1997 DODGE NEON — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-21 388 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (190 complaints · 49.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 44
  • Fires 12
  • Injuries 28
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1996 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 190 of 388 owner complaints (49.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 190 complaints, 49.0% of reports ENGINE 190 · 49.0% · 2 crash reports 3 fire reports AIR BAGS: 35 complaints, 9.0% of reports AIR BAGS 35 · 9.0% · 26 crash reports 3 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 27 complaints, 7.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 27 · 7.0% · 5 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 5.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 · 5.2% · 2 crash reports 4 fire reports STRUCTURE: 18 complaints, 4.6% of reports STRUCTURE 18 · 4.6% SEAT BELTS: 15 complaints, 3.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 15 · 3.9% · 5 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 14 complaints, 3.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 14 · 3.6% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 10 complaints, 2.6% of reports STEERING 10 · 2.6% FUEL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 1.8% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 7 · 1.8% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 219 complaints, 56.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 219 · 56.4% · 38 crash reports 7 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 190 49.0% 2 crashes · 3 fires
AIR BAGS 35 9.0% 26 crashes · 3 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 27 7.0% 5 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 5.2% 2 crashes · 4 fires
STRUCTURE 18 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 15 3.9% 5 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 14 3.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 10 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 7 1.8% 1 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 219 56.4% 38 crashes · 7 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, none on file, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1997. 1997-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 1998-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1998-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 1998-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 1999-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 1999-Q4: 24 owner reports 24 2000-Q1: 27 owner reports 27 2000-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2000-Q3: 24 owner reports 24 2000-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2001-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 2001-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 2001-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2001-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2002-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2002-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2003-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2004-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1997 Apr 2014 Investigation PE02082 ● Investigation PE02082
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q1 Owner reports 3
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 4
1997-Q4 Owner reports 6
1998-Q1 Owner reports 11
1998-Q2 Owner reports 8
1998-Q3 Owner reports 15
1998-Q4 Owner reports 12
1999-Q1 Owner reports 10
1999-Q2 Owner reports 9
1999-Q3 Owner reports 22
1999-Q4 Owner reports 24
2000-Q1 Owner reports 27
2000-Q2 Owner reports 18
2000-Q3 Owner reports 24
2000-Q4 Owner reports 19
2001-Q1 Owner reports 23
2001-Q2 Owner reports 26
2001-Q3 Owner reports 13
2001-Q4 Owner reports 7
2002-Q1 Owner reports 20
2002-Q2 Owner reports 10
2002-Q3 Owner reports 6
2002-Q4 Owner reports 8
2003-Q1 Owner reports 5
2003-Q2 Owner reports 5
2003-Q3 Owner reports 7
2003-Q4 Owner reports 5
2004-Q1 Owner reports 11
2004-Q2 Owner reports 5
2004-Q3 Owner reports 4
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE02082

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 388 complaints · page 1 of 16

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources