I believe the OP was talking about a manual box anyways, they last forever.
cant be compared whatsoever with an auto "slushbox"

only 2 things will go wrong with your manual either the diff pin will fall out on you (this applieis to both manual and autos) or the clutch will burn out. thats about it

theres a cheap fix for the diff mother sells 2 little brackets that bolt to the ring gear and hold the carrier pin in place, I would recommend putting thiese into your new trans, buy a new clutch (avoid aftermarket they dont last as long). new clean oil and that tranny will last longer than you will have the car.

lots of 2000 neons in the wrecking yards here

 

Well everything in my auto tranny has been strong with 190,000 miles being a 04 thats probably why. all 04-05s are better build for trannys auto or tranny. Seeing they learned from past yrs trannys.

 

Here's the problems: you believe anything someone says that you do not agree with is their "opinion," and it really is about manual transmissions which almost never fail. How many threads constantly come up about automatic transmission problems on this site alone? The answer? More than there should be if they were "good." Just because there hasn't been a problem doesn't mean it is strong. That means you haven't had a problem.

 

No just means my auto has a strong tranny just becasue a few on here have had them doesnt mean all auto neons or autos in general. I hate it when 5 speeders think they are the best ever and knock autos .I have owned both 5 speed neons and auto neons and in my op autos are just as reilable as 5 speeds. I think with over 190,000 miles and my tranny is still strong being an auto and never had a problem kind of does mean it is stronger than you know. Have any of you had an auto with a bad tranny than if you have not than you cant really say anything.

 

My Neon is an auto and in the 2 years I've owned it, I've had to drop the transmission TWICE to fix it. Do I qualify Ms. Snooty?

That being said, Dodge transmissions still suck (Dodge does not make the manual transmissions)! My friend's father has 2 Dodge trucks; one of them a 2006 or 2007 Dodge Ram Mega Cab with...an Auto. The transmission has been COMPLETELY REPLACED two times by Dodge in 3 years.

That doesn't exactly scream quality...

Yours is not "stronger than I know." It is the same damn transmission as mine, unless Dodge gave you a one-off transmission that didn't come in any other Neon. It means you haven't had a problem with it. That doesn't make it good, let alone strong.

 

Again they made the 04 and 05s stonger than the 03s and older models. Thats why mines a little bit stronger than yours. Whatever mistakes they made with the 03 and older models they made up for in the 04 and 05 models. Autos and 5 speeds in 04 and 05s are made better. Trucks are different than cars for trannys.

 

The 2003-2005 transmission is the same; a 40TE. 2004 and 2005 each had TCM "updates" to fix minor issues to make the driveability better. Yes, you have to regularly update Dodge TCM units on all the cars and trucks, AFAIK, to fix problems they find; that's how good they are. Dodge trucks with an auto still use...Dodge transmissions...that suck.

 

Not all dodge trucks that are auto have crappy trannys Iknow alot of srt10 rams that are autos that are very reliable and do better than stick srt10 rams. The guy who has the number 1 srt10 ram over on cardomain carl is one of my friends and he has the best lookin srt10 ram ever and has a strong auto tranny.

 

I dont knock autos and believe 5 speeds are better, its just fact there are way less friction parts in an manual. Common sense says less parts mean less to fail. Buy a car without alot of options and you will eliminate alot of problems.
The majority of people beat the **** outta their stuff then when it fails. They quickly label their stuff as faulty or weak, sure the factory sells junky stuff from time to time

the autos mother used are not her own units at all, so i guess the real statement would be "New Venture, New Process transmissions are weak, and chrysler was foolish for buying them" Thank you very much outsourcing!

lets face it 99% of the the parts mother made in house were brilliant, its the crap she's bought outside that we all complain about and have issues with.
But nowadays she buys more and more from generic suppliers.

340,000kms on my 2000's 5spd and the only thing ive had to do was change a clutch(at 260,000 mind you) so dont believe everything you hear about 2000's

the only reason i bought a 5speed is cause I wanted more gears that was offered in the 2000's auto(3spd) I wanted better fuel economy.
this meant I had to teach 2 people who had never driven a stick before and the clutch still lasted as long as it did.
for city drivin I'd prefer the auto. Lord know my wife woulda prefered it to(she took the longest to get a hold of driving a manual)

We all know an auto has the potential to be faster than any manual. Those Pro stock boys dont push in a clutch to change gears
but not right out of the box they dont. and damnit if you want me to check the option box and lay down more coin for an auto, you better give me enough gears!!!

I say who cares if u got an auto or a manual at least u bought a mopar!

 

I love 5 speeds and would love to get me a srt4 caliber but 5speeds are not meant for someone who has really bad carpel tunnel in both hands . I would have me a caliber srt4 by now if I did not have carpel tunnel . I love my auto neon which I have had since she was brand new back in 04 so not many have had there 5 speed that long without problems with there tranny like my auto she now has 191,000 on her and her tranny is in awesome shape.