Problems · NHTSA complaints

1997 Plymouth Neon problems

Owners filed 166 complaints about the 1997 Plymouth Neon with NHTSA between Jan 1997 and Dec 2007. The most-cited component is engine and engine cooling (101).

Complaints
166
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
19
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
22
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Engine and engine cooling101
  2. Air bags15
  3. Power train11
  4. Service brakes, hydraulic9
  5. Structure8
  6. Steering7
  7. Electrical system6
  8. Exterior lighting5
  9. Seat belts5
  10. Tires4
  11. Visibility4
  12. Suspension3
  13. Vehicle speed control3
  14. Equipment2

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
199712
199812
199926
200038
200125
200221
200317
20047
20054
20062
20072

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Engine and engine cooling

101 reports
“ON JULY 17, 2006 MY BELT TENSIONER BROKE ON MY 97 PLYMOUTH GRAND VOYAGER SE. I HAD IT TOWED TO AN AUTO SHOP THE NEXT DAY WHERE THEY REPLACED THE TENSIONER AND PUT ON A NEW BELT. ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006, (THE FIRST DAY DRIVING CAR IN THE RAIN SINCE REPLACING BELT & TENSIONER), WHILE DRIVING CAR IN THE RAIN 5 MINUTES, THE POWER STEERING WAS LOST AND THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON - THE BELT HAD COME OFF. RETURNED CAR TO REPAIR CENTER. THEY PUT BELT BACK ON AND COULD NOT FIND ANY REASON WHY THIS HAPPENED, OTHER THAN TO SAY THAT BELTS CAN FALL OFF MORE EASILY IN WET WEATHER. ON SEPT. 17, IT WAS NOT RAINING WHEN I WAS DRIVING CAR AT THE TIME, HOWEVER, THERE WAS AN AVERAGE SIZE PUDDLE THAT I DID DRIVE INTO AND AS SOON AS I DID I LOST MY POWER STEERING AND THE BATTER LIGHT CAME ON. PULLED OVER AND HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED. THIS TIME I TOOK IT TO A DEALER. THEY PUT THE BELT BACK ON AND COULD NOT FIND ANY REASON WHY IT WOULD HAVE COME OFF, OTHER THAN IT GETTING WET. I TOLD THEM THAT I HAD HEARD THROUGH A FRIEND THAT CHRYSLER VANS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM OF THE BELT COMING OFF IN WET WEATHER BUT THEY SAID THEY HAD NOT HEARD OF IT. THE ONLY 2 TIMES I HAVE DRIVEN MY CAR IN WET…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 21, 2006Engine and engine coolingODI 10168894

Air bags

15 reports9 crashes2 fires1 related recall
“DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN A DRIVE-THRU, BOTH FRONTAL AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT WAS NOT IN THE VEHICLE WHEN THIS OCCURRED, BUT STATED NOTHING WAS HIT OR RUN OVER. BOTH FRONT WINDOWS SHATTERED AND THE OCCUPANTS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN SEEN BY A MECHANIC.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 2, 2006Air bagsODI 10149275

Power train

11 reports
“WE BOUGHT THIS VAN WITH 46000 MILES ON IT. ONE MONTH LATER THE TRANSMISSION WENT. IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY "REBUILT" THE TRANSMISSION. AT 67,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION WENT AGAIN, AND WE BOUGHT A NEW TRANSMISSION AND IT WAS INSTALLED. THE VAN RAN FINE UNTIL NOW, IT IS AT 90,000 MILES AND ONCE AGAIN THE TRANSMISSION IS SHOT! THIS IS SO UNFAIR AND UNSAFE. WE AS CUSTOMERS DESERVE BETTER! *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 29, 2007Power trainODI 10207273

Service brakes, hydraulic

9 reports2 crashes
“BRAKES REDONE AFTER 3 YEARS, HEAD GASKET REPLACED AFTER 4 YEARS, CLEAR COAT ON PAINT ALSO HAD TO BE REPLACED, MUFFLER ALMOST FELL OFF, EXHAUST DETECTED IN CABIN OF CAR, REVERSE LIGHTS COME ON INTERMITTENTLY, MOTOR MOUNT BROKEN, SEALS ON WINDOWS FALLING DOWN DOOR JAM. *PH *JB **DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT OVER TO ARTEMIS**768018”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 2, 2002Service brakes, hydraulic, Engine and engine cooling, Exterior lighting, StructureODI 10007436

Structure

8 reports
“I BOUGHT THIS 1997 PLYMOUTH NEON ON 8/19/2005 USED WITH 66000 MILES IT SEEMED LIKE A SOLID VEHICLE BUT IN SEPT/OCT WE HAD QUITE A BIT OF RAIN AND I NOTICED PUDDLES IN MY BACK SEAT AREA ON THE FLOOR BOTH SIDES,I CHECKED AROUND THE CAR FOR OPEN WINDOWS ECT.....THERE WAS NOTHING I CHECKED THE TRUNK AND IT SEEMED DAMP BUT NOTHING AS TO MAKE THE REAR FLOOR WET LIKE IT WAS. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL?I KNOW IT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE NOW BUT WHAT IF THIS WAS A PROBLEM TO THE PREVIOUS OWNER AND NOW WITH ME IT COULD TURN INTO A SAFETY PROBLEM IF THE FLOOR WAS TO GET RUSTY AND ROT THROUGH SOMEONE COULD END UP GETTING SEVERELY INJURED. IF THERE IS ANY INFO ON THIS PROBLEM COULD YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW SOMEHOW THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER. *NM”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 20, 2005StructureODI 10140392

Steering

7 reports2 crashes
“IN HEAVY RAIN THE CAR IS VERY HARD TO STEER, I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION, I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE 02 SENSOR, AND NOW THE COOLING FANS DON`T WORK I HAVE ALSO NOTICED A MUSTY SMELL WHEN I TURN ON THE AIR COND. I HAVE ALSO HAD TO REPLACE THE EGR VALVE IT IS JUST ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER THAT KEEPS GOING WRONG WITH THIS CAR.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 15, 2004Steering, Engine and engine cooling, Power train, EquipmentODI 10068910
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.