1996 Honda Accord sudden acceleration in reverse

Tiny
STEVENHAUGE
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 HONDA ACCORD
  • 165,000 MILES
My daughter's Accord had a leak in the power steering line, so I replaced it for her. When I was done, I put in new fluid, idled the car for a few minutes and moved the steering wheel back and forth until the fluid leveled off. I left it idling as I put my tools away, and then when I got in and put it in reverse to glide out of the driveway, it began to accelerate rapidly on its own, as if my foot had the accelerator to the floor. I threw it into nuetral as fast as I could! I was now out in the street, so I put it into drive and took it around the block to check the power steering. It drove normally. Then I decided to check reverse again and the same thing happen: it instantly began to rev up and I had to STAND on the break to keep from flying backward into a parked car. What's going on? This happened around midnight so I couldn't reach my daughter to ask her if it's ever happened before. I feel like she would have told me. Is there a vaccuum hose that I might have accidentally disconnected while replacing the power steering line? It was a bitch to get out and back in, and it's possible something snagged along the way. Thoughts?
Monday, October 7th, 2013 AT 10:12 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
All you can do is go back over your work looking for something. Also look for something that could be pulling on the throttle cable when the engine shifts position by putting it into reverse. Also, I hope you used Honda specific fluid in that power steering as you can ruin the whole system by not doing that. Hondas use special fluid.
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Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 AT 3:19 AM
Tiny
STEVENHAUGE
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Thanks for the response. I'll go back over my work this morning. One followup question: if there was pulling on the throttle cable, wouldn't the acceleration problem happen in both Drive and Reverse? Or are there separate cables for the two? What should I look for? Can you link me to a cable diagram?
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Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 AT 6:24 AM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
No, because the engine will twist in opposite direction forward and reverse.
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Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 AT 6:31 AM

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