(not sure if this is the same forum as hondaforum.com, if so, I apologize for posting in both. This is a serious problem as this is our only car and seems about dead).

I have a 1996 Honda Accord with 268k miles.

About 2 1/2 months ago I noticed the odometer and speedometer quit working.
I also had issues with the car sputtering and having a hard time to start driving when I was stopped at stop lights etc.

A few days later I had the VSS replaced. The car seemed to work fine for about 24 hours, but the next day it also had problems sputtering and sometimes the speedometer would zoom up to really high speeds and drop back down to zero and then work fine. The odometer worked also when the speedometer would work.

Then one day I hopped in and tried driving down the street. It almost seemed like it was going to stall and the speedometer was flickering up and down. By the time I got home again, about 15-20 min later, the car was working fine.

From that time until now, I've let the car warm up. I started at 20 minutes and that worked fine for about a month. Then I had to do it 30 min and the car still ran fine. No sputtering, but then a few weeks ago the jumping speedometer needle began doing so while I had been driving for quite a while and now the car sputters a lot, always accompanied by a jumping speedometer needle.

Funny thing is, it seems like it only used to happen when the engine was cool/cold. Now, most of the time but there are still good days when after 45 min of warming up, or running, it acts better.

What in the world is inside the 96 Honda (auto) that needs to warm up to get gas to the engine or the right mixture of gas to the engine? Whatever it is, it seems like whatever it is, is not getting warmed up any longer.

I'm not a mechanic so this is something I will have to take to a shop. I've done that already, but the car wouldn't show any problems when I did.

Thanks,
Brian in Texas

 

Has the check engine light been On? If yes, the get the codes read at autozone or other auto parts store and post them for help.

What has been done to the car so far? spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor?

Description suggests two problems; ignition fault causing drivability issues and faulty gauge panel causing odometer/speedometer faults.

Since you don't DIY, your effort should be to find the best honda mechanic in your city to perform repairs. Suggest asking around at auto parts stores, angies list subscription, neighbors, co-workers for references and leads.

good luck