NHTSA Complaint #10183074 — 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY

IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS MY 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY DIED NUMEROUS TIMES WHILE STATIONARY AND 3 TIMES WHILE DRIVING, INCLUDING 2 INCIDENTS ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEED IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. I WAS ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE POWER FAILURE AND REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH TO GET OFF THE ROAD AND AVOID BEING RAMMED INTO BY OTHER VEHICLES, BUT IT WAS A FRIGHTENING AND DANGEROUS SITUATION. AFTER THE FIRST EPISODE ON THE HIGHWAY, I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC, WHO SUSPECTED EITHER A FUEL LINE PROBLEM OR IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM, BUT GIVEN THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DEAD, THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM WITH CERTAINTY. ON JANUARY 3, 2007 THE CAR DIED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, AND I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED BACK TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC. THEY WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH. IT IS CLEAR FROM SEARCHING ONLINE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM THAT THIS YEAR AND MODEL HAS HAD MANY REPORTED PROBLEMS OF THIS NATURE. THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS BULLETINS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR THE 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY. THERE IS A REPORT OF A RECALL FOR FAULTY IGNITION SWITCHES BY HONDA OF OVER 484,000 VEHICLES IN JAPAN AND CHINA FOR MODELS INCLUDING MY VEHICLE MODEL AND YEAR. HTTP://WWW.THEMONEYTIMES.COM/ARTICLES/20060615/HONDA_RECALLS_484_626_CARS_TO_FIX_FAULTY_IGNITION_SWITCH-ID-10585.HTML I HAD NO HELP FROM MULTIPLE CALLS TO HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE ON JAN. 3, 2007. THEY TELL ME THERE IS NO RECALL ON MY SPECIFIC VIN AND THAT THERE IS NOTHING FURTHER I CAN DO OTHER THAN FILE THE REPORT WITH NHTSA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. NOTE THAT I CALLED NHTSA TWICE TO REPORT THIS AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO LEAVE MY NAME AND PHONE # WHICH I HAVE DONE. *JB UPDATED 04/13/07.*JB