VSA light on and Brakes are locked!
 

Hello forum,

First time post unfortunately its about a mechanical problem but here goes.

I purchased a used 2006 Accord Ex Automatic a couple months ago. Car had just over 65,000 miles or so on it. About a week ago I started the car in park and tried to shift into drive/reverse and the shifter wouldn't move it was stuck in park. After a couple minutes of trying to shift and turning the car on/off, the shifter became unstuck and I put the car into drive and thought nothing much of the problem.

It happened a couple times since afterwards and each time it happened it took longer to get the car unstuck. A few days ago the car became stuck in park again and I couldn't get the car into gear unless I did a shift-lock override. I did some research and a common issue with these cars was that it was likely a faulty "brake switch". This morning I had the car serviced and the mechanic replaced the switch with a new one. I was hoping that would be the last of that issue but it seems like it might be worse now....

I was literally driving back today from the mechanics shop to my house (7 miles or so) and within a mile of driving I stopped at a traffic light and when it turned green I tried to go but the car wouldn't move faster than a slow crawl and didn't want to roll. The VSA light turned on and the brakes were locked even though I wasn't touching the brake pedal or the E-brake. So I pulled the car over immediately and towed the car back to the shop.

What doesn't make sense is that after I towed the car back to the shop I turned the car back on and it started up with the VSA light off and the brakes were fine so I started to drive around the parking lot and within a hundred feet or so the VSA light turned back on and the brakes locked up.

Of course this happens on a 3 day weekend so I won't know what the mechanic has to say until Tuesday morning. I'm stressed out about this though and I don't know if I can deal with the stress for 3 whole days of now knowing. Does anybody have any advice or experience with this I'd like to hear how to fix it or at least what's in store Tuesday morning.

Think it could it still be the brake switch? What about a different issue? A friend of mine suggested that the ABS pump might be failing and another suggested that it is electrical in nature.

I'm not a "car guy" so about all I can say is that it is definitely not low fuel or a flat tire which is all I'm qualified to diagnose FYI.... and yes I did try turning it back on and off again and it didn't work:rolleyes:

I don't know much about 06 Accord, but i will bring the car back and have the mechanic double check the work. It could be a bad brake switch or could be a faulty shifter interlock system or the shifter assembly itself. When you step on the brake do you hear the shifter interlock release ?

I am not sure about the source of your problem. When the VSA light turns on, it means that the anti-lock brake system detected a problem and set a code. You need a scanner to get those codes. The brake position sensor is one of those items that can cause the VSA light to turn on.

Now for the shift-lock. You should have checked that the brake lights were working properly. The locking mechanism on the shifter should have been tested first. Specifically to see if you were getting voltage and ground on the locking mechanism. The electrical components of the newer accords are more complicated than older accords, because the engine computer handles a lot of the electronics, but some basic stuff can be done.

The interlock problem is probably not directly related to brakes locking up.

However, your mechanic may have done something that caused this problem. For instance, did he attempt to adjust the brake pedal pushrod length? I can't imagine why he would do this, but it's possible to adjust where the brakes will lock up.

Otherwise, the brake lockup is a coincidence, and may be related to improper installation of new pads (has brake work been done recently?).

The inter-lock problem is most likely a defective brake light switch or mis-adjusted lock-out solenoid (not fully releasing interlock). Adjustment requires removing the console cover for access.

good luck

I agree with TexasHonda that the interlock problem is probably not related to the brakes locking up. Since the brake switch was already replaced, if you no longer have problems shifting out of Park anymore, then that one problem may have been resolved.

The best start is to get the diagnostic trouble code(s). Some Accords in your model years did have problems either with the Accelerator Pedal Position sensor, Throttle Position Sensor, or the ABS modulator.

The mechanic can get the trouble codes to narrow down where the problem is.

Here is a link with some more information. Some of the information applies to both the L4 and V6 models, the parts may just be located a little differently under the hood.

honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2829231

Texas, Redbull I think you guys are right on this one about it being seperate issues. I just can't see why the mechanic would mess with the push rod length either. Perhaps the new switch isn't OEM or was missing the button stop rubber.

Thank you for the link Redbull I'm going to head off over there right now.

Well maybe some good news after all. Tuesday morning and I got a call from the mechanic. Apparently they installed the switch and for whatever reason maybe the button on the switch was was loose or not greased but the switch became stuck after applying the brakes. They released the switch and hopefully that fixed the problem. I'll know tonight if its fixed and should anything else come out of this I'll keep the post updated. Thanks.