1996 Dodge Neon Highline 4 door sedan 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

The Neon is a worthless piece of plastic that they've been OK'd to sell

Faults:

I have replaced the front brakes on this car 3 times.

The head gasket blew at 75,000. But of course I've heard all Neons do this.

And the rear struts and shocks are so bad in this car. The Neon is the bumpy jumpiest little car I've been in.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th May, 2001

1996 Dodge Neon 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Cheap car for a cheap price - no bargain!

Faults:

Head gasket at 75,000.

Transmission leaks.

Rattles (noisy).

General Comments:

The car was bought used from a dealer. Wish I would have read this website prior to purchasing. It would have opened my eyes!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th April, 2001

1996 Dodge Neon from North America

Summary:

A poor auto made by a bad manufacturer

Faults:

Squeaky brakes.

Head gasket blew at 53,000.

Rear seal gasket dead at 55,000.

Instrument panel stopped working at 50,000.

General Comments:

My 96' Dodge Neon probably wouldn't be a bad car if it had been built by another manufacturer.

I am on my second oil leak in less than 60,000 miles. I guess they just don't make'em like they used to, especially Dodge.

My other vehicle is a 96' Dodge Grand Caravan which is on its fifth transmission. What's worse than the defective automobiles I own is the poor quality of service I get from Dodge... I've had enough!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th March, 2001

6th Apr 2001, 00:29

Bought a 96 new Dodge Neon - headgasket problems. Please let me know if there is some suit or a complaint against the Dodge company.

Mixicans@aol.com.

7th Apr 2001, 12:57

Neon head gaskets are failing in epidemic proportions. Our service advisor said more then 80% before 100,000. Since its not a safety issue, the NHTSA cannot force a recall, and I don't know of any lawsuits. Your best bet, if your Neon is under 100,000 miles, call Chrysler's Customer Care Unit 1-800-992-1997 and they will send you to a dealer. Sometimes they pay for the whole repair, sometimes you pay $100. They are not very consistent. Ours went at 89K miles, and they told us, 'tough luck'. We've sold our Neon and won't buy another Chrysler. Good Luck with yours.

1996 Dodge Neon 4.0 from North America

Summary:

Nice looking car, but I've had too many things go wrong with it since I bought it 4 months ago

Faults:

Head gasket went a week after I got it about 108,000 miles, don't know if it had gone before.

Now with 112,000 and a couple months later it doesn't start right, my friend had the same thing happen, his was his fuel pump so I gotta bring it in and see if that's what it is.

General Comments:

I will probably never buy a Dodge again, definitely not a Neon. Being 18, a student, and making minimum wage who knows how I'll be able to pay to fix it.. other than that I like how it drives and it's comfortable for me since I'm about 5ft tall.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th March, 2001

19th Jan 2003, 10:24

I happen to LOVE my neon, I've hardly taken car of it, as a matter of fact I am down right mean to my car, putting it through stress, and taking it down roads that just wasn't meant to take cars down. I've bottomed out numerous times at high speeds, and the only complaint I have is that I do have an oil leak... so I have to put a little more oil in, maybe I just burn the oil up way to fast from my fast and wreckless driving. But I love my neon. It's been in two wrecks, and reaches 120 mph with ease. It gets up and goes when I want it too, and gets 30 miles to the gallon.

Do the work, put the oil in it every two weeks. It's a good car, give it a chance.

PS: Don't take it to the dealership, they WILL mess it up.

22nd Feb 2005, 21:18

Cars aren't supposed to require that you add oil every two weeks. I have a neon which has already blown a head gasket, overheats whenever you try to run the a/c (and frequently when you don't), and requires oil every couple of weeks. Not only that, this is the same cheap paint they used in the caravan, which means it will begin to flake off mercilessly as soon as the surface of the paint is cracked.

Do NOT buy a dodge neon. If you own one, get rid of it IMMEDIATELY. Sell it at less than market price if you have to before something goes wrong and you can't get even that. Do a search on the internet, you will find these problems over and over and over again. This is a terribly flawed car, and Dodge will do nothing to help you with it. Avoid this car at all costs.