28th Jan 2008, 13:49

This is a wonderful site. I have the problem of water leakage into my 99 Dodge Neon. I thought it might be the rear tail lamp assembly. I just want to thank all the other people with the same problems for posting their fix its for the problem. I will give the silicone solution to the tail lamp seals a try. Thanks again.

20th Feb 2008, 16:29

I sold my 98 Neon Competition sedan on Sunday Feb 17 08. I had owned it for a year and 17 days.

2 weeks after I purchased it the head-gasket blew, but my step father agreed to repair it along with the hoses, thermostat and belts, so that was $300, but easily could have been $2000 or more had anyone else done it.

Then I did the brakes and rotors for $400 at a shop, then the clutch and motor mounts for $800.

The brakes started to squeak not more than 2 months after I had the mechanic put them in.

Also, ever since the first day after taking it home, the night before there would be this ungodly noise coming from what sounded like the exhaust manifold, so I thought nothing of it.

About six months later the noise is still there. I go meet with my buddy who was having his 89 Dakota worked on, and I talk with his mechanic and ask if he will listen to this god forsaken noise. He agrees, so I hop in, drop the clutch, start it and rev it up, he said it was the inter-force bearing in my transmission, he said "you have 2 choices, if you baby it you've got about 6 months left until it stops working, in which case I can rebuild it for $900, or you can sell it and take your losses".

So I put it in the Auto Trader and then the Oregonian, which cost me another $100, and after posting it on craigslist 3 times I got 2 calls; the magic one was from a woman who lived in Sandy Oregon and was in desperate need of a car, so I drove out to Sandy (40 miles). She drove it in a parking lot and never heard the noise, and she bought it for $2000, so I made back the purchase price, and thank god I got something for it.

So with that being said, to all the people who own or recently bought any Dodge Neon or the new Neon, which has been renamed to Calibur, or anything built by Chrysler, I will not congratulate you, but rather wish you good luck.

That will be the last time I ever buy anything Chrysler, and yes that includes any Mercedes that was built in late 2000 and up, unless I see drastic changes in the way Chrysler makes cars. Chryslers are unreliable pieces of crap, and that's the bottom line.

3rd Jun 2008, 20:06

I will have my 1998 Dodge Neon for six years in August. The car has about 110,000 miles. (This is just a guess. I'll explain later). I like my little car because it drives well still and it gets me where I need to go quickly.

Major Problems.

Headlights: They are very foggy from the inside. No matter how hard I clean them, they barely pass inspection. I pass barely each year, simply because I refuse to pay for new ones. They still shine!

Water pump: It broke, but I got it fixed. No problems since.

Starter: I started the car one day to no avail. I got it fixed. I thought the problem was solved until I heard this horrible noise every time I started. When I stepped on the accelerator, the noise would only get worse. I got so bad that I was embarrassed to drive it. I had to get a new starter and replace the one I just got! The loud noise went away, sort of. I suspect it caused a bigger problem that hasn't presented itself yet.

Oil Leak: The infamous Neon oil leak. It's getting expensive to keep oil in the car, but I don't have the problem that most people had. I'll keep my fingers crossed. But the oil is leaking from the head gasket.

Electrical Problems: The entire instrument panel goes dead when driving at random times. It's been doing this for the past 2 years. Sometimes it will work perfectly for months. Then it will act up. Now it's getting worse. For instance, I'll have my lights on and I'll signal left. The signal will blink really fast. After I make the turn, the left signal will remain on, but not blink. It just won't turn off. Finally, my odometer won't work at all, even if everything else will work correctly. If my odometer doesn't work, my mileage (I don't know the right name of the instrument) won't work. It reads 109,000 miles, but I know it's off by at least a thousand miles. I have no clue what to do.

I like my car. I won't complain because it's ten years old and over 100,000mi. It served its purpose, but now it may be time to place it in retirement.

10th Jun 2008, 14:46

Wow. I thought I was alone in the world of Neon owners and their problems... Here are mine...

My moonroof will open its right side, but the left stays stuck. I've tried budging it a little bit, but am afraid to do it too much and get stuck with a open at all times moonroof, which is worse by far than a non-operative one.

My trunk light won't turn on when the trunk is opened.

Based on previous testimonies, my lil buddy is being good to me. I mean it's a car, you have to maintain it and wear and tear parts must be replaced in a timely manner.

Brakes squeak like crazy. but go away after a while.

Engine noise very loud, but it too goes away after a little while.

23rd Jun 2008, 16:32

My 98 Dodge Neon leaks oil, and I have to constantly check it, and have oil on me at all times.

My headlights are very foggy, and my starter just went bad on me, and the AC just had to be fixed.

9th Jul 2008, 18:48

I have a 98 Neon and we started replacing the brakes about 7 hours ago. We can't get the fuel line reattached to the calipers so it doesn't leak... this is the tenth thing I've had to fix in the past 3 weeks... it seems that once the 98 reaches 110,000 miles, it's not worth existing anymore. I'd love to drive it until the wheels fall off, but I don't have that much money. Haha. But I'm with all of you: the paint job sucks, the transmission is a ticking time bomb, everything leaks in the rain, the head lights are too foggy, etc...