1998 dodge neon was forced off the roadway by a mitsubishi eclipse that turned across 19 year old female drivers lane of travel. Sideswipe caused left front control arm to collapse, vehicle briefly bottomed onto pavement, leaving a short distance gouge mark. The neon then jumped onto a curb and impacted a utility pole head on at an estimated 27-35mph impact speed. This accident occurred on nellis boulevard in las vegas, nevada. The frontal impact airbags did not deploy, female driver had severe neck injuries that resulted in a stroke and permanent disability. Trw claims the system performed exactly as designed. They claim their 1998 veam crash sensing algorithm ascertained that the driver would have been out of position at the time of the utility pole impact and the depowered airbag would have caused more harm than good. I am the expert witness on this case for the plaintiff against trw. This defect in the design of the sensing system is an indication of why this subject vehicle and its similar model years has an exorbitantly high number of non deployment of front airbags complaints in the federal safety agency complaints database compared to its peers. I am reporting this at the behest of defense counsel, who claims that my failure to report this defect is actually a failure of me to provide a service to consumers. I would be glad to discuss this and many other cases with the federal safety agency personnel, as I believe this defense counsel critique actually opens up a great opportunity for me to work directly with the federal safety agency to provide more immediate feedback on serious defects that have been occurring in the field on some systems. I would be happy to discuss my proposal with the federal safety agency on how we might be able to cooperate on narrowing down frivolous claims, but setting a high priority on real issues that typically result in lawsuits but are not necessarily brought to the federal safety agency's attention.
Dodge Neon ball joint problems
40 of the 3,483 owner complaints about the Dodge Neon describe ball joint or control arm failure, most of them for the 2000 model year.
- owner complaints
- 40
- worst model year
- 2000
- typical mileage
- 60,000
By model year
Often reported together
Water leak 2Harsh shifting 2Grinding brakes 2Brake failure 2ABS 2Whining noise 1Jerking 1Headlights 1
What owners say
Where to start! Steering wheel shakes bad when idling and had to replace the entire computer! There seems to be the same complaints with these cars without any action from chrysler. We have had to replace the front control arm bushings twice in 6 months in my daughters car, there is water leaking into the backseat from somewhere, stuttering when going up hills or over 50 MPH; blown out struts, replaced radiator; eats oil..........why isn't chrysler held responsible for these problems. Check the internet........there are thousands of the same complaints! It has cost me over 2500 in repairs in 8 months!
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 dodge neon. The contact stated that the sub frame became rusted completely. The middle of the frame and each wheel where the control arm was located was also rusted. The contact spoke with the manufacturer and was told that there was no repair available for the vehicle because it was over the 10 year statute of limitations. The failure and the current mileage was 110,000. Kmj
Severe corrosion caused a weakness in the suspension cradle/ engine cradle that resulted in the front suspension control arm to break away from its mounting to the suspension crossmember/ cradle. The control arm and all associated components seemed to be in acceptable condition and did not exhibit any failures. The failure was severe enough that the drive axle was pulled out of the transmission. The vehicle was completely undriveable. I was extremely lucky to have had the failure at a very low speed while turning into a driveway. The same failure at posted speed (45mph at the time) would have resulted in total loss of control and likely severe crash.
Turned into parking lot when car suddenly made horrible banging-type noise and suddenly stopped. Black smoke poured out of front of car and car wouldn't move. When mechanic examined vehicle, it was discovered the frame had rusted through and broke. The axle broke, control arm dropped and everything inside the front of the car (I.e. Engine, etc.) crashed to the ground! Mechanic said this was a common problem in the 2000 neon. It was advised, due to the age of the car, that it was not worth fixing.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 dodge neon. The contact was driving in reverse approximately 4 MPH when the vehicle exhibited an abnormal cracking noise and the steering wheel became very stiff and difficult to turn. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where the contact was told that the frame was severely rusted and the tie rod was fractured. The tie rod was replaced. The failure and current mileage was 68,600. Updated 05/02/11 *cn updated 05/11/11
2003 dodge neon lower control arm bushings worn out for the second time first time at 68,000, now at 87,000. The shop says very unsafe.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge neon. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility for an alignment when she was informed that the front control arm bushings were defective and the bush rings would need to be replaced. The manufacturer advised that they were aware of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileage was approximately 58,000.
Control arm bolt nut weld broke not allowing the control arm to be replaced.
Have a 2002 dodge neon with a little more than 101,000 miles on it. Brought car in for service and was told by the service manager that the control arm bushings are pushed right through the front sub frame and if they let go this can cause a serious crash this is a serious safety issue and that the car should be recalled.because the sub frame of this type of vehicle should not be gone alreadyand chrysler don't want to admit that they are using cheap stuff in these types of cars. And if you keep driving the vehicle the worse it will get and other stuff will happen like the alternator will let go and have to be replaced. Seeing car is unsafe to drive it is sitting in my driveway.
Related recalls
Suspension: front: control arm: lower arm
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The front suspension lower control arms may have been inadequately welded between the pivot tube and the arm.
- Risk
- This inadequate welding could allow the tube to separate from the arm, resulting in a loss of vehicle control.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the lower control arm.
Recall number 99V114000 · Recall details
Questions about the Dodge Neon ball joint
Which Dodge Neon years have ball joint or control arm failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2000 (12 complaints), 2002 (7 complaints) and 1995 (6 complaints).
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