1995 Honda Accord

I PURCHASED A SET OF FOUR TIRES FROM COSTCO.COM IN FEBRUARY OF 2006[1]. THEY WERE DELIVERED TO AND INSTALLED AT MY LOCAL COSTCO TIRE CENTER. ON 28 AUG 2009, I EXPERIENCED A TIRE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY THAT WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE RESULT OF ITS VALVE STEM SEPARATING AT THE BASE AND LEADING TO RAPID DEFLATION AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS WAS A NOVEL FAILURE MODE TO ME, BUT I INITIALLY CHALKED IT UP TO BAD LUCK AND HAD THE TIRE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY AT COSTCO. EXACTLY ONE WEEK LATER, I SUFFERED YET ANOTHER TIRE FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEED FOR A DIFFERENT TIRE. THE CAUSE, AS WITH THE FIRST FAILURE, WAS AGAIN THAT THE VALVE STEM HAD SEPARATED AT THE BASE. SUSPICIOUS OF THE COINCIDENCE, A SEARCH OF THE NHTSA/DOT DATABASES REVEALED THAT A RECALL HAD BEEN ISSUED IN MAY OF 2008 FOR THE MODEL OF VALVE STEM INSTALLED IN THE TIRES THAT HAD FAILED[2]. THE COSTCO TIRE CENTER MANAGER I SPOKE WITH CONFIRMED THAT THE RECALLED VALVE STEMS WERE THE SAME MODELS USED BY THEIR TIRE CENTER. BECAUSE OF THE DATE OF PURCHASE/INSTALLATION OF MY TIRES, THE VALVE STEMS THAT WERE INSTALLED ON MY VEHICLE PRECEDES AND IS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL HOWEVER. NOTES: [1] MICHELIN HYDROEDGE P185/70R14 87T [2] HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/RECALLS/RESULTS.CFM?RCL_ID=08T018&SEARCHTYPE=QUICKSEARCH&SUMMARY=TRUE. *TR

2-3 WEEKS AGO NOTICE THE SRS LIGHT IN MY HONDA WAS ON. THE MECHANIC SAID THE DEALER WOULD NEED TO REPAIR. AFTER LOOKING ONLINE I NOTICED THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL ISSUED IN 1996. I CALLED ODI WHO TOLD ME TO CONTACT HONDA HONDA SAID CALL LOCAL DEALER TO REPAIR AFTER CALLING THE SERVICE MGR. WHO SAID THE VEHICLE HAD ALREADY BEEN SERVICED FOR THAT PARTICULAR RECALL AND I WOULD HAVE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE IT REPAIR AT MY OWN COST. HAVE SINCE CALLED HONDA BACK AND THEY WILL "ESCALATE" THE CASE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1995 HONDA ACCORD. WHEN SHIFTING, THE VEHICLE BANGS INTO GEAR AND THE TRANSMISSION JUMPS AND MAKES A LOUD NOISE. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A MEINEKE DEALER AND THEY DIAGNOSED THAT THE MUFFLER AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, AND THE RIMS WERE BENT. THE UNDERBODY OF THE VEHICLE HAS AN INCH AND A HALF GAP, IN WHICH THE INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE CAN BE SEEN. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO HONDA AND THEY STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION, REAR BRAKES, ROTORS, MOTOR MOUNT, AND AIR BAGS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, THE RIMS WERE BENT. THE SPEED AND POWERTRAIN WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 91,027 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,806.

REGARDING MY 1995 HONDA ACCORD V6 EX: LAST YEAR, I WENT ON A SEARCH FOR AN OLDER MODEL HONDA ACCORD TO PURCHASE FOR MY SON TO USE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. I MADE A DOWN PAYMENT ON A 1996 4 CYLINDER SEDAN, ONLY TO FIND THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE ANTI- LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY DISABLED AS A RESULT. THE SRS TEST GIVES VAGUE RESULTS (AS IN - THE AIR BAGS MAY..OR MAY NOT..DEPLOY. I CANCELLED MY PURCHASE. I LOOKED AT 3 OTHER 95-96 ACCORDS AND FOUND THEY ALL HAD THE SRS/ABS LIGHTS ON. THE OWNERS TOLD ME THEY DID NOT WANT TO GO TO THE EXPENSE QUOTED TO REPLACE THE SYSTEM, BECAUSE THEY SAID MOST PEOPLE DON'T CARE IF IT WORKS OR NOT. AIRBAGS? YOU'RE KIDDING. I RESEARCHED AND FOUND IT IS SO COMMON, THERE ENTIRE CHAT GROUPS ON THE SUBJECT AND BUSINESSES BUILT AROUND THE FAULT. THERE ARE EVEN SITES INSTRUCTING OWNERS HOW TO BYPASS THE HONDA PROBLEM, AND HOW TO DISCONNECT THE IDIOT LIGHTS, ETC. I PURCHASED THE ABOVE MENTIONED ACCORD FROM A TRUSTED FRIEND, AND, OF COURSE THE SRS LIGHT AND ABS LIGHTS ARE ON. 4 OUT OF 4 HONDA ACCORDS. THIS ONE, A V6 EX. I DECIDED TO BUY THE 95 EX BECAUSE I SAW A RECALL FOR 95 HONDA ACCORD SRS ONLINE, AND THOUGHT - AT LEAST THEY DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT ON THIS YEAR MODEL. NOW, AFTER SCOURING THE PDF DOCS, I FIND THE RECALL DOES NOT INCLUDE THE V6. AND I FIND THERE ARE SRS RECALLS ON LATER MODEL HONDAS, TOO. THE SRS FAILURE IS OBVIOUS FOR MANY YEARS OF ACCORDS AND OTHER HONDA MODELS. WE EITHER HAVE TO PAY $700 - 1,000 TO REPLACE THEM OR WORRY WE WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES. I'M SURE THE SHEAR NUMBER OF SRS TESTS AND SRS REPLACEMENTS WILL MORE THAN PROVE OUT THE WIDESPREAD PROBLEM. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE FACT THAT PEOPLE DO NOT PAY THAT KIND OF MONEY TO HAVE IT FIXED. IT MAKES YOU WONDER HOW MANY SERIOUS INJURIES HAVE RESULTED DUE TO FAULTY HONDA SRS. THIS RECALL NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. IF YOU CAN OFFER ANY NEW INFO ON MY SRS, I WOULD BE GRATEFUL. *JB

TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 1995 HONDA ACCORD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ON 12/27/1997 THE DEALER INSTALLED A NEW SRS CONTROL UNIT. A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE REPAIR, SHE BEGAN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SRS CONSISTENTLY ENGAGING, AND HAD THE SRS RESET ON FOUR DIFFERENT OCCASIONS SINCE GETTING A NEW ONE ON 12/27/1997. THE SRS LIGHT CONTINUED TO STAY ON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LAST TIME IT WAS RESET WAS 2003, AND A MONTH LATER ,THE LIGHT TURNED ON AGAIN, AND IT HAS BEEN ON EVERY SINCE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL ON THIS COMPONENT, BUT THIS VEHICLE ID NUMBER IS NOT INCLUDED DUE TO THE VIN. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE COULD NOT PASS INSPECTION BECAUSE OF THE SRS LIGHT BEING ON. THE CONTACT WOULD LIKE THE VEHICLE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE SAFETY RECALL. *AK THE CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT AN EXHAUST NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE, SO THE DEALER INSTALLED AN EXHAUST KIT. THE THERMOSTAT AND HEAD GASKET COVER WERE REPLACED. THE TIMING BELT AND CV JOINTS WERE REPLACED. UPDATED 03/30/07. *JB

TL* - THE CONTACT STATED THAT ON THE EVENING OF 12/27/06, WHILE DRIVING HER 1995 HONDA ACCORD LX, AT A SPEED OF 55 MPH, HER AIR BAG UNEXPECTEDLY DEPLOYED ON PASSENGER SIDE OF VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IT WAS ON A CLEAR DAY AND THE ROAD CONDITIONS WERE GOOD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WERE NO INDICATOR LIGHTS PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE AIR BAG JUST DEPLOYED CRACKED THE WINDSHIELD OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE DID FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURE AND WILL SUBMIT FILE # WITH THE HARD COPY. *NM UPDATED 2/22/2007 - *NM UPDATED *JB

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON THE DATE NOTED BELOW WITH ONLY 56,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE DEALER IMPORTS LTD. IN ST . LOUIS, MO PUT THE WORDS EXEMPT ON THE TITLE IN THE PROCESS OF SELLING ME THIS VEHICLE. I DID NOT REALIZE HE PUT THIS ON THE TITLE DUE TO THE FACT THAT I COULD NOT SEE FROM ACROSS HIS DESK WHAT HE WAS WRITING AND I WAS ALSO SO EAGER TO BUY THE VEHICLE THAT I DID NOT READ THE BACK OF THE TITLE UNTIL I GOT TO THE DMV TO REGISTER IT IN MY NAME. I ASKED THE WORKER AT THE DMV WHAT THIS MEANT AND SHE SAID SHE DID NOT KNOW. THE CAR IS A '95 AND WAS CLAIMED TO ONLY HAVE ONE OWNER BUT JUST RECENTLY I STARTED HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY VEHICLE SUCH AS MY TRANSMISSION SHIFTING REALLY HARD AND ACTING AS IF IT IS ABOUT TO GO OUT. AT THIS MOMENT AS I WRITE TO YOU, WHEN I DRIVE MY VEHICLE IT HAS A LOUD RANCID ODOR COMING FROM THE FRONT END. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS THE GEARS IN MY TRANSMISSION THAT ARE BURNT AND PRODUCING THIS OFFENSIVE ODOR. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD SOON GO OUT. NOW THE REASON FOR MY COMPLAINT IS THAT IF THIS CAR ONLY HAD 56,000 MILES ON IT AND I ONLY PUT IN ANOTHER 30,000 (AS OF DATE) AND I KEEP UP WITH THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE OF THE VEHICLE THEN WHY IS MY TRANSMISSION GOING OUT SO EARLY. I HAVE ALSO HAD TO REPLACE MY MOTOR MOUNTS AND FRONT END SWAY BAR LINKS AND WILL SOON HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE DRIVETRAIN. IN MY OPINION ALL OF THESE REPAIRS ARE CONSISTENT WITH A CAR THAT HAS HIGHER MILEAGE. THERE IS POSSIBLY NO WAY THAT CAR WOULD ONLY HAVE 56,000 MILES ON IT AND THE CAR IS OVER 10 YEARS OLD. IT DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT SO COULD SOMEONE PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE MATTER. *NM

BRAKES FAILED BUT ENGINE REVVED UP. HARDER I PUSHED THE BRAKES, THE CAR INCREASED SPEED. ON MOST OCCASIONS, I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO A STOP OR USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. IN THIS INSTANCE, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE DID NOT HOLD AND CRASH OCCURRED. DEALER COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM WHEN INFORMED OF BRAKING ISSUE. IT WAS AN INTERMITTENT ISSUE BUT VERY SCARY. *NM