1998 HONDA ACCORD Complaints

PARTS FOR THE IGNITION SWITCH RECALL 02 V 120 00 HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE FOR 8 MONTHS.*AK

TRANSMISSION STARTED TO JERK THEN FAILED IN ALL BUT LOW GEAR DAELER SAYS HONDA HAS SO MANY REQUEST FOR REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSIONS THAN NONE ARE AVAILABLE. *AK

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN '1998 ACCORD LX(2.3L) DOES NOT UP/DOWNSHIFT PROPERLY WHEN COLDONCE ENGINE/TRANS GET UP TO FULL OPERATING TEMP ALL FEELS OK. NO USEFUL RESPONSE FROM HONDA DEALER TO ON GOING PROBLEM (@ LAST YEAR+). *AK

THE TRANSMISSION WAS ROUGH IN SHIFTING WHEN WE FIRST BOUGHT THE CAR, AND NOW THE TRANSMISSION HAS FAILED TOTALLY. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY ONE DAY AND THE TRANSMISSION ALL OF A SUDDEN SWITCHED DOWN TO FIRST GEAR WHILE I WAS GOING 55 MPH. I THOUGH THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS, SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. THEY'RE TELLING ME I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I HAVE 8OK MILES, BUT I FEEL HONDA HAS MADE A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT AND NOW I HAVE TO COME UP WITH THE MONEY FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION. *AK

98 HONDA ACCORD WITH A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAUSED BY A CLOGGED EGR VALVE: I'VE HAD MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN DESIGN PROBLEM FOR HONDA FOR 10+ YEARS.*AK

CONSUMER STATED THAT THE KEY CAN COME OUT THE IGNITION WHETHER THE VEHICLE IS ON OR OFF. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER A HEAD ON COLLISION INTO AN EMBANKMENT. MY SON RECEIVED FACIAL & HEAD LACERATIONS, AN ACUTE CONCUSSION, AND OTHER INJURIES. HE HAD TO BE AIR LIFTED TO A TRAUMA CENTER IN MISSION HILLS, CALIFORNIA FROM PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA. BECAUSE OF HIS INJURIES, HE IS HAVING A LOT OF MEDICAL PROBLEMS THAT HE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD IF THE DRIVERSIDE AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED AS IT WAS MADE TO DO. *AK

TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 85,000 ON 1998, HONDA, ACCORD. DEALER SAYS NEW TRANSMISSION NECESSARY AT $5000.*AK

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35MPH THE VEHICLE WAS IN A HEAD ON ACCIDENT. CONSUMER STATES THAT BOTH OF THE FRONT AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

REFERENCE COMPLAINT #10008215: NHTSA ASSISTED IN ARRANGING A MEETING WITH MIKE MONELL PART/SERVICE DIRECTOR FOR NORM REEVES HONDA AND ERIC CATHERINE, DISTRICT PARTS/SERVICE MGR. FOR AMERICAN HONDA. THE MEETING TOOK PLACE ON 3/24/03 AND I EXPLAINED THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH MY 2003 HYBRID AND MY 1998 ACCORD. THE PRIMARY CONCERN ABOUT THE ACCORD WAS THE RECALL OF ELECTRICAL PORTION OF THE IGNITION SWITCH. NORM REEVES HAD CLAIMED TO INSTALL A COMPLETE IGNITION SWITCH ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF AMERICAN HONDA. AFTER THE ALLEGED REPAIR, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO STALL. I PROPOSED THE FOLLOWING: (1) I BUY THE NEW PART, (2) I WITNESS THE INSTALLATION, AND (3) I RECEIVE THE PART REMOVED. MR. CATHERINE PROMISED TO GET BACK TO ME IN A COUPLE OF DAYS. THIS NEVER HAPPENED. I BOUGHT A NEW PART FROM ANOTHER DEALER AND HAD IT INSTALLED BY AN INDEPENDENT HONDA MECHANIC ON 5/9/03. HIS OPINION WAS THAT NOTHING HAD BEEN DONE AND THAT THE PART REMOVED SHOWED WEAR UNLIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE SHORT INTERVAL. HE ALSO STATED THAT NORM REEVES COULD NOT HAVE REPLACED THE COMPLETE IGNITION, SINCE THAT TYPE OF REPAIR WOULD HAVE NECESSITATED THE RE-PROGRAMMING OF THE KEYS. FURTHER, HONDAS WRITTEN SERVICE BULLETIN 02-031 CLEARLY INSTRUCTS THE DEALER: CENTER-PUNCH A COMPLETION MARK ABOVE THE EIGHTH CHARACTER OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT VIN. NO SUCH MARK APPEARS ON MY VEHICLE. IN VIEW OF THE EVIDENCE, I NOW BELIEVE THAT HONDA HAS ENGAGED IN A FRAUDULENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECALL ORDER. TO FURTHER PROVE THIS ALLEGATION, I SEEK THE ASSISTANCE OF NHTSA TO DETERMINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HAND-WRITTEN NUMBERS ON THE ELECTRICAL SWITCH PART. I HAVE PHOTOGRAPHS OF BOTH THE ORIGINAL PART (35130-S84-A01) AND THE REPLACEMENT PART (35130-S84-305). FURTHER, I NOTE THAT THE RAISED PLASTIC NUMBERS ON THE PARTS DIFFER BY ONE DIGIT. I BELIEVE THAT NHTSA SHOULD ASCERTAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BOTH THE RAISED PLASTIC NUMBERS AND THE HAND-WRITTEN NUMBERS TO DETERMINE WHETHER A NEW INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE INITIATED. *JB