2016 Honda Accord

Out of no where - the speakers start blaring this loud scrambled sound. (Like a dead channel on TV.) Even when the radio is off. The speakers roar so load you can not concentrate to drive. No warning, just happens. I can go days/weeks without it happening, then boom - scare me so bad when it comes on out of no where. There is no rhyme or reason to when it will happen - could be driving slow or fast, could be hot or cold outside. Could be soon as you start the car or in the middle of driving after an hour. Thought it was a fluke but here were are - 2 months later and it's happened at least 5 times.

The car speakers and microphones unexpectedly emit deafening loud static sounds that continues while driving. Powering audio system OFF makes no difference. The static is at least 90 decibels. It's frightening and impedes safe driving. Cale YARBOROUGH'S HONDA DEALERSHIP is witness to the defect and determine that the "head unit" must be replaced. The head unit integrates the audio, Bluetooth, GPS and backup & blind spot camera functions. The dealership has ordered a replacement head unit but it is on backorder indefinitely! There have been many other reports of this problem with this equipment. Please help me get my car safe again. American Honda has been aware of the problem but ineffective in its response.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the battery warning light and other unknown warning lights temporarily illuminated, and the vehicle almost shut off. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving on two other occasions. Additionally, the contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle shut off. The contact stated that upon jumpstarting the vehicle, the vehicle shut off again after disconnecting the jumper cables. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that upon turning off the vehicle and removing the key from the ignition, the instrument cluster lights flickered for an extended period. The contact ordered an alternator from Amazon and replaced the alternator; however, the failure persisted. The contact's husband purchased the alternator from Auto Zone and replaced the alternator, and the vehicle operated as intended temporarily. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V418000 (Electrical System), which the contact related to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 193,986.

When the car reaches operating temperature slowly a static noise will creep over the speakers and then quickly cut out the audio input and put the speakers to full volume with waves of loud static. Turning off the stereo and turning down the volume does nothing to stop the static. The only way to stop it is to pull the radio fuse. This will also happen on a hot day and not slowly build just suddenly loud static as soon as the car turns on. This is a safety risk because the sound is so loud and distracting it’s hard to focus on everything going on around you and in order to pull the fuse out to stop it you need to pull over and it’s not always in a safe location. When I called and asked the Honda dealership in Stockton CA about it they were familiar with the problem when I described it to them but it has not been replicated in my car specifically by a separate party. No inspection was performed by police or other. There were no lights or warning when it first occurred. The problem first occurred in June when the weather started to get hot. I tried installing the fuse again now that it’s cold and it happened again once the car got to operating temperature.

The stereo amplifier emits a god awful, deafening static noise soon after start my car, so I can't listen to the radio, hear or talk to anyone. This has been going on for months and hasn't let up. It's very expensive for the honda dealer to fix, that I cannot afford right now, because they have to install a near stereo unit. Right now, I drive around with ear plugs and this should be considered a safety issue because I can't hear while the ear piercing static noise is on at the highest volume (there's no way to turn it down...even with the stereo off). I've owned lots of older model cars and none have ever had this issue with the stereo amplifier, so I feel this is a manufacturing defect for it to fail after 10 years. I've researched this issue online and I'm not the only one complaining about this for the 2016 Honda accord.

On our 2016 Accord with the 3.5 V6 there is a design issue with the starter assembly. This issue is also happening with other models with this engine configuration manufactured between 2013 through 2017. The starter on my vehicle won’t engage the flywheel gears fully causing damage to the flywheel and the starter. There is a Honda service bulletin ( 16-002) calling to replace the starter and rotate the torque converter clockwise one bolt hole position. This can only be done ONE TIME so if it happens again( and it probably will)the torque converter will need to be replaced which is a minimum of $4,000 and even that won’t guarantee it won’t repeat this issue. This is a safety issue because there is a possibility that you could be stranded and vulnerable to hazards on the road .