- The problem
- Dope, inc. Is recalling 42,540 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." These lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
- The risk
- Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
- The fix
- Dope, inc. Will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on july 28, 2009. Owners may contact dope, inc. At 1-626-272-1798.
Vehicle safety record
1998 Dodge Neon Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 351 complaints about the 1998 Dodge Neon with NHTSA, most often about the engine & cooling (205) and the airbags (35). Those complaints describe 44 crashes, 3 fires and 46 injuries. It is covered by 6 recalls, the latest in May 2009 for the headlights. For comparison, the 1997 has 396 and the 1999 has 163.
NHTSA data checked
DMore problems than a typical Neon year, for its age
#19 most complained-about 1998 vehicle
- Complaints
- 351
- Recalls
- 6
- Crashes
- 44
- Fires
- 3
- Injuries
- 46
- Deaths
- 0
Most common 1998 Dodge Neon problems
Share of all 351 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
1998 Dodge Neon recalls 6
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- Sabersport is recalling 16,270 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." These lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
- The risk
- Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
- The fix
- Sabersport will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on may 11, 2009. Owners may contact sabersport at 1-909-598-7589.
- The problem
- Certain aai motorsports combination lamps sold as replacement lamps for use on the above list passenger vehicles. Combination lamps not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
- The risk
- Lack of amber side reflectors in the lamps will decrease lighting visibility to other drivers and may possibly result in a vehicle crash
- The fix
- Aai motorsports will notify owners and replace the lamps free of charge. The recall began on august 1, 2006. Owners may contact aai motorsports at 909-923-9188.
- The problem
- Certain ck motorsports combination headlights, clear corner, bumper, and side marker lights sold as replacement lamps for use on the passenger vehicles listed above. Some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
- The risk
- Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
- The fix
- Ck motorsport will notify owners and replace the noncompliant lamps free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2006. Owners may contact ck motorsport at 1-909-610-7211.
- The problem
- Certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles listed above. Some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
- The risk
- Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
- The fix
- Pro-a motors will notify owners and offer to repurchase the lamps. The recall began on april 3, 2006. Owners may contact pro-a motors at 323-838-2988.
- The problem
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The rear suspension crossmember may be missing spot welds.
- The risk
- This condition can result in structural cracks in the body, and reduced crash protection in the event of a rear impact.
- The fix
- Dealers will inspect the vehicles for any missing welds, and will have structural rivets installed in place of the missing welds.
What owners say
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351 complaints about the 1998 Dodge Neon
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 15.
I had an car wreck in my 1998 dodge neon (blue) in november 24,2002 due to the breaks & the tires & the air bag did not come out when I wreck & I got stuck in my seat belt out the car wreck & then I had another 1999 dodge neon (white) & I had car problems with it to
Motor/transmission mount replacement,4-5 times,will not hold. Egrvalve replacement ,engine light keeps saying it need to be replaced even after it has been replaced and light cleared. 4-5 Times .Both are now on going. *Tr
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...
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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 nhtsa 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 nhtsa personnel, as I believe this defense counsel critique actually opens up a great opportunity for me to work directly with nhtsa 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 nhtsa 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 nhtsa's attention. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 dodge neon. The contact stated that the speedometer and fuel gauge only functioned on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,397. ..Updated 05/15/12 * bf updated 05/21/12
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 dodge neon. The contact stated that while parked, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the technician stated that the fuel pump would have to be replaced. The fuel pump was replaced three different times. The failure continued after the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000. The vin was not available.
I have a 1998 neon and water is coming thou the lights into car on floor I have seen many complaints about same defect on not just my year but newer modules this is a mold issue and I like many have allege to mold and can trigger a asthma attack that can kill use I asked the dealers to fix but they say its not a recall I will have to pay for repair in order to stop the leak so whose paying my hospital visit when I have my asthma attack and I have to go on a ventilator death is not a option why cant they fix it for free. *Tr
ENGINE FAILURE & OIL PRESSURE SENSOR WENT BAD.. *TR
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 dodge neon. While driving 30 mph, the contact could not stop the vehicle when the brakes were applied. The vehicle was inspected and a rusted brake line was discovered, which squirted brake fluid everywhere. This was the first time this failure occurred. The road conditions were not a factor. The vehicle was not repaired before or after the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 dodge neon. The speedometer isnt operating normally and doesn't display the speed; however, if you tap on the dashboard it began operating normally. The inoperable speedometer is a safety issue since it doesn't display the correct speed. The heat gauge also failed to show the proper temperature, displayed over heating and failed to work properly. The noise from the heating system is also a distraction and a safety risk. The current mileage was 137,000 and the failure mileage was unknown.
The 1998 dodge neon is notorious for faulty head gaskets. The problem is first noticed by an oil leak and the vehicle overheating. The head gaskets are expensive to replace. After the car gets hot, it stalls at every intersection and every time the vehicle starts to slow down or is placed in neutral (manual transmission). My car stalled in the middle of a busy intersection where traffic was getting on and off of the freeway and would not start again. I had to get out of my car and push it to the side of the freeway...
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entrance because it was the only available place to move my car to. It was fortunate that this incident did not cause an accident or result in me getting injured. Chrysler is well aware of the problem and has issued an improved gasket replacement kit, (which is costly) but refuses to take responsibility for the problem by issuing a recall. My car needs new head gaskets and I have been quoted $900 for parts and labor. I don't have that much money, so now my car sits parked in the street and I now have to take the city bus, which closest stop to my house is 1.5 Miles, or walk places with my 3 children in 100 degree weather. I don't know what I will do when winter comes. Chrysler needs to be forced to issue a recall for this problem. There are hundreds of complaints for the exact same issue on website such as mycarstats.Com and many forums. Most of the blown head gaskets happened on low mileage vehicles. My car only has 89,000 miles on it. If you do a google search for 1998 dodge neon blown head gaskets, you will get over 80,000 listing of forums, discussions and articles relating to the same problem. *Tr
Trunk full of water - trunk & light seals are bad - why hasn't there been a recall on this safety feature? Lights have to work and mold is deadly! *Tr
Complete speedometer failure while vehicle is being driven. Loss of all data regarding speed vehicle is traveling, and at times, all information from the engine temperature gauge and fuel gauge. Issues with neon speedometers are widely published on the internet. I am shocked to see that there has never been a recall for such a well documented vehicle failure. *Jb
When calling pro-a motors at 323-838-2988,about certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps, for my 1998 dodge neon I was put on hold for a lengthy amount of time before being answered to a horrible personal. In attempts to see if it was the actual lamp or the outside reflector that was damaged I was given about 5 seconds into my description before being told that no it is not there problem that I did not have their lamp in my car. Amazing how there is such a quick...
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answer to my description of 5 seconds. Maybe there are a lot of recalls from their company but I was not even allowed to see if my part was part of that recall before being hung up on. *Nm
We were just driving on the highway when the transmission gave out (a couple of jerks and then no acceleration ability). We were almost killed by a semi who almost ran into us when we suddenly and drastically slowed and hadn't braked and he couldn't move to another lane because of other trucks in that lane. Our 98 grand caravan has only 79k miles on it and this is the second transmission problem, (though I think the first time it was repaired rather than replaced to the tune of $1000 and just a couple of months...
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past the year warranty). Now we find that it will be $3000 to replace the transmission. We have it serviced regularly at the dodge dealer. We have also had the battery replaced twice (once when the first transmission problem was mis-diagnosed as a faulty battery). All work has been or is being done by the dodge dealer. Now I see on the internet that this transmission problem is very common with this model. Why isn't dodge doing something about this instead of gouging the public (not to mention putting us in danger)?*Jb
I have a 98 dodge neon. The car grinds in the front end even with new brakes. I cant not drive throw water or the car will die. Going over a speed bump at the recommended speed the front end will bottom out. I had a friend look at the car. And he said it looked fine. The brake spec. Didn't see any thing and I noticed I had two different tires on the front then the back because of the front end. Please if you find out any thing on this car it would be much obliged. *Nm
Dt: the contact's daughter was involved in a car accident on october 7, 2005. Upon impact, the front air bags did not deploy. This was front end collision. Has not contacted the manufacturer at this point. *Ak
Dt: 1998 dodge neon, when consumer was involved in accident the front driver's side and the front passanger side air bags did not deploy. *Ak
The pipe that comes down from the filler into the tank rusted. This caused fuel to leak very heavily at times. Fuel pump has had to be replaced twice already. *Ak the local junkyard imformed the consumer that the filler pipe is a common problem, they sell them as fast as they get them. *Bf *nm
While driving the left front door speaker started to burn. Consumer put the fire out and called the manufacturer. *Ak *nm
I purchased a 1998 neon espresso in june of 2004. On about july 2004 my car died. I had it towed and had over $1,800 of engine work done. After work was done they stated my rear seal was leaking and wanted over $600 to repair this.
In october of 2003 my 2.7 Liter engine went with only 73,000 miles. I changed the oil in this vehicle faithfully every 3,000 miles. I was traveling through a busy intersection when the engine blew. When it happened I lost control of the vehicle causing me to hit a curb so hard that my tire blew. I am thankful that it was a curb that I hit. This occurred not far from a middle school where children always were . I had my mechanic look at my vehicle, he told me that these were the worst engines ever made, he...
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also advised me not to replace this engine not only because of the high expense, but also it was likely that I would be replacing it again within a year. I don't understand how daimler chrysler has gotten away with this problem for as long as they had. I called several repair shops, auto part stores, and even dodge dealerships inquiring about prices for repair. Everyone was well aware of these engines calling them defective, even mechanics at the dodge dealership. There also has been several cases of the news media doing stories on this situation. Auto magazines(motor magazine mostly) write stories about these defective engines. The stories written include that several engine specialist have assessed the problem and all have came to the same conclusion that these engines are defective and it is 100% chryslers fault. What is going on here? I don't understand why daimler chrysler hasn't been forced to deal with this problem. We as consumers have suffered enough do to chryslers neglect. In my opinion no one should be forced to wait any longer.The nhtsa is suppose to be protecting us from corporations who operate like daimler chrysler. *Jb
Timing belt snapped off four times from 1999 -2002, replaced 3 times at desert dodge in las vegas once with all pulleys replaced and one time at spitzer dodge in mayfield hts, ohio 2 weeks after the warranty expired. Neither dodge would pay for the repairs.*Ak
The headlight lens on the neon are made of plastic that has degraded to a point that the headlights are ineffective. On top of that, there is not a replacement lens available. You have to buy an entire $110.00 Assembly. *Ak
While applying the accelerator pedal vehicle failed to accelerate. Consumer applied the accelerator pedal numerous times and the vehicle accelerated. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the throttle body needed to be replaced. *Ak
The oil light would come on and oil would leak out of the vehicle. After trying to start the vehicle the engine does not connect at first, has to try at least two times before it will start. Dealer stated it could be either the starter or the engine.*Ak
Dodge Neon: every year compared
All Neon years1998 Dodge Neon vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Dodge Neon | 351 | 6 | D | |
| 1998 Dodge Durango | 976 | 6 | F | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge Caravan | 641 | 14 | F | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan | 571 | 6 | F | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge Dakota | 557 | 12 | F | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge Intrepid | 376 | 5 | C | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge Avenger | 58 | 6 | B | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge Dodge Truck | 28 | 0 | F | Compare |
| 1998 Dodge B Series | 18 | 0 | F | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 1998 Dodge Neon
Does the 1998 Dodge Neon have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 6 recalls for the 1998 Dodge Neon: headlights (May 2009); exterior lighting (April 2009); exterior lighting (June 2006); exterior lighting (May 2006) and more. Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Dodge Neon?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the engine & cooling (205), airbags (35), body, doors & structure (22).
How many complaints has the 1998 Dodge Neon had?
351 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on February 17, 1998 and the latest on November 5, 2015. Of these, 44 describe a crash and 3 a fire, and together they report 46 injuries and 0 deaths.
Is the 1998 Dodge Neon a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 32 out of 100 (grade D: more problems than a typical Dodge Neon year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Dodge Neon years have the most complaints?
1996 (621), 1997 (396), 2000 (361). See every Dodge Neon year compared.
What should I do if my 1998 Dodge Neon has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data