NHTSA Complaint #10214540 — 1998 HONDA ACCORD

I OWN AND DRIVE A '98 HONDA ACCORD EX 4-CYLINDER WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN HAVING A ROUGH SHIFT IN THE 2ND GEAR FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR WHEN DRIVING THE CAR FROM STATIONARY TO MOVING. BUT THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE ON THE HIGHER GEARS. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ON HIGHWAYS TILL FEW WEEKS AGO. AROUND THE 15TH OF DEC 2007 I SUDDENLY STARTED TO HAVE VIBRATIONS IN THE CAR AND STRANGE HITTING NOISES CAME FROM THE ENGINE WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE CAR FELT DRAGGING ON THE HIGHWAY (I270S) WHICH PANICKED ME AND I HAVE TO GIVE MORE GAS TO PULL TO SAFETY. THE CAR STILL RUST, BUT I'M NOT USING IT FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW BECAUSE OF FEAR OF GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD CASES WITH SIMILAR TRANSMISSION ISSUES WHERE THE CAR DOWN SHIFTS TO 2ND GEAR SUDDENLY ON A HIGHWAY WITHOUT ANY WARNING, WHICH WILL LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT WITH THE CAR COMING BEHIND ME. DEALER SAYS THAT TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED WITH A COST OF AROUND $3200. I REFERRED THE CASE TO AMERICAN HONDA, BUT THEY REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING TO RESOLVE THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON MY CAR IS AROUND 105000 BUT THE PROBLEM STARTED WHEN IT HAD AROUND 93000 MILES. THE 90000 MILE SERVICE WAS DONE AT THE RIGHT TIME AND THE TRANSMISSION OIL WAS CHANGED AT THAT TIME USING GENUINE HONDA MANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION OIL. I ALSO HAVE CHANGED ENGINE OIL REGULAR AND DONE ALL MAINTENANCE AS PER THE SCHEDULES PROVIDED IN THE '98 HONDA ACCORD MANUAL. THE CAR HAD BEEN UNDER PROFESSIONAL CARE ALL THROUGH THE TIME I OWNED. THIS TRANSMISSION RELATED ISSUE IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE WHICH WAS ADDRESSED IN THE 2001, 2002 AND 2003 HONDA ACCORDS BY VOLUNTARY RECALLS BY HONDA MOTOR CORPORATION. HONDA HAD CHANGED THE TRANSMISSIONS ON THESE CARS TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. BUT THAT RECALL NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED TO THE 1998 MODEL CARS AS WELL BECAUSE THE ACCORD MODEL HAD BEEN COMPLETELY REDESIGNED IN 1998 WHEN, I BELIEVE, THIS PROBLEM HAD ORIGINALLY STARTED. *TR