1998 Plymouth Neon problems
Owners have filed 237 complaints about the 1998 Plymouth Neon with NHTSA. Engine and engine cooling accounts for 43% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of air bags at 8%.
Complaints237
Crashes23
Fires5
Injuries20
Deaths2
What owners report breaking
Engine and engine cooling 43.0% · 102
Air bags 8.0% · 19
Suspension 7.6% · 18
Power train 5.9% · 14
Structure 5.5% · 13
Service brakes, hydraulic 5.1% · 12
Vehicle speed control 3.8% · 9
Electrical system 3.4% · 8
Severity
Of those complaints, 23 describe a crash, 5 describe a fire, 20 report an injury and 2 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 5 model years of the Plymouth Neon in this data, 1998 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 1995 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 3 in the last three years against 6 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 66,123 miles.
In owners' own words
Car has 36,000 miles on it and oil started running out underneath the car. Took car to dealer and the head gasket was blown. This is a known problem and chrysler has yet to correct it. Upon further investigation I have found that I will have this problem again since it is a defect from the manufacturer. I was told from mechanic that several other cars the heads are also affected by this problem. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 36,000 miles
Had taken car back to carmax & they took to chrysler dealership saying car okay. March 2001 had oil leak repaired by valve cover gasket. Problem months later leak worse & oil no in collant now told repair will be over $000 and no guarantee of being fixed due to problem with way Neon/s gaskets are made. Car must sit unused since no sure fix for problem due to manufacturing defect. Dt Engine and engine cooling
The headgaskets on the neons model years 95-99 go out continuously and diamler chrysler will on pay to fix those they want too. I found out they pay for some people to fix their car but not others, especially those that wont take it to a dodge dealer. I cant take my vehicle to anywhere but where I purchased the vehicle because of my warranty. The ac also continuously goes out. Engine and engine cooling
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…