Owners have filed 2,528 complaints on the Dodge Neon, covering 1994–2005. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (838 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1996, 1997; cleanest: 1994, 2004, 2005. 337 reports describe a crash, 78 a fire, 25 a death. On average the car was 3.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Neon
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,528 Neon complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 838 Read
I got my oil changed, tires rotated, and windshield wipers replaced on april 13 2011 around 6:30pm. My oil change took approximately 15 min. After the oil change and tire rotation, I paid and went straight home. I was not informed by anyone at valvoline that anything was wrong with my car. I got in my car around…
Cruise control was set at 63 mph. Coming to brake, did not disengage. Pedal got stuck, did not release. Rearended vehicle in front. Air bag deployed. Had seat belt on. Vehcile caught on fire. This defect resulted in an accident
Cronic engine oil leak
Service Brakes 335 Read
I was in a small collision at the speed of 10 mph or less. I rear ended a ford f150 truck because my brakes skided on the road, my 2003 neon fishtailed, and I hit the bumper of the truck. My right headlight was smashed, and my radiator was also broken. After 3 minutes my engine caught on fire, and my entire car was…
Brakes failed, causing loss of control/accident/fire
Brakes failed on 2 occasions this year. No pedal whatsoever they went all the way to the floor
Air Bags 234 Read
After frontal impact, air bag took 2 minutes after the impact to deploy. Liquid in air bag caused drivers shirt to catch on fire, and burned her arms.*ak. Consumer stated he hit a utility pole
In an accident when the driver's airbag deployed the bag caught on fire due to wiring inside were melting
The first week of june, my son was involved in a accident which caused the air bags to deploy. Both bags did deployed, but the passenger side air bag caught on fire. Fortunately no one was in the passenger seat, but the fire was severe enough to char the seat. I contacted the manufacturer and they did an…
Electrical System 223 Read
Car was struck by another car (right side) passenger side. Car caught fire and driver's seat belt would not release trapping driver within car. The seat belt was cut by another driver in order to free driver from car. Seconds after the car was totally engulfed in flames and entirely burnt. We have the failed seat belt…
Hit a pole on an parking lot access road at approximately 15 mph. Car started on fire and burnt the entire car. The interior was completely destroyed
Running lights stopped working (on a city street), when repaired, was due to a wire in the multifunction switch burning out and melting the casing of the mfs
Steering 165 Read
No summary listed for above vehicle
Driver made right turn , steering locked up ,lost control of vehicle, and crashed onto a curb when the gas tank ruptured, causing 4 deaths and two were severely burned and 1 had minor burns. All were occupants inside the vehicle, three in front and four in the back. Gas tank had no rotective shield
As indicated on police report driver lost control of vehicle, ran off the side of a 2 lane highway, straddled a guard rail and some trees, before flipping over and catching on fire. Vehicle totaled. Driver and passenger were killed. Two days prior to the accident, the driver complained about steering problem .…
Power Train 150 Read
- the contact has a 2005 dodge neon with an odometer reading of 29000 miles. The contact stated that under dry conditions while driving at 65 mph the driver side cv joint failed, which caused the contact to lose control and hit a bridge. The contact had the car towed to the dealer, and is waiting for the vehicle to be…
I purchased a 2004 neon sxt on november 23, 2004. Mileage on delivery was 200. In december of 2004, the solenoid malfunctioned. The engine light stayed on and the car would not accelerate. The dealer repaired this and my basic limited warranty covered it. On march 5, 2005, I took the car back to the dealer for repairs…
The contact owns a 2004 dodge neon. While cleaning the vehicle as it was parked in the driveway, the contact accidentally moved the gear shifter into neutral. The vehicle rolled down a hill and crashed into the front yard. She stated that the gear shifter was able to be moved without the keys being in the ignition and…
Structure 97 Read
Vehicle was in a accident, right passenger's side and right side were affected. In order for vehicle to line up vehicle had to remodeled. Bumper was not put on properly. Dealership was aware of problem
Vehicle bought, however had been previously wrecked, the vehicle has many (numerous) problems due to prior wreck, dealer made false statements and practiced possible fraudulent acts
Driver side door safety bar flew out of door on impact and shows it didn't take any of the crash impact, I have photo's of the car driver side door and I also have the bar that flew out of it that is straight as a arrow. I'm just glad that the door folded out and not in or my step-daughter would have been killed. She…
Suspension 88 Read
The contact stated while driving 45 mph on normal rural roads, the vehicle unexpectedly veered to the left hitting a school bus and banking off the road. The driver side wheel snapped off the axel causing a loss of steering control. There were no warning lights illuminated prior the incident. There was a police report…
While driving at 60 mph vehicle was in an accident. Vehicle folded and the bottom separated from vehicle, but none of the air bags deployed upon impact. Ts
Was driving down the hwy @ appro 70 mph, the steering column started to shimmy, and my front passanger blew. I lost control of the vehicle, and landed in the median in approx 3 feet of water. Had to tow the car for 50 miles, back to the dealership. I was told that the "bead broke on the tire, due to improper mounting…
Neon years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Air Bags | 19 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 16 | 3 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 16 | 11 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 20 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 20 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 43 | 3 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 16 | 4 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 31 | 3 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 37 | 7 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 35 | 4 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 84 | 39 | |
| 1994 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 952 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.7 |
| Worst single series | 23 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.4 years |
A model average of 2.7 hides a worst series at 23. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Neon?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1996, 1997 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Neon years are the cleanest?
1994, 2004, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Neon have?
2,528 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1994–2005. Of those, 337 describe a crash and 78 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.