This will be a slightly longish question,I'll keep it as brief as possible.
thanks in advance for any info,I really appreciate.
1997 Accord 4cyl lx,this issue has been over a period now of almost 3 weeks.
Check engine light code is not an actually a vehicle speed sensor,or VSS code (if there is one?) but says "vehicle speed irrationalities" if I remember correctly.
Speedo initially was just eratic,quitting/bouncing/jumping,but was accompanied from time to time,by what feels like a missing,but is actually the transmission not being able to find the correct rpm/gear,for just a few seconds,then back to normal (other than speedo intermediately working/not working)
Talked to my mechanic,who I absolutely trust, and he suggested VSS but said it absolutely should not cause it to do the other "missing" thing either...so I don't want to put close to 200bucks in a VSS,obviously if my mechanic is not confident in the diagnosis...
fast forward 3 weeks and the car missing thing is getting much worse and frequently haopening,and the speedo almost never works but sometimes just pops back to life and works....
So much question is could the vss make the car do as such?
Any other ideas?
Thanks again,really appreciate it

 

At this point, I'd have to agree with your mechanic. It shouldn't cause a miss, but it can affect transmission operation.
I guess the big un-asked question is does the engine miss when the speedo isn't working? If so, then it kind of verifies that the VSS is trying to quit, or it's an ECU issue. I only mention it, as the ECU runs a lot of stuff on these cars.
Keep in mind that I'm just rationalizing it, and it could be something else entirely.

 

Had the same problem replaced vss twice sent cluster off for repair.

 

Well it isn't really a miss,perhaps i should have explained better,it IS the transmission...when it does it I can put in neutral and car will rev with no misses,then i can put back in gear and it returns...it's like the transmission is trying to find the proper gear/rpms for a few sec then goes back to normal.
I ordered the VSS from eBay,12 dollars,lol
Gonna pay someone to replace it I guess.
I supposed I need to you tube it,don't know if I could do it myself.

 

Replacing a VSS isn't too bad of a job. It is just a few bolts to remove and replace. Access is a bit of a challenge.

When your speedometer is not working, does cruise control work?

 

Cruise doesn't work at all.

 

Did the cruise control work before you started having this problem?

 

The cruise control runs off the VSS is why he's asking. Well that and he's trying to figure out if this just started or has been a long term kind of thing.


Keep in mind that the AT attached to the V6 cars is known to go. There's also 2 versions (actually, there's 2 versions of the 4 cylinder version too) of it, 98-99 and 2000-2002. The changes are due to the electronics used inside.

 

It did used to work before...code is p0501 vehicle speed sensor circuit performance

 

Testing is needed but this is sounding like a "duck" so I'm going to call it a "duck".

The VSS can be had for 50~75 (been a while since I bought one). Changing it is nothing hard, remove the air intake tube from the filter to the TB and then there are two screws and one electrical connector......careful with the little "pin" that goes between the VSS and the trans - most new ones come with one but you want to be sure to locate it and be sure it is seated properly.