1996 Plymouth Neon problems
NHTSA has received 476 complaints about the 1996 Plymouth Neon, and 38% of them involve engine. After that come electrical system (11%) and brakes (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 476 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 41 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 45 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 73,000 miles 21 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 21 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 73,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 41 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 45 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the Plymouth Neon with enough data (328 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
As I was driving, my wife noticed a burning smell. I looked in rear view mirror and on the rear deck of the back seat, by the rear window, flames could be seen above my sons head. After we got out and ran away from the vehicle I could see the fuel from the fuel tank burning as it ran onto the ground from the bottom of the vehicle. Campaign # 96v228000
When turning into a parking lot dual airbags deployed inadvertently. As a result, when air bags deployed they caught on fire. Driver sustained burns to the chest.
While driving 35 MPH the consumer was involved in an accident. The consumer stated the air bags should have deployed.
An electrical short in the wiring harness caused the vehicle to stall. The consumer received NHTSA recall 96v026000 concerning the wiring harness failure due to an electrical short, but chrysler told the consumer that this recall did not exist. The dealer could not locate the problem but stated that the wiring in the horn needed to be replaced. The electrical short and the engine misfiring caused the vehicle to lose power and sputter after a short drive.