After my car being at the Honda dealer for 15 weeks my head is about to explode. As I work with them to resolve the outstanding issues, I need some advice.

The Reader's Digest version is this: driving my car with 228,000 miles on it. Runs super well, very well maintained, etc. Came to a stop and the engine shut off. Being a hybrid, that's normal. However, when I went to accelerate, I noticed the car was completely DEAD. As if all batteries had been taken out of the car. No crank, no noise - just a green flashing key on my dash. Easy, it's an immobilizer fix, right?

Honda states they 1) replaced the key; 2) replaced the positive terminal cable which had some corrosion; 3) determined it was a bad ECM, but when I have them 3 different used ECMs they decided it wasn't that; 4) bad sub harness to the ECM; 5) bad whole-car harness; 6) bad countershaft speed sensor.

So, doing items 1 - 4 above didn't provide any start. They then did #5 but they also replaced the countershaft speed sensor. Seems dumb to do 2 different things from a troubleshooting angle, but okay. Anyway, the car starts and it's all good to go. EXCEPT - they say I need a new transmission because it will not shift out of 1st gear.

Got a call today from Honda saying "we are going to wash our hands of this, come pick up your car." Of course, I haven't paid a cent because the car isn't functioning properly, but they're fine with that. They believe it needs a new trans, bottom line.

I have been maintaining that it sounds like an electrical issue to me, not a mechanical issue. The car moves in 1st, can start when the shift selector is in 2, Reverse works, etc. It has exhibited no "your transmission's going to die" problems before this. When I saw the car today, I immediately noticed that the speedometer and odometer both didn't work. I also noticed the IMA light on, as well as Electric Power Steering icon. None of this was a problem before they started messing around with the car.

It seems to me, with my limited understanding that the speedometer and odometer truly indicate that something isn't hooked up right. And if the car doesn't think it's moving - since the speed shows 0 MPH, it of course wouldn't shift.

Anyway, your thoughts please. And would a bad countershaft speed sensor cause the car to stop and disable cranking?

Thanks.

 

I don't know if a countershaft speed sensor would cause this problem, but I'm leaning towards it wouldn't.

Are you planning on diagnosing the problem yourself? Scan for codes if you have a scanner. If you can get ahold of a more advanced scanner, you may be able to do some more diagnostics.

All the gauges are controlled by data on newer cars, so a bad speedometer doesn't mean the speed sensor is not connected properly. A lot of communication is sent through control modules that are essentially mini-computers. I'd try to find out if there are any issues communicating with them using a scan tool.

Was any work done on the car before you had this issue? Did the car sit for a long time, take on water, etc. before the problem started?