I got my oil changed, tires rotated, and windshield wipers replaced on april 13 2011 around 6:30pm. My oil change took approximately 15 min. After the oil change and tire rotation, I paid and went straight home. I was not informed by anyone at valvoline that anything was wrong with my car. I got in my car around 7:40am on april 14th and headed towards my insurance company on asheville highway. As I entered onto business 85, my car started to smoke from under the hood and I could feel heat on my feet near the gas pedal and brake. As I tried to brake and slow the car down, something under the hood caught fire and the brakes failed to stop the car and the car ended up sliding into the back of a pick up truck and the hood and front end of the car completely burst into flames. The brakes on the car were replaced supposed have been replaced by the dealer before I purchased the car in december of 2010. Because of the incident, I sprain my wrist, dislocated my toe, and am without a vehicle.
Dodge Neon brake failure problems
106 of the 3,483 owner complaints about the Dodge Neon describe brake failure, most of them for the 1995 model year.
- owner complaints
- 106
- worst model year
- 1995
- typical mileage
- 68,000
By model year
Often reported together
ABS 16No deployment 6Grinding brakes 3Steering lock-up 2Stalling 2Seat belt 2Premature wear 2
What owners say
New brakes installed from dealer prior to purchase of this used car in may of 2008. In sept 2008, (about 5k miles later) unable to stop vehicle at 45 MPH - hit guardrail causing neck injury and property damage. Was determined by bodyshop that brakes failed due to leaking rear compressor, which soaked brake pads. Completely replaced rear components at time of accident repair n oct 2008. Have only driven about 20,000 miles since then ...in june 2010, same situation occurred with rear compressors leaking, resulting in no brake fluid whatsoever. Entire front and rear brakes and complete rear brake components/system have just been replaced june 2010.
The following is, what I consider a life threatening problem with the 2003, 2004 & 2005 dodge neon srt-4 model cars and possibly other models that have unsecured vacuum lines in the brake system. I have two first-hand occurrences of this problem. The first occurrence did not result in an incident, but the second caused destruction of my vehicle and could have resulted in my & my sons death. In the first incident the small vacuum line coming from the turbo boost gage and the check valve blew off the brake booster. This line is not secured to the brake booster. It is only a push fit. As a result the brake pedal became very hard and I had about 20% braking at 30-40 MPH. To keep this from happening again I zip tied the check valve and line on the brake booster. In the second incident the large vacuum line from the brake booster to the intake manifold blew off the intake manifold. This resulted in a very hard brake pedal and no brakes at 70 MPH during very hard braking. The result was a frontal impact and the destruction of my car. This large vacuum line is not secured at either end and also has a coupling in the middle that is not secured either. I have secured this line with clamps and am expecting to get my car to the frame shop soon. This is a problem that is known by a lot of neon srt-4 owners and they have taken measures to secure these lines, but there are a lot of owners that have no idea that this problem exists.
My 16 year old daughter was driving her 2004 dodge neon on the 101 freeway near santa barbara, ca in bumper to bumper traffic. Suddenly and with no warning the brake peddle went to the floor and she had no brakes. At the same time the brake warning light went on. Because she was traveling slow she was able to exit the freeway using the emergency brake which was nearly in-effective. If she had been traveling at freeway speed she would not have been able to stop. The problem turned out to be the right rear drum brake cylinder was leaking which allowed all of the brake fluid to leak from the system.
Brakes failed on 2 occasions this year. No pedal whatsoever they went all the way to the floor.
Vehicle 2002 dodge neon 22,351 miles on vehicle. While my wife was backing out of garage the brakes failed. Three pieces of front disk brake pads were found lying on the garage floor (still in my possession). Both front inside disk pads appeared to have broken in half. Upon checking the front brakes I found no pads in place on the left inside of the brake and only one half of the brake pad on the inside of the right brake which was still with the vehicle, obviously the rest of the pads were on the floor of my garage. My wife was shaken but thankful that she wasn't driving in traffic when the brake pads fell off the car. The vehicle had to be towed to joe cecconi"s chrysler to have new front brakes put on the vehicle. I feel that this was either a defect in the brake pads or a faulty engineering design and because of the seriousness of the consequences that could have resulted I felt that this incident should be reported. I'm also sending a letter to chrysler in regards to this matter.
The rear brake line on the vehicle was so rusted that when I applied the brakes to make a left turn, the line broke and the brakes failed. Luckily I was not stopping for a child, stop light, or obstruction and did not experience a crash. The federal safety agency should seriously consider having chrysler issue a safety recall and make notice publicly so that all owners of this make, model, year vehicle are advised and can then have their brake lines inspected and fixed.
Dt: the caller said that brakes will not work one has to hit the brakes at the last minute. She said one can feel a pop, and then the brakes fail. She had to run into a ditch to keep form hitting someone. The police were called, and there a report was taken. There was a crash. There were injuries to the pedestrian. She said the hub assembly was bad and had it replaced. Also, the tie rod wobbled and had it replaced. Had another accident with the brakes when the car in front of stopped suddenly and brakes did not work. Police came and a report was taken. The lady in the other vehicle was injured. Dealer will take the car to dealer, and they will talk about it. Manufacturer has not been contacted yet. Caller said she was not informed about the problems the vehicle had when she bought it.
The driver applied the brakes while backing out of the garage and the pedal went to the floor. The driver drove to the dealer. The mechanic informed the driver that the brake pads needed replacement. Please provide additional information.
The driver applied the brakes and pedal went to the floor. Driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove home. The next day. No braking power at all. Vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the brake line hoses and other parts needed to be replaced.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. In the presence of oil and heat, the brake booster vacuum hose could swell and loosen from the intake manifold.
- Risk
- This could cause a loss of power brake assist and an increase in engine idle speed.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the brake booster vacuum hose. Owner notification began july 2, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact daimlerchrysler at 1‑800‑853‑1403.
Recall number 01V154000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- The brake master cylinder can leak brake fluid due to a damaged double lip rear piston seal.
- Risk
- Brake fluid leakage can result in diminished effectiveness of one half of the split brake system. The instrument panel warning light(s) will signal system impairment prior to partial brake system loss.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear brake master cylindr piston assembly.
Recall number 96V075000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- The rear brake hose mounting bracket screws can fail allowing the brake hoses to move out of position. The unrestrained hoses are then susceptible to damage which could result in brake fluid leakage.
- Risk
- Brake fluid leakage will reduce the braking performanceof the vehicle, extend stopping distances, and could result in an accident.
- Remedy
- The rear brake line hose bracket screws on these vehicles will be replaced.
Recall number 94V034000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
- What is wrong
- The ABS brake master cylinder rear seal allows air to enter the brake system, causing spongy brakes or partial brake system loss.
- Risk
- Air entering the brake system caused extended stopping distance or partial loss of brakes which may result in an accident.
- Remedy
- Master cylinders will be inspected for the suspect build date code range and will be replaced if necessary.
Recall number 94V026000 · Recall details
Questions about the Dodge Neon brake failure
Which Dodge Neon years have brake failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1995 (53 complaints), 1996 (18 complaints) and 1997 (11 complaints).
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