2003 Dodge Neon problems
NHTSA has received 290 complaints about the 2003 Dodge Neon, and 25% of them involve electrical system. After that come lighting (19%) and transmission (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 290 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 31 and 35
- Injuries and deaths
- 33 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 54,000 miles 230 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 44 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 38 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 43 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 44 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 27 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 230 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 54,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 60,000 miles (63 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 31 complaints mention a crash; 35 complaints mention a fire; 33 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 92% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Dodge Neon with enough data (210 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 dodge neon. The driver was driving at an unknown speed when a vehicle crashed into the side of his vehicle at a high rate of speed. None of the air bags deployed. The police arrived and advised that all of the air bags should have deployed based on the impact. The police had to cut the driver from the vehicle. The driver was killed upon impact. The vehicle was being investigated by the state's traffic investigation department. The VIN was not available.
The driver's side airbag deployed aggressively, with possible metallic shrapnel or fragment intrusion into the driver's body, because the driver sustained a complete transection of the right main bronchus - either from metal debris or from an over-aggressive inflation that caused severe blunt trauma to the chest.
Neon had to have the manual transmission replaced twice within the total milage of 20,000 miles. The car was delivered with a defective battery temperature sensor, and 1 month before the car caught fire it was in the shop and the mechanic failed to replace the battery tiedown bar. On august 26, 2004 the car caught fire while the ignition was off and was driven for only 5 miles. The vehicle also had a bad passanger seat belt buckle.
3/22/3 5160 mi radiator loose, brakes pulse, 4/7/3 5500 mi. Front rotors replaced. 4/24/3 6204 mi. Power steering failed (twice), ps pump replaced. 6/6/3 7300 mi. Seat back poke into my back from the head rest support, actually wearing a spot in the seat back fabric. New seat back ordered.
My headlights and foglights would periodically shut off or not come on. Then only the brights would work and while driving would shut off altogether. Finally the headlights and foglights have stopped working. The marker lights and turn signals still work, but I have no illumination ahead of me. It required a switch and connector change. So far there are numerous other neons that have had this happen to them and the dealer refuses to help us in any way, shape, or form.