1997 Dodge Neon

I FOUND OUT ABOUT A POSSIBLE HEAD GASKET PROBLEM WHEN I TOOK MY CAR TO AN AUTO REPAIR SHOP FOR ANOTHER SERVICE. THE REPAIR MAN WAS GOING TO CHANGE MY TRANSMISSION FLUID/PAN BUT THEN DISCOVERED THAT THE SEAL TO THE PAN ON THE HEAD GASKET MAY BE LEAKING, BUT THE PAN WAS SEALED WITH SOME TYPE OF SEALANT THAT HE COULD NOT REMOVE IT. ALSO, WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE ARE DEFECTS IN THE AIRBAGS AND THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN RECALLED, BUT I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN ANY INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THIS "VERY IMPORTANT" ISSUE. ALSO, THE PAINT ON MY CAR IS LITERALLY FALLING OFF IN PATCHES. IT APPEARS TO ONLY BE THE ONLY COLOR (PURPLEISH/BLUE) OF THE NEON'S THAT THE PAINT IS COMING OFF. MY CAR (KEEP IN MIND ONLY 2YRS OLD) ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A SPOTTED COW. I CAN TAKE MY FINGER AND PEEL THE PAINT OFF WITH EASE. THERE ARE CARS THAT ARE 10YRS OLDER THAN MY 97 AND THE PAINT LOOKS 100 TIMES BETTER! DODGE IS ALSO AWARE OF THIS "BAD PAINT" BUT THEY WANT TO CHARGE $300 TO GET IT RE-PAINTED--THE EXACT SAME COLOR??!!! DODGE SHOULD REPLACE THE PAINT FREE OF CHARGE ON ALL THESE MODELS WITH THIS COLOR PAINT. IT MAKES ME NOT EVEN WANT TO DRIVE MY 2 YR OLD CAR WITH PAINT MISSING FROM FRONT,BACK,SIDE TO SIDE.

THE BRAKES ARE HORRIBLE.. GRIND AS IF METAL ON METAL.. HAVE HAD THEM CHECKED BY DEALER AND TWO OTHER BRAKE SPECIALITS. ALL SAY BRAKES WORK FINE.. HOWEVER GRIND HORRIBLY.. AND CHIRP CONTINUOUSLY.. NOBODY CAN FIGURE IT OUT. THE PAINT IS ANOTHER ISSUE. IT PEELS ALL OVER INCLUDING TRUNK, DOORS, ROOF, ETC. SEEMS TO BE ONLY LAPIS BLUE COLOR THAT DOES IT. I HAVE A LIST OF 12 VEHICLES IN THIS COLOR THAT ARE PEELING AS WELL AS SEVERAL PHOTOS. DEALER WANTED ME TO PAY, EVEN WHILE UNDER WARRANTY.. PHONED DAIMLER CHRYSLER AND IT TOOK 4 MONTHS OF FIGHTING WITH THEM TO AGREE TO RE-PAINT HOWEVER THEY WILL ONLY RE-PAINT WHERE IT IS PEELING.. UNACCEPTABLE, AS MORE PAINT WILL CONTINUE TO PEEL IN OTHER AREAS. THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND SHOULD BE COVERED WITH NO QUESTIONS.. THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM.. THE BRAKES SHOULD BE FIXED ALSO. I DID NOT BOUGHT A NEW CAR TO AVOID PROBLEMS LIKE THESE.. THIS CAR IS A LEMON AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. THERE ARE SO MANY PROBLEMS LISTED ON THE COMPLAINT PAGE FOR THIS VEHICLE.. HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE SOMEONE AT THE NHTSA DOES SOMETHING FOR US??*AK

I HEARD ALOT OF HEAD GASGETS ON 95-99 NEON HAVE FAILED AND CHYSLER HAS PAID TO REPAIR THEM EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OUT OF WARENTY. WHEN I CALLED THEM THEY ACTED LIKE THEY NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM BEFORE I TALKED TO THE DEALER AND THEY JUST BLEW ME OF TO . MY BILL WAS $900.00. I CAN'T BELIVE THERE WAS NOT A RECALL WHEN SO MANY HEAD GASGETS HAVE FAILED.

WHEN DRIVING OVER A PUDDLE OR WHEN DRIVING IN THE RAIN POWER STEERING BELT GETS WET, CAUSING STEERING TO BECOME DIFFICULT WHICH CAUSED DRIVER TO ALMOST HIT A PEDESTRIAN. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER. DEALER HAS REPLACED BELTS AND HAS TIGHTENED THEM. HOWEVER, PROBLEM RETURNS WHENEVER IT RAINS. MANUFACTURER HAS PROVIDED DEALER WITH INSTRUCTION TO TIGHTEN BELTS, AND CHECK THE TORQUE EVERY THREE THOUSAND MILES.*AK

HEAD GASKETS LEAKING HAD TO BE REPALCED AT47272 PROBLEM STARTED AT 28000 MILES STOCKTON DODGE KEPT TELLING NOTHING WAS WRONG UNTILL I WAS LOSING A QT OF OIL A WEEK AND POWER FAILURE WS GETTING WORSE AND HAS CONTINUED EVERY SENCE. ENGINE POWER FLATENS OUT I HAVE NO EXCELORATION ABILITY DURING THAT TIME ENGINE SURGES WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO LOSE SLOW DOWN WHILE AT HIGH SPEEDS. GAS MILEAGE HAS DROPED TO 1/2 THE NORMAL RATE OF 300 MILES PER TANK OF GAS. HOWELING NOISE FROM NEWLY INSTALLED TRANSMISSION AT 20-30 MPH AND AGAIN AT 55-65 MPH. *AK

I BOUGHT MY NEON USED (BUT ONLY A YEAR OLD) I HAVE HAD MANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR MY BLINKERS COME ON BY THEMSELVES, MY TRUNK AND BACK FLOORS ARE GETTING DRENCHED (PUDDLES OF WATER 3 INCHES) MY BRAKES ARE SQUALING, MY DOOR LIGHT IS SHORTING MY REVERSE LIGHTS ARE BLOWN MY HEAD GASKET HAS BLOWN TWICE. I HAVE ALSO HAD PROBLEM WITH MY FIRES UNDER THE HOOD. THIS CAR IS MADE POORLY. I AM TRYING TO TRADE IT AND IT NOT AS MUCH AS I OWE. TALK TO DEALER BUT DOES NOT SEEM LIKE THEY WANT TO HELP.

SPARE TIRE CAVITY WAS FULL OF WATER. THIS CAUSED THE SPARE TO BE RUSTED AS WELL AS THE FLOOR UNDER THE TIRE AND THE JACK. I HAVE NEVER HAD TO USE THE SPARE SO I DONT KNOW HOW LONG THE WATER HAS BEEN THERE. FROM THE AMOUNT THAT WAS IN THERE, I WOULD SAY IT HAS COLLECTED EVERY RAIN DROP SINCE I HAVE HAD THE CAR. THIS CAUSED ME TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED INSTEAD OF BEING ABLE TO USE THE SPARE. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN VERY BAD IF I HAD BEEN IN A RURAL AREA OR IF I HAD NO CAR PHONE. IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. A REAR TAILLIGHT WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY WHEN I FIRST GOT THE CAR DUE TO WATER INTRUSION. MAYBE THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM.