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Dodge-Plymouth Neon Transmission/Suspension
My 2002 Neon had to have its transmission replaced at 39,000 miles since it was a used car it wasn't covered by the 7/70 power train warranty- I got nowhere with Chrysler in trying to get them to cover all or part of the cost - does any one have similar story ? or suggest any tactics that might work in getting some coverage on this - after all transmission should last the life of the car -100K
Thanks
Yakima
Thanks
Yakima
0
Comments
Farout
Dodge Neons are a fraud on the part of Chrysler. They should sell them as "TEMP vehicles" meaning they are temporary cars, good for about 3 years or 36,000 miles.
Check the back of any Honda dealership's maintenance department, and the torn out transmissions waiting for shipment. I know, I had 3 replaced in a Civic I owned.
Now I grant you a newer Civic is a better car than a newer Dodge 2.0SX.. the Civic costs more, the the reliability of the Dodge is not that far from the Civic. Check the stats on the Neon based PT Cruiser... gets as good or better reliability reports than various Toyota's
My 2002 300M has been flawless for 4.75 years... I had a nail puncture a tire for the total of un-scheduled maintenance.
There are way too many ignorant posters out there: They know not of what they speak.
What gives? Could this be a fluid issue? I wonder however that I may have some sort of gear box problem and the clean fresh fluid made it a little more readily apparent.
Thanks in advance
Hope my advice helps and fixes the problem
farout
I was looking to improve straight line drive quality(not so stiff) while maintaining what I feel is some pretty awesome cornering ability.
Anyone have any advice as to how to do go about doing this correctly? I commute 70 miles round trip each day on an interstate in basically a straight line and I would like that to be a little softer ride. However I still want to maintain cornering ability.
Any advice would be appreciated.
:shades:
So, here is my response to your 10/14/06 (2:28 PM) message, (which was "lawyer53: How many miles are are on your Neon. We have a 96 Highline. we bought new, and it has 192,000 miles on it. It uses a quart about every 600 miles. I expect that with this many miles on it.
Thank the Lord we bought the Chrysler Service Contract. Everything but the block and head, and I mean everything you can imagine was replaced under the extended warranty. Chrysler spent more on repairs during the 100,000 miles than we paid for the Neon! After 100,000 miles repairs have been normal and it's been great. Always the mpg has been in the 30mpg range, even now. However this summer we have spent about $1,400. in tires and repair. Now we drive it less than 100 miles a month. If we don't drive it once and a while to keep the rings from becoming loose, and using more oil. Yes. it smokes a little but 192,000 is a lot for a 2.L engine. At least I think so.
Farout)
I have 133K on my 1998 Neon. I'd say I am constantly replenishing the oil. It's a leaker (because the mat under the car in the garage is stained with oil). I used the extended secondary, market warranty a lot, and easily saved more than the premium for the warranty. Now that the warranty is over, I have had to buy tires and brakes (would not have been covered by the warranty, anyway) and get a repalacment starter motor. That was about $400. Still, it gets good mileage. City is about 32. On long trips, I can get 38 or more.
Now has 45,000 miles.
When the car is cold the Transmission slips.
When it warms up it shifts fine.
My mechanic said if he changes the Transmission fluid it might help,but he also said it could make the problem worse.
What do you suggest to correct the problem?
The truth is that Honda transmissions in general, last basically forever (check 92 civic DX that had original tranny approaching 200K miles when we sold it about 2 years ago).
Dodge transmissions last about 65K at best!!! That is like a best case scenario with regular maintenance.
It did this a few times then I decided this isn't normal..so I got out of my car to check the hood...as soon as i opened my car door i saw a trail of fluid ...from the road to where I parked..
So i peeked under the hood and green stuff and red stuff was leaking on to the ground. Oh damn..
I jumped in the car trying to head back to my place but I stalled about 2 min..I could feel the car revving but it wasn't going any where..so I had to push the car to a parking lot.
When I got my car to my apt, I checked the transmission fluid as well my coolant..both were bone dry
I think I need a new transmission ...not sure..
any one can give any clues what it might be? its in the shop now..i want to look smart when they give me the estimate..thanks
I recently started having a problem with my car that i can't quite figure out. After driving in traffic around town for a while and then getting out on the interstate the transmissions' torgue converter seems to be locking and un-locking constantly as i notice a dramatic fluctation in RPM at that time. Also the speedo fluctuates 10-20 mph...i guess bounces between would be a better description. It also seems to be miss-firing but no associated engine light, so no codes to pull. The missfire feeling could be from the tranny but not sure. It only does it for a minute or so. Then all goes back to normal. Seems to run fine once it stops its little fit but bothers me. Dealership has been no help.
It only seems to do this after doing city driving and not at any other time. MPG has also decreased noticieably. Was thinking transmission control module with the speedo doing the bounceing but just want some input.
Thanks
Dan
Just went thru this problem with a 2002 neon. You need to replace the Radiator, and have the trans fliud and the Radiator flushed out, then hope that ne damage was done to the Trans.
Hope this advice helps anyone.
Hope this advice helps anyone.
Has anyone experienced this problem, if so, what what the source of the problem?
The mechanic suggested the electronic shifter was not working properly due to a low charging battery?? Any thoughts on that statement?
My stepdaughter has a 2000 Plymouth Neon. We have had a lot of problems with this vehicle and apparently a lot of other folks have too. We just had the radiator repaired and 2 days after getting the car out of the shop and $750 in repairs done on the vehicle, the car came to a dead stop and all of the transmission fluid poured out. We took it to the same mechanic who had just done a full tune-up and repair and he claimed the transmission needed to be repaired. Is this common for this particular vehicle and does anyone have any suggestions on what to do. The car has 100,000 miles on it now.
Thank you,
Tim
Much to my dismay, my radiator failed AGAIN last week. I contacted Dodge who basically told me Neon radiators are known to be defective, and Dodge claims no responsibility for this. My transmission is probably on its last leg now due to the 2nd radiator failure. Despite my transmission being covered under warranty, Dodge will not fix my transmission if it bites the dust due to radiator issues, even though they admit their defective radiator is to blame!
Right now I'm in the process of having my radiator replaced again along with having everything flushed again. A Dodge rep actually told me there's a 50/50 chance everything will keep on failing, but replacing the transmission "might" fix the problem... the same transmission that's supposed to be under warranty for another 15,000 miles. Dodge won't chip in at all on the repairs or do anything to remedy the situation.
Despite taking great care of my Neon, it's been nothing but costly repairs for the past couple years, and it's broken down 3 times(!!!) in the past 6 months alone. This is not normal behavior for a car that's 5 years old with less than 55,000 miles on it. I've always kept my oil changed, I don't drive like a maniac, and I don't even drive my car every day... usually just a few times a week, if that. I certainly didn't expect luxury class performance from my Neon when I bought it years ago as a college student on a tight budget, but I did expect it to safely get me from point A to point B without costly repairs every stinking year.
As a result of this ordeal, I'm planning on trading my Neon in immediately after this round of repair work is complete. I want to get rid of it before the transmission fails (and likely the radiator too for the 3rd time). There is no way am I investing that much money into such a problematic and unreliable vehicle when I can invest it in a brand new vehicle from a better manufacturer!
I would NEVER buy another Dodge vehicle again, based on the poor quality of both their merchandise and customer service. It's simply unacceptable! If this is how other American auto manufacturers conduct their business, it's no wonder the American auto industry is failing.
Do yourselves a big favor and trade in your Neons for safer, more reliable cars once you start experiencing radiator and transmission problems. And don't buy a used one just because they're inexpensive and have good gas mileage, unless you don't mind the very likely chance of spending thousands on repairs. Maybe you'll be luckier than I was, but I've come across dozens of other people on the Internet who've had the same outcome as me or who've ended up much worse. Even Dodge will admit their product is crap. The fact they stopped making Neons 3 years ago says it all.
P.S. Tim, Neons are also known to have brake-related and electrical problems. I've never had any electrical problems (thank God!), but I've had my brakes serviced twice in the past year alone. I'm convinced my Neon is the spawn of Satan. =P
Ive noticed a lot of you talking about having to change your transmission.. what symptoms did you notice that were tell tail signs your tranny was going??
At the moment when I accelerate I hear a whining noise. The same noise as when you reverse fast or up a hill. The faster I go the higher pitch the whine. Do you think this is wheel bearings or tranny??
Just got my 2001 neon last week with 147k on it.. fingers crossed its not a bad car :S Already having to put half a liter of oil in everytime i fuel up.. engine light is now on.. when starts cold makes some funky noises and does this wierd rev on rev off things.. but anyways.. any help or advice with the whining would be great.
Cheers, Reece.
well bad new, i have same car n year 2005 dodge neon sxt
same problem including rpm jumping gear o stay stuck on one gear mayb 2gear since the car is computerized its tried to adjust but i the same time i could serious damage ur trans like mines dont wait long jus got my car fix bad new it cost me 1000$$ to rebuild good new now runs good no problem the problem was bad transmission converter torque all all dodge chrys- transmission die after 55,000 miles have it check most places r free avoid having this code P0700 Transmission Control System Malfunction