NHTSA Complaint #10136329 — 1999 HONDA ODYSSEY

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 1999 HONDA ODYSSEY A COUPLE WEEKS AGO AND THE HORN BEGAN TO HONK CONTINUOUSLY. SHE IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AS THE INTERIOR BEGAN TO FILL UP WITH ACRID, DARK SMOKE RISING FROM BENEATH THE STEERING COLUMN BY HER LEGS. SHE WAS VERY CONCERNED AND QUICKLY ATTEMPTED TO EXIT THE VAN SINCE THE AMOUNT OF SMOKE WAS BURNING HER EYES. THE DOOR LOCKS DID NOT WORK. AFTER STRUGGLING IN PANIC, SHE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT THE OPEN WINDOW. LUCKILY MY 3 YOUNG CHILDREN WERE NOT IN THE VEHICLE. WITH ENGINE STILL RUNNING AND THE KEY IN HAND, SHE CALLED ME AT WORK. I HAD HER CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT . WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THEY TOO WERE UNABLE TO STOP THE ENGINE BY CUTTING THE BATTERY WIRE AND FINALLY STOPPED THE BURNING OF THE WIRES BY PULLING THE MASTER FUSE. I CONTACTED OUR HONDA DEALER AND THEY REFERRED ME TO HONDA AMERICA. HONDA AMERICA AUTHORIZED OUR SHOP TO DO AN INITIAL TEAR DOWN. AT THAT TIME, THEY FOUND A COMPONENT IN THE STEERING COLUMN THAT SHORTED WHICH CAUSED THE BURNING OF THE WIRES. THE WIRES BURNED COMPLETELY FROM THE FUSE BOARD AND INTO A WIRE HARNESS BUNDLE. NO FUSE WAS BURNED. I DO NOT KNOW YET HOW FAR THE DAMAGE PROGRESSED OR WHAT OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS ARE FRIED BY THIS RUNNING SHORT. AFTER A WEEK OF DELIBERATION, HONDA INFORMED ME THIS MORNING THAT IT WAS A WEAR OUT OF A PART AND OF NO FURTHER CONCERN TO THEM SINCE THE VEHICLE WARRANTY EXPIRED. BEING TRAPPED IN THE VEHICLE WITH WIRES BURNING, THE OCCUPANT EXPERIENCED SEVERE SICKNESS A COUPLE OF DAYS FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT AND HER LUNGS HURT FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS. THE VEHICLE SITS IDLE AT THE SHOP WHERE WE TOWED IT. I DON'T WANT TO AUTHORIZE REPAIR THE VEHICLE UNTIL THE NHTSA DETERMINES IF AN INVESTIGATION IS WARRANTED TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC. THERE ARE NO AFTER MARKET ADDITIONS. ALL MAJOR, MAINTENANCE EVENTS WERE PERFORMED BY OUR LOCAL HONDA DEALER FOR AS LONG AS THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN OUR POSSESSION. *NM