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Comments
The only thing I find distracting is the solid black seats and doors, dash and interior. They show dirt real easy. The seats clean up real easy. The car is comfortable even on long trips. The interior is noisy and the engine is also, wind noise is less than the older style. But when on a cell phone it's not as nice as our Jeep Liberty.I kept the "Bad Year Tires" just long enough for a tire shop owner friend to order me a set of Cooper tires.
The 2005 is suppose to be the last year for the Neon. However that remains to be seen as the replacement looks like a crossover something like a hatch back and a Derango type front end. Time will tell.
I think Chrysler should fire the idiot that is designing these "low rider" "chopped top" station wagons and this "old Charger". Heck we have had all the station wagons and fastbacks to last a life time! When will Dodge build a sedan that's got lots of back seat foot room, and looks like it belongs to the twenty first century?
I think the manual calls for a change at 100,000 miles or thereabouts. Check the manual or use the Edmunds maintenance guides, which are great. Unless the car is a manual transmission, the timing belt is probably safe out to about 130,000-160,000 miles (no "popping the clutch" or wild downshifts with automatics). It is a critical replacement, and so the manual recomendation is actually conservative. I wouldn't go past the manual recommendation, but I wouldn't feel a need to do it earlier either as a precaution. The belts have improved a lot over the years, and there is a lot of statistical evidence on belt life for manufacturer's to draw on.
I recommend shopping dealers since there are wildly different rates for this. Personally I'd rather have the dealer do this, they have all the proper tools, use factory parts, don't have to improvise, have good up to date manuals, and usually trained personnel. They also back up their warranty. One trick that sometimes works well is to ask which mechanic (or two) is good at timing belts and make sure that mechanic is on duty when you take your car in. You don't want someone who does a lot of brake jobs to substitute when the timing belt person is out sick. Or take it in on that person's day off.
And believe it or not, it helps to show up early with a box of donuts for the crew.
I have repeatedly said these dealers get griped at, and seldom get praise. I too bring something to say thanks, and let the service manager know I am please. This is a key to great service, and helps when you really do have a problem!
I am new to this site but I just wanted to let you know tellie the 2000 neons are pieces of crap. We have one we bought it at 35,000 miles and it is in the shop every three months no joke. 2 months after owning it the speed sensor went out and when I took it in they said there was recalled part the break hose that was recalled several months before we drove the car off the lot. Since then we have had our cam sensor go out it lets the car know if it is on or off. Two window motors go out since they are power and a door go out power too. Then our battery so it was replaced but the dealer broke something so we were iding from 0-20 without our foot on the gas. So they fixed that problem they made. We has the timing belt and another one replaced and found out we were charged for these so called belts but they were not put on. So we stopped going the original dealer because the car already breaks down it does not need help.Then we replaced the brakes and found out our rotar had been eaten because one side of the pad was braking and not the other. So that's not a big deal because that is matance. But then we had our freeze plugs replaced because our car kept overheating and I could smell the coolant when I got out my car. My car has stared overheating again, 3 months after 600.00 worth of work for the freeze plugs done. So it broke down right on schedule I guess you could say. So we took it in and they told us it was not our radiator because they flushed it and tested it so it is good. They did say it was our radiator cap so a new one was put on. Problem is 2 weeks out of the shop and it is still over heating and needs new motor mounts at 84,000 the upper and lower ones and a new power steering pump. Which is quite funny because our pump has always sounded like that since we drove it off the lot and now we need a new one. It however is very noisy. No one knows why the car is overheating and now they are telling us it is our termastat what next our gasket ??? or the trans ??? Our car is a piece of carp and I wanted to let you know your not alone and warn people not to buy these cars.My best friend bought one too the same year and her trans went out @ 50,000 and now is going out again @ 80,000. So I am not alone in the fact that these cars are pieces of junk. I will never buy another dodge if my life depended on it. I'm so upset with mine I just want to scream. :lemon:
I also drive a 2000 Neon LX that does the exact same thing. When I am driving, the car constantly thinks the door is open and the light goes on and off. The doors also constantly lock and unlock, and this is all very annoying! To complicate matters, the passenger rear door lock makes this horrible sound when it locks. It drives me crazy.
Anyway, I have a temporary solution. Please excuse my lack of technical car language; I have a degree in theatre and know nothing about cars. There is a "button" on the car that gets pushed in when the door closes. If you are in the driver's seat looking at the door, there is a "hole" on the left side in the middle that has a little latch in it. Push the latch up and close the door. This should help force the "button" into the car so that the car won't think the door is open. Also, this sounds cheesy, but if you cover the "button" with a piece or several pieces of duct tape, this also helps a great deal. Closing the door HARD also helps. I know this doesn't offer a long-term solution, but maybe it can help restore your sanity until you can have your car professionally looked at. I know I plan to have this done immediately after I stop being poor!
Rick
Put your key in the ignition and turn it 5 times like you were going to start it 5 times but don't let it start. The check engine light will do a series of flashes and those flashes can be found in the repair manual as to what is wrong with your car. The O2 sensor is cheap money. I believe I paid $150 at the dealer to get mine done on my 95 when I had it. Also, Autozone can check your engine light problem for free. Once the O2 sensor is replaced, the check engine light should go out. If it annoys you then remove your negative cable on your battery for 5 minutes and put it back on and you will find your check engine light out. This is a temporary solution until you get the new sensor. -Rick
I have driven the car on the highway 3 separate times now and it seems to drive ok although there was a little engine noise but that seems to have gone away now. The problem now is that the car does not start well. I have to press the gas pedal a bit when starting the car or it stalls. this was not a problem before. I expect there are still pieces of the spark plug in the cylinder. could they be blocking the fuel coming into the cylinder and causing the stalling problem? What other hazards are there about not knowing where the exploded parts of the spark plug are? the car has 119,000 miles so i don't think she wants to invest much money into the vehicle.
any input is welcome.
Any guess as to why the car is having difficulty starting and stalls? If the porcelain exploded into small enough pieces couldn't it get into the cylinder?
I actually used to own a 2000 neon ES. After 6 months, the battery died. One of my rims bent a few months later. After that, I had a slew of problems, including the O2 sensor and cam sensors going out on it, the power system dying twice(in one year), the lock on the door messing up (where the door wouldn't close at all), etc. etc.
I traded it in after two years and got a 2003 Dodge Dakota. I NEVER have had problems with my dakota, at all. The only reason I'm looking for another vehicle now is cost (with gas prices and stuff).
Monday, the car ran fine. However Tuesday afternoon, I noticed the car making and unusual noise intermittently. I sounded like there was paper or plastic caught up in the tires or something. I could not see any thing when I looked and the noise would go away for long periods. About 2 miles from my house the car jerked really hard (at about 50 mph) and then continued on. I got about a block away from home and there was a terrible grinding noise and vibration (it almost sounded and felt like a tire blew out) the I lost forward momentum, but the engine continued to run. Needless to say, the tires were fine...I pretty sure we stripped the gears in the automatic transmission, because it rolls like it's in neutral when it's actually in reverse. We can make forward progress at about 3 mph (thank heaven it happened near the house) ! If anyone can verify this assumption w/o actually looking at the vehicle and recommend whether or not this is something we can repair or have a mechanic look at, I would appreciate it!
I wish I had long skinny arms with 3 more elbow joints!
jimmy
Has anyone attempted to do a 134A recharge on their Air Conditioners? I know Walmart sells them pretty cheap and didn't want to pay a shop $125.00 to do it when I could do it for 1/3 of the price. Any comments would be great.
Also, any comments on different spark plus besides the stock Champions would help me out because I believe there are plugs out there that give off a hotter spark. Didn't like the bosch plug. I drive a 99 SOHC.
replaced thermostat, only one fan comes on. Can someone give me some information on what could possibly be the problem...
If you have an AutoZone in your area, get your Neon to them. They'll diagnose your "Check Engine" light for free. A little tip on it is to turn your key off and on 5 times and then leave it in the on position and your "Check Engine" light will do a series of flashes. Count the flashes, that's your first number, then count the second set and that's your second number. Let's say it flashes three times and then the second it flashes five times. Your error code will be 35. At the end your check engine light will flash a series of five times, that's your que that its done. If you have an owners manual, great. The codes are in there. If not, AutoZone, Lappens and I believe Pep Boys sells the repair manuals for 15 bucks.
Hope that helped you out.