Honda Electrical System: Front Underhood

Honda is recalling about 967,771 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. The short circuit canpossibly cause the underhood wireing to overheat and smoke, causing a fire in the engine compartment.

Campaign
98V231000
Manufacturer
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Reported
22 September 1998
Vehicles
967,771
Built between
Apr 1994 – May 1997
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
8 October 1998
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 1994 and May 1997. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1995-1997 Honda AccordBuilt April 1994 to May 1997

What the defect is

Vehicle description: sedan, coupe and wagon passenger vehicles except the dx model and models with V6 engines. The factory installed air conditioner wire harness was improperly routed allowing some wires to rub against each other, eventually causing a short circuit.

What could happen

The short circuit canpossibly cause the underhood wireing to overheat and smoke, causing a fire in the engine compartment. A short circuit can also result in a blown fuse or dead battery.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLES FOR PROPER ROUTING OF THESE WIRES. ANY HARNESS IMPROPERLY ROUTED WILL BE INSPECTED FOR DAMAGE AND THE ROUTING WILL BE CORRECTED. IF ANY INSULATION IS WORN THROUGH AND THE COPPER WIRES ARE EXPOSED, THE HARNESS WILL BE REPLACED. DEALERS WILL ALSO INSTALL PLASTIC TUBING TO PROTECT THE HARNESS.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 1994 to May 1997
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA22 September 1998
  3. Owners notified8 October 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 22 September 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.
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 is expected to begin october 8, 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.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

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