NHTSA Complaint #11187059 — 1991 ACURA NSX

DEAR NHTSA: WHILE DRIVING UNDER NORMAL ACCELERATION I NOTICED A GRINDING NOISE FROM THE TRANSMISSION. I SUBSEQUENTLY DISCOVERED THAT A TRANSMISSION PART FAILED. SEE ATTACHED PHOTO. I LEARNED BY FURTHER INVESTIGATION THAT ACURA OF AMERICA IS AWARE OF THIS MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND HAS ISSUED MULTIPLE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN IN THE UNITED STATES SEE ATTACHED. IN JAPAN HONDA ISSUED AN OFFICIAL SAFETY RECALL IS ACTIVE FOR THE SAME EXACT ISSUE. THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE JAPANESE PARTS AND THE AMERICAN PARTS. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT HONDA OF JAPAN ADOPTED A MORE STRINGENT AND ETHICALLY SOUND STANCE WHEN REGARDING THE LIVES OF THEIR CUSTOMER AND OTHERS ON THEIR ROADWAYS. I THEN CONTACTED ACURA OF AMERICA FOR GOODWILL ASSISTANCE. ON 3/15/19 DURING A RECORDED PHONE CALL [XXX], SELF-IDENTIFIED AS REGIONAL MANGER OF CUSTOMER RELATIONS AMERICAN HONDA, NOTIFIED ME THAT ACURA HAS DENIED THIS CLAIM, ACURA CASE NO. 09421151 . FURTHER, ACURA HAS NO SAFETY RECALLS OPEN ON THIS VEHICLE, AND SHE DOES NOT CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS EVIDENCED BY THE PHOTO ATTACHED SHOWING PIECES OF HARDENED METAL FROM A BROKEN SNAP RING INSIDE MY TRANSMISSION. THIS BROKEN METAL WITHIN THE TRANSMISSION CASE CAN CAUSE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE AND LOCKING OF THE TRANS-AXEL AT SPEED WITHOUT WARNING. I HAVE ALSO ATTACHED GRAPHS OF A YEARS LONG - LIVE SURVEY BY AN ONLINE ACURA NSX OWNERS GROUP WHICH ILLUSTRATES THAT THIS SAFETY DEFECT IS STILL AFFECTING NUMEROUS OWNERS TO THIS DATE. HTTP://WWW.NSXPRIME.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP/208278-SNAP-RING-FAILURES-DATA-NEEDED?FBCLID=IWAR1IFYNHKJ0XNW4IA1ATGQ7I-QSAMILMNWOZ4YW6M8POFSRQZPORKLBU2RM THERE ARE LIVES AT STAKE HERE, WHICH IS WHY I AM FILING A FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH THE NHTSA. I HAVE COPIED ACURA OF AMERICA SINCERELY, [XXX] - 3/15/19 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *CC *TR