NHTSA Complaint #10441056 — 2003 HONDA ACCORD

AUDIO-HVAC DISPLAY MODULE IS DIM OR DARK: THE AUDIO DISPLAY AND CONTROLS (KNOBS, BUTTONS, BARS) OF THE AUDIO-HVAC DISPLAY MODULE ARE DIM OR ARE DARK. THERE IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE HONDA ACCORDS 2003-2007 WHERE ONE OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ( PCB) WHICH CONTROLS THE CENTER AUDIO CONSOLE FAILS AND THEN THE WHOLE AUDIO CONSOLE GOES DARK. SO WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING THE CAR, YOU CANNOT SEE ANY BUTTON OR KNOB ON THE CENTER CONSOLE. IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE HEAT / COOL , THE FAN SPEED OR ANY FUNCTION THAT IS CONTROLLED BY THE COUNTER CONSOLE. HONDA INITIALLY SENT OUT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN AND THEY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THE AUDIO CONSOLE TO 7 YEARS /100, 000 MILES. BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS IN A LARGE NUMBER OF CARS. THIS IS NOT LIKE A TRANSMISSION OR A BRAKE ISSUE WHICH CAN WEAR DOWN OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS. THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRONICS ON THE CAR AND SHOULD BE ESCALATED TO A RECALL. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS THE CONSOLE LIGHTING DOES COMPLETELY DARK AND THE DRIVER CANNOT SEE OR LOCATE ANY CONTROLS WITHIN THE CAR. THIS CAN CAUSE SERIOUS PROBLEM WHEN DRIVING AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. HONDA HAS ISSUES A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER 04-027. THIS BULLETIN IN THE PROOF THAT HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM. THE EXTENDED WARRANTY THAT HONDA HAS OFFERED IS OF NO USE BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE THIS PROBLEM ARE OUT OF THE WARRANTY TERMS ( 7 YEARS // 100,000 MILES) THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM AND THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SAFETY INSTITUTE SHOULD FORCE HONDA TO REPAIR THIS COMPONENT IN THE CAR IRRESPECTIVE OF THE MILES OR THE NUMBER OF YEARS. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND IS NOT RELATED TO BREAK DOWN OF A COMPONENTS BECAUSE OF MILES OR YEARS. THERE IS NO WEAR AND TEAR INVOLVED WITH PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS. ( PCB) *TR