95 eagle talon tsi

[dodgeshadowchik]

i am looking at one of these cars to replace my neon as a daily driver. it is the turbo awd automatic model. anyone know of any problem areas with these cars to look out for? does the automatic trans hold up ok? i don't plan on racing it.

[gkcooper]

whole gd car is a problem

[BadAssPerformance]

Check for rust... crankwalk... etc...

[dodgeshadowchik]

whole gd car is a problem


LOL!!

this one apparently has a lot of new parts; including an engine rebuild. There's not alot of rust i saw. Just some clear coat peel. Did notice it had a water leak into the hatch. I suppose this is why they rust out?

[shelby zed]

well its an auto...

[dodgeshadowchik]

yea, i'm not to thrilled about that.... but it's just a daily driver. and i'd rather have something not so cool as a daily driver so if something happens to it i don't feel to bad about it.

i had a 99 neon r/t as a daily driver. i loved that car and it was spotless. it's now totalled and i'm still torn up about it. :(

[Orangetona]

They are as reliable as the typical turbo dodge. Not very. They can be compared as to reliability. Timing belts are a problem with them, if they break, more than likely your engine is toast. Even if the car is well taken care of that timing belt will get you. That is if you dont replace it every now and then.

Basically go by condition and price.

[shadow88]

whole gd car is a problem

+1

But, then again, I'm not an import fan. What's your second choice for a DD?

[ShelbyZD]

"They are as reliable as the typical turbo dodge. Not very."

I really get sick of that attitude on here. The fact it is that a poorly maintained TD can be unreliable. Well maintanted ones do NOT share this sterotype. Whining and complaining about an old car which you have no or little history of just doesn't make sense.

TD's that break down have the following problems.

A. Lousy Maintenence - Number 1 problem
B. Modified beyond stock
C. Just old with high milage.

Why in the world these cars are compared with new cars is beyond me.. your car is 15+ years old.. and just like every other car of that age it has problems. Also just like every other used car.. there are few situatations in which you actually know the history of the car.

How often do engines go bad when properly maintained? Virtually never. My 88 has all original parts under the hood with 133,000kms in it I paid $2500 for it. It was been well maintained and it shows. My dad's 89 (which he bought in 1991 and paid $10,000 for) just rolled over 100,000kms .. problems? 0 with all original parts. It basically comes down to the fact that you get what you pay for.

[Spoolin'Canuck]

One of the things to look for in the auto cars is a failing "End Clutch".. Basically this will happen eventually.. You will have no OverDrive when this happens. Parts are around 75-100 bucks, and about 1-2 hours labour to repair.. Other than that... I don't think those transmissions are good for more than about 250HP..

If it is an AWD model, I believe the rear diff also has a couple of recalls on it.


+1, ShelbyZD

[Orangetona]

"They are as reliable as the typical turbo dodge. Not very."

I really get sick of that attitude on here. The fact it is that a poorly maintained TD can be unreliable. Well maintanted ones do NOT share this sterotype. Whining and complaining about an old car which you have no or little history of just doesn't make sense.

TD's that break down have the following problems.

A. Lousy Maintenence - Number 1 problem
B. Modified beyond stock
C. Just old with high milage.

Why in the world these cars are compared with new cars is beyond me.. your car is 15+ years old.. and just like every other car of that age it has problems. Also just like every other used car.. there are few situatations in which you actually know the history of the car.

How often do engines go bad when properly maintained? Virtually never. My 88 has all original parts under the hood with 133,000kms in it I paid $2500 for it. It was been well maintained and it shows. My dad's 89 (which he bought in 1991 and paid $10,000 for) just rolled over 100,000kms .. problems? 0 with all original parts. It basically comes down to the fact that you get what you pay for.

Ok.. I didnt realize I was going to get flamed for that. It depends on what you get, yes. Lets face it, there arent a lot of well kept DSMs or TMs out there. My orange car was not kept up well and never gave me a problem. My friend had a well maintained lebaron and the engine died 3 months after buying it. Like i said, it depends on what you get.

[dodgeshadowchik]

it appears the car was taken care of ok. the engine bay was surprisingly clean. she's only asking $2500 for it. i honestly think its worth it, as i rarely see these for under $3000 that run. I was just inquiring as to if anyone knew of recalls or problem areas to watch for. thanks for the replys thus far!

my other choice for a daily driver would be another neon.... but i need to stay away for them for a while; hence why i'm looking at other cars around a neon price range. i've had weird freak accidents happen to me with the past 2 neons i've owned that totalled them out. :/

[BadAssPerformance]

yea, i'm not to thrilled about that.... but it's just a daily driver. and i'd rather have something not so cool as a daily driver so if something happens to it i don't feel to bad about it.

i had a 99 neon r/t as a daily driver. i loved that car and it was spotless. it's now totalled and i'm still torn up about it. :(

Another 2 door neon would not bee too hard to find... killer gas mileage too :thumb:

[TurboRon25]

+1
SOHC with a 5 spd = Killer gas mileage

Ron

[shadow88]

Weak points on the talon are almost a moot point by now. All these cars are old and all kinds of things are going to fail on them. But, because you asked, here's what I remember replacing alot on those cars.

Timing belt-failing that, engines.
Power transfer units. leak, sieze, tow, replace.
c/v joints caused by torn boots. Imports seem to have issues with c/v boots.
Wheel bearings, front and rear.
Interior peices like plastic trim and latches break pretty often in my experience.
Rear prop shaft u-joints (not as often)
Transmission problems seemed to be limited to the modified cars.
Rotor warpage.

Now,I know some of these problems can happen to just about any car you may want to buy. But to replace this stuff on an import cost a good chunk of change more than the same repairs on a domestic (neon). I would keep looking for a neon.

I like mine. It gets over 40 mpg and cost very little to maintain.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j61/shadowt2/together/passengersideneon.jpg

[dodgeshadowchik]

Don't get me wrong... i love neons. i just can't bring myself to getting another one for a while. i had a 98 ACR that i rolled three times. Then I got the 99 R/T that was totalled out last monday. Both instances were weird single vehicle incidents and both cars were completely messed up. I guess I just feel I need a break from Neons for a while with the string of bad luck I've had with them. :( :(

Basically I'm looking for anything but a Neon...

[88_pacifica]

... Both instances were weird single vehicle incidents and both cars were completely messed up. I guess I just feel I need a break from Neons for a while with the string of bad luck I've had with them. :( :(

I'm curious how are these "single vehicle accidents" occuring? What is the cause of this? Is it manufacturer errors and faults? This might help us rationalize why you are so adamantly against another neon. I think the DSM is just another car, just like any other car. There are no definitive pro's nor con's. A later gen Maxda RX-7 turbo, it has it's flaws too and it is very fast, so we can't "judge" on the brand reliability per se.

If you want safety, reliability, and no more accidents, either you need to eliminate the cause of the accidents or get a vehicle that won't put you in a position to have those accidents. You should consider yourself lucky that they were in a neon. I guarantee the same accidents in a DSM would be more critical.... Just my $.02 (no offense meant here)

[dodgeshadowchik]

i can pretty much guarentee that the causes were my own; but its just weird to me that i'm fine with the various other cars i've had. :/

i think my problem is i got to overconfident with the car's ability and guessed wrong. i.e with the acr i took for granted the car's awesome handling and didn't take into account that a slight change in road surface and throw the car off. so i feel that if i "ground" myself from the neon then maybe i'll be ok. or something to that effect. i also feel terrible about ruining an acr and an rt.

oh, and no offense taken. :)

[BadAssPerformance]

Sounds like you'd be safer in a big Ram truck ;)

[mcsvt]

Yeah, maybe something not "sporty" :)

Like a a Turbo New Yorker or something...

[88_pacifica]

...oh, and no offense taken. :)

Good... I just know that a DSM is traditionally not a good car for "extracations." Sounds like you need a big car with a small V8, then you have the power,
and more reliability, but more importantly, a safe car around you. If for some reason you do "lose it" then you have a barrier to help keep you safe. Also, it will atually make you "improve" your driving skills because then you have to compensate better. Good luck and "choose wisely." I think a DSM is a bad choice because of the required maintenance and speed capabilities, as well as safety.

[moparman76_69]

you should get a tbi car for a DD, then you don't have to worry about taking the cars power or handling for granted.

[t3rse]

tsi is a good car. Don't let anyone BS you. they problem areas are all covered here, and you can get a good manual tranny for not much more than a TM tranny if you look hard enough and so desire the swap, don't forget they have hydro clutches, so you'll need a master and slave if you swap it. the wheel bearings do tend to be problematic, as well as crank walk in the 2g block. if the car is unmodified, which is sounds like it is, i'd go for it.

[94shadowesauto]

automatics automatically lose