I own a 1999 Honda Odyssey with 130,000 miles. Over the past 6 months I’ve spent $1600 on routine repairs (brakes, alignment, battery, struts, shocks, etc). Now it’s stalling out while driving. The maintenance light flashes followed by a “green key” light, then it stalls out when I’m driving under 30 mph. It does start right up afterwards. The Honda people recommend replacing a worn “ignition lock cylinder” for $700. They ran it for 130 miles and physically banged it on the underside of the steering column to make the car stall out. Should I invest this $700 on this car? Do I need to replace the ignition lock cylinder? I’d prefer to keep the car for another 2-3 years, or do I junk it now before repairs start piling up? Thanks. Roberta.
Nothing you’ve mentioned makes the car out to be a money pit. Its all basic wear & tear stuff. Your two basic choices are to buy or lease a new vehicle every few years and always carry a car payment & high insurance premiums, or keep an older vehicle like yours rolling with fairly regular work on it. The latter is normally actually cheaper - as long as you do keep up with it.
The only thing I’d say about maybe dumping it is that the Odysseys of that vintage had transmissions that were rolling disasters. If that one is the original transmission that’s what you ought to be worried about.
Were you with them? If they actually banged on the column, and you can duplicate it, then a replacement cylinder may be the fix.
Honestly, I’d find someone nearby, rather than the dealer, who can do the repair for you. $700 sounds a tad high, however, it’s possible you won’t be just paying for the ignition cylinder, but the computer programming required with the change of any of those parts. A lot of cars will require the computer to be updated when a key, lock, or similar component is changed.
If it’s running fine other than that, and you can duplicate the problem, then it sounds to me like you’ve found it. A simple fix, rather than replacing the vehicle. Another vehicle will have its own set of problems. Maybe better, maybe worse.
Good luck!