NHTSA Complaint #10065916 — 2000 HONDA CIVIC

AFTER I REPLACED A FAILED BATTERY IN OUR 2000 HONDA CIVIC, THE CAR RAN ROUGH AFTER GETTING WARM AND STALLED TWICE IN TRAFFIC. WHILE NO ONE SUFFERED MORE THAN RATTLED NERVES IN THIS CASE, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE COULD BE INJURED OR KILLED IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. I SUBSEQUENTLY FOUND FROM THE DEALER AT A COST OF $162 THAT THE CAR LOSES TRACK OF ITS IDLE SETTING WHEN THE BATTERY IS REPLACED AND IT HAS TO BE RE-ENTERED. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. THIS IS BOTH A STUPID AND UNSAFE DESIGN, LET ALONE EXPENSIVE. CHANGING A BATTERY IS A COMMON AND ORDINARILY SIMPLE PROCEDURE PRACTICED BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. I THINK HONDA SHOULD HAVE TO SEND WARNING CAR OWNERS OF THIS "FEATURE" OF THEIR CAR AND HOW TO RESET THE CODE THEM SELVES OR WITH INSTRUCTION TO TAKE IT TO A DEALER WHO WILL RESET IT AT NO COST. ALTERNATIVELY, HONDA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO RETROFIT THE CARS WITH NON VOLATILE MEMORY SO THE CAR DOES NOT REQUIRE SUCH SERVICE. I DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS FEATURE WAS ADDED TO HONDA DESIGNS, BUT IT DOES NOT HAPPEN ON OUR EARLIER MODEL. OUR EXPERIENCE MAY BE JUST THE TIP OF A COMING ICEBERG. *JB