knocking noise.

[jborlace]

I have a 2002 Neon and it is making a knocking noise.It used to do it at startup and then it would stop.It has been running sluggish so I took it into the shop since I have the extended warranty.It also won't move when you put it into gear until you push the gas about half way down.Just doesn't have much power anymore.It was in the shop for 4 days and they called me and told me that it was ready and that the bill was 355.00 dollars since what was wrong with it was not covered under the warranty.I picked the car up with the knock was twice as bad as it was before and now it doesn't stop.They told me that they did all the maintance that I didn't do at 30,000 miles and that it was fixed.They said that the noise would go away.The next day I took it back to the dealership.Now they are calling the knocking a carbon knock and said that the engine has carbon built up inside of it.And that Dodge probably won't pay them to take the heads off and remove the carbon.The car only has 42,500 miles on it now.I have seen Neons with over a 100,000 miles on them and they never had all this so called maintance done to them.Any ideas what this is.I don't have the money to fix it if Dodge doesn't cover my warranty.

[TEXSRT4]

make them tell you why warranty wont cover engine warranty? what else has been done to the motor? carbon knock? they are pulling your leg, you have rod knock, and your motor is toast. you will need a new one here soon. thats what your problem is. and they just dont want to deal with it. figure out exactly why they wont cover it and get back to us, it also helps to get it in writting!

[jborlace]

They told me that since I did not do the schedule maintance at 30,000 miles Dodge probably won't cover it.They told me that they need to take the heads off and remove the carbon but Dodge won't cover that.They told me that they will know more on Monday.I am already out 350.00 dollars and it didn't fix the problem.I change my own oil like clockwork and they said since I didn't keep my receipts when I bought the oil that will not make dodge happy either.They are basically screwing me and I don't know what I can do about it.

[TEXSRT4]

tell them that you do not have to take your car to the dealership for regular maintenance in order to be covered, the same if you use a different brand oil. if its under warranty they have to cover it. if they refuse, talk to his manager, and threaten to get a lawyer if you need too. they cannot void your warranty unless the can prove that you broke it. and ask them how not changing the oil causes carbon deposits. get everything in writting! and call daimler-chrysler if you need to.

more information on warranty coverage
http://www.ravelco.com/magnusonmossact.htm
http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=8124

[jborlace]

They told me that I was supposed to do a transmission flush and an injector flush at 30k miles.They said that the carbon deposit is from not doing the injector flush.How many people actually do this stuff.The service guy told me today that it has carbon down in the heads and that Dodge will not let them fix it under warranty since I missed those flushes.

[TEXSRT4]

get it in writting, then talk to the manager. there is no need for an injector flush. all that a flush will do is make sure your injectors are running properly, and getting enough gas in. and please tell me how a tranny fluid change will do anything about carbon deposits in the motor? get the guys name, and have him put it in writting. then get ahold of your local Better Buisness Beauro, and file a complaint. he is blatantly lying to you, which is ILLEGAL!!! i would be pissed, talk to the service manager, and if that doesnt do anything, talk to the owner. i would also fax a copy of the "document in wirtting" to daimler-chrysler and file a complaint with them. dodge is getting real bad about warranty work, and its really ticking me off. dont let them take advantage of you. the more documentation you get, the better off you are, and the more likely you are to get it fixed quickly. check out the first like i posted about the magnuson-moss act. lots of very valuable information. and if you are not comfortable enough with the "car talk" take someone with you who is. where do you live, there has to be someone around who can help you out. if you need any more infomation or have any questions, please feel free to ask here or pm me. i want to get it taken care of for you.

if you cant tell, i have a personal vendetta against dodge's warranty department! they are ripping you off and stealing your money! and be sure to get a reimbursement for the money you already spent getting it diagnosed. i had to go through the owner to get money back they stole from me, but it was worth it!!! especailly because they told me there was no way i was going to get my money back. after a good talk with the owner, i had a check cut that day!!!

[jborlace]

I live in Corsicana ,Texas.About 50 miles south of Dallas.What exactly do I need to get in writing?I am going there Monday morning to get some stuff out of the car.Whatever I need to get I will.Oh Yeah,they called me and told me that my bill is gonna be 70 dollars higher because my battery died.It was fine when I dropped it off though.I am really frustated about this whole thing.I told the guy if they did not honor the warranty then I would have no choice but to let the car get repossed.I just don't have the money for a new engine or an expensive bill.He told me that it was my problem and not his..real nice guy

[TEXSRT4]

get his name, and have him put in writting, officailly (like on a dealership recipt) what is wrong with the car, and why its not covered under warranty. then make sure the service managers signature is coverd by it too. be sure to bring up that you are going to be talking to a daimler-chrysler rep about their service, and the magnuson-moss act in relation to your warranty.

if that doesnt scare him, then you will need to contact daimler chrysler and file a compalint (i would do that anyway), and if necessary, be willing to get a lawyer. i highly dobut that it will come down to that, but it might. also, be sure to talk to the owner about whats going on in his dealership. that might correct all of teh problems. what i really recommend is taking someone who knows a lot about cars to go with you and talk to them. they are ripping you off!

heres the order of what i would do:
1. talk to the service guy, have him give you a written reason why the warranty is voided (on dealer stationary) and be sure to get his signature AND the managers signature.
2. talk to the service manager, and let him know that your going to be talking to a daimler-chrysler rep about the service your having, as well as about the magnuson-moss act and how it relates to your warranty rights.
3. talk to the owner about whats going on with your car
4. contact daimler-chrysler and file a complaint (do this anyway)
5. contact the better buisness beuro and file a compalint
6. get a lawyer if necessary (hopefully it wont come down to that)

also, be sure that you get your money back regardless. and make sure you get compensated for a rental car or your inconvience (waranty covers rental car after 24 hours of your car being in the shop, if you dont have one, you are entitled to one!) check out the links i have posted, read them, know them, and find other links - do a search for magnuson-moss act - KNOW IT WELL)

[jborlace]

Ok,I'll do that when I get off work in the morning.Thanks.I'll let you know how it all turns out...

[jborlace]

A little update on my problems.I talked to the service manager and asked him why they are trying to screw me around and he didn't know what I was talking about.I told him that the service advisor said that the warranty wasn't going to cover the car.He told me not to worry about that,he would take care of it.I called today and he told me that they found 2 bad pistons in the motor.What would cause this to happen at 42,000 miles.I am going to call Dodge tomorrow,I think that they should give me a new motor.That car has never got good gas mileage and it has always used oil.

[TEXSRT4]

it all depends on how the pistons are damaged, that will determine what was going on in the motor. regardless, they owe you a new motor. im glad things are starting to get better. keep me posted

[2002 Neon SXT Iowa]

jborlace,

I think i'm having the same problem. The knocking noise is just when i start up. My complaint though is that i've had a tremendous loss of power. I can't even really run my A/C without it almost killing the car. Also, when i'm accelerating it feels like it's "choking." Almost like it's missing or something. I've been wondering about this for some time because I had the same problem with my 1998 stratus that I traded to get the neon. I spent about 1500 dollars trying to fix it and eventually just said screw it and traded it in. What i'm wondering is if you had any of these problems as well?

[jborlace]

Originally Posted by 2002 Neon SXT Iowa

jborlace,

I think i'm having the same problem. The knocking noise is just when i start up. My complaint though is that i've had a tremendous loss of power. I can't even really run my A/C without it almost killing the car. Also, when i'm accelerating it feels like it's "choking." Almost like it's missing or something. I've been wondering about this for some time because I had the same problem with my 1998 stratus that I traded to get the neon. I spent about 1500 dollars trying to fix it and eventually just said screw it and traded it in. What i'm wondering is if you had any of these problems as well?

Yeah,I had to almost floor the car just to get it to go anywhere.The car had lost all power,it was basically running on 2 cyclinders.They showed me the pistons and one had a chip on the top of it and the other had a bad bent rod.The bent rod was causing all the knocking.They tried to tell me that I got the car under water and all these problems were because I did not do the 30,000 maintances that they want you to do.But they covered it under the warranty and so far no more knocking and the car is running fine.26 miles per gallon.I still think it should do better than that...

[das2123]

If its an automatic, then that sounds about right. Manuals get around 30-35 mpg.

[2002 Neon SXT Iowa]

Originally Posted by das2123

If its an automatic, then that sounds about right. Manuals get around 30-35 mpg.

No It's a manual. I just found out last night too that it's burning oil. Don't know about antifreeze yet, but just the oil has me really worried.