Problems with 1995 Dodge Neon ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Peeling paint on my 1995 dodge neon. i am on my third transmission, replaced air conditioner because of smoke under hood, brakes, rotors, fuel leaking, valve cover gasket, head gasket, no oil in engine had it towed. i also in the time i own my neon i have had all kinds of problems. after replacing all this i only had one recall sent to me on the steering coupler. i had that fixed at the dealer. but, i haven't had any other recalls sent to me. 2 transmissions and alot of money spent on a lemon. *tr

Vehicle drives from approx 8 miles before check engine light comes on. then after that the engine sputters and stalls while driving down the road. after several minutes of waiting the vehicle can be driven for a few miles then stalls again. after sitting all night vehicle can be driven for a short distance. oedb2 code reader said cylinder 1 misfire.. replaces spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, checked coil. everything seams to be working fine. vehicle can be ran at idle for very long time with no complications. pcm is bad.... their is a recall in effect but my vin doesn't match up. see recall 94v-033.. been going on for quite some time now. and after ruling everything out it is the pcm... i believe the recall should be re opened to include last 8 vin code st356500. *nm

The consumer took the vehicle into the mechanic and was told that the had gone bad. water seeped into the tank</a>. while driving consumer heard a clanking noise that came from the front end of the vehicle. the vehicle over heated. please provide any further information. *jb *tc

I own a 1995 dodge neon and it has a major headgasket oil leak that a mechanic diagnosed. the headgasket leak has been getting worse and this is a major problem because i am adding a quart of oil every three days. the entire bottom of the engine is covered in oil. i checked the nhtsa defect investigation reports and many consumers have complained about this serious problem. every time i drive there is a strong smell of burned oil. on 12-15-2003 smoke started to come from the engine. i am very worried that this might start an engine fire if the car gets very hot. i have checked various automotive websites and in one site a dodge owner mentions that his mechanic told him that a customers dodge neon had an engine fire. i contacted a local dodge dealer and they said that they could do nothing about it. this is an obvious design defect that is also a safety risk not only of engine fires but also engine stalls due to low oil levels. there is also a problem with the brakes making strange sounds. *la

Head gasket needed to be replaced. coolant goes inside the engine. dealer notified. *ak

The brakes on the car are just terrible. i bought the car in 2002, it was a 1995 neon dodge(best i could buy back then). but in less than a year since i've had the car i've had to have the air conditioner fixed one time, the paint is basically peeling off by itself, but the worst part are the brakes, i've had them changed three times in less than eight months. once i almost got in car accident because they failed on me. since i bought it in a small local dealer shop much could not be done, but i am looking foward to getting a better car with better safety features.

Consumer stated the vehicle misfired and stalled when reaching a high temperature. the vehicle also leaked coolant. the problem was due to a cracked head gasket. *ak *ts *jb

Fuel pump (20a) fuse randomly blows. 30a fuses used and also randomly blow causing vehicle to stall. no indication of problem with fuel pump itself. o2 sensor and egr valve has been replaced. mechanics have been unable to isolate the cause but have found different variations of circuit/wiring diagrams for this '95 neon sport model vehicle. mechanics have also received varying advice from dodge dealerships on the cause and remedy. result is safety hazard to vehicle driver and occupants if the system fails in traffic.*ak

While traveling on the highway, the check engine light appeared on the dashboard, and the vehicle leaked gasoline underneath the vehicle. *ak *ts *jb

Cronic engine oil leak. *ak

Chronic engine oil leaks. cylinder head oil leak repaired (including front cam seal, valve cover, spark plug tube, egr, cover tube flange, intake manifold, and throttle body) on 11/26/99 at 82k miles. front cam seal replaced on 12/31/01 at 105k000miles. front cam seal failure on 6/9/02 at 125k miles. failure caused damage to cam shaft. all leaks were potential fire hazards.*ak

Transmission defective. when put into reverse it made a loud banging noise. shifted harshly from second to third gear. the head gasket blew and had to be replaced. the brakes squealed for no apparent reason. the camshaft seal leaked oil and had to be replaced. also, the valve cover gasket had to be replaced because of an oil leak. *tt

The head gasket failed, which caused the engine to stall.*jb

The head gasket failed, which caused the engine to stall.*jb

The car leaks water from somewhere. when it rains the backseat floor fills up with water. there are no water trails running down from the windows so i don't know where the leak is coming from. the air conditioning has finally died completely - it has been smelling musty for quite some time. the windows roll down by themselves. if you go over a bumpy road or just drive for any length of time the windows start creeping down. after every drive i have to go around the car and make sure the windows are rolled up tight.

There seems so be a big problem with dodge neon gasket heads. they're faulty, the company knows this which is why they've been redesigned. i've heard they don't consider this a big enough problem, but isn't leaking oil on a hot engine dangerous? *jb

I am really concerned with the way chrysler corp. is handling the head gasket problems on the 95-98 neon's. so far my head gasket has been blown. most of the dodge neon 95 -99 have head gasket problems resulting in oil lick and burn of fuel. i have to replace the head gasket, which will gost me about $1500.00. i also have noticed the poor crash results on the neon 95. which can result in a very seroius injuries.

Consumer states that while driving the vehicle the timing belt broke and it was hard to turn the steering wheel. nlm

Consumer states that while driving and no warning the vehicle jerk and the engine light will come on and there will be a heavy vibration. dealer notified ts

Vehicle was losing powe/,leaking oil and overheating while driving vehicle taking to a repairsshop, and informed of a blown head gasket. feel free to provide any further information on this matter.*ak

Vehicle was losing oil, but has not affected normal operation of vehicle. oil leakage was slowly progressing onto the ground. dealer was notified. *ak consumer states head gasket was replaced. *slc

while driving vehicle would run rough and leak oil vehicle taken to dealer, and informed of a blown head gasket. manufacturer was notified. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

This is a serious safety concern that should be recalled because oil begins to leak into everything under the hood-there is a high incident rate of occurrence in 1995 neons. *ak

While driving 60 mph oil light came on. dealer inspected vehicle, and determined cam seal had failed, causing most of engine oil to leak. cam seal was replaced, also, a cam seal retainer was installed. shortly after this repair, head gasket started leaking, and engine was knocking.*ak

Engine head gasket failed causing oil to leak from vehicle. consumer has taken vehicle in twice already to get this looked into, but after tsecond time head gasket had some corrosion and had to be replaced.*ak

While driving vehicle stalls on a intermittent basis without warning. dealer has been unable to locate source of problem. as of feb 16th, the vehicle no longer starts, it cranks but will not turn over. *jg *ak

The head gasket failed, while driving down busy road with one month old daughter in vehicle, i am very disappointed in dodge, that they have not recalled head gaskets on 1995 dodge neons. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Attempt to have chrysler fix head gasket failed; would not authorize replacement of head gasket because car is used, near 100000 miles, and six years from manufacture; head gasket must be replaced by me at my own cost; a/c leak has never been completely determined, although several leaks were found and fixed; blower motor recently died. linkage "blew apart" at some point in 2001 and had to be repaired using oem washers and nuts. *ak

Have had this vehicle checked by 3 independent mechanics, all 3 diagnose that the head gasket is faulty and that this is acommon problem with dodge neons. our dodge dealership denies that this is a known problem and after diagnosing the car have told us ther is nothing wrong with it.*ak

My neon has leaked oil for almost 2 years now. headgasket was replaced once before and it continued to leak oil immediately after repairs. the car is now "bubbling" and is probably heading for headgasket failure again.*ak

In my experience, there are numerous other complaints of this same problem. no safety defec tlisted. *ak

Water pump seal failed at 54400 mi's ,caused damage too timing bealt.cost $450.00.on 01/24/2002 &57200 mi's head gasket failed and caused more damage at a cost of $1630.00.*ak

Consumer states he took vehicle in for service, and was informed that the head gasket on the engine was leaking, consumer was informed that repairs would be $1500 consumer did some research and found that other owners were having the same problems, therefore consumer asked what chrysler was going to do, they then agreed that they would fix problem for $400 as a courtesy, consumer belives that chrysler should have fixed the problem at no charge and he is requesting that his $400.00 be reimbursed.*yh

Head gasket leaks. nlm

Chysler should be forced to do a recall of neons due to badly designed headgaskets on all neons there are thousands of vehicles developing this problem and chrysler is very secretive about how much they are willing to pay if you are not under warranty. also a recall on the a/c evaporator for leakage is needed this problem has also occurred in thousands of neons and chrysler is unwilling to admit that the unit is defective.*ak

Engine lost power when accelerating. then, took vehicle to dealer. dealer found out that engine had a blown head gasket, and could not be repaired. *ak

Numerous other probs: oxidized paint, gauges will fail when driving, does not shift (automatic), head gasket leak, transmission fluid leak, would like to be part of class action or get them to fix this car so i can get rid of it!

While driving ,would feel engine losing power . consumer had seen coolant and oil leaking out of engine due to head gasket had failing three times. *ak

2nd failure of head gasket. 1st failure occurred at 19k miles in 1996, repaired under warranty. recent failure at 71k, repair cost $600. car driven 5k to 10k miles/yr. past 2 years. seems obvious to many (including mechanics) that the original head gasket is defective and that's why it was redesigned in '1998 or '1999. our car now has the redesigned gasket. i'm not sure i would be submitting this complaint if this was the 1st time the gasket failed or if the car was driven hard and had high mileage. why are consumers continuing to get stuck with high repair bills on a defective part? it's troubling that the dot has not been more active on this problem, but i realize there are other issues that pose greater threats to driver safety.*ak

While driving engine head gaskets blewout. antifreeze had leaked out and caused engine to overheat. *ak

Vehicle was overheating during normal operation. consumer took vehicle to a private mechanic who referred it to dodge because there was an ongoing problem. head gasket in engine developed a leak which allowed antifreeze/oil to leak out of engine.*ak consumer was informed by dealership that this is a common part to be replaced. *jb

A major oil leak which has caused vehicle to cut off while driving at any speed without prior warning. also, head gasket blewout. consumer has contacted dealer, and they had replaced parts; but, problem still occurs. please provide any futher details.*ak

Head gasket was leaking into oil pan. vehicle would overheat. took to mechanic who indicated head gaskets need to be replaced due to fact they had blownout. *ak

Vehicle experienced overheating and loss of coolant while driving. taken to an independent repair shop, and informed consumer of a head gasket failure. manufacturer notified, and informed that it was not covered under a recall. *ak *jb

Head gasket needs replacing. *ak

Engine gauge went into the red, consumer turned off car to cool. two days later, mechanic said it was a butsted head gasket.*ak consumer stated engine damage from overheating included piston rings and crankshaft bearings. *slc

Had noticed a large puddle of oil on garage floor. took to mechanic and had it checked. was informed that seals were not involved, but head gaskets were causing leakage.*ak

Brakes are continually experiencing excessive wear, consumer has replaced the brakes on several occasions since ownership, last repair on 3/17/01. *mjs

2 weeks prior to reported incident vehicle had a coolant leak. garage found that the coolant resevoir had split and replaced it. on the 9th march my wife drove the car and dropped a college of to pick up his car at a garage. when she restarted the vehicle and proceeded to drive it she noticed that the engine did not sound right. shortly after the car started to wobble, the engine check light came on and the temperture gauge started to climb higher. she arrived home, i rang the garage, told them of the symptoms and was told to bring the car in. on starting it up i noticed a lot of blue grey smoke come out of the exhaust. the vehicle drove with no problems to the garage. subsequent inspection of the engine showed a coolant leak, when the head gasket was taken off there were 2 cracks on the engine block. the estimated cost of a temporary repair is $1000, but there is no guarantee how long the repair would last. the only other option was a new engine which is out of the question. i cannot understand how this problem could occur with only 76k on the clock. the vehicle was purchased used with 45k on the clock in september 1997. since then it has been serviced according to the manufacturers instruction, with an oil and filter change every 3 months.*ak