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( i have a 2013 accord exl with navi. Black on black)


This morning i was driving on a wet road after a rain storm flew by my city. All of a sudden my dashboard lights up and i get a fcw failure on the message window. I pull over shut the car off. Turn it back on and its still showing. I drive a few feet and the message and error lights turn off, everything back to normal. Could it have been a glitch caused by the water. Is it something i should have them check? Has it happened to anyone.
Both my 9th and 10th gen had the problem all the time when rain was super heavy or I got loads of snow and crud in radar plate. I've guessing you live in florida where snow isn't an issue. However in gen 10 they say it just needs to be cleaned not TOTAL SYSTEM FAILURE ABORT ABORT WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE
 
Experienced this issue for the first time last night. Had been driving the car without incident about 8 miles (from where it had been sitting for an hour)...freeway driving and stoplight start/stop driving. No weather issues. Stopped at a stop light, when I went to accelerate, the car responded initially and then "hiccuped" multiple times. At that point all of the lights came on - FCW, LDW, Check Engine, Power Steering, ABS, and Tire Pressure monitoring system - it also had "FCW System Failure" scrolling in the main screen. I thought it was going to stall out, but it didn't. However, pressing on the gas did no good...it seemed to stay the same speed (about 10 mph). I pulled off the road and when I applied the brakes, it lurched a little and then stopped. After shutting the car down and restarting, the check engine, FCW, power steering and LDW lights all came on and stayed on. I opted to drive it to the Honda dealership (about 3 miles away)...it drove fine. No issues. They have it now. Waiting for the call.

Anyone have any luck getting their issues resolved?

(The car is a 2013 Accord EXL - no navigation - probably 10K miles?)
I know this is an old thread. But did you ever fix the problem?
 
Came upon this thread. My 2014 Accord Ex-L just started having the same problems as described above. Usually triggered by car idling or slow stop and go traffi. Once the dashboard lights up, sometimes it usually stays on until you turn car off. When you turn car off and wait for a while and restart, it sometimes goes away and sometimes comes back. Used to happen much more infrequently but now happening all the time and very concerned. Also concerned about the $2000 repair which may or may not fix this problem. I have never seen this in any of my other cars and very disappointed that Honda isn't doing something given how many people are having this issue and how expensive it is to mitigate. I will also call Honda and see what they say but my mechanic has already told me that the parts are not available and no one know when they will be available. I have read this long thread but unclear if anyone has had a proper resolution so welcome help from anyone who has been able to get this fixed. In my case, I can say with confidence that this has nothing to do with weather, heat, cold or rain or even light as it's been descent weather here in the north east and problem is unrelated to weather conditions. my issue happenned during daylight hours.
 
Came upon this thread. My 2014 Accord Ex-L just started having the same problems as described above. Usually happens during car idling or slow stop and go traffic. Once the dashboard lights up, sometimes it stays and other times fixes itself. When you turn car off and wait for a while and restart, everything is fine. Used to happen much more infrequently but now happening all the time and very concerned. Also concerned about the $2000 repair which may or may not fix this problem. I have never seen this in any of my other cars and very disappointed that Honda isn't doing something given how many people are having this issue and how expensive it is to mitigate. I will also call Honda and see what they say but my mechanic has already told me that the parts are not available and no one know when they will be available. I have read this long thread but unclear if anyone has had a proper resolution so welcome help from anyone who has been able to get this fixed. In my case, I can say with confidence that this has nothing to do with weather, heat, cold or rain or even light as it's been descent weather here in the north east and problem is unrelated to weather conditions. my issue happenned during daylight hours.
Have you pulled the OBDII code with a scanner yet?
 
Have you pulled the OBDII code with a scanner yet?
I'm not very handy and brought it to my family mechanic. The dashboard was lit up when I drove it there and they put it on the scanner right away. I'm waiting to hear back with a scan code and also the part number for the ABS module. I've also called Honda USA and opened a case. A case manager is going to contact me but they did say that they will require me to go to a Honda dealer as I only go to my personal mechanic of over 30 years and trust him fully. I would request all of you to call Honda and open a case so that Honda will be more inclined to do a recall or something for everyone impacted. I also opened a case with: File a Vehicle Safety Complaint | Safercar.gov | NHTSA . I couldn't get any information on a pending recall but was told that the dealership or case manager may have more information if there is an inflight situation with this problem but hard to conclude anything from that. Please do report this issue. The lady that opened my case did say that she has heard from several people about this issue prior to my call
 
Still waiting for a response and call back from Honda case manager. In addition, my mechanic stated the error code is: U0416-68. He was told by Honda that a new VSA Modulator control unit will be needed. It's not available anywhere. Appreciate any insights from anyone.

Honda response via email: Go to Honda Service for diagnosis and they are closing the case.
Disappointing but i get it that Honda will want to do their own diagnosis. Would have been nice to have a chance to discuss this with someone prior to them opening and closing a case. In interim, I keep driving the car but it's scary with so many safety features disabled (emergency brake, traction control, power breaks, stability control, FCW). I have filed a complaint with both Honda and NHTSA. I will likely take it to the dealer as I don't have much of a choice.

.
 
Thanks for the update!

Anyone wanting to report should do so with Honda but should also file a complaint with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (nhtsa.gov) to ensure our voices are heard.

-Eric


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You do not have to replace the VSA actuator, you can have yours repaired and reinstalled. It costs about $250 and you mail it off and get in back in about a week.

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You do not have to replace the VSA actuator, you can have yours repaired and reinstalled. It costs about $250 and you mail it off and get in back in about a week.

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Greg1c, Thank you for your response. I saw the earlier posts about the company that repairs the modules but wasn't sure if anyone actually used them and had satisfactory results. I will think about it as getting the part off and shipped and returned is a whole different level of complexity in my case. I may bite the bullet and have the dealer diagnose it as there is always a small chance that they find something else, lose connection or wire problem or liquid as opposed to having to replace the unit. Thanks again.
 
Personally I would not pay well over $1,000 to replace the VSA modulator. The other reason is the part is simply not available, has been on backorder forever and people are waiting months for one.

The modulator is basically 3 parts

1. The pump
2. The solenoids
3. The electronics


The VSA is an electromechanical hydraulic device. All the brake lines lead to this device, it is the ABS system. The normal problem inside the device is the solenoids fail. They are the on/off flow control for brake fluid. As you can imagine fail safe was a concern, which is why the brake system still works when the VSA module no longer works.

But, ABS does not work and because the VSA uses the ABS system to keep control of the car the ABS and VSA system(s) go offline when there is an issue.

People have been repairing ABS modules for years and years. I would not hesitate to send mine off and have it repaired for the going price of $250 plus shipping. Yes you have to do without your vehicle while the part is in transit. I consider that a small inconvenience considering the dealership would most likely take several days, and several trips.

Your other option is to get a used one and that is a lot of work too.

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Resolution:
So far, there have been talks about problems with very little towards a solution. I had to get the car ready for my son to return to college and didn't want to send it back with these safety warnings which at minimum were distracting and possibly pose a hazard. If it were just me, I would have simply ignored them and kept driving as it was electrical and not mechanical. Having said that, my dealer locally in Greenwich CT had the part in stock. Not sure how but they mentioned they happenned to have 1 modulator assembly in stock and I had to ask multiple times are you sure and how but they insisted they have 1 new part in stock. Honda reduced the price of the part a bit but it still cost me a lot of money between 2 diagnosis fees and an expensive modulator assembly part. The problem appears to be fixed once the ABS modulator assembly is replaced. I suppose one can find a used one or have it repaired but I couldn't be bothered with all that as I had limited time and couldn't take any more of these problems. I will report back if the problem recurs but so far, the car is fine and warranteed for another year for this part (i will pray that it holds). Honda motor corp wouldn't do anything more as they said the price of the part was reduced for me including waiving the labor charges but I still had to pay for 2 diagnosis fees (original mechanic + Honda dealership + 50% on a very expensive part. All in all, it's done which is the best I can say and my dealership did something at least ( i am a honda loyalty customer with a few Hondas over the years) or else it would have been far worse. I will save the receipt per Honda in case this ever goes on Recall at which point Honda may reimburse me for some or all of my expenses. Best we can hope for is that everyone who has this issue report it to Honda and NHTSA as the problem is more widespread than Honda makes it out to be but nothing will happen unless people come forward. Given all the issues I've had (rear camera 3 times at my expense, other stalling issues twice), I'm seriously considering whether it's worth keep a car out of warranty as even a supposedly reliable car like Honda Accord continues to have issues at a very large expense. The new cars are all computers and computers seem to fail with regularity unlike the older cars without computers. Some of the people I know have started to go with Hyundai due to their 100k/10 year powertrain and 5 year bumper to bumper and I'm seriously considering this for the kids as I will have peace of mind of not having to deal with repair costs for 5-10 years and then sell it and start all over. Plus the newer cars all have much better safety features so maybe it's not worth holding on to cars out of warranty or extended warranty.
 
Resolution:
So far, there have been talks about problems with very little towards a solution. I had to get the car ready for my son to return to college and didn't want to send it back with these safety warnings which at minimum were distracting and possibly pose a hazard. If it were just me, I would have simply ignored them and kept driving as it was electrical and not mechanical. Having said that, my dealer locally in Greenwich CT had the part in stock. Not sure how but they mentioned they happenned to have 1 modulator assembly in stock and I had to ask multiple times are you sure and how but they insisted they have 1 new part in stock. Honda reduced the price of the part a bit but it still cost me a lot of money between 2 diagnosis fees and an expensive modulator assembly part. The problem appears to be fixed once the ABS modulator assembly is replaced. I suppose one can find a used one or have it repaired but I couldn't be bothered with all that as I had limited time and couldn't take any more of these problems. I will report back if the problem recurs but so far, the car is fine and warranteed for another year for this part (i will pray that it holds). Honda motor corp wouldn't do anything more as they said the price of the part was reduced for me including waiving the labor charges but I still had to pay for 2 diagnosis fees (original mechanic + Honda dealership + 50% on a very expensive part. All in all, it's done which is the best I can say and my dealership did something at least ( i am a honda loyalty customer with a few Hondas over the years) or else it would have been far worse. I will save the receipt per Honda in case this ever goes on Recall at which point Honda may reimburse me for some or all of my expenses. Best we can hope for is that everyone who has this issue report it to Honda and NHTSA as the problem is more widespread than Honda makes it out to be but nothing will happen unless people come forward. Given all the issues I've had (rear camera 3 times at my expense, other stalling issues twice), I'm seriously considering whether it's worth keep a car out of warranty as even a supposedly reliable car like Honda Accord continues to have issues at a very large expense. The new cars are all computers and computers seem to fail with regularity unlike the older cars without computers. Some of the people I know have started to go with Hyundai due to their 100k/10 year powertrain and 5 year bumper to bumper and I'm seriously considering this for the kids as I will have peace of mind of not having to deal with repair costs for 5-10 years and then sell it and start all over. Plus the newer cars all have much better safety features so maybe it's not worth holding on to cars out of warranty or extended warranty.
Not counting what you paid to the original mechanic, how much total did you have to pay Honda dealership for the diagnosis and repair?
 
I may have posted this elsewhere, but I had this issue too in 2021 and had same problem (VSA modulator on permanent backorder). I got lucky after watching and waiting and nabbed a used unit on Ebay for like $150 and ended up changing it myself rather than paying the dealer to do it. Luckily the unit I bought on Ebay worked!

I know "chip shortage" has screwed up everything but I was highly pissed that such a safety item just "wasn't available" even if I had wanted to pay the $1000 to buy one at the dealer
 
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Jun 23, 2013

bump... same problem is happening to my car... has yours been repaired? the current lights that come on are... FCW, LDW, Air Bag, Check Engine, Power Steering, ABS, and Tire Pressure monitoring system. On top of that my ac stops working (the blower is on but no cold air... i brought it to the dealer the first time, they had "Reset" the computer... Clearly this did not fix the problem
I'm having the same issue with my accord. what did you do to clear the faults you had?


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Oct 29, 2015
I am having the same problem with my car. I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow

FCW warning scared me to death I didn't know whether to keep driving or stop. Made it home though. Called the dealership immediately. I love my accord but do not want this stuff going on.
what did the dealer do to fix your FCW issue?
 
I just submitted a complaint via that NHTSA link. I've been experiencing that FCW system failure for a while now. For me it started at around the 280K mile mark.
 
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