i have a 2004 neon base model 2.0 with 122k miles and a auto trans. i bought the car with a bad trans i rebuilt the trans. installed the trans and put in a external trans cooler. car works great drove it over 2k miles since the rebuild. i noticed this last week that the car at a dead stop at an intersection hesitated before taking off and its been kinda sluggish on acceleration. i was sitting in the drive through at mcdonalds today and it started to misfire and in park it would hesitate when i pushed the throttle and i could hear a squeak sound. does it every time i rev it up in park or when its in drive at an intersection.

i do not trip any codes. the battery light has been on in this car since i bought it. i have a new battery in it and it always starts and works for me.

so what do you think is wrong with this thing?

 

The only thing I can think of would be the APPS sensor/motor. But from what I understand, the 2005s are the only ones with that motor. If the APPS is what I think it is, it would affect timing, and thus would misfire. I'm sure one of the more experienced Neon owners would know more.