2002 Dodge Neon problems
Owners have filed 230 complaints about the 2002 Dodge Neon with NHTSA. Power train accounts for 16.5% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 13%.
Complaints230
Crashes34
Fires3
Injuries20
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Power train 16.5% · 38
Engine and engine cooling 13.0% · 30
Electrical system 11.7% · 27
Air bags 10.9% · 25
Structure 9.1% · 21
Service brakes, hydraulic 8.3% · 19
Suspension 6.5% · 15
Exterior lighting 4.8% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 34 describe a crash, 3 describe a fire and 20 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 11 model years of the Dodge Neon in this data, 2002 sits 7th by complaint volume. 1995 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 5 in the last three years against 16 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 49,800 miles.
In owners' own words
Vehicle has continued to idle hard after transmission replacement in nov of 2004. Vehicle has started to stall when stopped. On date of incident, owner was driving vehicle home in a 55 mph zone. Vehicle made a screeching noise, check engine light came on, and vehicle started to sputter. Transaxle had to be replaced twice (first one shipped from manu was defective). Power train · reported at 76,328 miles
My car was working fine. All of a sudden would not go into gear and made loud noise. Took it to aamco and they tell my throttle regulator box blew up. My car has 50,000 miles on it. I drive it 10 miles to and from work. Needed a whole new transmission as when the box blew up it send shards of metal through my transmission. Power train · reported at 52,000 miles
: The contact stated while driving 60 mph on normal road conditions, the front passenger axle fractured. There was a noise prior to the failure. The nature of the failure was gradually worsening. The vehicle was taken to the service dealer, who changed the axle, but after a year the axle fractured again. Power train · reported at 48,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…