1996 Dodge Neon Transmission and drivetrain Problems

“I have had ongoing problems with my 1996 Dodge NEON sport, it has been inoperable for the last year or so, due to electrical problems and stalling which I believe stem from the wiring harness. I have had the brakes replaced a few times, the A/C replaced, fuel injection acts up and the fuel gauge fluctuates, my transmission has started slipping, power steering and exhaust are leaking, numerous oil leaks, rear lights/ brake lights have not worked in over a year, driverside window broke along the extending arm inside of the door frame, trunk release is broken and my cruise control is broken! …”

“Chrysler was contacted in my case and chose to do nothing about it, unfortunately I am not the only owner of a NEON that has had problems with the headgasket and the speedometer. Obviously something needs to be done about them.”

“While driving at normal highway speeds speedometer starts acting erratically. The needle wave back and forth between 0 and the present speed. After about 20 seconds the needle goes to zero and remains there. In addition to having no idea what your speed is the odometer is disabled . On the most recent failure turning the car off ,while in a resturant for 45 minutes seemed to clear up the problem. Upon resuming our trip we had the speedometer and odometer working.”

“Vehicle was difficult to get in reverse. This was worse when 20 to 85 degrees outside. Vehicle would not shift into drive until 55-60 MPH, but 1 and 2 were okay. I had the vehicle repaired at local chicago non-selling Dodge dealer at my cost of $1,200. The dealer advised front pump seal failed causing entire transmission to overheat and fail. The service writer advised this is a common failure with these vehicles. Reviewing web sites (including this one) I see similar complaints for this exact set of symptons. …”

“The problems that are occuring on a daily basis are: the gas gauge doesn't work,the speedometer doesn't work,the temperature gauge doesn't work,the mileage gauge doesn't work because the speedometer isn't working.sometimes while you are driving the lights(seat belt,etc.)will pop on making the dinging noise letting you know that everything is on(like when you 1st start up the car)but nothing starts working then but the temperature gauge.we never know how much fuel we have put in our car,how fast we are going,or if the car is running hot or cold.at one point we were having to get jump starts…”