1998 Honda Accord

I OWN AND DRIVE A '98 HONDA ACCORD EX 4-CYLINDER WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN HAVING A ROUGH SHIFT IN THE 2ND GEAR FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR WHEN DRIVING THE CAR FROM STATIONARY TO MOVING. BUT THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE ON THE HIGHER GEARS. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ON HIGHWAYS TILL FEW WEEKS AGO. AROUND THE 15TH OF DEC 2007 I SUDDENLY STARTED TO HAVE VIBRATIONS IN THE CAR AND STRANGE HITTING NOISES CAME FROM THE ENGINE WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE CAR FELT DRAGGING ON THE HIGHWAY (I270S) WHICH PANICKED ME AND I HAVE TO GIVE MORE GAS TO PULL TO SAFETY. THE CAR STILL RUST, BUT I'M NOT USING IT FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW BECAUSE OF FEAR OF GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD CASES WITH SIMILAR TRANSMISSION ISSUES WHERE THE CAR DOWN SHIFTS TO 2ND GEAR SUDDENLY ON A HIGHWAY WITHOUT ANY WARNING, WHICH WILL LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT WITH THE CAR COMING BEHIND ME. DEALER SAYS THAT TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED WITH A COST OF AROUND $3200. I REFERRED THE CASE TO AMERICAN HONDA, BUT THEY REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING TO RESOLVE THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON MY CAR IS AROUND 105000 BUT THE PROBLEM STARTED WHEN IT HAD AROUND 93000 MILES. THE 90000 MILE SERVICE WAS DONE AT THE RIGHT TIME AND THE TRANSMISSION OIL WAS CHANGED AT THAT TIME USING GENUINE HONDA MANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION OIL. I ALSO HAVE CHANGED ENGINE OIL REGULAR AND DONE ALL MAINTENANCE AS PER THE SCHEDULES PROVIDED IN THE '98 HONDA ACCORD MANUAL. THE CAR HAD BEEN UNDER PROFESSIONAL CARE ALL THROUGH THE TIME I OWNED. THIS TRANSMISSION RELATED ISSUE IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE WHICH WAS ADDRESSED IN THE 2001, 2002 AND 2003 HONDA ACCORDS BY VOLUNTARY RECALLS BY HONDA MOTOR CORPORATION. HONDA HAD CHANGED THE TRANSMISSIONS ON THESE CARS TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. BUT THAT RECALL NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED TO THE 1998 MODEL CARS AS WELL BECAUSE THE ACCORD MODEL HAD BEEN COMPLETELY REDESIGNED IN 1998 WHEN, I BELIEVE, THIS PROBLEM HAD ORIGINALLY STARTED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 HONDA ACCORD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HIS VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED IN MAY OF 2002 FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V423000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH). FIVE YEARS LATER, WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER STATED THAT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS ALREADY REPAIRED UNDER THE RECALL, THEY WOULD NO LONGER ASSUME LIABILITY. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 105,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 HONDA ACCORD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS DEFECTIVE AND WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 02V120000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH). THE ENGINE WOULD OCCASIONALLY SHUT OFF WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND CONFIRMED THAT THE CAUSE WAS THE IGINITION SWITCH. THE CONTACT HAD THE VEHICLE REPAIRED PREVIOUSLY, BUT IT FAILED AGAIN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 246,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,068. UPDATED 01/29/08 *BF

(1) NORMAL 1 HOUR COMMUTE TO AND FROM WORK. (2) AS I PULL AWAY FROM A STOP, THE TRANSMISSION EITHER FAILS TO GO INTO 2ND GEAR OR REVS TO ABOUT 5000 RPM THEN LURCHES INTO SECOND GEAR. FREQUENT DROPS WILL OCCUR. ONCE CAR IS INTO THIRD GEAR THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS. THIS HAPPENS ON A DAILY BASIS NOW, AND I HAVE HAD ABOUT FIVE TIMES WHERE I HAVE BEEN IN FENDER BENDERS BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENT TRANSITION THE TRANSMISSION WILL MAKE WHEN THROWING THE CAR FROM SECOND TO FIRST. (3) HAVE TRIED REPLACING TRANSMISSION FLUID/FILTER TO NO AVAIL. CALLED HONDA DEALER FOR POSSIBLE RECALL. WHILE HONDA ACKNOWLEDGES THERE IS A PROBLEM, THEY WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. NEW TRANNY TO COST AROUND $3000. CAR HAS ABOUT 140K MILES. *TR

FOLLOW UP TO PHONE COMPLAINT 10/11/07 3:50 PM PST. NO REFERENCE NUMBER, TOLD 4 TO 6 WEEKS BEFORE I GET FORM TO REVIEW AND ANOTHER 4 TO 6 WEEKS TO REVIEW. I DECIDE TO USE WEBSITE. I'M ORIGINAL OWNER OF 1998 HONDA ACCORD LX . ON 9/24/02 IGNITION SWITCH WAS RECALLED AS ENGINE STOPS RUNNING WHEN DRIVING. DID NOT FIND RECALL ON YOUR WEBSITE, HAVE COPY IF NEEDED. DEALER IS BILL PEARCE 780 KIETZKE LANE RENO NV 89502 TEL 775-789-7999 WHO COMPLETED WARRANTY WORK ON 10/12/02. DAUGHTER OWNS CAR AND MOVED TO LAS VEGAS IN AUGUST A FEW DAYS LATER ENGINE CUT OFF AT A STOP SIGN. AFTER TALKING WITH OUR MECHANIC HE THOUGHT IT MIGHT DUE TO KEY CHIP AS CAR STARTED RIGHT UP OR ONE TIME OCCURRENCE IT WAS 112 DEGREES. ON 10/5/07 DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY ENGINE TURNS OFF AT 70 MPH. TRIES TO PULL OVER CAR RECYCLES AND STARTS. SPOKE TO OUR MECHANIC ASKS ABOUT IGNITION SWITCH RECALL. DEALER CONFIRMS THEY REPLACED THE PART. MECHANIC SAID ITS UNLIKELY TO BE IGNITION SWITCH IF REPLACED. DAUGHTER INQUIRED WITH LOCAL MECHANICS WHO GAVE VARIOUS SOLUTIONS. I ELECT TO RETRIEVE CAR. SHE IS A FULL-TIME STUDENT WITH 22 CREDITS COULD NOT AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT CAR OR SPEND TIME SEEING IF AN UNKNOWN MECHANIC RESOLVE. DRIVING BACK TO RENO ENGINE STOPS AGAIN. GOING ABOUT 70 MPH ABLE TO PULL OVER. DRIVE HOME CLOSE TO RODE SIDE. MY MECHANIC WORKS ONLY ON HONDA AND TOYOTA (OWN THREE HONDA CARS). HE DETERMINES ITS IGNITION SWITCH. DEALER CONFIRMS TO HIM PART WAS REPLACED. BUT HAD NO RECORD OF PART COMING OUT OF INVENTORY AND VIN WAS NOT PUNCHED FOR RECALL REPLACEMENT. DEALER WOULD NOT REPLACE WITHOUT CHARGING (I CAN FORWARD PAPER WORK ON REPAIR AND OTHER ISSUES THAT OCCURRED AFTER THEY REPAIR. CONCERN/COMPLAINT, IF REPLACED WHY ALMOST 5 YRS TO DATE ISSUE RE-OCCURRED. IS MANUFACTURER PART STILL DEFECTED? HAVE THERE BEEN OTHER CONSUMER COMPLAINTS? ODD ORIGINAL RECALL WAS 5 YRS FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE 10/31/97, HAVE INVOICE IF NEEDED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE THE CONTACT'S DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO LOSE POWER. AS SHE PULLED TO THE SHOULDER, THE VEHICLE RESET ITSELF AND REGAINED NORMAL ACCELERATION. THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS RECALLED ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2002 AND WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER. FIVE YEARS LATER, IN OCTOBER OF 2007, THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE RECURRED. WHILE DRIVING TO THE DEALER REGARDING THE IGNITION FAILURE, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE AND THEY WILL NOT REPAIR IT A SECOND TIME. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 98,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000. * UPDATED 12/12/07 *BF

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 HONDA ACCORD. THE CONTACT PURCHASED FOUR GRAND AM LXE TIRES. WHILE DRIVING 60MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN SHAKING AND THE TIRES WEREN'T MAKING PROPER CONTACT WITH THE ROAD. THE TWO FRONT TIRES WERE WORN, UNEVEN AND THE TREAD BEGAN TEARING APART. THE REMAINING TREAD DEPTH IS APPROXIMATELY 5/32. THE TIRE MILEAGE AT THE TIME THE FAILURE OCCURRED WAS UNKNOWN. THE TIRE PRESSURE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE TIRE SIZE WAS P205/65R15. THE DOT NUMBER WAS 08407540. PICTURES AVAILABLE. THE CURRENT AND VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WERE 157232.

(1) MY 1998 HONDA ACCORD (V6 COUPE) BEGAN JERKING AND FAILING TO ACCELERATE. AFTER REPEATED OCCURRENCE OF THIS, I TOOK MY CAR TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM (2) IT WAS DETERMINED THAT TRANSMISSION, SPECIFICALLY, THE TORQUE CONVERTER FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. (3) THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH A REFURBISHED TRANSMISSION. *TR