2003 Dodge Neon

I OWN A 2003 DODGE NEON SRT4 THERE WAS A FIRE/SMOKING COMING FROM MY DASH/STEERING WHEEL COLUMN. THE PROBLEM IS FROM A BAD MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH IN THE 2ND GENERATION DODGE NEONS. THIS SWITCH IS RELATED TO THE HEADLIGHTS, SO POTENTIALLY THIS CAN BE DEADLY. FOR EXAMPLE YOU HEADLIGHTS CUT OFF ON THE HIGHWAY, CAR SHUTTING DOWN, FIRE INSIDE THE CABIN OF THE CAR. I STILL NEED THIS FIX, I WORK NEARLY 9 HOUR DAYS WITH LITTLE MONEY TO FIX THESE MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. PLEASE TELL DODGE TO CALL A RECALL THIS. *TR

I OWN A 2003 DODGE NEON THAT JUST SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING ON A FEW OCCASIONS. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS BLOGS AND SUCH OF OTHERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. WITHOUT WARNING THE CAR SHUTS DOWN WITH A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER. NOTHING ELECTRICAL WILL WORK. I HAVE HAD THE CAR CHECKED OUT AND NO PROBLEMS CAN BE FOUND, NO CODES ON THE COMPUTER. WHEN IT DOES SHUT DOWN IT WILL NOT RESTART UNTIL I MOVE THE WIRES AT THE BATTERY. UPON INSPECTING THE BATTERY WIRES THEY SHOW NO SIGNS OF WEAR, CORROSION, BEING LOOSE OR ANYTHING OF THAT SORT. UPON TESTING THE WIRES FOR A SHORT FOUND NONE TO EXIST. THE MECHANICS AND DEALERSHIPS CLAIM THERE IS NO PROBLEM. DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTERS FIND NO PROBLEMS. ON THREE OCCASION THUS FAR WE HAVE BEEN IN NEAR ACCIDENT SITUATIONS, DRIVING ALONG AND THE CAR SHUTS DOWN, AND COMES TO AN UNEXPECTED QUICK STOP AND WITH A LOSS OF ALL POWER THAT MAY RESULT IN A FATAL ACCIDENT IN THE FUTURE. CARS DRIVING BEHIND ME HAVE NO WARNING THAT I'M COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD SOMETIMES UNABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD TO A SAFE AREA TO COME TO A STOP. AS MENTIONED IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR NOT ONLY OF THIS YEAR BUT OTHERS AS WELL. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OF SOME SORT BEFORE SOMEONE DIES IF THAT ALREADY HAS NOT HAPPENED. *TR

ENTIRE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE WHILE CAR WAS IN OPERATION + PREMATURE ACTIVATION OF AIRBAG. DRIVER WAS FORCED TO CLAW THE AIRBAG OUT OF HIS WAY IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND STEER IT OFF THE HIGHWAY. THERE WAS NO KNOWN TAMPERING WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PRIOR TO THIS; CAR WAS USED, BUT HAD ONLY BODY WORK DONE TO OUR KNOWLEDGE. HEAT DAMAGE TO ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS SO EXTENSIVE THAT CAR WAS CONSIDERED A TOTAL LOSS. DRIVER SUFFERED SOME FACIAL AND NECK INJURY--POSSIBLY OTHERS. *TR

DECEMBER 2008, HEADLIGHTS WORKING FINE DURING TRIP, STOPPED FOR GAS, AND HEADLIGHTS WOULD NOT COME BACK ON. USED HIGH BEAMS FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND THEN SWITCHED TO LOW BEAMS WERE THEN WORKING. HAPPENED AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH FOR THE NEXT YEAR. EARLY MARCH, NOTICED A BURNING SMELL, THOUGHT IT WAS OUTSIDE, LIGHTS WERE WORKING FINE. WHILE DRIVING ALONE AT NIGHT APRIL 2009, TRIED TO USE HIGH BEAMS, BUT MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH WOULD NOT STAY IN PLACE, HAD TO HOLD THE SWITCH BACK FOR HIGH BEAMS TO WORK. MY HANDS BECAME VERY WARM SITTING ON THE STEERING WHEEL, FELT CLOSER TO THE STEERING COLUMN AND WAS INCREDIBLY HOT. THERE WAS NOWHERE TO STOP, HAD TO KEEP DRIVING ANOTHER HOUR OR SO. STOPPED FOR 5 MINUTES AND SHUT OFF VEHICLE, WHEN VEHICLE TURNED BACK ON, HEADLIGHTS WOULDN'T WORK. HAD TO DRIVE WITH ONLY PARKING LIGHTS AT 2AM, VERY UNSAFE! EVER SINCE, HEADLIGHTS NO LONGER WORK. THIS HAS CLEARLY BEEN AN ISSUE, AND IT VERY EASY TO FIND INFORMATION AND OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM. THIS COULD HAVE CLEARLY BECOME AN EVEN WORSE PROBLEM. TRIED TO REPLACE THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH, BUT THE PLUG WAS MELTED IN PLACE. PARTS WERE BURNED BLACK AND BROWN AND INCREDIBLY BRITTLE FROM THE INTENSE HEAT THAT EMANATED FROM THE WIRING. THIS FINAL PROBLEM HAPPENED AT ABOUT 90,000 MILES. I AM STILL CURRENTLY WAITING TO FIND THE LARGE SUM OF MONEY TO GET THIS FIXED. I AM CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO DRIVE AT NIGHT , SINCE I DO NOT HAVE PROPER LIGHTING. AFRAID TO EVEN USE PARKING LIGHTS, AS THIS SUPPLIES ELECTRICAL JUICE TO THE SWITCH AND COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE A FIRE, AS I HAVE READ ABOUT OTHER OWNER'S PROBLEMS. *TR

MY HEADLIGHTS AND FOGLIGHTS WOULD PERIODICALLY SHUT OFF OR NOT COME ON. THEN ONLY THE BRIGHTS WOULD WORK AND WHILE DRIVING WOULD SHUT OFF ALTOGETHER. FINALLY THE HEADLIGHTS AND FOGLIGHTS HAVE STOPPED WORKING. THE MARKER LIGHTS AND TURN SIGNALS STILL WORK, BUT I HAVE NO ILLUMINATION AHEAD OF ME. IT REQUIRED A SWITCH AND CONNECTOR CHANGE. SO FAR THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER NEONS THAT HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN TO THEM AND THE DEALER REFUSES TO HELP US IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. THE OLD PARTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR EXAMINATION AND THE OEM BULBS ARE STILL AROUND AS WELL. *TR

AT 60,000 MILES MY 2003 DODGE NEON R/T STARTED SMOKING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. AT THE TIME I THOUGHT IT WAS DUST CAUGHT BY THE SUNLIGHT AND SINCE NOTHING APPEARED TO BE WRONG WITH MY CAR, I FORGOT ABOUT IT - ONE WEEK LATER- I STARTED BY CAR AND MY HEADLIGHTS WOULDN'T WORK, CONCERNED AND REMEMBERING THE "DUST IN THE SUNLIGHT THE WEEK BEFORE, I CALLED THE DODGE DEALERSHIP IN THE AREA AND DROPPED OFF MY CAR A LITTLE WHILE LATER. TURNS OUT THE WIRING HARNESS ON THE STEERING COLUMN HAD OVERHEATED AND MELTED TOGETHER ( THERE WAS ALSO A PROBLEM WITH THE GAS TANK PRESSURE BUT I COULD NEVER GET THEM TO TELL EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS) LUCKILY THE HARNESS WAS NOT COMPLETELY DESTROYED SO THE WIRES COULD JUST BE REPLACED. I ASKED THEM WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM AND IF THEY WERE JUST REPLACING WIRES, WELL, WOULDN'T IT HAPPEN AGAIN? ONCE AGAIN ALL I GOT WERE VAGUE NON COMMITALE ANSWERS, A 1,200 DOLLAR BILL, PLUS, I WAS REFUSED A COURTESY VEHICLE - YEAH I HAD TO FOOT THE BILL FR DRIVING A RENTAL CAR FOR A WEEK. I RESEARCH THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND THAT THE 1996 NEON HAD BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM BUT THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WAS NEVER FIXED, ALSO, THE PT CRUISER HAS THE SAME DEFECT. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE AND BASICALLY WHAT WENT WRONG WAS MY FAULT, SOME HOW. AGAIN VERY VAGUE AND NON-COMMITTAL. I FOUND OUT THAT UNLESS A PROBLEM IS A SAFETY ISSUE, MEANING I GUESS THAT A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE, A RECALL WILL NOT BE ISSUED. *TR

MY 2003 DODGE NEON SRT-4 WAS MAKING A FUNNY SMELL AT NIGHT THEN MY LIGHTS WENT OUT AND THEY WOULD ONLY WORK WITH MY BRIGHT SWITCH PULLED BACK. I PULLED APART AND SAW THAT MY SWITCH TO MY MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH WAS BURNT. I WENT TO DODGE AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. SO I BOUGHT A NEW MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH AND PLUG. I DO HAVE ALL THE OLD PARTS. *TR

WHEN I USE MY HEADLIGHTS FOR 15-20 MINUTES, I BEGIN TO SMELL A BURNT PLASTIC SMELL AND NOTICE THE LEFT SIDE OF THE STEERING WHEEL GETS VERY WARM. AFTER 20-30 MINUTES OF HEADLIGHT USE THE LOW BEAMS JUST GO DEAD, IT "AUTOMATICALLY" SWITCHES TO HIGH BEAMS IMMEDIATELY. IF I TRY TO TURN IT BACK DOWN TO LOW BEAMS, EVERYTHING GOES DARK (*VERY* DANGEROUS AT NIGHT!). THEN I AM FORCED TO USE HIGH BEAMS AND BLIND EVERYONE ELSE FOR THE REST OF MY TRIP, OR I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND LET THE APPARENT CAUSE (THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH) COOL OFF FOR AN ETERNITY BEFORE RESUMING MY TRIP. I'M HIGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE KNOWING THAT MY CAR HAS PLASTIC BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL ON THE VERGE OF ERUPTING INTO FLAMES WHEN I USE MY HEADLIGHTS. I ALSO CONSIDER IT EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS, NOT ONLY FOR THE FIRE RISK, BUT ALSO THE LOW BEAMS DYING SUDDENLY. *TR

I BOUGHT MYSELF A 2003 DODGE NEON SRT-4 LAST YEAR. ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO SMOKE AND MELTING PLASTIC SMELL STARTED COMING OUT OF STEERING COLUMN. THE HEADLIGHTS AND FOG LIGHTS SHUT OFF ON ME ONE NIGHT COMING HOME FROM STORE. (NOT GOOD) THE NEXT DAY FOUND THAT HARNESS WAS MELTED AT CONNECTOR TO THE MFS TO THE HEADLIGHTS. I REPLACED THE SWITCH BUT FUSES BLOW IF FOG LIGHTS COME ON OR HIGH BEAMS. PLUS IT JUST STARTED SMOKING AGAIN! *TR