so my ma's car is a 2000 accord lx V6, sometimes when driving, all the gauges just cut out for like a split second, then they come back on, when on the highway the cruise doesn't cut out though, we took the car to a local honda dealer to get it checked out, they said there were no codes on their scanners, and that they took the car for a ride a few times and it never did it (go figure), asked about VSS sensor and they said it wouldn't cause that!, now were out of options and theirs only 2,000 mi left on the warranty, this is the 3rd or 4th problem she's had with the car and she ABSOLUTLY despises honda's right now, she's trying to convince me to sell my del sol.....Need to bring her back to the honda side, before she breaksdown, or even worse, breaks the car!!! help!! (they said something about a modulator for the guage cluster)

 

Well that car year with the transmission is known to be crap.

It's possible it's the Alternator or the ignition switch going out.

 

Like TheMuffinMan said, the ignition switch could be the culprit. Since you took the car in to the dealer, there is a documented history of your complaint. Should the car develope the problem more consistently, being slightly out of the warranty period shouldn't be an issue. Just remind them the car was brought in previously for the identical problem but they failed to find it at the time.

 

I got $10 on the Ignition Switch. Don't let some bad Techs and a lazy dealership scare your moms away from Honda. If she had something American, she's be dealing with alot more problems by now.

 

+1 for the ignition switch. The main relay comes to mind as well. Common issue on 4cyl models, not sure about the V6s.

EDIT: Just to be sure, make sure there's no corrosion on the battery terminals, and make sure they're tight.

 

WOW. Theres alot of miss information in here. 1st a main relay will not cause that. If and when it goes bad the car will either not start or will just shut off.

You also said the key word, SOMETIMES. Unless it acts up when you take it to the dealer how would you like them to fix it, just throw parts at it and then have you pay for it if it doesn't work. Your mom despises honda when she's had 4 problems in 100k miles, sounds like theres no car that will make her happy then. If that was my car I would be jumping for joy.

Now on to your problem, Your not going to like what I have to say but tough. Its the only way that your going to get it fixed the CORRECT way. It may be the ignition switch but I highly doubt it cause you stated that the cruise control still works. Some other questions:

Have you had the car sence it was new?
Has it ever been in an accadent? even a minor one?
How long has this been going on?
When this happens does anything else cut out on the car?
When the gauges cut out do you have to do any thing to get them to come back on or do they come back by them self?

You very well my have to let this get worse before any one can fix it. What you have to remember is if who ever you take the car to can't get it to act up then there is NOTHING they can do except guess.

 

Eh, if the ignition switch flutters while on the highway I have a feeling that it could be the culprit, I know my car drove fine when my ignition switch was going bad and I would have similar symptoms (flickering gauge cluster)

 

check your engine ground straps.........

 

ignition switch went out on my car recently too. did the same thing.

tell her to go up to honda, and ask about the recall. i took mine up there and they told me that a certain number of vehicles had an ignition switch recall. they ran my vin, and sure enough, mine was one of them, and they did it for free. didn't cost me a dime.

 

Or a simpler way would be to PM me your mom's VIN and I can run it in the honda web sight and tell you if it has it or if its been done.

 

i've seen this problem before.
try the multiplex. i'd put my money on that, assuming the ignition contacts were already done.

 

What gauges cut out? Tach, speed, fuel, temperature? Has this happened with the headlights on at night, if so, does the illumination cut out along with it? It could be as simple as a pinched wire in the harness or a poorly connected harness.

 

Just to clear things up a little. He PM'd me his VIN# and his car never had the ignition switch recall.

 

you mean like it never existed?

oh! that's right. i actually drive a 98 CL, and i know that they were based on the accord, but i just remembered that they were based on teh 94-97 accord.

my bad.

 

well, i have no idea where the engine ground straps could be, and i got an account and there is no recalls on that year except something to do with the transmissions so idk........if someone could tell me where the engine ground straps would be located i could try to check em', and yes i did search but the info i found either wasn't very informative or they wanted money to get that info so any help would be appreciated!!! oo and all the gauges in the cluster flicker out, but not the illumination or the headlights, also, when the flicker i do not have to do ne thing to make them come back on they do it almost as fast as they went off, less than a second, this has been happening for about 1 month now, we have had it since it was new, it has never been in an accident, except a flat tire while driving and my bro punched the hood when he was mad at my mom (HONDA ABUSE ) but other than that nothing!

 

try this..........start the car in the driveway and just let it idle. then ever so gentley just wiggle the key in the ignition. i bet you the weight of the keys driving on bumpy city roads is causing the ignition to turn just enough that it makes things cut out, but not on smooth highways. if it cuts out on you, then replace the electrical portion of the ignition switch.

 

you mean it didn't need the recall, or it never got done and needed it?

 

take it to another dealer before your warranty expires. See if they can troubleshoot it. If not, try a third dealer. I think therefore its been documented 3 times and you might be eligible for some sort of lemon law compensation if im not mistaken.

 

I used to have a BMW where the gauges would cut out sometimes on the highway for a second. Turned out that the fuses that power up the gauges were loose, so sometimes power to the gauges would be cut out for a second when I hit a bump.

A car doesn't have to have a posted recall to actually need the work done. With an 8 year old car, perhaps the ignition switch's electrical components need to be fixed. If your mom is like my mom, she probably has like 20 keys and a heavy keychain hanging from the ignition.

 

i'll try these things and get back to everyone....thx

 

its a long shot...but when the gauges cut out do you hear a clicking from under the dash and does the CEL click on and off during the problem?

 

my car used to cut off while driving ... my gauge cluster lights would flicker on and off ... the car wouldnt stay on unless i held the ignition switch open ... so i did the ignition module recall ... fixed everything ... if your car stays on then i doubt this is the case ...