"How reliable is the 1996 Plymouth Neon?"

"Based on 476 NHTSA complaints, the 1996 Plymouth Neon has a median complaint mileage of 73238 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 1996 Plymouth Neon?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1996 Plymouth Neon is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 476 total complaints filed."

1996 Plymouth Neon: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 476 complaints

476

Total Complaints

73,238mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

54,000 25th Percentile

73,238 Median Mileage

98,400 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

119

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"REAR WINDOW EXPLODED WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING. *AK"

"CONSUMER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT AND AFTER THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG CAUGHT ON FIRE AND THE PASSENGERS SIDE WAS RED HOT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 119 complaints

Median: 88,000 mi

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 22 complaints

Median: 87,418 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 45 NY: 36 PA: 32 TX: 25 WI: 23 VA: 22 OH: 21 MI: 20 FL: 20 NJ: 18

Who Files Complaints?

43.7%

Original Owners

56.3%

Second+ Owners

Plymouth Neon — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1995	711	85,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	77
1997	234	65,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	22
1998	237	66,123	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	23
1999	82	57,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	8
2000	199	82,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	40
2001	74	60,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	18

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28