i have owned n worked on at least 20+ neon's. they are a cheap n affordable car to own and maintain.
i have compiled from personal experience with owning n working on these cars a basic guide to keep your dodge neon running. most dodge neons will fall victim to the speedometer problem or dash cluster problem, most automatic dodge neons will have a transmission failure at some point, there are other issues dodge neons have.
to start off with the dash cluster problem the neons have a bad solder joints on the circut board you can repair it your self but its hard to spot the break unless you know what you are looking for most clusters fail around 175k-200k. you are driving along, the speedo is working just fine then all of a sudden it suddenly drops to 0? or does your dash cluster work when it wants to? here is the solution it takes less then 10mins with the parts in hand.
1. go to your local wreaking yard and purchase a new cluster under 150k they normally work just fine (if you do this please make sure to keep the old cluster for verification of mileage i do not condone rolling odometers back to make a profit) the cost of the cluster should be less then 60.00 depending on your area
2. u will need a long Phillips screw driver
3. lift up on the dash cover by the dash cluster it will pop up out of the way
4. remove the 4 screws holding the dash cluster in place
5. gentle remove the cluster from the car
6. reverse procedure
7. confirm the cluster is working as it should
Automatic transmission issues
the transmission in these neons is the 604e its the same dodge has used for years. they often fail around 100-200k depending on maintenance and service history. you will start to notice the transmission slowly engaging reverse gear, sudden slam when going into reverse, lack of 3rd gear, slamming thru the gears, slipping, reverse is gone but the forward gears work just fine. i had one like that. i have found a simple transmission cooler will prolong the life of this transmission, they have issues with heat and the solenoid packs.
Average cost of a used and new transmission
Used 250-500 depending on mileage best bet is to get one that has around 80-120k
New 1800.00
shop labor for this job should be right around 400-500
Timing belt Replacement
the dodge 2.0 sohc and dohc engines are interference engine which means if the belt breaks its a good chance for bent valves. they should be changed 80-100k with the water pump. the average cost of the timing set with the pump is usually right around 100-125. dodge claims you can get 100k out of the timing belt if normal driving habits but i have seen them break at 75k so i always tell people to check the belt once a year to see if it cracking or fraying, any signs of that its time to change it.
Shop labor to change the timing belt calls for 3-5hrs depending if you have ac, or you have the DOHC engine with ac. stuff like that. most shops will charge 400-500 for the whole job.
if you attempt to change the belt your self there are guides out there. i have done a few its not that hard just time consuming.
Common No Start
Asd relay (auto shut down relay)
Fuel pump relay and fuse
Ecm Fuse
Fuel pump
Crank sensor
Camshaft sensor
TPS sensor
Case study
1995
dodge
neon
141k
automatic
problems starting, hard start, fuel pump not priming but works fine after hard start.
i recently worked on the car, the fuel pump would only work after you held the key in the start position for under a minute. checked fuel pressure had nothing with key on prime test. had 35 psi while cranking and running. had new fuel pump installed along with new fuel filter (yes they do have one its located by the gas tank) 1995-1996 models have a steel gas tank, 1997 and newer have a plastic tank.
Solution
the computer wasnt supplying a ground signal to the ASD relay which controls the Fuel pump relay. i used a standard fog light relay and wired it to have a key on ground (which means the second the car you turn the key to run the fuel pump would prime) after i installed the relay the car started fine every time after that.
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