my daughter has a 1998 honda accord that loses power and stops as she’s driving in traffic. she has had it looked at by honda and her mechanic that she trusts. she has had repairs totaling over $500 and it still dies out. there is a recall on this year honda for the ignition switch but honda says the vin number is not in the recall. i’m thinking maybe it should be. what do you think?
hi,
there are 2 recalls on the ignition switch.
Make : HONDA Model : ACCORD Year : 1998
Manufacturer : AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. Mfr’s Report Date : MAY 13, 2002
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 02V120000
N/A
NHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 100000
Make : HONDA Model : ACCORD Year : 1998
Manufacturer : AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. Mfr’s Report Date : OCT 24, 2003
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 03V423000
EA03018
NHTSA Action Number: EA03018
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 563861
you can check for all recalls at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/
hope this helps,
Bill
You might get some more help if you could tell us what the dealer and mechanic said and did. As for the recall, if the VIN is not included, then it means it did not come with the part design as failed. It likely is newer and has the same part they would have used as a replacement. So no the recall appears to not involve your car and is likely a different issue.
The dealer said it was either something with the distributer cap or it needed new plugs and wires. The mechanic said it wasn’t the wires and plugs. He put in new ignitor. It was some kind of kit that included the rotor and stuff. The repairs cost about $500 and the car still stops suddenly while driving. After 5 or 10 minutes it usually starts again.
An ignition switch can, and does fail, even on cars that are not under a recall.
It’s not likely at all the problem is related to the plugs, wires, or cap.
Without knowing if the problem is fuel or spark related about all I can offer is a few suggestions and that’s on top of the ignition switch.
Fuel pump going bad, main relay, corroded fusible link end, are some.
What you might consider doing is allowing the car to idle in the drive until it quits. Hurriedly spray some aerosol carb cleaner into the air intake or a vacuum hose. Try to start it then.
If it runs momentarily then odds are it could be a faulty main relay or bad fuel pump. The former can even be knocked out by the latter over time.
If it does not start or sputter then it could be the main relay or the ignition switch (electrical). Even the ignition switch can take a beating from a worn and dragging fuel pump.
It’s all connected and one thing can influence another.
I think that you ae at their mercy. If there is not a recall on this VIN, fix it yourself. If Honda changes it’s mind and includes this VIN, you will be reimbursed.
It may be a faulty ignition switch, that causes loss of electrical power, which cuts everything off. The loss of EVERYTHING electrical, even if only momentarily, would be from the ignition switch. If the A/C fan, radio, etc, still run, it’s caused by something else.
On Hondas, the two common TYPES of problems are: when the cabin of the car is hot, the car won’t start until the cabin cools (windows open); and when the car is running (moving) and the car stalls…minuets, hours, later starts easily.
The no-start with a hot cabin is often a problem with the PGM-FI Relay (controls power for fuel pump or fuel injectors) under the top of the dashboard.
Stalling can be from ignition components inside the distributor. I think that it’s better to change the distributor with a remanufactured distributor, rather than change each component inside the distributor.
Here is a helpful link that your mechanics can read to “refresh” their memories on problems with Hondas (and,other cars). You can download, and print this information for your mechanics www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html Then, click on the particular problem.