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1997 Dodge Neon Head Gasket - READ ONLY

139 messages,  Last post on Apr 18, 2001 at 7:04 PM

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Messages Page 12 of 15

#106 of 139 95 dodge Neon Paint Flaking Off by crazzyjw1

Jan 26, 2001 (2:48 pm)

I have a 1995 Dodge Neon and the paint is flaking off. I called the main office and they refused to paint it because i was a 3rd owner and they also said that the warranty on the paint was 3 year or 36,000 miles. I find this very strange that a company would only warranty their paint for 3 years. But I am fighting to have it repainted if i can get enough people to stand behind me and maybe they will recall them. So if you have this problem please e-mail me at Crazzyjwbellsouth.net. I am fighting hard to get all white neons recalled so please help
thank you
jenny

#107 of 139 by eneth

Jan 27, 2001 (5:42 pm)

The new 2.0 and 2.4L engines use a redesigned head gasket that supposedly has fixed the failure problems.
 
As for paint, it's warranted for 12 months or 12,000 miles on a Dodge. The Neon postdates the common Uniprime peeling-paint problem Chrysler (and Ford and GM) had in the late 80s and early 90s. It is more likely an isolated case now - unlike its transmissions, Chrysler apparently has improved its paint finishes.

#108 of 139 97 Dodge Neon Head Gasket by fuji56

Jan 28, 2001 (5:52 am)

Just had the head gasket replaced this past week. I would like to thank all of you that have posted experiences with you local service departments.
 
I started out by calling a local dealership in order to get a quote for the repair. I was quoted a price of $800 parts & labor. I immediately called the DC number and was told that I would need to take my Neon to a service department and get a problem determination. Well, I did and of no surprise I was told that it was the head gasket that was leaking and that DC would go 50/50 with me for the repairs. The final bill for the repair ended up to be $214.96. I believe that the district managers have undue influence in determining the final cost of repairs. I also believe that there is a possibility that I might not have had to pay anything. The idea of a class action suit will be my next consideration.
 
Good luck to all Neon owners.

#109 of 139 1997 Neon Head Gasket by cabins

Jan 29, 2001 (3:49 pm)

Thanks to everyone that has posted information on their experiences with the Neon head gaskets -it helped to save me quite a bit of money.
 
My (daughter's) 1997 Neon had 28,000 miles on it when we bought it. Shortly after buying the Neon, we started noticing the oil spots. My daughter-in-law also owned a Neon (1998) during this time period, and it developed a major oil leak. My daughter-in-law was able to get her head gasket replaced at no charge, although the warranty had expired. (I attributed their willingness to correct the problem to the fact that she and my son have been good customers of the Chrysler dealer in our town.)
 
After arming myself with information from this site, I finally took my daughter's 97 Neon in to the dealer to have the oil leak checked at 44,400 miles. I told the service dept. when I took it in that I was reasonably sure that it was the head gasket, given all of the problems that Chrysler has had with this item. The service dept. told me that if it was the hg, it would likely be covered by Chrysler. They would call to get approval if needed.
 
It turned out that it was the hg, and they called me to say that it was out of warranty and the repairs would not be covered. I told the service rep that I knew that Chrysler had repaired many of the Neons at no charge. She offered to do the repair at 50% cost. I told her that I also knew that many of the hg's had been replaced for a $100 deductible paid by the consumer. She agreed to this and the work was subsequently done.
 
When I went to pick up the car today, the lady that I had spoken with was not available. There was confusion about the charge, but the owner of the dealership got involved, and I was able to pick up the car with No Charge. He stated that Chrysler gives him a great deal of flexibility in dealing with the head gasket problem.
 
Once again, I thank all of you for providing me with the ammunition needed to get this repair done for free.

#110 of 139 Neon Headgasket Replaced by dcleckler

Feb 06, 2001 (4:23 pm)

I have a 1997 Plymouth Neon that started leaking oil a small amount at about 40,000 miles. Go figure, right after the original factory warranty ran out. Then it stopped and started again from time to time until it reached 58,000 when it really started leaking. A half a quart every 500 miles. I took it into a local dealership in my town and they took one look at it, actually I think they knew before they looked at it, and told me it was a blown headgasket. I luckely had extended warranty through Fidelity Warranty and they covered all but my $100.00 deductible and they would not pay for new nuts and bolts. Strange. They did pay for all fluids. I also contacted Chrysler and kindly complained to them and was told that they would be willing to offer a "good will" gesture of paying for all labor, basically, and I could pay for parts. This would have meant me paying around $200.00 or so. I told them I had the extended warranty but wanted them to pick up the tab on the deductible. They would not do it. They were nice about the whole thing and I was surprised about the "good will" offer but they at first didn't want to admit that it was a "known" problem. Then I told them everything I had researed on this site and others and they then started saying when they normally offered good will offers that customers usually ended up paying around $200.00. Now tell me how they know what they normally do when at first they tried to say they didn't even know about it being a known problem. Well, hope this helps someone out there with a similar problem.

#111 of 139 Does this problem occur again after it has been fixed once by needinfo3

Feb 06, 2001 (10:24 pm)

If I buy a Neon that has had the HG changed then do I look forward to it going again in another 30 - 50 thousand miles? What is the average life of a neon in miles?

#112 of 139 needinfo3 by alcan

Feb 07, 2001 (5:20 am)

Neon head gaskets have been updated to resolve the leakage problem (hopefully). Look for small rivets through the gasket where it protrudes between the head and block.

#113 of 139 by hadahwood

Feb 08, 2001 (10:47 am)

I'M THINKING OF TAKING OVER THE PAYMENTS ON A FAMILY MEMBER'S '98 DODGE NEON. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD REPLACE THE GASKET TO THE NEW UPGRADED ONES WITHOUT HAVING A PROBLEM? THE CAR ONLY HAS 35000 MILES AND IS BASICALLY LIKE NEW. HOW CAN I HANDLE THIS GASKET PROBLEM BEFORE IT OCCURS?

#114 of 139 About the paint and Head gasket problems... by darrint

Feb 10, 2001 (6:00 pm)

I have a 1996 Ply mouth Neon. At 24K the suspension went south. At about 55K (just out of the warrantee period), the head gasket went ($879.00) and at about 60K the paint began to bubble-up and peel off around the roof-line and sides ($237.00). I could peel every last hint of paint off the car using my fingernails if I wanted to waste an afternoon. It appeared that it wasn't even bonded to the primer. That doesn't include the two master cylinders I purchased at $350.00 a pop. -My brakes lost pressure and failed 4 times. My gas gauge has also been replaced but that too has gone bad again and I use my trip odometer to see how much gas I have. The A/I stopped working at 54,000 ($329.00). All the while, I was told by Chrysler that this or that wasn't covered and that all these were probably caused by my driving tendencies.' I can understand them saying I could POTENTIALLY blow a head gasket by over-revving the engine (but I've never had that problem before, on any other car..) but I asked the guy exactly how fast I'd need to drive to peel the paint off the car. Bottom line..... Don't buy a Dodge/Crysler. They're rip-off artists and shiesters. They know of these problems and they don't care. I will never ever buy a Dodge product again in my life and I will tell EVERYBODY who cares to listen to do the same. Hell, I was out looking at cars last week and as I was leaving a Nissan lot, a Dodge salesman on the next lot asked me if he could help me. I almost decked him for his trouble. (I know, it's not HIS fault!) If you think my luck is isolated, ask any owner of a 1995 - 1997 Neon if he's had problems with either the paint, the head gasket or the brakes and I'll wager my worthless Neon that one of the above rings true. (Go to consumer reports website and you'll see that these are VERY common problems). Of course, If you win the wager, you may not want the devil anyway!
 
-P.S. -TO THE GIRL THAT WAS LOOKING TO PURSUE A LAWSUIT - If still interested, I'M GAME!!! my e-mail is listed on this site. IF anyone, for that matter, is looking to do the same, I'll get in on the action. I know Dodge/Chrysler won't squirm because their rep is poor anyway (I found out about that too late!), but If I can exact at least $2500.00 damage in bad publicity from Dodge/Chrysler, I'd call it even.....

#115 of 139 Three owners,5 to 7 year old by dweezil

Feb 16, 2001 (4:48 pm)

cars and you expect the COMPANY to REPAINT YOUR CAR???Pick a real issue, no court in the world is going to hear a case like that. Blame the EPA for demanding "low emission" water based paint.There are too many variables involved especially YEARS after the warranty has expired for DCX to be held responsible for that.
I am no DCX cheer leader, but not EVERY problem is someone else's fault. Paint ages, fades, cracks, checks, crazes.
I hope that a class action suit IS brought against them for their defective head gaskets and Ford's and GM's as well. But the paint thing-please.

Messages Page 12 of 15

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