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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 5 of 15

#37 of 139 1995 dodge neon engine gasket problem by bbern214

May 16, 2000 (1:03 am)

Does anyone know how I can get my $650.00 back from the dealer for this problem? What have you done? E mail me at bbernsuffolk.lib.ny.us


I had the engine gasket problem on my 1995 Dodge Neon at 69370 miles in November 1999. It cost 650.00 at a dealership and nobody ever told me anything was known about the problem. Today, May 15, 2000 at 77000 miles, I had my car checked at an independent garage and found out the main rear seal is blown, and that it will cost another 400.00 to repair. This is so outrageous I can't believe it. I will be selling my car ASAP and I will be buying a 2000 Honda Civic. I've had several Chrysler products and I will NEVER buy one again and I will do eveything in my power to badmouth the company! What is wrong with the Government? Why can't they force Chrysler to recall these cars? HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!

#38 of 139 confused buyer by chickysue

May 22, 2000 (5:20 pm)

im looking into buying a 1995 dodge neon for my 17yr old daughter the car has been diagnosed with the head gasket problem the seller is still under warranty and will have the gasket fixed do i still want to buy this car???? somebody help me with this decision is the warranty on this car transferrable? email me at sugarmags66aol.com please i dont want to buy this car for my daughter if it is unreliable

#39 of 139 '97 Neon Headgasket by clayton3

May 30, 2000 (6:34 pm)

This is old news, but here's my story. At 42,000 miles (no extended warranty beyond 36K) the local Chrysler dealership quoted me $650. They also told me that they would need to keep the car for possibly up to two weeks because there were 50,000 headgaskets on back-order! I returned the next day armed with customer comments from the internet (notably the Neon consumer homepage). The dealership fixed it for free and had it done in three days.
The following week, the engine spit out a spark plug and stripped the threads. The dealership said they needed to remove the heads to rethread, hence a new headgasket for another $650. Go figure. A heliocoil did the job quite well for under $20.

#40 of 139 97 Neon Headgasket by kellyr2

Jun 06, 2000 (7:13 pm)

I would strongly suggest not buying a Neon.


I have a 97 Neon with 35,000 miles on it and it has been the the shop for major things! One of them being the head gasket. I also had problems with the transmission, clutch, and fuel pump to name a few. Luckly it is still under warrenty.


I'm looking at getting rid of my Neon as soon as possible before anthing else goes wrong with it.

#41 of 139 HELP before I purchase '97 Neon 3-speed! by mkbizwoman

Jun 14, 2000 (7:08 pm)

As of this morning, I have been in the process of obtaining a loan to purchase a '97 Plymouth Neon 3-speed with 55K from a private party but now I'm really worried after reading so much here about the head gasket problems. (I'd certainly much rather invest in a used Honda, Toyota, or possibly Saturn but cannot afford it at the moment and after a HORRIBLE experience with a Dodge Shadow once, I swore I'd NEVER buy an American car EVER again!)


This original owner purchased a Premium Care Protection package ($100 deductable) that is transferable, and the 100,000 mile / 6 yr. warranty is also going to be transferable to the new owner as well. Would this not cover me just in case I should have some head gasket or oil leak problems?


She's asking just the pay-off balance ($6,500) but I'm concerned about the resale value. The customer has kept the car in immaculate condition and has receipts for everything and did regular maintenance like clockwork as well. I test drove the car at length and didn't notice any louder than normal engine sounds and my only regret is that I wish it had more power going from 0 - 65 but what can one expect from a 3 speed?


I would appreciate ANYONE'S honest input ASAP before I enter into this deal . . . Plus, I'm getting ready to move from Missouri to Boston at the end of this month so I'll be putting the Neon to the long distance trip test soon after purchase. Please advise

#42 of 139 by pat455

Jun 14, 2000 (11:27 pm)

Hello mkbizwoman,


Welcome to Town Hall!


Perhaps you have already found all these other resources here, but I just wanted to point them out in case you have not.


The Finance, Warranty and Insurance Conference is a good place to pursue your questions about the Premium Care Protection Package. The Smart Shopper Conference is a good place to check into things like used car pricing and resale value.


From your ID, I assume you are a woman. If so, you might also like to take a look at the Our Turn Conference which is dedicated to women's automotive issues. We are fortunate to have had an automotive tech join us recently as co-host. Her name is Kristina and she posts under the ID md_tech. It's possible she may have even had some personal experience with this vehicle.


I don't mean to be chasing you all over Town Hall, I just wanted to be sure you were aware of all of the resources available here for your particular situation.


Meanwhile, we'll wait to see if anyone has any advice for you here in this topic.


Again, welcome. And good luck.


Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference

#43 of 139 Hi (mkbizwoman) by md_tech

Jun 22, 2000 (11:38 pm)

I'm sorry to say but the Neon hasen't been a very dependable car. They don't hold their resale value and they seem to have a lot of mechanical issues. We just had one in recently a 97 with a Head Gasket problem,even thought, the car will still be under warranty you will live in the repair shop... This is the type of car they unfortunatly term "throw away". Personaly when I first saw the Neon I wanted the cute little car too... But I haven't been to lucky with American cars. I had a red Dodge Daytona that did me wrong and since then I haven't touched another American car. I don't even like to work on them!!!!They have a conference on Sedans you might want to check out... I heard the Nissan Sentra has really moved up in the compact cars review...(Check It Out) An don't forget if you have any other concerns you can find me at the Women Automotive Conference...


                        Kristina/co host Our Turn

#44 of 139 My Neon Saga by jbaird1

Jun 29, 2000 (10:55 pm)

Like so many others on this page, I have had major problems with my '95 Dodge Neon. I am not a car person, but here's the scoop:


* Brake problems about a year ago; major expenditure.


* Head gasket problem currently


* Air conditioner leak currently


Our Neon has about 83,000 miles on it. I don't think of this as high mileage, but apparently the folks at Chrysler do; when I told the dude at the 800 number the mileage, he made some comment about high mileage, and I shut him up by telling him about the Honda in my driveway with almost 200K on it that still works well!


At any rate, I could use advice, if anyone has any above and beyond what I've already read in the past 40-something gasket entries. I did call the 800 number for Chrysler, not really helpful, just referred me to the closest Dodge dealer in the area. Brought the car in for a "diagnosis" this morning, really more for them than me, since I'd already had the problem diagnosed by a local independent car repair place. They quoted me $700+ for the gasket, and 400+ for the air conditioner repair. The diagnosis slip didn't list auto part numbers or anything, just the total -- no breakdown of what the cost consisted of. Shoddy, in my opinion. Also, when my husband went to pick up the car (we opted not to pay for the repairs until we'd called back the 800 number) the repair person had left his half-empty gum pack on the driver's seat, and an empty can of chewing tobacco (!) on the passenger seat. About halfway home, hubby realized that the hood hadn't been closed tightly, either. When we called the service manager to complain we got "hey, it happens sometimes". So, we paid $70 for the diagnosis, and an additional mystery fee of $7 for "rags". Needless to say, Antwerpen Dodge in MD will not be getting any more business from us.


Called the 800# (which I about have memorized at this point) after that mess, and they called Antwerpen about it. Upshot was that the dealer would cover 20% of the repair cost. Big Deal. When we asked the Chrysler people about using a different (better) dealership, they said we'd have to start fresh with each dealer, meaning a new diagnosis, etc. I am so mad at this point, and I'm feeling really impotent and powerless.


It probably goes without saying that the new minivan we plan to buy in the next month WILL NOT be a Chrysler product. In the meantime, I'd love any additional advice you car-savvy people may have. Thanks!

#45 of 139 My bro's neon by focuszx3r

Jun 30, 2000 (6:30 am)

My bro has a 96' neon with prob bout 80-85k on it--never a problem--especially head gasket problem. the key is to ket the engine warm up by idling it, and if you must drive, be very very very light on the throttle. My mom's 90' spirit b;ew head gasket at 45k (warranty) but she never warmed it up. Dad's 97' Dakota had it replaced at 20k under warranty, now has 80k and is fine. if you take care fo the car and warm it up correctly you wont have these problems. it just seems that these dodges are more prone to this because of the cast iron block/aluminum head combo and the use of cheap gaskets that are incorrectly torqued at factory. if they spent a bit more and used steel gaskets their wouldnt be all these probs

#46 of 139 is this problem on the DOHC and SOHC? by fula2958

Jul 04, 2000 (3:23 am)

I have a 1997 Neon Highline, SOHC with 88,900 miles. I replaced the head gasket at 81,000 (before i knew that Chrysler would take care of it) my mechanic says he'll never work on this car again. What I'm wondering is if this is a problem on the DOHC's as well as the SOHC's. My brother has a 1998 neon sport and has never had any problems out of his car, so I'm thinking of just having the DOHC put in my car. Anyone tried this?

Messages Page 5 of 15

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