DIY: Ignition Switch replacement (Recall number 02-031)

well i called the dealership that did my locks and ignition and they told me to bring it in since they carry a 12/12 warranty on what they did but they gotta test it themselves to see whats up. i also found out that that recall came out in 02 and that in there system its been listed as being done but i think that that happened when i had everything replaced, theres also another recall that still hasnt been done to my car yet so if this is the prob im gonna kill 2 birds with one stone

xi0utlawstarix said:

great write up!!!

but this is a safety recall and it should be replacd for free? got mine replaced for free.


Important Safety Recall: Ignition Switch Interlock

Dear Accord, Civic, CR-V, Odyssey or Prelude Owner:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

What is the reason for this notice?
Honda Motor Co., Ltd., has determined that a defect relating to motor vehicle safety exists in the ignition switch on certain 1997 thru 2000 Honda automobiles. Electrical contacts in the ignition switch can wear prematurely due to high electrical current passing through the switch. Worn out ignition contacts could cause the engine to stall without warning. Although the engine will restart in most cases, if your engine stalls while driving in traffic or at highway speeds, you're at risk of being involved in a crash. Difficulties starting the engine (for example, hard-to-start, stalls immediately after starting, etc.) may indicate that the ignition switch is failing.

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F23A1AT said:

Some will flame and say take it to the dealer, but for some the switch will fail twice or more times, the stealership will not fix it twice + for free.

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98accordlx said:

so let me get this straight. ever since i got all the locks replaced on my car including the ignition ive been dealing with my car stalling out and from time to time not restarting. i actually kinda got used to it stalling out cuz all id have to do if it didnt restart automatically id just pop the clutch and off i go but that only worked when on the highway doin 50 plus but yesterday when it stalled i wound up stuck in the parking lot of a kmart in canton off of 62 for 2 hours trying to get it to start again. i got my locks replaced back in september when i got the car so...............................

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What exactly is your car doing, is the engine stopping in the middle of the street, but your A/c and radio keep working? Do all of the cluster lights/ needles die suddenly? If you jiggle the key forward (toward Stage 3) does it sort of come back and flicker and die and then eventually come back? If these things are happening then it is very likely that your ignition switch is the culprit. Take it to the stealership and they may or may not fix it. The way to tell other than computer records if it has been replaced already is to look in the engine bay above the vin stamped in the firewall I cant remeber if it is the 5 or 6 digit but there should be a center punch mark in the firewall

the stealership will not fix it twice but i bet honda will. i would first call them up and if its a no go then your DIY FTW.

98accordlx said:

well i called the dealership that did my locks and ignition and they told me to bring it in since they carry a 12/12 warranty on what they did but they gotta test it themselves to see whats up. i also found out that that recall came out in 02 and that in there system its been listed as being done but i think that that happened when i had everything replaced, theres also another recall that still hasnt been done to my car yet so if this is the prob im gonna kill 2 birds with one stone

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You should register the car at the link Finchy posted, Honda Owners Link. It will list all active recalls and TSBs for the car and if they have been done.

I had the same problem on a 99 Accord I had. I got the recall done and it never did it again.

The other recall you spoke of is the ignition interlock, which if it fails allows the car to be shifted from park when the car is off. This obviously only applies if your car is an auto.

i took it up to the stealership and they had to keep it over night to try and make the problem happen again (motor just straight turns off like if you were parking the car and everything else stays on, the fun ones are when the car doesnt come back on and your in the middle of a turn and lose power steering. its easy to tell when thats gonna happen cuz you hear everything stop motor wise and watch the tach if it dont bounce you maybe stuck for a few min or hours like me. if it dont bounce back up to where it was when the motor cut out its just going to cut out again and be prepared to get out of the way of traffic) and sure enough the new ignition they put in was faulty and replaced it already. now the problem is that when the tech was testing it and the problem popped up he slammed on the brakes and it blew one of my brake lines from what they said and now they wanna charge me $800 to fix the 2 lines up front which i aint got. and they said there also afraid to even do the brake lines by themselves since there so close to the fuel lines and theyre in pretty bad condition themselves from what i saw. sorry for the thread jack lol

Excellent DIY here for the ignition switch. Just did that change on my 2000 accord (unfortunately didn't fix the issue - but the symptons matched)

In the DIY there is this
<< Step Seven: Unscrew the two Phillips screws holding the ignition switch on. One on the top the other on the bottom. There WAS some black piece of plastic in the way. I assume it was some sort of shield but it was in my way and I couldn't unscrew it so it is in about eight little pieces now. >>

Just wanted to add that I found the much talked about 3rd screw on the shield (the manual says 3 screws but doesn't show you where they are)

In this picture you are on the RH side of the steering wheel looking into a mirror back up towards the back of the ignition switch. The arrow shows where that 3rd screw is - It's well hidden!!!


This picture shows the position of the screwdriver you need to get to get at the screw. Reach down thru the top with your left hand to find the screw head and guide the tip of the driver into position


I took the white cover off the old switch to see what state the contacts looked like inside as the solder joints on the outside looked good. For lots of short trips & 90K miles, not that bad. The grease Honda puts in makes it look worse than it is


The switch has a new part number also

Rich

PS If the original poster wants to mod (or not) his DIY with any of these pictures, so it's all in one place, that's fine by me. Sharing info is good.

^^ thanks for the addition. I actually found that screw after ripping the piece of plastic out of the car. Thanks Rich!

Is there a way to check your VIN to see if you qualify for this recall?

And seriously, how often do these fail? First I ever heard of this problem.

Thanks!

yoseppi said:

Is there a way to check your VIN to see if you qualify for this recall?

And seriously, how often do these fail? First I ever heard of this problem.

Thanks!

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Teh link. That I posted.

http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com

Ignition switches are common failures across all car manufacturers. They get used a TON and there's not a whole lot to them. Big *** keychains dangling from the ignition key kills them eleventy billions times faster too.

So which switch is it? I see in the OP's post it says, "The ignition switch P/N 35130-S84-305 or Click this I'll play nice. This part is for a 98-02 Honda Accord ONLY (for other viewers non-6GA)", but when I search at Majestic it shows part number 35130-S84-A01, as seen here: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com...LX&catcgry4=KA4AT&catcgry5=COMBINATION+SWITCH


So am I overlooking something or what is the problem?