I am currently considering a 2003 Accord EXL-N to replace my current VW New Beetle which has been plagued by technical problems. I took the car for a test drive the other day, and noticed when I pulled the key out of the ignition, it was slightly warm. I mentioned this to the dealer, but he didn't act concerned of course.

I searched through other forums for information on hot keys and found a few posts about it, but was unable to come up with a definitive answer on it. Is there a design issue with the present year Accords and the ignition system that Honda is refusing to address, or is this just normal? I could take it as normal as there are a lot of electronics in that system, so I can imagine it would get heated a bit, especially after an extended drive.

So, I guess my real question here is, should I run away from this car and have them attempt to find me another matching model somewhere else, or should I just go ahead with this car? Thanks for any input you guys can provide.

 

Take your chances.. If their is a real problem.. honda would address it under your warranty...

 

honda currently has a service news article about that. they consider it a normal thing on all from 02-03.I work as a honda tech at a dealer and can supply you a copy if needed.

 

If you could, that would be greatly appreciated. Would go a long way to alleviating my concerns and allow me to make my purchase on Monday.

 

can not get it to e-mail off of site,but go back to your dealer and ask the service manager for a copy of july 03 service news,the article is in that issue.they should be more than happy to show it to you if it means the sale of a car.

 

test drive another accord like it & if that one is the same buy the one you want & wait to see if honda addresses it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RUBZERK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">test drive another accord like it & if that one is the same buy the one you want & wait to see if honda addresses it.</TD></TR></TABLE>
As Bill said above, Honda has allready addressed the problem. (It's not a problem.) Here's what they have to say in their july 2003 service news:

Ignition Key Gets Warm
While Driving

Are owners of ’03 Accords, ’01–03 Civics, or
’02–03 CR-Vs complaining of the ignition key
getting warm while driving? The key interlock
solenoid in the ignition switch is the likely culprit.
This solenoid is energized anytime the shift lever
isn’t in Park, so the heat from the solenoid gets
transferred to the ignition key. This is a normal
characteristic of the vehicle, and can’t be fixed by
replacing the key interlock solenoid, the ignition
lockset, or any other component.

So what do you think about that?

 

Ahh, thank you, makes sense. Appreciate you all tracking it down for me.