NHTSA Complaint #10088894 — 2003 DODGE NEON

I BOUGHT MY 2003 NEON WITH 18,000 MILES. IMMEDIATELY I NOTICED THE CAR SHIFTED HARD AND SOMETIMES WHEN PUTTING INTO GEAR WOULD NOT GO INTO DRIVE. I TOOK TO MY DEALERSHIP ON 3 OCCASSIONS, ONCE IN 08/03, ONCE IN 12/03, AND ONCE IN 03/04. ALL THREE TIMES I WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR SHIFTED FINE AND THAT THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE "DUPLICATED". ON 08/04/03, I WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE INTERSTATE WHNE MY TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP AND RENDERED MY CAR INOPERABLE AND IMMOBILE. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND THAT THEY HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE. I WAS GIVEN A TOTALLY NEW TRANSMISSION UNIT. SINCE THEN THE CAR HAS BEEN SHIFTING FUNNY AND IT ALSO HESITATES A LOT, ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON WHEN IT IS FAIRLY WARM OUT.*AK