1998 honda accord with surge problem in accelerator

Connie, I'm not sure about the surge but I know the 6th generation accords (1998-2002) would get a build up of carbon and gunk in the throttle body. This would cause the throttle plate to stick a little bit and then the car would surge as you push the gas pedal a little harder. I could guess it would be possible that if it was never cleaned, the throttle could stick open. I can't say for sure this is your problem but it has a simple solution. Is your Accord the 4 cylinder or V6 model?

Hi Walter thanks for the reply. this is bill, connie's husband, and I'm the one who should have looked at the car the first time it happened, but i will certainly do it now. it is the 4 cylinder, and i had thought of pulling off the air hose so i could look at the plate that opens and closes when the throttle cable moves, i guess this may be what you are referring to. if that is what you mean, is there a simple way to clean them without getting a bunch of gunk down in the engine? I disconnected the cruise control cable, as that was the only other thing i could think might have caused it, and we could find nothing wrong with either cable, the cruise cable or the one to the pedal, or the mechanism it attaches to, but we only checked it from the outside, we didn't take off the air intake hose. its working fine now, i drove it several times since we got it back, but connie is pretty afraid to drive it, she swears it is going to happen again, but we just don't know where to look or what could have happened, other than the cruise control went berserk, but the honda dealership tells us that is impossible.

Hi Bill, Like I said, I'm not sure if this will solve your problem but it will at least help it...First go to your local auto parts store and buy a can of intake throttle body cleaner. Do not use carb cleaner as most of these leave a residual oil and may not be safe for all sensors. Remove the plastic intake tube from the throttle body. It is just one phillips screw clamp and put the tube to the side. Shine a flashlight into the throttle body and you will see the throttle plate. There will most likely be a ton of black goop in there. Use the throttle body cleaner to thoroughly clean all of it out. Open the throttle plate using the place where the throttle cable attaches and make sure you get the "lip" of goop that forms where the throttle plate meets the throttle body as this is where the sticky throttle occurs. Use the whole can. Try to get the back of the throttle plate if you can. After the can is empty, leave the tube off and start the car. It is not gonna wanna start very easily. It is essentially going to be flooded. Just keep cranking the engine over in 6 second cranks until it starts. It is gonna run really rough and a ton of white smoke will be coming out of the exhaust. I guess I should mention do this outside lol. If the car does not want to start, crank the engine with the pedal all the way to the floor and it will start. It will run rough fora little bit but give it gas so it doesn't stall out. You may get a check engine light. Don't worry about that. It will most likely be a misfire code and go off after a bit. Reattach the intake tube and take the car for a drive. Floor the gas a few times and it will blow all the crap out. Make sure the engine gets nice and hot. Hit redline a few times. That's all there is to it. Good luck.

Hi, this JUST happened to me as well - literally about 2 weeks ago and it has freaked me out because it was as I was parking the car - but your story is exactly the same as mine, parking in my spot and then all of a sudden it just flew over the cement block and into a concrete wall! I know as well that I did NOT hit the gas pedal as I was parking and would never have floored it for it to go that fast! I too have a lot of damage as the speed it surged at was incredible. I am glad I saw your post because I thought I was going insane. I have a Honda Logo (Lachic) and can't find much information on it. When I saw your post I just had to reply that I had the EXACT same problem and it scared me half to death. Good luck with your car and I hope you had success in finding out the problem. Thanks, Liana

This same thing happened to me three different times the first two times I was able to stop the car but barely, and the third time I was pulling into a parking spot and suddenly it accelerated and I could not hold it back this time and ran into a car parked in front of me, I didn't damage the other car but mine sustained all the damage. We purchased it and three weeks later this happened. I took it back to the dealer and they had a corporate Rep look at it and they came back saying it passed all their specks so they were not going to fix my bumper.

I had this happen to me yesterday on my 1998 Honda Accord EX ~ Scared me to death. I put the gear in N and shut off the engine. It started and ran fine then but I'm going to have my mechanic check it out.

Hi. I've noticed several posts about the same exact issue that happened to me this morning. I was driving a 2001 Honda Accord on side streets going about 35 mph and noticed that the car was accelerating on its own without me pressing on the gas. I had to press the brakes to slow the car down but as soon as I lifted my foot a bit off of the brake it started to accelerate again as if it was set to a fast speed on cruise control. As I was driving I checked if I had accidentally hit cruise control, but I know that by pressing on the brake, this cancels it, plus I checked the check engine light and pushed the "cancel" on my steering wheel; nothing changed. I was so afraid that I had lost complete control of my car, so I had to use as much force as I could on the brake to slow the car down enough to turn into a side street, then I put the car in park, the engine was revving at max speed, and then I just turned it off. I tried turning it back on a few minutes later, which lead to the engine revving like the gas pedal was floored. I turned it off immediately and then back on again about 20 minutes later to try to put it into Neutral, and it was revving again and I couldn't move the handle (it was stuck on park). Finally, a tow truck came and by that time (about 2 hours later) the car started fine and was running okay. I took it to the honda dealer where they inspected it and they said everything checked out fine. I called Honda Customer Service and they said they will have a technician look at it, but based on previous posts, I'm afraid they will not find anything wrong with the car. If they don't fix whatever caused that acceleration problem, I don't think I'd ever drive that car again.

I've had the same problem will cleaning the iac valve with carb cleaner help this issue? I can't afford a new one it's outrageous and it my only transportation

Hi, I wrote about this a few years ago and have since sold my Honda as I did not feel safe. I did have it all cleaned - and maybe it helped but I still felt very uncomfortable driving it as they didn't think that would help - I am sure the mechanics thought I was crazy but it always did surge a bit when idling so I sold it and now have Toyota. Good luck!

My 2003 Honda Accord accelerated on its

Own twice, no cause was found but the second time my car went through my bank because it wouldn't stop and the car was going so fast. The car was totaled but Allstate is blaming me even though they Couldn't find a reason. I have contacted the American Honda Association, They looked up my Case and told me they stand behind the Allstate findings, raised my rates, and I had nothing to do with either accident. I am so Disappointed and sad that they blamed me but since I was driving, they held me responsible regardless that no cause was found. Does Anyone know of anything else I can do? Thank you, Jeanne

sorry to hear - I am not sure what else you can do - I am not from the US so I don't know about insurance issues - I never could find out any reason for this surging but I know it happens and I have read of others who had same problem. It was always very "testy" when I hit the gas pedal - that is to say it would jump ahead as soon as my foot LIGHTLY touched it. Mechanics never found a problem and as I posted they didn't believe me either. It was very frustrating. Good luck.

My 1999 Honda Accord EX V6 sedan has done this twice previously to me. Scared me. Seemed the car was possessed. I stepped on brake with all my might and managed to slow it down enough to shut it off. TODAY it happened to my son, TWICE. He almost ran into a car the first time. The second time almost went through the auto part store window. ANYBODY have a remedy for this??? HELP !!

I had similar issue. Spent lots of time and money and changed everything, coolant, belt, clean throttle, water pump... Still nothing.. Heard from someone that cruise control might be an issue. So took it my mechanic and told him to just yank out the cruise control cable. Accords have two cables. One for throttle and one for cruise control. He looked at me funny but did it anyway. Problem completely gone!

@meandragon81, it's been 4?weeks since you posted this. Any problems since? My mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with car, but I'm scared to drive it again. They won't yank the cable since they didn't get code for it. Guess I'm doing it myself.

My 2000 Honda Accord nearly killed me..because it accelerated on its own as I went to brake for the red light ahead. Witnesses & a cop who came to the scene tried to tell me a car cannot possibly do that and it must be my fault that I stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brakes. It did not happen like that!! I finally hit a tree and that's what stopped the car. THANK GOD I came out alright and no one else died either!! Can someone please help me as what I should do now because a few people are telling me to get a lawyer but after reading all the other stories on here it seems like it would just end up being a total waste of time & money. PLEASE HELP!!!!

I was parking(11/2/2016) my 2007 Honda Accord in my driveway speed was almost 0 miles my foot was on brake, so before I could put the car in park, the car took off at great speed on its own went through the bushes and hit a big tree about 20 feet from where I was parking, airbag deployed and still front wheel churning and car horn was making loud noise on for a bout a minutes or two I some how put the car in park and turned off the engine. The car has so much the damage to the front and of the front bumper came off and the metal which connected frame which is in the front bent radiator broke an leaking antifreeze solution on one side head light crushed and hood bent and jammed shut but all bent could see engine from the opening and side fender on both sides bent looks terrible. All this Acceleration and travelling about 20 feet and hitting the tree took a second or two, before even I could realize it was all over was at the tree airbag deployed my neck and back hurting badly. couple of days later I asked some one to take the car away from the from the tree it would not move from part to reverse or drive.

Hi OwnerHondaAccord2007 So sorry to hear this happened to you too!! This is Marie (the answer before you). How are you doing? My car had to be towed & totaled and I thank God everyday I came out in one piece as I thought I was going to die and no one else was involved. Also, so thankful there was a tree I crashed into that ended up stopping the car. I am not okay on the mental end of it though as I just can't get over such a situation like this with a car could actually happen. The cop at the scene did not believe me instead he believed my foot was on the gas pedal not the brake. So I also thank God for people like you and the others on here that also took the time to comment & share their experiences. I wish there was something that could be done about this but my car is gone now and a lawyer told me my car was to old to do anything anyway. I hope you were able to get somewhere with this problem being you had a 2007 and could prove there is a mechanical/engine problem that is real and death could most definitely be a result with this kind of defect. Hope you can get back to me on this matter again. Take care and hope you are feeling better.

Also to OwnerHondaAccord2007 My accident happened on October 17, 2016. ~Marie~

This just happened to our 2001 Honda Accord. My husband was pulling into a parking space, foot on ehtnbrake, when the car raced forward. It took down 2 concrete posts, another car and the corner of the building ahead of it. Just 2 days before the accelerator stuck while the car was parked in our garage. Took it to be checked out and were told the computer passed all tests. Car is totaled and a lot of property damage, but no one was injured so it is all good. My husband has a hear condition and two new hips. This could have killed him or someone else.If you have ever experienced this problem Do NOT drive that car again. It is a death trap.

Just purchased a 98 Accord LX and I am noticing the surging as I come to a stop.

This same situation just happened to my boyfriend on his way to Miami last night Honda dealership he was towed to said cause was a sticky throttle body and cost 800 for new one. Researching to see how many people have had this issue. Wondering how many people were killed in Hondas due to this problem. Possible Class Action lawsuit here....this is not acceptable and Honda needs to be held accountable for this. Too dangerous to ignore. Can everyone on this site, and any new person viewing this site with the same issues, please contact me at janice.mcmahon@ymail.com. Thank you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L788jKEVblY

Thanks

Just happened to my Mother yesterday. It took off on its own. Broken shoulder and ribs 1999 Honda Accord. Why isn't anyone starting a class action law suit against Honda? If there is one can someone let me know? Please!!

I had the exact problem. Spent 3 months finding the problem. Then someone in the forum said something about cruise control. Disconnected the cable from. Ansnits fixed. Been two years and no problem. Honda uses two separate throttle cables l. So basically the cruise throttle was getting stuck. Ask your mechanic to remove the cruise control cable. He will give you weird look but this is the only fix!

This just happened to me today. I was exiting the freeway and I couldn't stop. I swore my car was possessed. I had zero control. It was so scary.

Happen to me yesterday managed to stop 98 Honda Odyssey and turned it off !!! Looked under the hood and the cruise control cable was still engaged , so l started it up again thinking I could pump the accelerator and release it but revving at 5000rpm I turned it off again, now I will disconnect the cruise control too bad it’s a useful option