NHTSA Complaint #10484583 — 1998 HONDA ACCORD

ON THE DATE SPECIFIED ABOVE UP TO THE CURRENT DATE 11/14/2012 I [XXX]HAVE HAD THIS 1998 HONDA ACCORD EX FOR LESS THAN A YEAR AND I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS OUT OF THIS CAR'S TAKE OFF SPEED. TO FURTHER EXPLAIN THE CAR STRUGGLES TO TAKE OFF, AND WHEN IT DOES AND TRIES TO SHIFT, THE SHIFTING IS EITHER DELAYED, AND OR THE VEHICLE SHIFTS VERY ROUGH. IT IS ALMOST AS THOUGHT THE VEHICLE IS LEAPING FORWARD. THERE ARE EVEN TIMES WHEN I TRY TO TAKE OFF AFTER STOPPING IN TRAFFIC, THE CAR BEHAVES AS THOUGH IT IS IN NEUTRAL WHEN TRYING TO SHIFT FROM FIRST GEAR TO SECOND GEAR. MY ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT COME ON UNTIL LATER INDICATING THAT THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION SOMEWHERE. I PULLED OUT MY CODE READER AND HOOKED IT TO THE OBD OUTLET ON MY CAR AND IT INDICATED, LOW TORQUE SHIFT SOLENOID CIRCUIT. I CHECKED THE INTERNET TO SEE IF ANY OTHER HONDA OWNERS HAD THIS SAME ISSUE WITH THEIR HONDA ACCORDS, AND IT APPEARS THAT I AM NOT ALONE WITH HAVING THE SAME SYMPTOMS. IT ALSO APPEARS THAT HONDA HAS HAD THESE PROBLEMS WITH THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF THEIR TRANSMISSIONS ON THE ACCORDS FROM YEAR MODELS 1998-2002. HOWEVER, SO FAR FROM WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED ON THE WEB THEIR HAS BEEN NO ACCIDENTS OR FIRES REPORTED YET. I AM URGING THE NHTSA OR SAFERCAR.GOV TO IMMEDIATELY INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT I BELIEVE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. ALTHOUGH MY CAR IS A 1998 MODEL, THEIR HAVE BEEN CUSTOMERS WHOM HAVE HAD THEIR VEHICLES HAVE TRANSMISSION FAILURES WITH MILEAGE AS LOW AS 56000. THIS TYPE OF MILEAGE OF 56000-117000 MILES FOR A TRANSMISSION TO FAIL IS NOT NORMAL. ESPECIALLY IF THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN VERY WELL MAINTAINED, WITH MAINTENANCE RECORDS TO BACK IT UP TO DATE. ANYWAY, PLEASE INVESTIGATE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS SERIOUSLY HURT OR EVEN KILLED. I DON'T WANT ANYONE OR HONDA TO SUFFER LIKE FIRESTONE TIRES DID A FEW YEARS AGO. COME ON HONDA, FIX YOUR PRODUCT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN STANDING BEHIND. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR