10th Oct 2004, 09:57

I also experienced squeaky brakes with my Neon. From day 1 to the lease turn in date (5 years), this vehicle squeaked so bad you could hear it from two blocks away! The dealership said it was "normal" sometimes and "brake dust" other times.

It was also quite a bit underpowered.

17th May 2006, 21:43

Do you guys truly call squeaking brakes a problem? come on guys I bet you even RR's have them. as for the dealerships, we have 2 Neons and about to buy 2 more and at the 5-star dealership by us they replaced the head gaskets free of charge and have always been great to us. and our Neons have over 200,000 miles on them without really any problems.

18th May 2006, 20:07

"Do you guys truely call squeaking brakes a problem?"

No, it's awesome listening to brakes that are always squeaking. Yes, it's a problem.

19th May 2006, 12:00

Buy a can of "Brake Quiet" and spray it on the rotors. The "squeaking" is not a mechanical problem, only an annoyance because of the sound. Brake dust from the pads builds up and causes the squeaking. The "Brake Quiet" keeps the dust down. This noise is distinct from the brake "squealing" that occurs when your brake pads are worn down to the rivets, and the metal wear tab is rubbing off on the rotors. It is designed to do that to alert you that you need to change your brake pads. So in summary: squealing = bad (i.e. change your pads) ; squeaking = minor annoyance, but no actual mechanical problem. Thus, if you change your brake pads every 6,000 miles because you hear "squeaking" (not squealing), you are wasting your money and unfairly blaming the car for nothing.

1st Sep 2007, 01:28

My sister has a Neon that is riddled with problems (plastic in cabin falling apart, odd smells etc.) and one problem she says she cannot live with is that her brakes squeal, squeak or whatever. We thought maybe she drives her car too hard.. so she got new brakes, which didn't help the noise. After having the car for almost 2 years she's trading it in for a Honda Civic, tomorrow actually. It's just funny that I found that this is common with Neons the day before she gets rid of hers.

5th Feb 2008, 02:31

I drive a Dodge Neon, it's eight years old and I've had it for two years. I have never once had a problem with it aside from routine maintenance, I love my Neon and wouldn't trade it for anything.

13th May 2008, 14:57

My Neon is HORRIBLE!!! I get the oil changed every 3,000 miles, I've had it tuned up numerous times and STILL, everything has gone wrong with it! My air conditioner worked for only a summer and since then, I've had to get it recharged every summer and only lasts two months! There were no signs of anything wrong with the major components, then one day I was driving on the interstate and my radiator blew! Since then, the neon will not shift properly and it stalls constantly! The dealership says that everything is fine and there is nothing they can do! I say, they should call the assembly line and get it fixed! I had a Dodge Stratus for 9 years and never had anything wrong with it! VERY disappointed with Dodge!

13th Sep 2008, 13:39

I have had my 2000 Neon for 1.5 years, and the brakes squeak a lot unless I wash my tires out every 2 weeks. The build up of dust IS the problem. Besides even Volvo can't fix that on their cars.

As for engine lights, bad mileage, and rough idling. If you connect your car to a scanner it will tell you that the 02 sensor is gone. I am sure that is NEVER the problem, look a little further and I found that most Neons end up firing on 2 cylinders, my slides had been stuck open and filled with oil explaining why I was running out of oil in my car without finding patches on the ground. Fix this and you will feel like you're driving a brand new car.

Good luck.

1st Feb 2009, 12:52

You all must just be having problems driving. If you drive the car right, you will have no problems. Yes, you might hear a little squeaking, but that's nothing. Go with a Chevy and you'll be wishing that you only had squeaking brakes.

To all the people on here backing up the Neon, thanks. And dude with the sister with the Neon, SHE'S a girl!!! Girls are about 80% more likely to have problems with cars over guys. Think about it.

I have a 2000 Dodge Neon and love it. Yeah it might be underpowered, but look at the 2000 Ford Focus or the 2000 Chevy Cavalier??? They are just as underpowered. The new technology is out so small size cars are a little more powerful now... WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO? REBUILD OUR NEONS? No. just go throw a turbo, cold air intake, and some exhaust and your good to go! Learning how to drive brings car maintenance cost way down!

10th Feb 2009, 09:18

Wow with the exception of 1 or 2 people, you have no idea what you are all talking about. I guarantee that every problem you had with your Neon you would have had with any other car. You can pay more for a car, like a BMW, Volvo, whatever, but the maintenance on the Neon would still be cheaper to own instead.

Change your oil, trans fluid, power steering fluid, brakes, what have you and don't slam through pot holes and drive normal, and most cars will drive great problem free.

For anyone who has ever had a head gasket problem, I have one question for you. " did you ever change the thermostat", what's that you ask. Well that is the small $5 part that keep the engine from overheating and blowing a head gasket when it is working properly.

Most of you have a lot to learn. I have gotten 300k out of domestic cars, I have owed 2 cars at once for many years and maybe put $500.00 combined into them, and still sold them to someone else when I was done, running fine and A/C working etc.

10th Feb 2009, 12:43

"You can pay more for a car, like a BMW, Volvo, whatever, but the maintenance on the Neon would still be cheaper to own instead."

SO true!! My family has owned BMW's and Mercedes. The longest lasting cars we ever had were Ford (325,000+ miles) and Dodge (240,000+ miles). These cars required less in repairs in their entire lives than ONE payment on the Mercedes. The Neon is a very reliable and solid car. I recommended one to a handicapped friend in 2001 because he had to have a reliable car due to his disability. His Neon has over 100,000 miles thus far with not a single problem.

15th Feb 2009, 10:02

I have a 2000 Dodge Neon with 115,000 miles, the only issue I have had so far was a leaky rear main seal (I suspect the car had a minor front collision before I bought it, hood paint fading, rest of car good). All else was standard scheduled maintenance. I replace my own brakes and have had no noise issues. The car is washed once a week when weather permits. I bought the car with 36,000 miles and paid $3,800! As for underpowered, it out accelerates Honda civics and Toyota corollas easily. It even keeps pace with friends I work with that drive v-8 trucks. I guess everyone's experiences are different. Follow the maintenance schedules to the letter!!