Hey guys, i recently bought a 1996 dodge neon sport sedan with the 2.0 DOHC engine, upon purchase i noticed it had a hard time idling, it sounds almost like it has a bigger cam, usually bouncing the RPMs between 1,200 - 800. Someone had told me it might be the fuel regulator, and told me to test it on the fuel rail, if it continually shoots out from the valve then the regulator is stuck open (Can anyone verify if this may be the problem?) Also, i heard it might be the EGR valve, because not only does it run rough, it SUCKS gas, im getting about 18mpg. I asked the previous owner and he said the car had been sitting for about a year. So i ran some sea foam in it with no result, even ran a tank of premium! The car is still running like crap, can anyone verify if these are possible causes? or could there be more? thank you in advance

 

u shouldn't of bought an neon in the 1st place and since u did. does your car have the c.e.l on? does it accelerate fine or is it just when it idles?


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Wow dude. Down on Neons? Well just about any car as old as the 1st gen Neons are now getting to be will start causing problems. Especially these newer cars where everything is computer controlled and any wiring problem can create havok. If you don't like them, don't own one. Mine is giving me fits right now, but once it is back on the road, I love it.

To the OP, OK. because the car sat for awhile, you may need to take the throttle body off and clean it, the intake manifold, the IAC (idle air control) sensor, and the TPS (throttle position sensor). You may want to go ahead and clean the MAP sensor too as well as the EGR valve.

Try that first and let us know. Remember, it takes three things for a gasoline engine to run properly - air, fuel, and an ignition source (aka a spark). Most if the time, air is not a problem as long as enough gets in. Fuel and spark are the two biggies. Search and destroy.

 

neons are ****ty. u can't sit there and tell me they are anything but. unless u build yours up fron scratch its going to break down. mine was only at 101k and its pretty much falling apart. sway bar broke. bad oil leak. torn mounts, whole brake system had to be replaced, and it idles like ****. that was only on a dd. I'm telling you don't buy a ****ty neon unless its an or has an srt motor. other than that. buy a zx2 or rusty but trusty civic and be done with it. I liked neons until I owned one.


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Well that's OK and your opinion - of which you are entitled to it. I personally love my little car, and while I have had to fix things on it - even after I completely rebuilt the engine at 157K - I still love it.

This is a forum to help folks with problems they experience on Neons, not to bash them. If you don't like them, don't have one. If you like Civics, etc. get one. I don't have an opinion about Civics, or ZX2's, or Eclipses', or whatever, but if I did, I would not go onto their forum and trash them - as it is pointless.

Your opinion, and again, you are entitled to it, does not affect my opinion about Neons one bit. It has been a good and faithful car for the price I paid for it - $0 BTW - and the parts I put into it - almost $2K so far - and the time and miles I have driven it - 3 years and almost 60K miles.

So far, the car has cost me about $0.03333 cents per mile driven. If I had bought a new car for 15K and driven it 60K, the cost would be $0.25 per mile. This does not even factor in insurance costs and gas.

So if you really want to **** and moan about Neons' go ahead. Not a problem for me. I'll keep driving my 35mpg paid for car and pocketing the chump change saved for the time when I will just plunk down cash for my next one and drive away again - happy and debt free.

 

I would have to agree with 96dohcsportcoupe. I bought my neon about 40k miles ago and since then I have replaced 4 radiators, a water pump because of the radiators, a timing belt because the water pump seized up because of the radiators not holding coolant, suspension twice, tie rods twice, alternator 3 times, they are just all around crappy cars. And no I don't drive it like a maniac I drive it cautiously because of these problems. AND NOW I have a problem with it idling too and pulling off in first gear... 3 days from now I'm supposed to get a new car and I bet this damn neon won't last me until then

 

as gachikoo said all that work he had to do. well had you done it properly you would have checked pump. radiators if all were new then you installed incorrectly or you replaced the thing that was NOT the issue. so cars fault no, person working on it yes. simply put i have tracked my acr for 7 years now. got it with 50k miles. its needed a starter and clutch and has 130k on it. if your a decent mechanic you will maintain the car just fine. as for my friends hondas i eat em. only downside is neons are kinda ugly cars.

but to answer the orig post. are there any check engine lights on? this issue can be caused by many things

 

Only one CEL due to my EGR block off i did, found out plug 2 and 3 are sparking to the coil pack so i have to replace n see if that helps

 

neons ftl!! ill stick to my zx2. MUCH more solid car. even though the neon is probably one of the most neutral fwd cars you can buy. acr or str4, or go home. imho


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you prolly have a misfire or fuel injector problem...