Speed sensor

The check engine light came on in my 1997 Honda Accord and the OEM diagnostic says it’s PO501 which is a performance problem in CVT speed sensor circuit. My mechanic is on vacation. Is it safe to drive short distances until I can have it fixed?

It should be fine. Your speedometer might not function correctly and your cruise control might not work, but I don’t THINK you’ll run into any performance problems. I would get it checked out as soon as your mechanic is available, though.

I hate to ruin your day, but you’ll probably find that your speedometer & odometer function are gone for good. I have a '97 Accord and we haven’t had a working odo for over two years now. I’ve had it replaced twice. The first one was a replacement part that the local Honda dealer’s service manager had purchased for his '97 Accord - because he knew it was just a matter of time before it failed. That one didn’t work.
I ordered another one from Ebay that was guaranteed to be fully functional. The dealership installed it, test drove it, and called me to come pick it up.
I drove it off the lot and turned around and went right back to the service desk. I said something profound like, “Hey, I thought you said you test drove this thing and it worked!” They assured me that the technician had indeed taken it for a spin and it worked fine.
I left the dealership and, lo and behold, it worked as advertised! For about two miles or twenty minutes, whichever came first. When I got on the highway. it settled into a steady reading of 20mph and has been stuck there ever since.

Don’t take this the wrong way, guys . . .

But that’s what you get when you buy used or “pre-tested” parts

That’s also what you get when you bring the car to a shop and tell them to install a used part you supplied, and don’t pay for a proper diagnosis

If you had just brought your car to a shop . . . without parts in hand . . . and payed for them to diagnose and repair it, I believe the outcome would have been quite different

:smirk:

Some mechanics will let you supply parts if you want to. They will not, of course, guarantee the parts, just their work. You could get the diagnosis, buy the recommended parts, and have the mechanic install them. This is rare, but I know of one shop that does it.

My mechanic replaced the speed sensor and everything works fine. He tried two used ones first but ended up having to put in a new one. It cost $200 for the new part + labor.

Thanks for the feedback AudiWannaBe because others may be helped by this information.

“He tried two used ones first but ended up having to put in a new one.”

That is a good example of why many/most mechanics don’t want to install used parts on a paying customer’s car

No offense intended to anybody