could help I said OK. We did not get any results on the dealership and they pretty much took the out on the problem. So the church ended up taking it back to the mechanic where I should get it back sometime this week. I was told that the problem really is border-lining on a recall. I mean I haven't even paid it off yet! I wonder what to do,

Sincerely,

peacepa2003@yahoo.com.

I also have a 2000 Dodge Neon, and have been having problems with it getting hot, and running out of coolant. I have seen a master mechanic about this and was also told that it looks to be a head gasket too. Should I wait it out and see if this does become recalled? He also is working on another Neon that is having the same problem. Does anyone know how to find out if this is a recall or how to make it become one? Email me please... Specialkay225@hotmail.com.

I have a 2000 Dodge Neon that now has 93,000 miles on it. I am having the head gasket replaced, the head will have to be planed to insure flatness and the head bolts will be replaced due to reports of stretching from some experienced mechanics.

The cam seal will be replaced at the same time. It is also leaking.

There is a strong possibility that the fluid pan gasket on the transmission will have to be replaced also. After a nice evening at the movies, I got into the car to return home and it wouldn't move. I looked under the car to discover a HUGE puddle of transmission fluid.

This is my second Neon. I also had a 1997 Neon. I replaced the head gasket in my 1997 twice. Once at 65,000 miles and a second because the dealer didn't do the job right the first time, only 11,000 miles later.

I replaced the 1997 Neon in May of 2000 with the second generation model. The 1997 also had a leak around the tail lights and the spare tire was flooded.

Overall, I have been happy with the performance of the two cars, but I would only recommend them as a car to be used around town with the ideal user being one that won't exceed 10,000 miles per year. Definitely not reliable over a long period of time or much over 65,000 miles.

I will probably never purchase another Daimler-Chrysler product due to the way I have been treated during the process of repairing my two Neons.

This car was produced to be a stepping stone into automobile ownership for those that can't afford the more expensive mid-sized vehicles. All it has done is reduce the amount of money and enthusiasm I will have for purchasing a better vehicle in the future.

I have a 2000 Dodge Neon that has been leaking when it rains for about a year now and getting progressively worse. I didn't figure the leak out until about 2 months ago during a heavy rainstorm since the water would run under my passenger, driver's side, and backseat floormats. It was always hidden from view, yet there was a very distinct odor after a rainfall. I also have an unexplained leak where my spare tire is stored. Has anyone found the cause of this??

I am perplexed as is everyone I have shown this problem to. I am scared to take it in to a dealership because I don't want them to tell me that it will cost a huge sum of money to fix that I don't have. Please help if you can - jam82178@yahoo.com. Thank you!

I have a 2000 Chrysler Neon (canada), manufactured in February of "99. This car was part of the first production run of the 2nd generation. On this first production run, a lot of the problems from previous years Neons, including the head gasket, had not yet been corrected. I thought I was safe from the head gasket problem by buying a 2000 Neon. I was wrong. If you have a 2nd Generation Neon vehicle manufactured BEFORE April of "99, it will have problems similar to the 1st generation. I have also found it quite difficult to obtain parts for this car as all parts books at auto shops in Canada seem to cater to 2000 Neons from the 2nd production run in the late spring of "99, where Dodge suddenly changed a lot of things (including the head gasket). The head gasket in my car blew at 80,000 km's, and I made sure to get it replaced with one of the MLS gaskets used in the newer Neons. Problem solved... I now have over 190,000 km's on my Neon and no further head gasket problems, and almost 100% of my driving is on the highway in northern Canada.. This car has not been treated nicely at all and it keeps going (although it complains a bit trying to start at -40C or colder!).

Main point though is check the sticker on the driver's side door of your 2000 Neon for the manufacture date. If it is pre-April "99, you will have head gasket (and other) problems. If it's April "99 or after, everything should be fine.