NHTSA Complaint #10172619 — 2000 HONDA S2000

THE HONDA S2000 IS A MANUAL SHIFT CAR. THE MAP SENSOR ON THIS PARTICULAR CAR ADJUSTS WHEN NEEDED TO CONTROL AIR INTAKE OF THIS CAR. DURING SHIFTING AT HIGH SPEEDS, THE CAR WOULD COMPLETELY STALL AND SHUT OFF, DUE TO SOME TYPE OF PROBLEM WITH THIS SENSOR. ON DOZENS OF OCCASIONS, I WAS IN ATLANTA RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC AND THE CAR STALLED. THIS WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, AND I AM LUCKY THAT I OR NOBODY ELSE WAS HURT. LUCKILY I AM GOOD WITH A STICK SHIFT AND NEW TO PRESS THE SHIFT PEDAL AND COAST TO A SAFE PLACE WHERE I COULD RESTART THE CAR. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IF THEY HAD A WARRANTY ON ALL PARTS OF THE CAR THEY WOULD GO OUT OF BUSINESS. BECAUSE OF THE APPROXIMATELY $900 REPAIR FEE, I SOUGHT HELP ON THE FORUMS OF THE LARGEST S2000 FANSITE. ON THE FORUMS SECTION OF THIS SITE, THERE ARE LITERALLY DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEM. IN FACT, THERE IS A SECTION ON THE FORUM CALLED THE "MAP WACK", A PROCEDURE WHERE YOU TAKE A HAMMER AND WACK THE MAP SENSOR TO GET IT TO WORK PROPERLY. I AM OUTRAGED THAT THEY HAVE RECALLED MY BACK TAIL LIGHTS BECAUSE THE PAINT COLOR FADES, YET NO SUCH RECALL EXISTS FOR A DEVICE THAT CAN STALL AN S2000 AT ANY SPEED. I ENDED UP GETTING A NEW THROTTLE BODY AND SENSOR AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOT RESURFACED IN 2 YEARS. HOWEVER, I AM OUTRAGED THAT I HAD TO PAY FOR A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. I ONLY LABEL THIS AS A DEFECT BECAUSE THERE ARE LITERALLY DOZENS AND EVEN HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS AS MINE ON THE S2000 FANSITE. *JB