artemc

Less than 4k miles, in past 3 months now while driving, engine lost of power, check engine lite comes on, unable to rev rpm over 2k, have to shut off and restart. Been to dealer, said can't recreate problem, therefore cannot fix..... Web search shows Honda knows of problem but won't recall, China recalled over 348,000 cars. Checked with NHTSA, they report heard of issue and can't answer why Honda won't recall? Car unsafe to drive (wife's car), Lemon Law procedure takes many months, dealer says until they find problem nothing they can do, can't sell vehicle with issue, dealer won't take on trade........ Anyone else have problem?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

First I've heard of any problem like that. If your check engine light came on, you should have a stored MIL code. If you told the dealer that the check engine light came on, they should've scanned it for codes. Go to an autozone (or similar) and see if they can pull up any stored MIL codes. Then go back to the dealer with that information.

artemc

Thanks, like I say I'm having it brought back to dealership on 11/19/18 and will mention this to them...... Hope they can find the problem and fix it....

ezone

Sounds like a programmed limp mode due to whatever fault caused the CEL to come on. Should be stored fault code(s) in memory when this occurs.
I might GUESS at codes, but it's better to scan and see what's really stored in the computers.

There are rare instances where a problem may only set a temporary code, and if the issue does not reoccur right away the computer may not retain the temporary code.
IDK if the newer PCMs still do this but I've experienced it on older cars.
If no fault codes were found and they were unable to duplicate the problem you described.....yep..

How often does the car act up? If you can drive in a specific way that makes the car act up, demonstrate it to the mechanic.



This is likely completely unrelated to your complaint.
This is a completely different area (legal stuff) Study up on lemon law and how it works in your state.
Oh really?

artemc

Re: computer........ Does the "problem code" get stored in the vehicle computer? The last time it happened (limp mode) was two days ago and I drove it again for a short period to try to make it reoccur but it didn't, so I'm hoping whatever caused the problem is still in the computer when I tow it back........ Re: Can't sell....... Like I mentioned I asked the dealer if they would consider a trade in on another vehicle a week ago, so far no response. And, I feel that selling the vehicle with a documented problem could turn into a bigger problem should a crash situation arise while the problem happened again. (hate to say this, but lawyers would be waiting in line should I sell the vehicle and it crashed later)........ My hope is that the dealer finds the problem and corrects it. If not, I have no alternative but to file for a Lemon Law Claim. In talking to the NHSTA rep, she this might help others since Honda is not acknowledging the issue...... Time will tell, thanks for the input, I'll pass it on to the dealer....

ezone

*cough*



You don't think the dealer people would have plugged their scanner in to check....does your receipt say anything about what they did do?

How about you get it to act up and DO NOT SHUT IT OFF. Limp it to the dealer if you have to so when you get it to the dealer everyone can see it really does have a problem. (And make sure the advisor doesn't shut it off either, make sure to tell the tech to scan it before he shuts it off)
No response is not a NO, and sales staff almost never knows what's happened in service department unless you spill the beans


I think legally, once the dealership take it in on trade and the paperwork is completed, you are no longer legally responsible for that car or any issues it may have.

(I am not a legal professional, nor do I play one on TV)

artemc

Re: How man times this happened?: Started about 3 months ago, first thought it might be bad gas, but don't think so now for it's almost impossible to recreate issue. Like I said, it's wife's car and when it happens to her, she panics (and I don't blame her) for it happens while driving in traffic, most of the time while going up into town on a curving, up hill roadway. Total times happened about 8-10 ....

Re: Take it to dealer in "Limp mode": Thought of that, but when it happened to me, I was able to pull over to a safe location, however, while engine light on, only able to raise rpms to about 2K in neutral, when put in drive, car would not move, besides dealership is about 50+ miles away.

Re: Last receipt: In part it says: unable to verify customer complaint. Test drove vehicle and no drivability concerns were noticed. Scanned vehicle for any DTC and not found........ Per MPI courtesy inspection (value at $89.95)

Thanks for your input.......

ezone

This observation makes it interesting. Mention this to the dealer, maybe it can help them duplicate the problem (kinda doubt it will act up for the dealer guys though)

Another question, When it acted up just how long did anyone ever continue trying to drive it in limp mode? Maybe it needs driven in that condition for a longer period of time in order to change the fault code from temporary status to permanent status and "set" that fault code in long term memory.

You might buy a low cost engine code reader and drive around with it plugged in the OBD2 connector, whenever the engine acts up and warning lights come on, read the code set at that moment before turning the engine off. I think you can get a bluetooth dongle and a smartphone app (google Torque or Torque Pro phone apps) for less than 20 bucks (with more features than a plain simple code reader), or a simple reader from Sears/Walmart/Autozone parts and many similar stores for about the same price.

An OBD2 code reader can be a handy tool for anyone that owns a car made since the mid 1990s, even if you don't ever open your own hood.

artemc

Again, thanks for the advice, I'll show it to the dealership service tomorrow when it's towed in......

Regarding driving it in the limp mode........ I'm using the term "Limp Mode" simply because what happens is: First it appears to stutter a little, then a loss of power, the check engine light comes on, I was able to steer off the roadway to a driveway opening and coming to a stop, engine still running, check light still on, step on the gas, almost no response, for sure no forward movement. Putting it in netural and stepping on gas, rpm indicator would only reach less than 2k rpm, engine still sounding like it was missing badly, continued efforts resulted in same results, putting back in gear, same results, so unable to continue driving (the hill that I was on was a slight incline at that point)....... Pushing the start/stop button, the engine stopped running, then pushing the button again, engine started and was able to rev in netural to like 5k before rev limiter cut in, putting it back in "D", acceleration was normal and could not recreate issue...... Today, on purpose, I tried again, the same distance, the same everything, when I got to the place, the car continued on......... I'm hoping the "code" is in and the dealer can find it...... If not, I'll take your advice and purchased a code reader, for if the dealer can't find it, I know they'll just give it back to me, at which time I'll start the Lemon Law process and knowingly it'll take up to a year (that upsets me, but what else can I do?

ezone

Why tow? Why not just drive it in? Car runs and drives normally except when it acts up.
It's programmed to do all that in the event of certain specific faults.
I hesitate to guess because I don't want to taint the investigation, but I expect misfire is at the root of the issue. But there could be a hundred different possible causes and nobody even knows which cylinder has the problem yet.

Water in the gas tank came to mind as a possibility when I read about going uphill and turning.
You could stop in at a car parts store that reads codes for free, have them check it. If there's no codes found then you already know there won't be anything the dealer will find in the engine computer either. Unless it acts up on the drive to the dealer and you can limp it all the way there. (it won't set engine codes on the back of a tow truck)