1997 Dodge Neon Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 1997 Dodge Neon most often describe engine oil and coolant leaks traced to the head gasket, frequently followed by overheating. Many report repeat repairs, sometimes several gaskets within a few thousand miles, and several say the work was done at their own expense. Other sample complaints center on air bags deploying without impact or failing to deploy in a crash, cooling fan relay faults, and brake noise or stopping concerns.

1. 1
   Engine cooling

   Head gasket leaks (oil and coolant)

   • 168 complaints (43%)
   • median 50,000 mi at 7.3 yrs old (21 state mileage)
   • 6 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $750 (median of 16 quotes)
   • filed 1998–2009

   Owners describe oil spots on the driveway, low oil level between changes, coolant mixing with oil, and a burning oil smell from the rear of the engine. Several report the gasket was replaced more than once, in a few cases repeatedly within a short mileage span, and that leaks returned. Some say dealers or mechanics attributed the leaks to the head gasket design and that the repair was paid by the owner, while a few report partial goodwill coverage from the manufacturer. Reported from roughly 23,000 to 144,000 miles, with many complaints between about 30,000 and 90,000 miles.

   What to check: Check the oil and coolant for mixing or a fuel-like or burnt smell, look under the car for fresh drips, and ask for receipts showing whether and when the head gasket was replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Dodge NEON 1997, I found out today the head gasket was cracked, I was told by 4 different mechanics, 2 were Dodge mechanics, that they are always fixing the head gaskets and it was a design flaw, the gasket was too thin, I have changed the oil every 2500-3000 miles the car was never run hard and is very well maintained they need to issue a recall for this problem. Ts”

   NHTSA complaint #10005057, filed 2003-02, 50,000 miles

   “I purchased this vehicle 5-15-03 and noticed an oil leak the size of a 50 cent piece every time the vehicle was driven. When purchasing I asked if the head gasket problems had been taken care of on NEON's, and was told it is not an issue anymore. I had an oil change today 7-18-03 and was told that I needed a new head gasket and it was an often done repair at a cost of $700.00! …”

   NHTSA complaint #10028588, filed 2003-07, 79,000 miles
2. 2
   Engine cooling

   Overheating and cooling fan relay faults

   • 32 complaints (8%)
   • median 55,565 mi at 8.5 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1998–2009

   Complaints describe the temperature gauge climbing to hot in traffic or at idle, smoke from under the hood, and the engine running rough or stalling. Owners and mechanics point to the radiator fan relay or fan control module, and in some cases the water pump, thermostat, and radiator were replaced without stopping the overheating. Some note the fan relay was replaced at their own cost. Spread across the mileage range, from about 39,000 to 145,000 miles, often in stop-and-go or parked-idle conditions.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Let the car idle until warm and confirm the cooling fan cycles on; ask whether the fan relay or control module has been replaced and whether overheating repairs were followed by a gasket repair.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Whenever I sit in the driveway, or look for a parking spaces, or sit in traffic...the car's temperature gage goes all the way to hot. I had it diagnosed and they said that its the fan control module or relay...basically the fans stop working. I had a new water pump put in, a new thermostat, a new radiator put, and I m beginning to think that all these problems are coming up when the fans stop working. It has 145000 miles on it, but I was told that is not a common think on this module. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10224850, filed 2008-04, 144,000 miles

   “I made a short trip to a local store and large amounts of smoke started coming from the front of my car. The car was overheating and I had to stop and pull over. The car had to be towed to the dealership. The car had a head gasket failure.which cost $920 to repair. Although the vehicle is old (1997), it only has 39,000 miles on it and it is ridiculous for something like this to happen to car with such low mileage. I have done quite a bit of research online to find that several NEON owners have had this same problem. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10258833, filed 2009-02, 39,000 miles
3. 3
   Air bags

   Air bag deploys without impact or fails in a crash

   • 40 complaints (10%)
   • median 123,000 mi at 9.6 yrs old (4 state mileage, few)
   • 34 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1997–2008

   Owners describe the air bags firing at very low speed or on ignition shutdown with no collision, sometimes breaking glass and dash vents, while other complaints say the bags did not deploy in a front-end collision. Some cars were inspected afterward without a cause being determined, and one owner reported a minor wrist injury from an unexpected deployment. Reported from about 60,000 to 140,000 miles, at speeds from parking-lot pace up to highway speed; some complaints do not list mileage.

   Recall 97V080000

   What to check: Ask whether the air bag control module service described in the manufacturer recall was performed, and have the air bag warning lamp operation and any stored codes checked before purchase.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Driving at 35 MPH, a pickup truck pulled out in front of and I crashed into the drivers side door. Upon impact, the airbags did not deploy, the seat belt did not restrain me from slamming forward, and the seat lock did not engage. The chrysler investigator claims that all three restraint systems worked properly yet the dealer replaced both the seat belts and the seat locks.”

   NHTSA complaint #752737, filed 2001-09

   “- the contact was exiting the parking complex while driving the 1997 Dodge NEON at 5 MPH, when the airbags deployed without warning. This caused the windows on both doors to shatter, and the dashboard and air conditioner vents to come off. The vehicle did not strike or hit anything to cause the airbags to deploy. The vehicle has not been inspected to determine the cause. The vehicle currently has 108000 miles.”

   NHTSA complaint #10184568, filed 2007-03, 108,000 miles

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.