95 Dodge Neon - Issues - Car Troubleshooting


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95 Dodge Neon - Issues

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Auto Repair Home>> Automotive Repair>> Car Troubleshooting

Lhumen
Novice
Lhumen profile image

Dec 12, 2007, 6:14 PM

Post #1 of 6 (2712 views)

95 Dodge Neon - Issues	Sign In

My 95 Neon has been plagued with problems since I bought it a few years ago.

A fews days ago my clutch went out on me on my way to work and it got taken to a local Midas.

After towing the car, the tow driver pointed out that green coolant was leaking out the bottom of my car. And said it looked like I had a radiator leak. I know that it hadn't been leaking that prior to towing so I thought maybe that had caused the problem and made sure to get the tow company's information just in case.

After Midas had a chance to look at my car they said that the clutch cable had broken and that my heater core was the part causing the leak in coolant. By the end of the weekend I was called and told my car was ready to be picked up.

Here's where the real fun begins...

When I first got there to pick it up the heater would only work when turned on full and then would only push air out through a few of the vents. Also the rear defroster would not come on.

The car was left with them again. They said that they must've just forgotten to plug some of the wires back in and was a quick and easy fix. So we picked it up again.

The defroster worked and the heater seemed to work as well.

We drove our car for about an hour or so and then pulled off as soon as we realized there was smoke coming out of the engine bay. Popping up the hood and letting it clear for a moment there was green coolant all over the engine and various other components mostly on the passenger side of the bay. Upon further inspection I noticed a hose that came out from the coolant reservoir was left disconnected and had been spraying the coolant all over. Thanks to a friend we got it reconnected and held in place.

Later that night I found out that the heater wasn't fully functional as I had earlier thought - when I turned the heater on to defrost the front windshield there are two other vents that blow air onto the driver and passenger side windows to defrost them as well. The driver's side one doesn't blow air.

On top of everything else my car has been stuttering (making jerking motions) while I drive. It happens in every gear at all speeds - though it seems to feel the worst between 2nd gear and 4th gear (so 30-55mph or so). There is a knocking noise coming from the engine bay (I think it's coming from the intake (after market <a href="http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55945/rm_95-99neon_intake-bk.jpg">found here</a>) or throttle body) and sounds like a pebble being spun around and "tinkling" on metal. They also left my after market shift knob broken as well as dumping everything from my center console area onto the floor of my back seat.

To say the least I was upset and emailed these complaints to Midas who in turn forwarded these issues to the franchise that my car was repaired at. I'm waiting for a response from the shop but don't know that I feel confident taking my vehicle back to this shop and letting them possibly further damage my car.

So, my questions. Does anyone have any ideas as to what the problems could be that are causing some of these problems with the jerking and/or the metal clinking sound? Could these problems be fault of the repair shop? Could I possibly fix the heater vent on my own? Also is there any advice as far as dealing with this problematic repair shop?

I'll do my best to answer any questions about my vehicle should they arise though I'm not the most mechanically savvy person. Thank you all very much for any help that you can provide to me and my family.

Lhumen
Novice
Lhumen profile image

Dec 13, 2007, 10:23 AM

Post #2 of 6 (2698 views)

Re: 95 Dodge Neon - Issues	Sign In

Last night, while driving the car home I noticed two other things.

The first of which is that by pressing in the clutch a little bit while driving it lessens and in some cases removes the jerking motion.

The second was that my Check Engine light is on.

Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Dec 13, 2007, 1:56 PM

Post #3 of 6 (2696 views)

Re: 95 Dodge Neon - Issues	Sign In

This didn't behave the first time from Midas (I'm not blaming anyone or the chain of repair shops) but they should own this problem right now from what you are telling. The ticking could be a nasty problem from lack of coolant and overheating when it was low. CEL is going to notice something. The dash work is hard to do a heater core and if they aren't up to that then they shouldn't be doing those jobs or the particular mechanic there shouldn't.

I'm not Judge Judy and I haven't heard their side (Midas) but THEY OWN THIS ONE! They should take the car and fix everything you requested and everything else that might have been damaged by sloppy work,

T

Lhumen
Novice
Lhumen profile image

Dec 13, 2007, 2:11 PM

Post #4 of 6 (2695 views)

Re: 95 Dodge Neon - Issues	Sign In

Thank you very much for the advice. I spoke with the shop today and I'll be bringing it in to them bright and early tomorrow morning. They said they would plan to ride along with me so I can point out the problems. Hopefully everything will get fixed and this will be the last time I have to bring it in.

Lhumen
Novice
Lhumen profile image

Dec 15, 2007, 1:57 AM

Post #5 of 6 (2684 views)

Re: 95 Dodge Neon - Issues	Sign In

After a few hours working with the shop the car seems to be running alright.

The stuttering was being caused by a hose left unconnected that recycled the emissions. I believe it was the hose that fed into the intake but rather the end opposite of the intake itself.

The "tink" sound was diagnosed as pieces of the previous clutch cable that had broken off and fallen down into the clutch area. The mechanic described it as every time I turned it was playing pachinko.

The defrost vent was just another thing that they had missed reconnecting and took care of that.

They had also not done a full inspection on my car. They hadn't checked my tires or brakes the first day that we brought it in so I made sure to have them check that as well.

In the end they did a little polishing and whatnot on my brakes and gave me a voucher for a free oil change. At least (for the moment) my car seems to be running alright. Thank goodness.

Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Dec 15, 2007, 3:20 AM

Post #6 of 6 (2681 views)

Re: 95 Dodge Neon - Issues	Sign In

Sounds like good news. THANKS for posting the followup,

T

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