Problems with 1997 Dodge Neon ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Oil from leaking head gasket and valve cover gasket leak directly onto exhaust system, specifically the catalytic converter causing fire under the hood. i have known and read of many,many others with this same problem. oil leakage in excess of 3 qts. per week. the smell of burning oil inside of the car is noxious. i have a 3 month old baby, a 5 year old, and my wife and we can hardly take a 30 minute trip without having to stop for fresh air. there is a definate possibility of the driver or passengers losing conciousness. smoke has been visible inside the car before from the burning oil. *ak

Temperature gauge alarm went off, warning consumer that vehicle was running hot. vehicle was towed to the dealership, and mechanic told consumer that head gasket had blown . *ak

Dash warning light came on, and then car overheated, consumer pulled over, and vehicle would not start again. had to be towed.*ak

Consumer had found oil on driveway. took vehicle to a repair shop for oil leakage, and they said cause of oil leakage was a blown head gasket. *ak

When consumer took vehicle to get oil changed was notified that head gasket was leaking .*ak

While driving in city vehicle started overheating. stopped for a little while to let the vehicle cooldown. started up again and it worked fine. then, it happened again two days later. contacted dealer , vehicle was not under warranty. took it to a local mechanic. he looked at it, and said that there was an engine head gasket problem. *ak

Engine leaked oil from the bottom where there always was smell as if vehicle caught on fire.*ak

Head gasket blew. oxygen sensor blew. left rear brake pad fell off and jammed in the drum rendering the vehicle unmovable. upon inspection, had to replace both drums, both discs, and new pads on front and back both sides. window seals have failed on the passengers side front window. water leaks in and air leaks at highway speeds, slows car down immensley and causes more fuel consumption. driver's side window harshly scratched. gets worse as time goes by, have seen other neon's with the same problem. fuel filter went, causing the entire fuel injection system to have to be replaced.

While parked, transmission fluid leaked out of vehicle. dealer found transmission lines loose. vehicle shifting by itself due to a sticky cable. oil leak in engine. dealer found headgasket failure. on several occasions engine runs rough. camshaft replaced. vehicle shakes and trembles while braking. weatherstripping fell off on drivers side door. antifreeze leaking. dealer replaced water pump. battery clamp loose causing battery light to stay on. *ak *tt

Head gasket and camshaft position sensor failed resulted in oil leakage. *mjs

Neon head gasket blown, had to pay 680$ to have replaced. they should have taken care of this. please contact me about this, and what should i do. thank you, [xxx]. *ak parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Oil light comes on all time,and there were puddles of oil on ground. took vehicle to a dealer, and they said that engine gasket had an oil leak.*ak according to the investigation done by consumer, the cause of the problem lies on detective head gasket used by the manufacturer of the vehicle. *yh

Engine is leaking oil/dashboard lights go out and come back on at random intervals/ engine check light comes on and stays on/ door ajar alarm will come while vehicle is in operation, and transmission will get stuck between gears and engage forcefully. . please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

Vehicle experiencing problem with oil leaking onto exhaust manifold. dealer notified,and informed consumer that the problem was due to a blown engine head gasket. *ak

Vehicle experienced oil leakage. vehicle taken to an independent repair shop. consumer was informed of a blown head gasket. dealer was not notified. vehcile has also had electrical problems. *ak

Vehicle experienced a blown engine head gasket while traveling on highway at 60 mph which caused an oil leak. dealer notified and repairs are being made at consumer's cost.

Engine cylinder head gasket failed, causing major oil leak/head also badly pitted. *ak

Noticed oil leaking from engine 1 mo. ago. premature head gasket failure in three year old vehicle. air bags also failed to deploy when vehicle was involved in a rear-end collision. dealer will be contacted, however chrysler should be responsible for repairs since these problems appear to be overwhelmingly common.*ak

The head gasket blew out in my car as i was driving in town. the oil light came on all of a sudden and i pulled over thinking that i was just low in oil. so i added three quarts and proceeded to drive. the next day it was already low again. this is when i decided that something was wrong. this is a defect in the head gasket and in no way my fault.

Like so many others, the head gasket on my young neon has blown.i have also had problems with brakes squealing, power steering locking up in wet weather and the turn signal now only works when it feels like it. the radio had to be replaced the first year i owned the car - and it took the dealer nearly a month to get that done.

Only had car for 2 1/2 years, shouldn,t be having thse problems. no safety defect listed in summary. *ak

This auto purchased used, unknown if any prior headgasket replacements. *ak

No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak

Consumer had taken vehicle for repairs because oil was leaking. technician told consumer that it was due to the engine head gasket blowing out. *ak

The first problem i had with this car was the head gasket blew out. chrysler agreed to pay for it (the $1000 was my estimate of what it cost to replace the gasket). the second problem was the throttle assembly and coil pack quit working, both at the same time. i paid $600 out of my pocket to fix them. the third problem was the automatic transmission started slipping and the car will not go into reverse when its cold. the fourth most current problem is the brakes are not working properly the pedal will not go down and the dealer says its probably something to do with the vacuum system. i contacted chrysler and they are not willing to pay for the repairs for the transmission, even though they have admitted that they have problems with automatic transmissions per information i obtained from a web site called lemon- aid. ****** i will never buy a dodge again!!! i'm spreading the word. i come into contact with many people everday. so sorry dodge!!!******

Faulty, leaking head gasket, srevice dept. says all neons have same problem, leak causes loss of oil pressure while driving

Kept having a leake. took in vehicle to be serviced, tire to be rotated. car inspected, and they noticed engine head gasket was leaking, coming from the o-rings. *ak

No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak

My sister in tn has a neon the dealer fixed her head gasket these cars i have been told by one auto repair that he fixes these head gaskets at least one every other week dodge should have done a recall or at least fix the problem i can not get any one on the phone at chrysler and i live here. they should pay the cost they know that its a problem. the up and down stream sensors went bad it cost me $300. to fix. i know a gentleman that had the same problem his went bad twice and the car dealer paid for his. i on the other hand could get no one help with this either. chrysler needs to be accountable for the problems with there neon's and pay to correct these problems i will not buy another one. if chrysler wants me to buy there product again they need to make the first one right. thank you for your time and concern.

Defective head gaskets malfunctioned, causing hesitation and stalling which may result in a crash. please provide further information. *ak

Dodge neon has serious problems with engine head gaskets- attempts to repair them ( 4 x's in just 7000 miles ) were futile- chrysler should recall these vehicles. *ak

Similar complaints have already been filed wit regards to oil leaks at the head gasket. attempted repair were made approx. 1 1/2 months after leak was discovered. two attempts to replace the leaking gasket were made by a lisenced mechanic. after these attempts were made, it was recommended that i take it to the dealer for repair. *ak

While driving oil leaks out of the engine, causing the vehicle to overheat . please provide any futher information. *ak

Oil is splattering out of engine. consumer has to continually put oil in vehicle. chrsler told consumer to go to an authorized chrsler dealer. *ak

Weeks after routine oil/filter change i noticed oil pooling under vehicle, especially while running. found head gasket blown.

While driving noticed a ticking noise. consumer was told by mechanicthat may need a new engine. *ak

Consumer noticed an oil leaak. took car to dealer, and dealer said that head gasket needed to be replaced. *ak

Head gasket blew somewhere between 42,000 and 43,010 miles. it was noticed because oil was dripping underneath left front of car and oil was very low. no indicator lights had come on. took it to dealership where they determined that the head gasket had blown. because of this they also had to do an engine flush, clean the engine, replace the pcv valve, and change the oil and coolant. this cost me a total of $825.00. my car is only 2 1/2 years old! since this occured i have found out by talking to repair shops and to other neon owners that this is a common problem and obviously a defect in the way it was built.

While driving there is a space between the motor, causing the oil to blow out of the engine.when the car stops the oil really spills out. *ak

We took this vehicle in to a dealer in sierra vista in 1998 and were told that the problem was fixed. after several months, the same problem reoccured and now the oil leak is more severe. the dealer did not let us know if the head gasket was actually replaced or not.

While driving engine valve cover began to leak oil, making the car lose speed and power . *ak

Mechanic advsd of problem w/head gasket on neon & to call chrysler. chrys paid 50% of charge, but now pay 100%. dealer advsd of problem w/orig vendor producing faulty head gasket. contact chrysler for assistance.

I have had my car checked out by a mechanic and he has stated that the oil leak is coming from the cylinder head in the back of the motor. he also stated that this is a manufacturer defect & that i should take it back to a dodge dealer to get repaired. this is not a safety related issue, but it is a costly mechanical repair issue that i feel needs to be looked into for possible recall to repair. *ak

I own a 1997 dodge neon. purchased june 1997. this car too date has approximately 27,500 original miles on it. starting in august 1999 i had to have the head gasket replaced on 3 occasions.i had to have the same repair job done again in july 2001 when i had only put another 7,108 on the car. may 2003 i had for the 3rd time the same repair jobe done when my car reached 26152 (7,166 miles added after 2nd repair job). too date the manufacture has paid the repair bills with the exception of a $100 deductible i had to pay the last time they reapired it. i protested having to pay the $100 because i felt the manufactur should have paid the complete bill. they refused to refund my money. this car has on ongoing problem with the head gasket. my fear is the manufacture will refuse to pay the repair bill the next time this happens and i don't know what my legal rights are because i feel i have a lemon.it seems the problem comes up as soon as i put 7,000 miles on the car. i had only put 14,000 miles from the first time this repair job took lace to the 3rd repair job. i have tried to talk to chrysler about the secret warranty i found on the internet for this very problem and was informed by a customer service rep.that the secret warranties are illegal and they do not honor them. i have been told by several mechanics this is a well know ongoing problem with the neon's and chrysler is well aware of it. i woul appreciate if i can receive any advice regarding whether or not my car falls under the lemon law considering the age of the car.

Exhaust manifold has failed twice within six months. radiator fan relay failed and dealer stated there was no recall or t.a. on fan relay i had to pay for part at 39101 mi.???

Head gasket failed. dealer refuses to help w/costs. please help! *ak

Started as small oil leak, kept getting worse. told 3-4 weeks ago there was a bad head gasket and a chrysler zone rep would be contacted. has not been contacted yet but i'm waiting for a call on monday. i was told there were 3-4 other neons in the shop when my car was being checked the first time. also told that all vehicles with same engine are having problems but given no further details. told not to put money into my car if i was going to get rid of it.

Mechanic said it was a commom problem. no safety defect mentione din summary. *ak

My car has had to have a circut board, fuel pump, fuel filter, and new gaskets at only two years old and 39280 miles. i feel that the circut board could cause crash or injury because i cannot tell how fast i am driving or if i have gas in my car. i was told at the dealer that there was a neon with the same problem (circut board) that they had fixed just the week before.