NHTSA Complaint #10028740 — 2002 HONDA ODYSSEY

WHEN DRIVING MY ODYSSEY, NORMALLY IN THE 30-50 MPH RANGE, ALL OR MOST OF THE DASHBOARD INDICATOR AND WARNING LIGHTS WILL FLASH INTERMITTENTLY FOR A BRIEF SECOND OR TWO. THE NUMEROUS (25 + ) TIMES THIS HAS HAPPENED IS FRIGHTENING BECAUSE ONE THINKS THE VAN HAS STALLED. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO PATTERN OR CONNECTION SUCH AS PLAYING/NOT PLAYING RADIO, A/C, AMOUNT OF GAS, ETC. . . I WILL SAY 75-85% OF THE OCCURENCES HAPPEN ON THE ROAD LEADING TO OUR SUBDIVISION (USUALLY 30-50 MPH DRIVING). ALSO, I'M SURE THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANCES I HAVE MISSED IT BECAUSE IT CAN HAPPEN SO QUICKLY; ONE ACTUALLY HAS TO BE LOOKING AT THE PANEL. HONDA SAYS TO DRIVE THE VAN SINCE IT IS NOT STALLING AND THERE APPEARS TO BE NO INHERENT DANGER. HONDA'S POLICY IS THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING UNTIL THEY REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. INTERESTING! WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO WHEN IT HAPPENS --- THERE'S NO TIME TO TAKE A PICTURE. I'VE CONSIDERED RUNNING A VIDEO CAMERA, BUT IT'S SO UNPREDICTABLE WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN. THERE SEEMS TO BE ABOUT A DOZEN DIFFERENT INSTANCES OF THIS HAPPENING (ACCORDING TO HONDA), BUT THEY CANNOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. GUESS WHAT? THE REPLICATION IS NOT LIKELY GOING TO HAPPEN UNLESS A SERVICE MANAGER OR TECHNICIAN TAKES TEMPORARY OWNERSHIP OF ONE OF THESE VEHICLES FOR A MONTH OR TWO. SOMETIMES THE FLASHING OCCURS ONCE EVERY MONTH OR TWO, MAYBE SEVERAL TIMES IN ONE DAY OR A WEEK. JUST BECAUSE THE SERVICE TECHNICIANS CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, DOES THAT MEAN SOME OF US ARE HALLUCINATING? IS ANYTHING BEING DONE OR EXPLORED BASED ON THE INFORMATION GIVEN. HONDA, IMAGINE THIS: IF YOU ACTUALLY REPLICATED THE PROBLEM AND SAW ALL THE DASHBOARD PANEL WARNING AND SERVICE LIGHTS FLASH, WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN TO YOU AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO? THIS IS NOT IMAGINARY! I AM KEEPING WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF EACH TIME THIS ISSUE IS CHECKED AND REPORTED, MAINLY FOR POST-WARRANTY ISSUES.*AK