1995 Honda Accord. 294,850 miles. Just about everything under the hood is less than two years old. Had the car for 8 months with ZERO problems.

Today, driving on the highway, I was going 70 mph. The car simply DIED in the middle of driving. The RPM dropped to zero and it felt like someone had stomped on the break and then it steadily started slowing down.

When I pulled off at an exit, the car had the check engine, battery and oil lights on. I turned off my car and tried calling someone. When they didn't answer, I decided to see what would happen if I started the car up. It started just fine. I drove off, going as much as 60, stopped at a gas station two miles from where I originally was, put some oil in and then started the car fine again. Drove it a mile down a city street and got to work without anymore problems.

Any clue what this might be? I haven't left work yet and I'm kind of terrified to drive it. I called a couple of mechanics and they both said there was nothing they could do unless they were somehow able to recreate the problem.

I know there's a problem and it's frustrating that mechanics I talked to say they can't fix something they can't recreate. Any ideas?

 

Try starting the car and shaking the key.

If the car stalls out, then the electrical portion of the ignition switch is the likely culprit.

 

trust me it is frustrating for the techs as well........
many things could cause what you experienced ( ign switch, fuel pump, coil, igniter etc etc ) an honest tech would wait till he ( she ) can duplicate the problem, diagnose and replace only what is needed

a cheesy tech would just start replacing parts on guesses,, after all it is your money
Which one would you rather work on your car ??
You might want to leave the car with the shop ( 1 that specializes on Hondas or the dealer ) and see if they can duplicate the issue,, it could take 1 hr it could take 1 day ,,it might not happen again for a week or so,

If i were to guess, it sounds like an igniter issue but i don't like to guess, i like to DIAGNOSE and fix properly.....Pa suggestion is a good one try it ..

By the way.. why did you add oil to the engine?? was it low ??

 

It was low...I was already on my way to put some oil in it before the car did that.

As for the guessing, I absolutely understand and I wasn't blaming the tech at all...just frustrated and worried that I don't know what's wrong and that it could happen at any second again.

And I tried the key thing...no luck. I've been told that the PGM-FI relay or the fuel pump could be the issue by some friends of mine.