Leaking Dodge SX2.0

FTLComm - Tisdale - Tuesday, January 23, 2007

In December of 2002 I did a review with pictures of Chrysler's replacement for its entry level car the Neon. The Dodge SX2.0 is and was then an inexpensive but feature loaded car. With many stories done on cars on this web site there is often feedback from readers as they voice their opinions on the comments made. Since 2002 we did not hear a thing about the story on the car that was until yesterday when I received the message below from the owner of a leaking 2004 version of the SX2.0

I bought a new sx2.0 in 2004. It had 7km on it when I drove it off the lot. The first two years I owned it I agreed with all the good things you had to say about it. It is amazing on gas, roomy and handles well. For the past year I have been getting a water leak coming down the floor board under the glove box on the passanger side. (I have always parked on the same hill.) When it rains, as soon as I start to drive it I can hear the water starting to splatter near the front right wheel and within a minute water starts to pour down the floor. I have taken my car in nine times. I got it back last Wednesday and they thought they had it this time because two other cars had come in with the same problem and they thought they had compared and pinpointed the problem and fixed all three. Today is Monday, less than a week later. It rained last night and this morning my car once again leaked. I figure they have had my car for a total of 5-6 months this year trying to fix it. Last time I took it in the mechanic actually admitted that he thinks he can't fix it. So, my questions to you is, do you know of a car that is comparable in mileage and has all the frills of my car, but doesn't leak? After a year of taking it in I'm ready for a new car. I'd like to stay with Dodge purely because I expect a top trade in and a major deal on a car for having to deal with all the leaks this year! Christine Gerry

As soon as i read over Christine's tale on the SX2.0 I called up the owner of the car on which I had done the review to see if he had experienced any leaking but he said he did not but like Christine he had been forced to trade the car off. He said that though the car was economical to drive and its handling was excellent it required a huge amount of money to keep it up and do the repairs that it seemed to constantly require. One of the problems he had with the car over the four years he drove it was that when ever it went into the shop for repairs, even the most basic things, the dealerships in both Winnipeg and Regina did not have the parts on hand and in most cases needed about two weeks to get the parts just for it to be fixed. When the car was broken into and some damage done, it require more than a month for the replacement whale tail to arrive and be installed. The former owner liked the features of the car just as Ms Gerry points out, but he had to get rid of it because the cost of up keep exceeded his budget. So drivers in Internet Land, what does Christine Gerry do to replace this car that needs a bilge pump. What reasonably priced car offers inexpensive operations but is supported by a dealer. The base line cars of today are General Motors Cobalt, Ford's Focus, Toyota Echo and Honda's Civic. The SX2.0 actually has more features than the Cobalt and Focus and is larger than the Echo and Civic but its low price make it an attractive buy. To get the same kind of things in a Ford you would need to look at the more expensive Fusion and similarly the Civic is a price point or two higher. So tell us what you think about a reasonable new car for economic and safe transportation.

Timothy W. Shire

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