Acura Power Train: Park/Neutral Start Interlock Switch

Acura is recalling about 33,966 vehicles over a problem with the power train. This condition can cause the vehicle to roll down an incline when the transmission is locked in "park," increasing the risk of personal injury and/or property damage.

Campaign
98V018000
Manufacturer
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Reported
10 February 1998
Vehicles
33,966
Built between
Sep 1997 – Jan 1998
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
12 February 1998
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 1997 and January 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1998 Acura CLBuilt October 1997 to January 1998
  • 1998 Honda AccordBuilt September 1997 to January 1998

What the defect is

Vehicle description: passenger vehicles (honda accord sedans manufactured from september 18, 1997 to january 10, 1998; coupes manufactured december 11, december 15, 1997, and january 5, 1998; acura 2.3CL manufactured october 22, 1997 through january 7, 1998). During manufacturing, the casting die caused an irregularity in the right-side transmission cover. This irregularity can limit the movement of the parking pawl actuation level and prevent adequate engagement of the parking gear pawl. This does not comply with fmvs no. 114, "theft protection."

What could happen

This condition can cause the vehicle to roll down an incline when the transmission is locked in "park," increasing the risk of personal injury and/or property damage.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A COLLAR ON THE TRANSMISSION PARKING PAWL TO ENSURE PROPER MOVEMENT OF THE ACTUATION LEVER.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 1997 to January 1998
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA10 February 1998
  3. Owners notified12 February 1998

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 10 February 1998.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Safety standard
FMVSS 114
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification began february 12, 1998. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009 or acura at 1-800-382-2238.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4326).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand