'99 Accord ABS controller failure

Greetings.

My ABS light has come on twice in recent days - the local Honda dealer
says the ABS controller is bad and needs to be replaced. Dealer price
is about $490 out the door. Hondaautomotiveparts.com charges $214.76
for the controller. I am getting a little tired of replacing
expensive parts on my 88,000 mile car - like transmissions (I'm on
#3), the catalytic converter, and the stereo, and I am looking for
some advice before I decide to dump it, drive it as-is, fix it myself,
or pay the dealer. Granted, this part isn't outrageously expensive,
but I feel like I am throwing good money after bad with this car.

Has anyone else experienced this on a 6th gen Accord? A google groups
search did not turn up many ABS issues on 98-02 Accords.

Has anyone done the ABS controller replacement on their own? How
difficult was it? Were there any issues with resetting the ECU?

Has anyone with such a failure continued to use the car as-is? Other
than ABS not functioning, have you seen any related problems?

Thanks!

-James (a frustrated owner of his first and last Honda)

 

===========================

James,

Your manual tells you that your park brake's position can trip the ABS
light. Also, a wrong-sized tire can trip the light, and a bad sensor can
trip the light.

You might want to get a second opinion about the code that the dealer
wrote down on your work order. If they didn't write it down, take it
back and ask them to SHOW you the code for real. Then you'll know if
they are pulling your leg.

'Curly'

P.S. Isn't there an 'accordclub.com' forum? Might get you better
answers...for ALL your problems.

 

This was actually my first thought - I did check both times the light
came on, and the e-brake was completely released (although it could be
an issue with the switch).

Tires are all worn fairly evenly and are close to new. The sensor is
certainly a possibility, but I am hoping the dealer did actually
determine the real problem.

If the problem comes back (it has only happened twice now in about the
last 6-8 trips), I will probably confer with a dealer close to work.

Unfortunately, accordclub.com's forum seems to be broken and/or
defunct!

Thanks for the advice!

-James

 

Hi James....I would agree with Curly, get a 2nd opinion. Have you been
taking the car to the same place for the transmission repairs, stereo
and cat? If so I suggest you start looking for a new dealership as
they may be pulling a fast one on you. See if there are any
independent mechanics that specialize in Hondas and take it there and
see what his suggestion is. I'm curious...why was the stereo replaced?
Many people have the impression that when they go to the
dealer, they have the backing of Honda to them which is not the case.
If you check in an earlier posting you'll see that when I had my
timing belt replaced by an Acura dealer in Philadelphia PA, they
replaced my drive belts with aftermarket belts and charged me OEM
prices. The biggest crooks sometimes are the dealers themselves as
they are not regulated by Honda. I hope the best for you. It is this
reason why I was motivated to learn how to repair my car myself.

Nick

 

The first transmission was replaced by the dealer I purchased the car
from, and American Honda ate 75% of the cost under a goodwill
adjustment. The second transmission was replaced at no charge by
dealer #2. I can assure you that both transmissions were bad. The
cat was replaced by dealer #2 after the MIL lit up. I can't prove
that the cat was bad, but 5,000 miles later the MIL has not come on
again. Dealer #2 is also the dealer who looked at the ABS issue. I
replaced the stereo myself with a head from a low-mileage wrecked '02
from a boneyard.

There is only 1 honda specialist in the area that I have heard of, and
they have a less than stellar reputation. If the ABS issue persists,
I will get a second opinion - probably from an indie I trust or
another Honda dealer. Ultimately if I replace the ABS controller, I
will probably do it myself if I can verify that it is essentially plug
and play.

The original stereo's CD player was skipping constantly.

I agree with the above. I do most of the maintenance and some of the
repairs myself. Actually, other than the cat and the transmissions,
my car has only been to the dealer for MIL (and now ABS) code issues,
a few oil changes ($10 with a new crush washer and Honda filter) and
Dunlop SP Sport A2s that were actually cheaper from the dealer than
tirerack.com.

I probably would have done the cat myself as well after the
diagnostic, but it wouldn't have saved me much, it was freezing
outside, and not much warmer in my garage.

Thanks!

-James

 

Seems like you've got Gremlins working on your car.

The ABS controller may not effect the car's normal braking (which seems
like a safe way to design the system), but if you plan on selling the car,
you'll need to do something about the ABS light.

Pars

 

id dump the car. sadly, you got a lemon. id expect crap like that from a
ford or GM product.