Dodge Neon won't shift problems

Filed Jan 17, 2011 · Transmission · 125,349 miles · IL

I was driving on the interstate when, with no warning, I felt a jolt (like being hit from behind), then a strange sound from the engine compartment. I was able to control the car and pull off to the side of the road where I discovered that I had lost all gears. The car would not shift and would not move. I had to have it towed home (about 80 miles) where I took it to a transmission shop. They did a complete diagnostic evaluation and determined that the transmission was completely blown along with the cooling system radiator. I had to have the transmission rebuilt and the radiator replaced at a cost of almost $1,800. After talking with several transmission shops and reading comments on various websites on the internet, it appears that this type of transmission failure is very common with the dodge neons. It would seem reasonable that this be addressed in a recall by chrysler.

Filed Jun 16, 2009 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · OR

1.) nothing 2.) the check engine light came on and then it went into limp mode and lost speedometer. Was told it was the output speed sensor replaced nothing, then told it was the input sensor nothing, ended up being the transmission control module. Nope thrown away sorry.

Filed Aug 18, 2008 · Transmission · 81,000 miles · MD

While driving on the highway felt a jolt and loss of power. The speedometer then dialed all the way up and then back to zero. Pulled off to check it out, as I slowed down on the offramp heard a crunching sound and the car shut off. Started right back up but wouldn't go into gear, the transmission had locked up! I couldn't even put it in neutral to push it off the offramp. Had it towed to a shop where they put in a used, not new or rebuilt but a used transmissions with 60,000 miles on it for $1,800. The car had 81,000 miles at the time of failure and is barely six years old! I have also had to replace the throttle body and catalytic converter before 75,000 miles. By far the transmission is the most unacceptable component failure. At only 81,000 miles and six years old dodge needs to recall these automatic transmissions!

Filed Jun 19, 2008 · Engine · 30,693 miles · PA

I was driving my car one evening when it suddenly stopped accelerating. I pulled over as best as I could being on a hilly curving road in a thunderstorm. I was able to check the transmission fluid; there was no fluid on the stick. I called for a tow truck and a friend near by. We bought transmission fluid to see if that would help. We put almost 2 quarts of fluid in it and attempted to put it in gear. It didn't go into gear, just coasted backwards and saw fluid on the pavement. It was leaking from front, appeared to be hose related. When I got home and the hose from the transmission to the radiator was disconnected. The hose and connector were intact however the threads inside the radiator were stripped. I got online to see if there were any recalls or similar problems with neons. I found out that there were similar problems with neons from 1999-2005 with faulty factory installed radiators. Eventually the problem causes the transmission fluid and antifreeze to mix and then the transmission blows. I called the dealership where I originally bought my car, looking for possible answers. I could not believe that a car that is just under 4 years old, has just over 30k miles and I am the original owner would have such a huge problem. The dealership offered nothing. They blew it off stating when I find out what is "really" wrong with my car, then to call them. The man said he had only seen it once and doubted it was what I said it was. Forced to seek help somewhere else, I called another dealership. He had said that he had seen this problem a couple of times and knew exactly what I was explaining. I took it down and had my car back the next day. They replaced the radiator, flushed both the radiator and the transmission. It cost $760. My transmission was spared. I also contacted dodge/chrysler and got a polite thank for your "opinion" letter.

Filed Feb 8, 2007 · Engine, Transmission · 59,000 miles · VA

Vehicle would not shift into drive, upon having the vehicle towed to the garage we were informed, it had a sizable hole in the transmission and they also found an oil leak. Total repair cost exceeded $600. This vehicle is a 2002 dodge neon and we are the original owners. The vehicle has always received proper care as far as oil changes, tires, spark plugs etc. The vehicle has not even reached 60,000 miles yet, and we're encountering such problems. In addition, the technician informed us, there are a number of small leaks, but it would be very, very costly to repair each leak, thus they only fixed what was causing the transmission to slip and the oil leak, which was also substantial.

Filed Jul 16, 2006 · Transmission · WI

Car was hard to shift into any gears - car was taken to dealership and was given a replacement transmission. They blamed it on bad synchros. About 6,000 miles later I had the same problem only worse. The car would not shift into 3rd gear at all. It would only grind. They replaced it again with a new transmission. Now - once again I am having trouble shifting into 3rd gear and sometimes 4th.

Filed Apr 3, 2006 · Transmission · 52,000 miles · VA

My car was working fine. All of a sudden would not go into gear and made loud noise. Took it to aamco and they tell my throttle regulator box blew up. My car has 50,000 miles on it. I drive it 10 miles to and from work. Needed a whole new transmission as when the box blew up it send shards of metal through my transmission.

Filed Feb 4, 2005 · Transmission · 19,500 miles · HI

1) no warning of upcoming part failure. Car was being driven on the highway at normal speed (55) preparing to decelerate/downshift, damp road conditions, but wasn't currently raining. Car is a 2003 dodge neon r/t. Part in question is new to the 2003 model year. 2) clutch master cylinder assembly (master cylinder,hydraulic line, and release cylinder-sealed assy.) hydraulic line broke off while downshifting coming off the h3 into the usmc base (many swerves and need to slow down.) this resulted in a loss of fluid to the pressure plates causing the transmission to not disengage properly. The car does not shift properly, and the engine RPM's do not drop when the clutch is pressed. The stick cannot be pulled out of gear into neutral if the car is moving even 10mph. This could have been a hazardous/fatal problem under other circumstances. 3) I am contacting windward dodge in the morning to have the master cylinder assembly replaced and the rest of the clutch assembly inspected (replaced if necessary) for excessive wear/damage from this incident. If they aren't sending the part off for an inspection at corporate offices I will request to hang on to it in case an engineer somewhere would like it.

Filed Sep 27, 2004 · Transmission · 44,900 miles · LA

On september 24,2004 my transmission became stuck in first gear, causing my car to drive inefficiently. It is putting a strain on my transmission. I have known other people's transmission problems with their neons. Dodge is giving me a hard time for fixing it. This is still under a power train warranty, but are trying get around fixing the transmission. I had other expert tell me that at least 3 different thing are wrong with the transmission. I am bringing it back to premier dodge tomorrow, september 28.

Filed Aug 31, 2004 · Transmission · 44,000 miles · OK

I bought my 2003 neon with 18,000 miles. Immediately I noticed the car shifted hard and sometimes when putting into gear would not go into drive. I took to my dealership on 3 occassions, once in 08/03, once in 12/03, and once in 03/04. All three times I was told that the car shifted fine and that the problem could not be "duplicated". On 08/04/03, I was traveling down the interstate whne my transmission locked up and rendered my car inoperable and immobile. Car was towed to dealership and was told that the transmission failed and that they had never seen anything like it before. I was given a totally new transmission unit. Since then the car has been shifting funny and it also hesitates a lot, especially in the late afternoon when it is fairly warm out.