2002 Dodge Neon Base 2.0 SOHC I-4

Summary:

Cheap and reliable little car

Faults:

Leaky solenoid on the transmission at 35kmi.

Piston Slap, fairly mild though.

General Comments:

The car handles fairly well and the brakes are good. Good power at the top of the rev's, but lacking of low end torque.

Reliability has been excellent.

The cabin is basic and some cheap materials. Squeaks are starting to show up here and there.

In short it's a good car that doesn't cost much to buy or keep.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th March, 2006

2002 Dodge Neon ES 2.0 gasoline

Summary:

Cute car, not reliable

Faults:

Engine makes loud clunking noise since purchased.

There was electrical failure and the car died and I had to replace battery at 35,000 miles.

The car has had numerous cabin squeaks since I bought it.

Replaced spark plug coil 46,000 miles.

Transmission failure 46,000 miles.

It jerks really hard when accelerating and braking.

This car isn't reliable, even though we've done all required maintenance on it since time of purchase.

General Comments:

It's a cute car, for a good price, but you get what you pay for.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd December, 2005

9th Jul 2006, 17:15

In late 2001 I helped a handicapped friend of mine purchase a new Dodge Neon. We were very concerned about reliability because of his situation. He had previously owned a Japanese car that had been a real nightmare as far as mechanical problems. I was VERY CONCERNED that the Neon would not be dependable, and had begged him to buy a Ford (we've put 300,000 miles on Fords with no trouble). Well, it turns out the Neon has been an amazingly trouble free car. At 80,000 miles it has never seen the inside of a repair shop except for oil changes. Thankfully, I was wrong about my assessment of the Neon.

2002 Dodge Neon ES 2.0 gasoline

Summary:

Not happy with this car, its not reliable!

Faults:

I bought my 2002 Neon ES used with 16,000 miles on it. The engine has been very noisy from the beginning. At 34,000 miles the electrical system malfunctioned and the battery completely died and needed to be replaced. The car currently has 45,000 miles on it and it has been running very badly. Engine noise is very loud, the car stutters and jerks very hard when accelerating and stopping. It idles low, and has a horrible time going up and down hills. The car is sitting right now out of commission because of transmission problems. It died on the interstate yesterday! with only 45000 miles this car should not have transmission problems! This car was obviously made very cheap, it's not durable or reliable. You definatly get what you pay for. I'm selling this car as soon as it gets fixed, and I will never purchase another dodge neon.

General Comments:

As far as pros go for this car, it's a cute car, but that's about it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th December, 2005

2002 Dodge Neon SXT 4 cylinder

Summary:

Like the style, hate the quality

Faults:

Transmission.

Transmission.

Transmission.

General Comments:

Transmission "O" ring recall two months after purchase. In attempting repairs, techs broke transmission sensor, then failed to replace fluid after repair. Total shop time 3 weeks.

Transmission down shifts to go uphill, but fails to shift back to drive until I come to a complete stop. 5 service visits in 2 months where techs tried to rebuild transmission, replace broken sensors and finally replaced the entire transmission.

Techs pulled wrong car into garage and replaced head gasket when car was there for transmission.

Engine now knocks while in idle.

Loud thump when shifting.

Shifter sticks.

Passing gear won't engage.

Transmission fluid leak.

Gears grind when shifting.

Sounds like jet engine when decelerating.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th March, 2005

12th Oct 2005, 20:36

It sounds more like you problem is caused by where you take your car for service rather than dodge itself.

9th Jul 2006, 17:28

This is a case of incompetent service technicians, not a bad car. My last Dodge car (an Omni) had 240,000 miles on it when I sold it, and in that time had had only 2 timing belts replaced and 2 brake jobs. At 240,000 miles the CV joints were just beginning to chatter a little. I've owned 6 Chrysler products. NONE has ever seen the inside of a dealer service department, or ever had any problems. I'd rather pay for a minor repair than trust the people who work in new car service departments.