2004 Dodge Neon base from North America - Comments

OK I have taken my car to the shop 8 times in less than 3 months. I just purchased my car in september 2005. In December my car started to blow out white dust and would jerk me forward. I took it in and they said it was the spark plugs. I said OK and they changed them and sent me on my way. In the next wk, I was on the expressway in the 3rd lane preparing to hit 70 mph when my car went into a shut down mode and loss power and the speedometer quickly went down to zero. I looked over and 2 mac trucks were coming. I had to change lanes quickly and dodge cars in my dodge and hit the emergency lane. I had to cut the car off and cut it on a least 6 times. Each time I cut the car on I would push the gas in Drive and it would go no where. The car was just still. I kept jamming my foot on the gas and it did not go anywhere so I finally prayed and I turned it back on and jammed my foot down really hard. Then it took off onto the freeway. My mother and I feared for our lives.

This is only the beginning. When I took my car to get service they insisted that they could not find a problem at all. This was the 2nd time I took it up there. So the next week I was coming from the doctors with my arm in a sling. I was on the road at a red light and the car did not want to go when I hit the gas. It would shake back and forth. Finally it took off and I took it home and called the dealership and they picked it up with a tow truck.

The next day they call and say we could not find anything wrong with your car I said OK. When I went up there the Guy said my mechanic checked it out and nothing wrong with it we could not find anything. We drove it for Hours (meaning they put miles on it). I told them what happened to me they said well we cannot say anything until it happens with us. I said OK and took it home. The next day I was trying to go to work and it would not go up the hill. It would not get any gas and it had a full tank. Once again I had to jam my foot on the gas and still it would not go anywhere. I had to cut it off and on again and it would not go forward. Then I put it in reverse and had to reverse all the way home down the hill in our community. I called the dealership and they brought the tow truck again and he took it to the same place. When I arrived there the next day the same man said hey we have your car and we could not find anything wrong with it. I was like OK here I go again. Once again I told him my problem he said well we will drive it around and see what we can find. I waited over 5 hours and then he came in with the mechanic and they both said there is nothing wrong with it we cannot find anything. The guy said yeah I drove it too and I did not feel a thing. I said OK let me drive it you come with me. I went on the highway and the car was running fine better than when I had took it in. He insisted they did not do anything I said OK well how do I get off the freeway. When I looked over he had his head back asleep on my passenger side. I was fed-up with him and his ways and was and still am angry about this. Finally he raised his head and said OK get off here and decided to "wake up" and we got back to the lot.

So I TOOK IT HOME AGAIN. I was on my way to walmart about 1 week and 1/2 has passed by and I was leaving walmart when My car began to jerk forward like it had before, but this time with much more force. I said dear lord help me I was at the customer yield lines where customers pass and I had my FOOT ON THE BRAKE and it jerk me forwrd as a lady with her child came out the store. I had to cut the car off. When the people passed I started the car and it jerked forward again when I took my foot off the brake and was rolling me forward and jerking me forward at the same time. I had another customer crosswalk to yield at when I pushed on the brake an old man came out with his cart right in front of me and the car jerked forward my heart jumped and I just cut it off. I waited till everyone and everything was out of my way. Finally I made it to the stop sign at walmart and I knew if I stoped it would jerk me forward so I tried to push the gas and once again it was not getting power to the speedometer. I had to jerk my way through the stop sign and then I had to go down the hill to the red light. Where there is a busy intersection. As I got to the light it was turning red so I had to stop and obey all traffic laws. Time I got down to wait at the red light the other traffic was starting up and moving. The car began to jerk even harder while I had my foot on the brake, and this time it was INTO oncoming traffic AT A RED LIGHT. I was so scared. I cut the car off and I was already semi-way into the street into oncoming traffic the car would not let me reverse and trucks and everything were flying by me. I could not turn the car on because it would have jerked me right into the middle. I waited until the light turned green and when I hit the gas it did NOTHING it rolled so slow less than 6 mph. in the middle of the street I had to jam and jam and jam my foot to the floor board until finally it caught and took off really fast. Everyone went around me I was so devastated. It actually went to 50mph. So I taught it corrected itself. Boy was I wrong. When I got to the next light which was red it started jerking again so I started praying and asking God to please help me get home safely. When I got to the light I knew I was not going to make it so I pulled into Lowe's which was on the right thanking god I had made it. I sat in there parking lot and waited and turned the car off and waited. I prayed and started it again and it let me get home with slight jurking. WHen I got home I cried so bad I could have died in this car and I told my mother that I do not want to die in this NEON and the car dealerships keep telling me there is nothing wrong. This time I took it to 5 star dealership and I told them my problem and how I felt and they assured me everything was going to be OK. I said thank you please help me.

They got the car and the mechanic drove it home with our permission. He said it was a compressor problem and did not know why the other place did not see it when they changed my spark plugs. I said OK. he said this may have fixed the problem. I got it back and drove it home. Within the next week, I was coming from McDonald's and this car would not go pass thirty once again I was back to square 1 and it was losing power I had to jam my foot on the gas with a line of cars behind me and then it took off. I drove it to the 2nd dealership and took it back to them and told them my problem. They kept it for a whole day and the mechanic took it home again and found nothing wrong. They said we could not find anything so you can come pick it up. We washed it for you. I said um... OK They "said" they gave it a transmission testing or something so I went and got it this was Friday morning 24 fed, 2006. That evening I wantd to take my niece to the community center to run track. We have to pass over some rail road tracks to go the back way from our house becuase it is shorter that way. Well GUESS WHAT< There is a stop sign then you have to turn left onto the RAIL ROAD TRACKS and once again the car loss power at the TRACKS I had to bust a slow you turn (it would not go when I gave it gas) in-front of a car because I did not want to stall out on the tracks. I had to sit in a 4 way intersection and kept flooring it until it got gas. This was Friday. I said OK let me see what will happens if I try to make it to the center I am not that far away. When I got on the street to the center it was jerking just a little bit. I made it to the center and also to the park down the street and home. My mother was hungry so I decided to go to the restaurant to get something to eat. BAD MISTAKE. This car jerked me forward when I was preparing to cross over to Wendy's and I did not have time to cut it off so I floored it to the floor and it nudged out and I was able to make it into wendys. When I left Me and my niece got back in the car and prepared to go when the car did not want to go forward and just gave up and did not touch a thing and it jerked us forward and finally corrected itself or so I taught. When I prepared to cross the street I had to hit the gas had well the car took off slowly thank God no cars where coming that way. I finally made it home and I was so horrified. I did not call anyone. I am fed-up. I had to take this car to work today and I made it to work and back again, but on my break when I sat out in the car it was cold so I was in park with the heat on and the engine light came on after 2minutes of just sitting. I just asked God to help me get home safely and I did and came on line and researched after I tried calling customer service, but they are closed on the weekends. This is my story and it is still going on. They do not want to give me a loaner car because they say they can't yet I have to spend 10 bucks on a taxi one way just getting to work not coming home. I have 2 jobs I have to get to both. Why can't they fix my car after 8 visits. I am just fed-up completely.

Well I called customer service and they were so nice to me I told them about my 8 visits in less than 3 months I was so devastated and was crying on the phone Thursday night, but he was very nice and told me to hold on and he called and spoke with the service manager and asked them whats going on. Friday I picked it up and look what has happened since. Can someone give me help please I refuse to drive this vehicle again. And it's true the seats to stain easily.

I have the same car and have just started to see the same problems. Have you resolved this problem yet? I know when I deal with Dodge they will try to get me out the door without doing anything to the car.

I am the original poster and No they have not resolved my problem I have contacted customer service by way of phone and email and they continue to tell me they have done all they can yet yesterday and today I have been faced with this unexplained jerking into intersections and my car completely losing power on the road while driving. Now my peddle is like pushing down on a rock and trying to get it going. I do not understand why they refuse to help me and say they can find nothing. I have contacted so many people and asked so many friends. One mechanic told me it may be a fuel injector problem to use only premium gas in an "unleaded tank". He also said to use fuel injector cleaner. I have done all of this yet my car refuses to operate correctly. My warranty is soon to run out they told me that they cannot renew a warranty until the original problem is fixed. Looks like I have a life time guarantee on a death trap. I am seriously on edge and I am looking at options on filing a class action suit against these makers before someone gets killed. I pray to GOD it is not me and no one at all. Cars not even a full 2 yrs old should not be shutting down on the highway and jerking you forward. This is ridiculous and if I did not have to get to my two jobs I would be doing more to get a file against them. I am seriously in fear driving this car. I cannot go to church because I am afraid of losing power on the expressway. I cannot visit my grand mother because I would have to get on the expressway. I do grocery shopping for my grandmother and I have not been able to go do this for her for 2mths now I have relied on friends and family to help me. This is so ridiculous. I am very disappointed.

They are stalling you on purpose to nudge you out of your warranty period, believe me all they are doing is going "we don't know what you're talking about, your car is fine..." hence they do not have to fix it for FREE under your warranty. After your warranty expires they will quickly find the problem and make you pay for it!

In this case I can tell you what it is, it is your ignition switch and it is getting fried, once it fries completely you're in for some repairs! Some ignition switches have two sides, and can be replaced separately. Also faulty wires and computer chip can be the cause as well.

What ever the problem is, it is not safe to drive your car in that condition. Tell the dealer to start replacing parts at their own cost until the problem is solved, get another opinion at a non-dealer service center.

If I were you, I would have sold it long ago.

Hey, I've had my neon for 2 years and have had some similar, yet much less serious, problems as well. for the future though, I suggest you stop driving the car. also, for the next car you get, don't bring it to that same mechanic again. if you notice your car having a problem, and the mechanic says its fine, definitely bring it to another mechanic. good luck!!!

Hey, I am the original poster of this ad.

And guess what on March 31 I took my car to a real "5 star" dealership and they performed a co-pilot test I believe it's called they put a thing under my car and drove it to see whats wrong. We'll I had to get a rental they paid for 1 days and I paid for 2.

When I called the next day he told me they found a lot wrong with the car. They would need it an extra day if possible. I said OK so whats wrong. He said there was a problem with my oxgen pump, computer chip in the engine and something else. He said they would have too order the book to see how to fix it. I was sooo happy. Well the car must not have let the mechanic get out the turning lane and stalled. Well they fixed my car. I have drove it for over a month and no stallin, it has an even greater pickup, the guy was very nice and apologized to me for all I had been through with other dealers. He said he does not know why the other dealers did not see the problem on the computer. I said hum.

The rental they gave me was a dodge stratus 2006. HA!

It stalled on one of the side streets on the 2nd day and would not go pass 20 in traffic. I had to pull in the bushes and cut it off and on again! Who knows!

When I got my car back it drove very, very well.

But I am very happy now with the neon I even waxed it yesterday and it looks good and drives better than ever. I have been through a lot with this car and learned a lot.

Never give up on your car or anything in life keep on pushing and you will get results. Everything was covered under warranty so I thank the good lord Jesus for that. Thanks for hanging in there with me you guys. Remember if you all have this problem this may be what's up! Thanks and be safe out there

If anything else happens I'll let you know!

You have the patience of a Saint, and from your description of the breakdowns you almost became one.

What's killing the American car manufacturers is not the design of the cars, which is very good, but the build and service sides of the triangle.

I had these very same issues. Chrysler knows of all these problems and is trying not to fix them to save them money. I took mine to my parent's mechanic and he immediately found the problems. I had to pay for the things that Chrysler couldn't find and that would have been covered in the warranty.

I was so happy to hear that Chrysler is losing a lot of money, because for some reason no one wants to buy their cars. I hope the whole company goes out of business so no one else has to go through this.

I am the original poster, and it has happened again. Same problem! This time I took it to Autozone and they put a machine on it that gave me a code. It said 02 Sensor Bank 1. I went online and searched it and it was a sensor near the pistons that the gas has to go back and forth or something like that it said which is exactly what the Autozone guy said. Well, I am glad I researched this before I went back to Dodge because I was about to snap if it was the same sensor.

When I got there I told them I had the test done they said oh our test is "totally" different and the test tells you nothing like ours does. I went to the waiting room and he came back and said "it's your 02 sensor Bank 1 meaning it is near the pistons" OK I was like Liar!!!

Anyhow he said it was not the same sensor as last time and anyway even if it were I would have to pay anyhow because they only have a 1 year warranty on parts. So I said well I can't drive my car like this it's in the same shape as last time, and he went ahead and performed the service. All in all I paid about 284.00 for an 02 sensor. Then he said that I needed to put at least 200 miles on my car if I wanted it to pass the emissions testing, because the part is so new.

All in all, I see my future with this car and Dodge. If Dodge knows their sensors are going bad, why not fix the problem?

Your review was not only well written and informative, however it was very inspirational. A real tear jerker. I hope your Dodge works very well in its latter years, or you get blessed with an even better car.

You do know that if the car is jerking ahead you can put it into Neutral without turning off the car... That will take the transmission out of gear and the car will not be able to move.