2003 Dodge Neon: engine stalls while driving

Filed Feb 29, 2012 · Electrical · 125,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge neon. The contact stated that smoke was emitted from the steering wheel and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the main ground wiring to the engine was melted and caused the vehicle to stall. In addition, the wiring harness and multi-function switch was also melted. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 125,000.

Filed Jul 27, 2011 · Engine · 85,000 miles · PA

Engine blowing due to rings deteriorating before reaching 100,000 miles. Compression low, car shakes, close to stalling out. Harder to start. Only way to fix is by replacing engine. Have seen thousands of references to this on many dodge forums and other sites. Does not just include the 03 neon sxt, also se, srt, intrepid, and one of the chrysler models.

Filed Sep 28, 2009 · Electrical · 63,342 miles · FL

I own a 2003 dodge neon that just shuts off while driving on a few occasions. I have read numerous blogs and such of others having the same problems. Without warning the car shuts down with a complete loss of power. Nothing electrical will work. I have had the car checked out and no problems can be found, no codes on the computer. When it does shut down it will not restart until I move the wires at the battery. Upon inspecting the battery wires they show no signs of wear, corrosion, being loose or anything of that sort. Upon testing the wires for a short found none to exist. The mechanics and dealerships claim there is no problem. Diagnostic computers find no problems. On three occasion thus far we have been in near accident situations, driving along and the car shuts down, and comes to an unexpected quick stop and with a loss of all power that may result in a fatal accident in the future. Cars driving behind me have no warning that I'm coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road sometimes unable to pull off the road to a safe area to come to a stop. As mentioned it seems to be a common problem with this car not only of this year but others as well. There should be a recall of some sort before someone dies if that already has not happened.

Filed Jul 19, 2006 · Engine · 34,900 miles · CA

Dt*: the contact stated the engine rattles hard enough to make the vehicle stall. It has stalled four times. The dealer repaired transmission but the vehicle still has the same problems. The vehicles been to the shop on six occasions for this issue.

Filed Jan 5, 2006 · Electrical, Engine · 66,928 miles · WV

Dt*: the contact stated while driving the transmission speed sensor shorted and caused the computer to short out. The engine and transmission completely locked and the vehicle stalled. The contact pushed the vehicle to the side of the road, where it was then towed to a certified dealership. The transmission and engine were replaced as a result of the damages caused by the sensor.

Filed Nov 21, 2005 · Electrical, Transmission · 33,136 miles · TN

Dt: the contact stated the engine stalled and died at highway speeds. When this occurred there was total loss of power. The vehicle would not restart. The vehicle had to be towed to a dealer. The dealer replaced the battery, alternator, and the power train control module. The dealer has been unable to accurately diagnose the problem. No further repairs have been made at this time.

Filed May 22, 2005 · Electrical · 22,800 miles · CA

My 2003 dodge neon, purchased from carmax near lax in inglewood, ca. It now has under 24000 miles, and has stalled in traffic 7 times in the past 1500 miles, twice failing to re-start in traffic, and once again in a parking garage. The 1st time was about 5 months ago in west los angeles. The vehicle re-started only after a jump from aaa, and stalled 2 more times as I drove to the carmax location for service. Carmax failed to find anything wrong to explain the stall, & found only a loose battery terminal bolt, which they said caused the stalling. They tightened the bolt and returned the car to me. Less than 5 weeks later, the car stalled 3 times again around town, restarted after 20 minutes, and finally stalled in santa monica, when the entire electrical system died, no brake lights or safety hazard lights at all, and the car would not restart. I had chrysler towing take the car to buerge chrysler in west la, and they could not duplicate the problem, & declared that the battery was fine. They said a service bulletin suggested "flashing the power control module", which they did. The car was returned to service. Less than 6 weeks later, the car stalled on the road twice again, and once more in an underground parking garage, where it would not restart: again, no power at all, no brake lights or hazard lights. The car was again towed to buerge, and 2 days later they claimed to have found a defective connector on the battery grounding cable, which was replaced. The car was returned to service. When a car is barely 2 years old with less than 24000 miles on it, and stalls 7 times, 3 times stranding the driver, in the midst of traffic, this must be considered a significant safety hazard. I still owe the bank $$ for this lemon, and am afraid to venture too far for fear that the alleged fixes of tighteedg bolts, flashed pcms, and replaced connectors may not be certain fixes. Chrysler needs to get to the bottom of this inexcusable problem.

Filed Feb 9, 2005 · Engine · WI

While driving at any speed check engine light appeared on the dashboard, and suddenly the vehicle stalled. Driver was able to restart vehicle, and took it to the dealer for inspection.

Filed Oct 23, 2004 · Electrical · 32,000 miles · CA

Car was 5 months old when it started to jerk & basically turn off intermittantly while I was driving at different speeds, the radio would turn off completely & the seatbelt lights on the dash would light up, the car would turn back on and then revv as though being down-shifted and then go back to normal. The problem proceeded to get worse to the point where the car stalled in traffic & I was broke down in the center divider. Dodge dealership has failed to find a solution after three visits & now my car is hooked up to a co-pilot. This problem remains unfixed & even more dangerous to drive. Has stalled three times on the freeway!

Filed Sep 8, 2004 · Electrical · 11,925 miles · TN

Consumer stated that while she was on her way to the doctor's office she experienced some funny things with vehicle. It seemed as though one of the wheels locked, and the vehicle jerked. Also, it smelled like burning rubber. Consumer stated that later it unlocked by itself and powered itself up, and then took off. Nothing else happened again. She was at doctor's office where she parked for 2 hours. Afterward she got back into vehicle to return home, and the vehicle did the same identical thing after about 20 miles. All of this happened after putting coolant in the vehicle. Consumer insisted that she needed help because she could have been killed. *ak vehicle stalled while driving.

Filed Jun 17, 2004 · Transmission · 20,000 miles · PA · 2 injuries

Intermittently and at any speed vehicle switched into lower gear and stalled. This problem occurred over 20 times since march of this year. Vehicle had been to a repair shop over seven times, but problem recurred . Consumers sustained minor leg and shoulder injuries.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Body, Engine · 1,065 miles · CA

While driving at 70 MPH, the speedometer fluctuated and consumer couldn't get an accurate reading of the vehicle's speed. *ph the mechanic attempted to fix the speedometer numerous times, once by replacing the internal cluster. There was a squealing noise coming from the front of the vehicle, the noise was fixed by blocking the air intake on the front of the vehicle. The vehicle stalled several times on the freeway, however the mechanic was unable to find the problem. There was a noise coming from the heat shield. The consumer stated the vehicle consumed a lot of fuel, there was a rattle from the exhaust and the engine had an oil leak, subsequently the dealer was unable to verify the consumer's concerns.