NHTSA Complaint #10177989 — 1994 HONDA ACCORD

THE CAR LOST POWER WHILE I WAS SITTING AT A RED LIGHT. I THOUGHT IT HAD STALLED, AND IT TOOK ME A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO GET IT RESTARTED. WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE CAR LOST POWER WHILE I WAS DRIVING. AGAIN, I THOUGHT IT HAD STALLED, BUT I THOUGHT IT ODD THE CAR WOULD STALL WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS AROUND 45 MPH. I HAD TO COAST ON THE MOMENTUM OF THE SPEED THE CAR WAS TRAVELING BEFORE IT LOST POWER. I HAD TO MANEUVER ACROSS 2 LANES OF BUSY AND FAST-MOVING TRAFFIC AND BARELY MADE IT TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER BEFORE THE CAR STOPPED. I FEEL I ONLY MADE IT OFF THE ROAD BECAUSE THE DRIVER OF THE PICKUP BEHIND ME REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG, AND HE STRADDLED THE LANES OF TRAFFIC BEHIND ME, FORCING TRAFFIC TO SLOW DOWN SO I COULD GET THROUGH. I FEEL A SERIOUS ACCIDENT COULD HAVE OCCURRED HAD THIS DRIVER NOT DONE WHAT HE DID. AGAIN, IT TOOK ME A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO RESTART IT. I MADE IT HOME FINE, AND WE TOOK IT TO OUR MECHANIC, WHO SEARCHED THE ENGINE, TUNED UP THE CAR, BUT FOUND NO REASON WHY IT WOULD HAVE STALLED. WHEN I DROVE IT AGAIN, THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN, THIS TIME WHEN I WAS WAITING TO TURN LEFT INTO MY HOME DRIVEWAY. I SWITCHED MY HAZARD LIGHTS ON, BUT I'M NOT SURE THE LIGHTS ACTUALLY TURNED ON, BECAUSE IT TOOK THE DRIVERS BEHIND ME SOME TIME TO REALIZE THAT I WASN'T GOING TO BE TURNING LEFT AFTER TRAFFIC CLEARED. THIS TIME, I NOTICED THAT ALL POWER TO THE DASHBOARD INDICATORS WAS GONE, AND THAT THE CAR HAD NOT ACTUALLY STALLED AS I HAD ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THE FIRST TIME THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. A RETURN TRIP TO THE MECHANIC CONFIRMED THAT THE ENTIRE IGNITION CONTROL UNIT AND THE IGNITION COIL WAS NO LONGER FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, AND HE REPLACED IT. THERE HAVE BEEN NO PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR SINCE THE MODULE WAS REPLACED, AND IT'S BEEN A FEW MONTHS. WE HAD THE RECURRENT PROBLEMS IN THE 2 WEEKS LEADING UP TO WHEN WE HAD THE IGNITION CONTROL UNIT AND IGNITION COIL REPLACED ON 9/22/06. *NM