Problems with 1998 Honda Accord ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. after turning the key in the ignition, the key must remain in the run position to keep the vehicle on, even while driving. the key is currently stuck in the ignition. the vehicle was taken to a mechanic and the contact was informed that the ignition lock assembly needed to be replaced. afterwards, he will be able to take the vehicle to the dealer to reprogram the key. the current and failure mileages were 176,360.

Subject: 1998 honda accord 117,000 miles. events that led to complaint: vehicle engine and all electrical completely shuts down leaving no control over vehicle: no lights, no brakes, no steering, no signals, no check engine light. a sudden and complete loss of vehicle control with 2-3 kids in car and 2 adults. we went on line for recall notices and found the following: compliant: recall # 02v120000,may 16th, 2002' & 03v423000 oct 27,2003' "ignition switch contacts worn out causing the engine to stall with out warning". "catastrophic failure!" honda of oxnard replaced part back on may 2002' with same faulty part. registered compliant 4/3/08 without resolution with honda america and honda of oxnard dch: honda america case # n012008-04-0200208 - senior regional case manager:jamahl brown 1-800-999-1009 x118263. jamahl asked that we take the subject car in to dch honda of oxnard for diagnostic to confirm failure. failure was confirmed by clint stremcha-service tech, rose siela - service manager, to be the "ignition switch"! same as recalled part. i brought the results back to jamahl brown at honda america and he said he would not perform any good will because of age of vehicle. i stated to him that this car was still on the round transporting kids to and from school daily. a catastrophic failure of this magnitude could cause great bodily injury or death. he replied that is my problem and that i need to keep the vehicle serviced. i further explained this part is not a serviceable part like brakes and oil are. i also said i have a honda that has 200,000 miles that is still on the road without incident. i asked him why did he ask me to take the car to honda to it get diagnosed to confirm the failed part? with out answering the question he said he would stand by his decision not offer me any financial support or solution to this failure. end of explanation. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. the contact stated that the horn was inoperable. the vehicle was not inspected or repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 45,000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. the contact stated that on five separate occasions, while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle completely shut off without warning. the vehicle was restarted after approximately five minutes. the vehicle was taken to a dealer, but they could not locate the cause of the failure. the vehicle was then taken to another mechanic and they stated that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 02v120000 (electrical system:ignition:switch). the current mileage is 118,238 and failure mileage was 117,000. updated 07/03/08

I had car accident and two days after i had picked up car from body shop i notice that a a noise . i called the insurance and the rep. said to take car back to shop. i did and from what the insurance and we're told the car just needed an alingment., i remember hearing a loud heavy sound on left front end of car on passenger side and all of the sudden the car looses control . i rememberd the vehicle was on its roof i, felt arm getting burn by fire . it seemed that the roof of vehicle was not protected.and did not server it purpose . my speed was about 25 30 mph . the left front side and wheel were sticking out from body frame of car . the same side where shop had made, repairs and the arm axel had been replaced just few days before per insurance request . the insurance had used and after market in invoice . if we check all of the parts the car had put in and the extend of the damage and the wheel not align with body of car along with the loud sound and jolt i felt could only show the neglect and the lack of safety . *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

1998 honda accord ex 4-door: horn functions intermittently. while driving straight ahead (normal highway driving), horn usually does not work. isolated the malfunction and found that the steering shaft is only intermittently grounded, and the horn requires that ground in order to function. the horn (and the steering shaft ground) operates perfectly when the key is removed from the ignition switch. it appears that something in the ignition switch is causing the loss of ground. this year and model vehicle has already had two different recalls for different problems with the ignition switch. i know of at least 2 other people with identical symptoms, and one of them has already had an accident that would have been avoided with a working horn. as far as i know, this vehicle has never been in an accident. the failure has not been repaired as of yet. *tr

98 honda accord, car went dead while driving 30 mph, coasted into lot and restarted. ran fine. 2 weeks later car went dead while traveling 60 mph, turned key while driving, car restarted, kept driving. car has been in for earlier, 2003 or 2004 , ignition recall. do not know if replaced. now at dealer, who stated they could not find find anything. very dangerous. has this issue been fixed?*ak

Engine light won't turn off! over the last several years, i have taken this in to my mechanic and he checks it and finds nothing wrong and turns it off. a couple weeks later, it comes on again! i'm sick of this. this is supposed to be a good car. but i think the 1998 is a lemon. *tr

My car shut off when i was in the highway doing 60 m.p.h, this car was recall in 2002 for a ignition switch that was bad. it was replaced but unfortunately i'm having the same problems. i'm very thankful that it was early in the day and not rush hour or anything could had happen.

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. the contact stated that the vehicle stalls and has to be restarted each day. he also stated that occasionally the vehicle does not start on the first attempt. the vehicle was repaired under nhtsa campaign id number 02v120000 (electrical system:ignition:switch) in september of 2002. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the ignition switch failed. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current mileage was 130,000 and failure mileage was 127,000. updated 10/10/07 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. the contact is experiencing the same failure with his vehicle as noted in recall # 02v120000 (electrical system:ignition:switch). he has taken the vehicle to the honda dealer for inspection, however, the paperwork does not provide a remedy or state whether or not the component has been previously replaced. the contact would like clarification regarding this as well as the remedy for the recall. the current mileage is 153,000 and failure mileage was 140,000.

During the last 6 months i began having problems with my ignition locking up and car would not start & occasionally the car would stop running while in motion for no reason. the dash lights would all flash and then lock-up & die. i checked online and discovered there had been two recalls on my 98 honda accord lx, ignition switch and interlock. i phoned my local dealer, honda of ocala and they gave me an appt. for 10/20/06. they took a look at my car and then tried to sell me other services. i asked that they only fix the two recalls as scheduled. i waited for 1 1/2 hours and then was informed that the ignition switch was bad but i would have to pay $205.00 if i wanted it fixed because it had already been fixed. they couldn't tell me where or when this was. i refused to pay for a recall that was supposed to be done free of charge. after making me wait another 35 minutes my car was returned. i asked about the interlock recall, had it been fixed? he said no you'll have to call and make another appt. this appt. was for both recalls. they had my car for over 2 hrs and did nothing. i went home and called honda of america. i spoke with a rep that took my complaint. on 10/23 i was told by both reps that my only option was paying labor and getting it done at honda of ocala. i did not want to return to this specific dealership due to them treating me so miserably at the first appt. i have no records that this recall was ever fixed. my parents were the previous owner's and they don't either. regardless the part is obviously defective as this is not normal and should be covered in full, free of charge by this recall. *nm

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.

Dt*: the contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, it intermittently would not start without warning. the vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop, who was unable to duplicate the problem with the starter assembly. although a diagnostic test was performed, no failure codes were produced. the manufacturer was not contacted.

Key will not start the car - ignition problem - car dies going down the road and all of the lights start to flash. *nm

The car is a 1998 honda accord lx v-6 coupe w/ auto trans. and now has 65700 miles on it. while driving at low speeds the engine sometimes died. when this happened the steering became difficult and the brakes did not function well. most times after the car came to a complete stop i was able to restart it. other times when i tried to start the car, it would start and then immediately die. i would have to wait 2- 4 hours to start. at still other times trying to start it, it would just crank on the starter motor and not start at all. sometimes i would have to wait overnight to successfully start the car. these problems have been occurring since 2003, but with increasing frequency in the past 2 months. i have taken it to two different honda dealers. the first merely sprayed carp cleaner into the throttle body. the second kept the car for three days and replaced the main relay. last year, i had to have the alternator, which seized up replaced. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while driving between 30-65 mph, the engine failed suddenly without warning. an nhtsa recall, #02v120000 was performed on the vehicle concerning, the electrical system: ignition: switch however; the recall did not remedy the problem. the dealership would not offer a second repair without charge under the recall.

1998 honda accord car refused to start in hot weather honda dealer replaced main ele. relay located inside of passenger compartment i was told solder had started to melt preventing car from starting work done 6/8/2006. *nm

Faulty ignition switch on 1998 honda accord causes car to die while driving. same problem has been source of recall for many vehicles of this year and make but not my car. *jb

I am a first hand owner of a 1998 honda accord ex coupe, the car has exhibited failure of the ignition switch since 2 months (march 2006) ago. one time i was driving about 65 miles at freeway 15, all the sudden the car just stall and lost all power; no dashboard lights, no air-conditioning and car engine stall. fortunately, there was not much traffic and i was on a downhill slope, so the car gained some momentum and i was able to pull it to the right shoulder. the same thing happened 3 times on local streets. when i took the car to my mechanic, he said the ignition switch failed. he told me that there was a recall on accord ignition switch and suggested that i call honda to find out the details. i didn't received any notice of recall regarding ignition switch failure. i did received one regarding ignition switch interlock operation (campaign id# 03v423000) which i had fixed. i call honda customer service today and they said that my vin# was not included in the recall of the ignition switch failure (campaign id# 02v120000), they will not pay for the cost of repair. but my car is exhibiting the exact behavior as describe in the recall (ignition switch failure caused car engine stall without warning while driving) the car was running fine before the incident happened, i believe this is a failure caused by manufacturing defect of the car and my car(vin#) should be included in the recall! *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at various speeds the engine stalls without warning and intermittently the vehicle does not start. there is a nhtsa recall, # 02v120000 regarding the electrical system: ignition: switch. the vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall; however it is not included in the recall due to the vin. the dealership has been alerted. the interlock switch has been replaced due to bulletin #03-088 however; this did not correct the problem.

Ignition switch failure for the second time over five years. honda recalled this item once and now they are charging me for a second replacement. $154.00. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at various speeds the vehicle stalled without warning. a nhtsa recall, #02v120000 was performed in late 2002 concerning, the electrical system: ignition: switch. when the recall work was performed there were no problems with the vehicle. since december of 2005, the vehicle has been having the problems associated with the recall. the dealership would not offer a second repair without charge under the recall. updated 7/13/2006 - *nm

I boughy my 98 honda accord with 87000 miles. 1 year later with less than 100000 miles my transmission went completly out. it was $3000 to fix. 2 years later with only 140000 miles my transmission went out again. $3000 to fix. it now has 170000 miles and is starting to slip. it also stalls with no warning. it has stalled many times in the middle of an intersection. honda replaced the ignition switch 1 month ago and since it has continued to stall. honda will no longer fix it. *nm

Car did fine for a while then it went crazy on us. accelerator petal sticks, brake lights don't work, horn does not work, cruise control does not work, door locks wouldn't work, front left blinker works only sometimes! *tr

Dt: the contact received a recall letter in february or march 2005 .that same week the car stopped. she called the dealer, and the dealer was hostile, and told her she would have to pay for the repair. she was going to have to have the car towed to dealer. however, she called before she took vehicle to the dealer. she went to dealer on 9-7-05, and the person in charge was not there. on 9-14-05 she went to the dealer again, and he was hostile. dealer told the contact that there might be something else wrong with the car. the dealer finally looked it up in the computer and said they would service it under the recall. he told her she could bring the car anytime. the contact advised the dealer that she would bring the vehicle tomorrow, and he told her he would not be there. he was evasive about when she should bring the car in.*ak

Dt: caller received manufacturer's recall 03088 concerning ignition switch key interlock. the key would come out in any gear, and the dealer tried to fix it. currently, the key will not come out when it is in park. dealer will not fix it unless caller pays for it. manufacturer has not been contacted yet. caller took vehicle to dealer on july 18, 2005 to get it fixed.*ak

During periods of wet weather, high humidity, power door locks do not work, and right side power windows do not function from driver's seat locationl. no parts replaced. problem seems to resolve itself when humidity drops and things dry out.

I have owned this car for two years and have had two axles replaced, as well as rotors and breaks replaced twice. the brakes wear, the rotors had to be replaced, the horn does not function properly when pushed. recently i went to get an inspection sticker and failed because of the emissions part. my check engine light does not work because a bulb is malfunctioning which means there is no sensor, my three way catalytic converter needs to be replaced and there is supposedly a problem with my fuel tank evaporative emission valve. recently my car has shut off while i was in drive and continued to roll. it has also turned off while i was driving up a hill and would not start for ten minutes. i have invested almost 1500 dollars in repairs for this car and i would like honda to repair and hopefully reimburse me for past repairs. *nm

Dt: the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. she is having problems with the ignition switch . some of the 1998-1999 honda accords were recalled for this problem ,but the dealer told consumer that her vehicle was not covered under the recall due to vin. she stated that while driving about 65 mph the car will shut off, and the steering will lock up. dealer said it had something to do with faulty wiring to the ignition switch. there was another recall on the vehicle for the ignition switch . she did qualify for the first recall but not for this one.*ak

When using the horn it would not shut off. consumer pulled over and removed the horn fuse. dealership informed the consumer that the horn was sticking to air bag. *ak

1) nothing noticeable. car was able to start all the time cold and warm. 2) car all of sudden stalled while driving. when step on gas pedal car did not accelerate. it just silently stalled. center console where shift-selector indicator has no power while radio, hazardous signals were working after the stall. weren't able to restart right away. however after about 45 sec to 1 min, car started normally. 3) dealer wanted to replace iac valve and main relay on my expense but will not verify the ignition switch is functioning properly that was replaced 2 years earlier except that an updated ignition switch was already installed. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda. the contact experienced a duplicate failure per nhtsa recall #02v120000 regarding the ignition switch. when the ignition was engaged the vehicle didn't start normally, the engine shut off and occasionally started again. honda stated that this was not recall related, and that he needed to have the ignition switch column replaced. the dealer diagnosed all of the components except the ones that were related. a local mechanic stated that there was nhtsa recall on this year, make, and model vehicle. the failure mileage was 85,000, and the current mileage was 106000.*ak

I parked my car in my driveway friday night and took the keys out of the ignition the car was still in drive. the car rolled down my driveway, into the yard, and hit a tree with no one in the vehicle. since there was no key in the ignition the airbags did not deploy. i did some research and realized that there had been a recall on my car for this very reason, but i had not been notified about this recall. i contacted honda and they said that i had not been notified because the car still had the previous owners info in their system. i bought the car from a honda dealership, yet they said that it was my responsibility to contact them to change the information over to allow them to contact me with recall information. is there anything that can be done about this. would honda not have some responsibility in the accident?*ak

The horn failed to work intermittently. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

Unable to remove key from ignition after turning off car in the "park" position. *ak

The vehicle failed to start when the key was turned in the ignition, two months after the ignition switch recall 03v423000 was performed. *jb

Notice ref: honda lawyer statement on recall notice july 2004 ref. letter to nvsc on 01072015 this is recent notice to bh, ie beaverton honda, i am still am complaining that beaverton honda has continued an ongoing refusal to repair / replace ?? with honda accord lx ??starter switch?? y 98 problem i have purchased new from b-h, which shuts off the engine at 50-60 mpg on the interstate highway. i have had this car in for maintenance repeated;u at bh maintenance dept. on canyon rd. with this complaint for several years, including 2004,5,6,7,8,9,2010,11,12,13,14. t question: have you changed your position, of, refusal, to replace this defective part.? do you still need recall statements, which i have provided you in the past?. ref see recall notice honda lawyer statement on recall notice july 2004 letter http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/acm2840814/rcdnn-03v423-6128.pdf information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

After the ignition switch repair was performed nhtsa recall #03v423000. the car was in worse shape than it was before. honda refused to repair the car, despite the fact that the vehicle was fine when it was brought into the dealership. *jb

Dt: had to different parts on the vehicle for the igition switch and the inner lock switch. there was a recall on the egr for the exhaust emission.. had recall repairs done, but the vehicle still did not function properly. contacted the three dealers, and manufacturer and still had no help from either. these problems starting happening about a year ago around june 29, 2004. after they fixed the igition switch it was good for about 3 months. then, vehicle competely stalled while driving on the road. *ak

I have a 1998 honda accord ex coupe v6. i recently had the cable reel assembly fail on this vehicle (pn: 77900-s84-a22). this is the part that attaches the electrical connections from the steering wheel to the rest of the car. this part failed causing all of my switches on my steering wheel to fail and there is a high likelyhood that the airbag was inoperable also. the honda dealer told me that these parts almost allways fail on 1998 honda accords. this part is critical to the operation of the airbag, and this creates a safety issue. honda does not list a recall for this issue on this vehicle. someone should look into this issue to see if a recall needs to be made.*ak

My cars stalls in the middle of driving. it is incredibly dangerous. when i searched the recalls for 98 accords, it came back as saying that there is a recall for this exact problem (electrical system ignition switch) on other 1998 honda accords. however, honda says my vin is not part of that recall.

Horn works only on rare occasions, primarily when wheel is turned sharply to either direction. dealer has stated that this is a known problem, but it will take several hundred dollars to fix, which includes replacing part of the driver air bag assembly. over time, the problem has worsened, and dealer says it it likely the horn will eventually fail completely.*ak due to financial difficulties, i do not have the money to fix, thus i no longer have a working horn. i am concerned that the air bag may also fail in an accident. i notice that there have been at least 5 other complaints about this problem, yet no investigation or recall has been initiated. this is a serious and known safety defect which needs to be addressed. many owners of these cars may have non-working horns and not even realize it until it is too late.

Consumer states roof leaks when it rains. she does not think dealer will take care of it because the warranty doesn't cover it. consumer received a recall notice for ignition switch.*ak

1998 honda accord was turned off and key removed while vehicle was in drive. after leaving the car, it rolled backwards into a guardrail, causing damage to left rear bumper and left rear panel. this occurred on 2/11/04. two days later we received recall notice from honda acknowledging ignition failures that could potentially cause such incidents. we have contacted honda and they are "dragging their heels" to take responsibility for the costs to have this repaired.*ak

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 honda accord. the contact is able to start the engine with any key other than the actual vehicle key. she has started the vehicle with her home keys. in addition, the vehicle stops abruptly when slowing down and driving over 10 mph. in 2004, she received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign id number 03v423000 (electrical system:ignition:switch). the dealer stated that they repaired the interlock shift; however, the recall mentioned that it should have been replaced. the contact believes that the recall repair was performed incorrectly and should be remedied again for free. the failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 99,000.

The consumer received a recall notice and contacted the dealer. the dealer informed the consumer that they are not making appointment because they do not have the parts. recall 03v423000 subject: ignition switch. *nm

Onseveral occasions car would not start when parked on incline. after a few hours car would start. check engine light was lit at this time. took to dealer and he indicated to me that it was a catalytic converter problem. dealer referred to emission specialist. i had the catalytic converter replaced and reset check engine light. check engine light turned back on after a few days, car would not start after a couple of weeks. i took the car to a local mechanic, he could not find the problem. now car stalls while at least once a week while in use. i have been parking my car downhill and it starts without a problem. today, on two different occasions car stalled on the road. for some reason i did not receive notice of ignition switch issues and did not have it replaced.*ak