2004 Dodge Neon consumer reviews

Simple interior design, aggressive exterior. Strong engine and transmission, very fast, reliable and fuel efficient.

The 2004 Dodge Neon is great with fuel economy. The seating is comfortable and goes the miles necessary!

I bought my dodge neon(2004) for my daughter at mini cooper of Landmark. The salesperson Ray Adams was really great. The car had a problem that Landmark fixed an in the interim loaned me a 2016 mini to drive while they fixed neon.

Bought SXT at 72,000 miles, comfortable to drive, expected it to be economical and reliable. Far from it. At 75000 miles tranny began giving me trouble and at 78000 miles completely failed. Manufacturer defect because in-radiator tranny cooler line leaked, allowing radiator fluid into tranny. $ 2300 for rebuilding tranny and new tranny cooler. Shortly after,alternator failed, followed by water pump. worst car I have ever owned. Complete money pit. Will never buy another Chrysler product--cannot build reliable tranny in 21st century, really?

Bought this car with 55,000 miles. I now have 169,000 on it. I did need a radiator as some other reviewers have mentioned...as well as the camshaft position sensor. The heater core started leaking at 130k miles...but a bottle of stop leak fixed that. Except for the radiator it has never left me stranded...although the sensor made it run rough on way to shop. Other things recently were a couple wheel bearings...ball joints...bushings, but it does have a lot of miles on it! It does handle very well...turning radius however is a joke. For what I paid, and the miles I have gotten (and it is still going) I am happy. Transmission is original, and shifts fine. I like how the car is geared, seems better on the highway and I do mostly highway driving. Air has stayed ice cold with no repairs...no accessory troubles at all.

This dealership does not follow up with you . they sold the car out from under me and never called me to tell me. poor service. ; (

I had a 97 now a 04. They are both great cars for the money. Add stripes and wheels and they look hot. I paid $5000 for the 97. 10 years later I sold it for $2500. Try to get that value out of a Honda or Toyota. In the 97 I had a Head Gasket issue. I put in Permagasket and it fixed the head for years. No problems thereafter. The 04 is definately faster. I also have a 99 Forsd Escort. They Neons are definatly better handlers and are faster than the ford. I also had a 95 Accord. The accord was more refined but also cost 3 times the money. The only thing I dont like about the 04 is that I have to replace the lower control arm bushings. No big deal though, they are only rubber.

Car was ok untill it reached the 100,000 mile mark then the radiator busted inbetween the tranny and engine cooler. had that replaced then 20,000 miles later the transmission went out. another 1500 dollars down the drain. then 20,000 more miles the compuer went out causing the spark plug to strip out. wouldn't recomend this car to anyone.

I bought my '04 Neon used, back in 09, after my first two cars (Buick Century[parent picked that loser car] and Chevy Cavalier) died. The Neon had just over 39,000 miles on it when I bought it, it now has a little over 81,000. Last December, a car was backing into the spot next to my, and side scraped my car on the wheel well. The damage is minimal, just a tiny dent and scratches. The subaru that hit me, their plastic bumper got caught in my wheel well and ripped off. Then sadly in February, just as i get in my car at the supermarket in the parking lot, a Lexus RX (2011) backs into my car, (her driverside rear meets mine) As i get out of the car, I see the lexus first, which needs alot of work. A new bumper, tailight and Rear quater panel. I look at my car, my tailight is broken and i have a dent on the corner of my bumper. As im picking pieces up of my tailight so no one runs them over and gets a flat I hear a BANG, i look around and notice the dent on my car, popped out. After that crash I only needed some paint to touch up the bumper ($20) and a new tailight ($40). This is one sturdy car. The only time I ever had mechanical issues was when I reached 80,000 I needed to replace the Cam Sensor. No biggie. I wish they still made this car, is an excellent one.

I've had several Neons over the years, but the SRT was the hands-down favorite. Dodge made steady improvements over the years to these cars, and it really showed. From my '95 Coupe, (which was a good car, but not perfect), to my '98 Sedan (which was better yet, though not without issues mostly due to a previous owner's poor mechanic skills), and my '04 SRT-4, which NEVER gave me any mechanical trouble, other than the boost gauge reading faulty (replaced by Dodge after the warranty expired). The handling was decent, but could have been improved with lighter wheels and better dampers and sway bars. In fact, if my '96 Sedan (not mentioned above) with ACR Koni struts, sway bars, and Mopar Hi-Rate springs, had the same power, it would have mopped the floor with the heavier SRT. As it was, the '96 had about half the power, and was less than half the fun. The seats in SRT are lifted straight from the Viper, albeit with lower-grade upholstery, and no harness holes, unless you ponied-up for the ACR SRT-4, which also had a MUCH better suspension, but I digress. Looking at the seats, one might think they would be narrow and uncomfortable, but they really aren't. I'm not a small guy by any measure, but I was always comfy in them, even on 6-7 hour trips. The interior was pretty cheap overall, but that's not why a person buys a car like the SRT-4. However, the interior did wear pretty well, and looked nearly as good the day I sold it as the day I bought it. The seat cloth was hard to clean without it looking blotchy, though. You can see that in many interior shots of used SRTs. Mechanically, the SRT was well-engineered and tough. I suspect those who had much trouble with theirs either got an abused car, or abused it themselves. My car was treated well, but not coddled, and it never complained. I really miss that car.