1996 Honda Odyssey

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT WE HAVE HAD AN IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE ON THIS 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY. IT WILL SOMETIMES START, WITH SOME JIGGLING OF THE KEY, OR WILL NOT START AT ALL. IT HAS CUT OUT WHILE DRIVING, A DANGEROUS SITUATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN CARRYING CHILDREN. AT THIS POINT, IT WILL NOT START AT ALL. HOW OFTEN DO WE NEED TO REPLACE THIS? HONDA ODYSSEYS OF THIS YEAR WERE SUBJECT TO RECALL FOR THIS VERY PROBLEM IN AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, AND CHINA. WHY NOT HERE? CHINA, IN THIS INSTANCE, HAS MORE CONCERN FOR SAFETY THAN THE OBSESSIVELY SAFETY-ORIENTED USA.

WAS WAITING IN THE LEFT TURN LANE TO MAKE THE TURN, LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND WHEN TRYING TO MAKE THE TURN, VEHICLE STALLED SUDDENLY WITHOUT ANY NOTICE OR ENGINE PROBLEMS. A FAMILY MEMBER WAS PRESENT IN THE CAR WHEN THIS HAPPENED. HAVE HAD ENGINE STALL AFTER STARTING BEFORE AND HAD THE BATTERY CHECKED. NO ISSUES WERE NOTED WITH ANYTHING BEFORE THIS SUDDEN STALL IN TRAFFIC. HAVE RESEARCHED AND FOUND NUMEROUS SIMILAR COMPLAINTS WITH HONDA VEHICLES AND IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEMS WITH SAME RESULTS ABOUT VEHICLE STALLING IN TRAFFIC WITHOUT ANY SIGNS OF THE STALLING ABOUT TO OCCUR. *TR

HONDA ODYSSEY LX 1996 WOULD NOT START IN A PARKING LOT SO I CALLED FOR A TOWING SERVICE. TOWING SERVICE TRIED TO UNLOCK ENGINE USING DOOR LOCK TRICK AND THE ENGINE STARTED. TWO DAYS LATER THE ENGINE DIED WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAD TO COAST TO AN EXIT RAMP, AND IT WOULD NOT START AT ALL AFTER THAT. MODOT TRUCK STOPPED TO CHECK IT OUT AND RECOMMENDED TO HAVE IT TOWED. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HONDA DEALER; SAID IT WAS AN IGNITION SWITCH DEFECT. *KB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS BEFORE OR AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH CAUSED THE FAILURE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 197,000

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY. IF THE CONTACT RELEASES THE KEY AFTER PLACING IT INTO THE IGNITION, THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS HER RESPONSIBILITY. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT HER VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 02V120000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH). THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 145,000.

VEHICLE BEGAN HAVING STARTING PROBLEMS - WOULD CRANK BUT NOT ALWAYS CATCH AND RUN. THEN ENGINE STOPPED WHILE DRIVING SEVERAL TIMES, AN UNSAFE SITUATION. FINALLY WOULD NOT START AGAIN. REPLACED IGNITION SWITCH, WORKS FINE. NOTED THAT SIMILAR (MODEL, YEAR) VEHICLES IN AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN HAD THE IGNITION SWITCH RECALLED FOR SAME SYMPTOMS - IS THERE A LINK? *TR

JULY 2002, I TOOK MY ODYSSEY TO A HONDA DEALER BECAUSE I WAS HAVING SEVERAL ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS: 1. MY SRS LIGHT CAME ON AND WOULDN'T GO OFF. 2. MY ABS LIGHT HAD ALSO BEGUN TO GO ON AND OFF. 3. MY POWER LOCKS WOULD LOCK UNCONTROLLABLY AND DRAIN BATTERY. I ASKED THEM TO TAKE A LOOK. AFTER $160 DIAGNOSTIC CHARGE, I WAS TOLD THE FOLLOWING: CODE 8-3 PRESENT ON SRS. CLEARED CODE AND TEST DROVE. LIGHT REMAINED OFF FOR DRIVE. SUGGEST REPLACING AIRBAG IF LIGHT COMES ON AGAIN. PROBABLY A SENSOR PROBLEM. COST $748 CODE 44 PRESENT ON ABS. RIGHT REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSOR IS FAULTY. SUGGEST REPLACING SENSOR. COST $283 ELECTRONIC LOCKS NEED NEW LOCK UNIT. COST $256 I WAS SHOCKED THAT REPAIRS WOULD COST ANOTHER $1300. AFTER DISCUSSING THESE PROBLEMS WITH THE DEALER AND BEING TOLD THE ISSUES WERE PROBABLY ALL SENSOR MALFUNCTIONS, I OPTED NOT TO PAY FOR REPAIRS. JUST AFTER DRIVING OFF, MY SRS AND ABS LIGHTS CAME BACK ON AND HAVE REMAINED ON EVER SINCE. NOW, AFTER SEEING THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS BY OTHER ODYSSEY OWNERS AND LEARNING THAT THE AIRBAGS MAY ACTUALLY NOT WORK, I AM REPORTING MY EXPERIENCE AS WELL... I JUST BOUGHT A CHEVY.

IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS MY 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY DIED NUMEROUS TIMES WHILE STATIONARY AND 3 TIMES WHILE DRIVING, INCLUDING 2 INCIDENTS ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEED IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. I WAS ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE POWER FAILURE AND REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH TO GET OFF THE ROAD AND AVOID BEING RAMMED INTO BY OTHER VEHICLES, BUT IT WAS A FRIGHTENING AND DANGEROUS SITUATION. AFTER THE FIRST EPISODE ON THE HIGHWAY, I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC, WHO SUSPECTED EITHER A FUEL LINE PROBLEM OR IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM, BUT GIVEN THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DEAD, THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM WITH CERTAINTY. ON JANUARY 3, 2007 THE CAR DIED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, AND I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED BACK TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC. THEY WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE PROBLEM WAS A FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH. IT IS CLEAR FROM SEARCHING ONLINE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM THAT THIS YEAR AND MODEL HAS HAD MANY REPORTED PROBLEMS OF THIS NATURE. THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS BULLETINS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR THE 1996 HONDA ODYSSEY. THERE IS A REPORT OF A RECALL FOR FAULTY IGNITION SWITCHES BY HONDA OF OVER 484,000 VEHICLES IN JAPAN AND CHINA FOR MODELS INCLUDING MY VEHICLE MODEL AND YEAR. HTTP://WWW.THEMONEYTIMES.COM/ARTICLES/20060615/HONDA_RECALLS_484_626_CARS_TO_FIX_FAULTY_IGNITION_SWITCH-ID-10585.HTML I HAD NO HELP FROM MULTIPLE CALLS TO HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE ON JAN. 3, 2007. THEY TELL ME THERE IS NO RECALL ON MY SPECIFIC VIN AND THAT THERE IS NOTHING FURTHER I CAN DO OTHER THAN FILE THE REPORT WITH NHTSA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. NOTE THAT I CALLED NHTSA TWICE TO REPORT THIS AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO LEAVE MY NAME AND PHONE # WHICH I HAVE DONE. *JB UPDATED 04/13/07.*JB