Problems with 1995 Dodge Neon ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

No reimbursement from chrysler for 2nd repair of $1,275. no safety defect listed within summary. *ak

As i was driving my 1995 neon home from work, i noticed that the oil light came on. i became concerned and pulled into the nearest service station which was less that 1/2 mile away. i asked the service tech to look at the car and he said that there was an oil leak. he suggested that i have the oil changed and see if there were any loose fittings from my previous oil change a few weeks earlier. the oil was changed and the car started only to continue to leak oil again. i was told not to drive it and had it towed to my dealership the following day. the dealership diagnosed that the cam seal/plug had cracked off and caused damage to the engine. as a result, i would need a new short block installed in my 5yr old car at a price of $3500.00. i feel that the cam seal/plug is defective and that is why it cracked off. i have spoken to other people in the auto industry/repair industry and it is a known problem with the neon car. i cannot imagine that i should be held to pay for the replacement of the engine when i did everything i was supposed to do by stopping the car immediately. i spoke to chrysler directly and within minutes of contacting the dealer, they (chrysler) agreed to pay half of the repair only if i had the service done at a dodge dealership. i appreciated this gesture but i am still looking at paying $1700.00 out of pocket for the damage. i feel that chrysler is aware of the problem with this defective part. i have read complaints on your website and would greatly appreciate a phone call to see if i can get any help in resolving this issue. as you can imagine, i am extremely upset at this point. i have contacted my dealer and wrote a letter to the general manager. i did receive a call from the svc mgr, who will admit no fault. at this point i am waiting to hear from the svc mgr with a firm repair price but as of yet, he has not returned by call. i feel that i am being unfairly treated and being penalized because i did not buy the extended warranty.

Oil light came on, car was leaking oil, had car towed, informed of head gasket problem.

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

I have already replaced the entire head gasket system less than a year and a half ago. already it is leaking oil. that is ridiculous. something has to be done about this problem. *ak

Heater no longer worked. fluctuation in operating temperature. emission gasses in cooling system was diagnosed as a faulty head gasket

Contacted chrysler regarding head gasket repairs. they only offered less than 25% reimbursement for this problem. the problem is well known and should have already been recalled to fix this problem. *ak

I have taken my vehicle in for inspection to a few different service centers to make sure that the diagnosis was the same. the diagnosis reveals that my head gasket is leaking oil. upon inspection at each different service center, i was told that there have been several neons between 95-98 that have had the same type of problem. i have even been told this from a service rep at the chrysler dealership. i pursued this issue by contacting chrysler customer service and after roughly two weeks, i was told that chrysler denys any claim of negligence in the manufacturing of my head gasket. even though they are aware that there are several other neons or other chrysler vehicles with the same size engine having the same problem, they will not assist in any repair of this kind. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

No summary

Blown head gasket anlong with the front brakes needed replaced and the rear brakes leaking. the speedometer does not work. i know there may be extra miles on my car however most were highway due to allot of traveling so these parts to go out so soon are very dissapointing when i take excellent care of my car

Head gasket will cost $600 to repair. had enough problems with this car in the 16 months i have owned it. it is apparent by all the complaints that somthing should be done. so why hasn't it? *ak

Leak was noticed 1 week after purchased and was repaired at my cost. 1 month later still a leak this time was told it was an oil pan leak, was repaired and still had a leak. took it to dodge dealer this time head gasket replaced 2nd time at 577 dollars cost. leak was still present so it was replaced again by dealer no cost to me. after repair leak was still present this time dealer put new head on vehicle. still had leak this time it was a main rear seal, so had it replaced and it was still leaking. they replaced rear main seal again and the leak went away now the car is shaking violently and making funny noises. and engine light is on now.

The head gasket failed as noted and i was never informed that chrysler will reimburse the owner for repairs since this is a widespread problem. the total cost was $641.70 and the work was done through an authorized dealer. supposedly, chrysler has extended the warranty to up to 5 years/100,000 miles owners will be reimbursed for previous engine repairs. unfortunately, there is no written record of this secret warranty. *ak

Head gasket failures are common with neons. i have aske chrisyler to settle my complaint and they don't care.*ak

Vehicle was taken in for repairs engine head gaskets which were leaking due to being torn. vehicle repaired, but gasket problems reappeared at 20,000 miles. mechanic noticed oil leaking on garage floor & it was repaired,again. *ak

Head gasket defective, cuasing major oil leak. local dealer said it's common problem for neons. contacted dealer that sold it and chrysler.

This vehicle has been in the shop three times for it missing and back-firing and no one seems to know how to fix this. three of its seat belts have broken also.

This vehicle only has 34,000 miles on it! the first service station i took it to would not work on it because i was told that (95) neons are known to have this kind of problem. no one was hurt and no accident occured but i could have easily seized the engine with children in the car on the highway.

This problem has been to other dodge neon owner that i have talked. no safety defect mentioned in the summary.*ak

Engine head gasket leaks and needs repairs on most if not all neons from what i hear. *ak

Engine head gaskets have cracked prematurally, resulting in oil leakage onto the engine. dealer has inspected the vehicle, and the manufacturer has been notified. *ak

Blown engine head gasket. dealer / manufacturer were not notified at this time. seeking nhtsa help in this matter. *ak

Engine head gaskets has blown out twice, resulting in an oil leakage. dealer has been notified. *ak timing belt was changed at 61,524 miles. switch for oil indicator burned out causing oil leakage (5-11-98). *mjs

Blown head gasket at 62000 miles. you would think for the money you pay for a car today this problem should not happen at this many mile and the most important thing how many cars its happening to! the internet can tell you many things when the dealer says no thats not the problem and charges you a 100 dollars and car over heats again leaving me standed and needing atow i think thier is a cover up going on because dodge does not want to pay for thier mistake and they should! please look into this head gasket if leaked oil onto header could cause a fire. thnk you mike casterline

White smoke was coming from tail pipe, running rough, and loss of oil while driving. vehicle taken to dealer, and informed consumer of a blown head gasket. repairs were made at consumer's expense. *ak *slc

While driving at highway speeds there was smoke coming from the vehicle due to vehicle overheating. also, engine check light was on and won't go off. *ak

The engine light often comes on without a cause. it is so costly to check without an fix that i am thinking about not having it check anymore. the head gasket is a major problem on these cars. i do not have the money to fix it at this time. i am waiting for a call from dodge to see if they will help. this should be replaced at their cost. too many people have had this problem. the rotor and calipers problem was scary. i was applying my brakes when a crunch was heard. it became hard to keep control of the car. the camshaft seal came out of the head. i had to purchase a new one. i find it interesting that a lot of neon owners are having the same problems. i wish dodge would pull their share of the cost so trust could be restablished. thank you for your time, robyn knouff. *ak

Engine head gasket blew out, causing severe oil leaks. also, engine check light continues to stay on. *ak

Vechicle overheated , was towed to nearest chrysler service center, replaced thermostat. 6 wks later overheated again towed to dealership again, was told it had a cracked head gasket they repalced it. six wks later car stalled while driving 55 mph on interstate again towed dealership could not find a reason for this. 3 wks later same problem again towed this time they said a coil wire was loose.no other problem was found same day i picked up the car it again stalled and had to be towed this time they said some idle steps were out of sync they should have already known this since i just got the car back that day. every time the car was in the shop they could find nothing wrong so they say, i left the car for several days so that a computer co-pilot could be installed and the mechanics could monitor the problem as it happens. this produced no info . the car has run all winter but now that warm weather is here the problem has started again. the car had to be again towed on 3/8/00 still no satisfaction as to why this is happening. have spokken to several representatives from chrysler warranty and manufacturing divisions concerning this and they have on numerous occassions been very rude. the last straw occurred on april 14,2000 while driving to find the exact location of a very important job interview the car broke down 2, i was no where near a phone and could not call for help. i sat in the car for 1 hr tried to restart the car it started but i couldn't trust the vehicle to continue the trip. i had to turn around and head back home , i was driving back home and it stalled again i waited another 1/2 hour it started and i prayed all the way home i would make it safely. each time i have had the car towed i have had to pay $50 as my deductible on my extended warranty and each time they said they couldn't find the problem. i feel very upset and disappointed to think i am paying for such an unreliable car. i will never buy another chrysler product. *ak

While driving at any given speed the vehicle intermittently stalls .the vehiicle has been taken to the dealer two times ,but they cannot remedy the problem. *ak

One week after purchase, all oil was gone from car. dealer first replaced the oil pressure sending unit, kept leaking, then replaced the valve cover gasket, kept leaking, then replaced the cam seals. dealer assured me that it was not the head gasket. still leaking oil. took it to personal mechanic and it is the head gasket leaking. dealer has refused to refund purchase price or replace vehicle. this has been over a 2 month period. the vehicle also has very noisy brakes, especially when it has sat for an extended period of time (overnight). the car has a shaking and rattling in the steering column when going over bumps, especially at slow speeds. the dash board reflects on the windshield when it is sunny and the glare makes it very difficult to see at times.

The cylinder head gasket has failed at unreasonably low milage despite regular maintanance causing engine to overheat and possible damage to the head

I brought the car with a mileage of 18872 and i have been fixing the car since i drove it off the lot. i have 48882 miles on the car and it no longer runs. i just want chrysler to fix the car, so i can get rid of this lemon. *ak

Head gaskets have blown out. dealer inspected and repaired vehicle. manuacturer has been notified. *ak

Noticed low on oil. oil was leaking out on the engine. took it to the mechanic who said that it was an engine head gasket problem. *ak

Due to a defective engine head gasket cover which broke and leaked, vehicle stalled unexpectedly and without warning. this and could result in a crash. please provide further information. *ak

The car stalls intermittently while being driven. sometimes it will restart, other times it will not. we have contacted a dealer, several mechanics and dodge/chrysler themselves. no one can determine the cause of the problem and we were told by chrysler to keep driving till it happens again. since this has happened while driving 55mph on a major highway, we are, needless to say, currently not driving the vehicle for safety reasons.

This car has been in the shop about every other month since we bought it. very disapointed in we have lost alot of money trying to keep this vehicle.

No summary listed for this vehicle. *ak

Engine began hesitating while traveling 60mph, check engine light illuminated & then engine stalled. took vehicle in to dealership. engine disassembled & revealed head gasket failure due to excessive pitting on head and block water jacket port. informed by dealer this is a common problem, and i visually saw two other engines open on their workbench with the exact same pitting. dealer stated recall should be issued for this problem. complete engine replaced along with throttle body, control module, battery, ignition cables. received vehicle after two month wait. after driving 23 miles, while on freeway, check engine light illuminated followed by engine hessitation and stalling. vehicle brought back to dealer and is still in the shop (3 weeks). dealer reports unknown cause for problem. attempting to replace catylictic converter.

Motor seized. the manufacturer has been notified. the dealer has inspected the vehicle . *ak

Took to repair shop where they replaced the thermostat, flushed out cooling system replaced the antifreeze but nothing helps, still overheats. *ak

We are extremely displeased with the overall quality of this car. we will be contacting the manufacturer regarding this and other issues with the neon. hopefully, a recall can be issued so that other people do not suffer the same problems we are having. no mention of safety defect. *ak

I know of many neons with failing head gaskets, yet dodge said they have no plans to recall the part. i don't know what to do, and i can neither afford to pay for the gasket nor a new car. help! *ak

Leaking head gasket at 37,000 miles, then at 82,000 miles. *mjs

The head gasket is leaking and the mechanic at a local dealer has said that that is a very common problem for the neon's.

No summary

When the transmission failed the dealer told me i ran it out of fluid/ i was 2 mo. / 2000 miles from factory warranty and they would not help pay for any of the $1350 they wanted me to pay/ had it towed to an independant mechanich which told me that the back of the transmission had a large hole blown out of the back of it, couldnt keep transmission fluid in it that way. found a used one with 2,000 mi. charged $800. this car has been nothing but trouble since day one. i will never buy another dodge, ever!! the dealers try to rob you blind and the co. doesn't know you once they have gotten their money. paid 10,500 for this car 2 years ago and have been paying ever since.

Vehicle leaking oil /head gasket