1999 Plymouth Neon

Typical pattern

12% of complaints about the 1999 Plymouth Neon came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 1999 vehicle — around the middle of the 201 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 3.4 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine cooling (27 complaints), typically at 4.1 yr or about 52,000 miles.

Complaints: 75
Median age at failure: 3.4 yr
Median mileage: 73,000 n=20
Crash / fire / tow: 14.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 2.5 yr in service

OIL WAS LEAKING FROM UNDERNEATH VEHICLE. ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON DASHBOARD. DEALERSHIP REPLACED WIRE HARNESSS. LEAKING INSIDE OF BACK TRUCK AND A MOLD LIKE SUBSTANCE WAS INSIDE OF TRUCK. PASSENGER'S SIDE DOOR WAS LEAKING WHEN THERE WAS RAINY WEATHER. ALS, DEALERSHIP REPLACED A WEATHER STRIP ON SIDE OF PANEL.*AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1.2 yr in service

HEAD GASKET WAS LEAKING OIL IN NOVEMBER OF 1999, DURING ROUTINE INSPECTION HEAD GASKET LEAK WAS AGAIN DETECTED IN FEBRUARY 2001.*AK *SLC

Engine cooling mileage not reported 2.6 yr in service

THE CAR HAS REPEATEDLY (DIED) STOPPED RUNNING ON BUSY STREETS CAUSING ME TO HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT SAFETY. *AK

Other Neon model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1999 Plymouth Neon

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Neon model years

How to read this