Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I drove the V6 and it seemed really strong after driving the I4, but when the ECO light was on and you gunned it, it seemed to lurch/lunge 3 or more times, I'm sure one or two were the transmission down shifting, but when the ECO light wasn't on it didn't seem to do it as often.
I decided I didn't like the idea of the car shutting cylinders off without me having any control. It seems like more tech than is needed for a daily driver. I wish they would have made it an option you could just turn off.
Back to the V6 vs I4, if you haul lots of people and cargo, get the V6. I got the I4 190HP, but it's mainly a daily driver for myself and my 3 year old daughter in town. However, it's on the highway a lot since I live in Marana and use I-10 to get most places in Tucson. It will go with no problem, I've never felt like I "needed" more power, there are time where a little more HP would have been nice, but I'm sure I could say the same about the V6.
As for the other cars the beat the Accord in tests, like the Hyundai Sonata (247 complaints filed with the NTHSB) that tested the car three times to get the rating they wanted, or the Nissan Altima with their long history of failed CVTs (Nissan extended the warranty to 120k/10yrs on certain year Altimas), or the 3 star front crash rating of the Fusion, I could go on but won't.
I chose the Accord for safety and reliability, but the seats... what were they thinking. They are the biggest drawback for me, my wife thinks they are just fine, but if I'm in the car for more than 15 minutes my back starts to hurt. You can read here on Edmunds forum or the Honda Accord forums about a possible fix, if you don't mind digging into the back of the driver seat.
Sorry for the long reply.
I'm definetly going to get the 4cyl because this forum has made me paranoid about the v6.
I test drove another 2 of the v6s yesterday and did'nt really notice anything major. Minor shifts I can feel in the front seat while driving on the highway and my wife seemed perfectly fine with it.
But the fact that it could start to vibrate and surge in the future has me really not interested in it anymore. And the fact that people on here say that Honda has given them the run around and not helping the ones who do have problems.
The type of person I am, I know I will just be looking for problems once I buy it. :mad:
michael0137 thanks for your response as well, I'm not interested in the Acura because I'm guessing maintenance and repairs would cost more than a Honda. My minds set on the 2011 accord ExL
90% sure Im gonna get the 4cyl, but thanks again for the advice
So far the VCM on the 08 V6 Accord Sedan is somewhat annoying, but hasn't broken, thrown service codes, or failed. Until that happens, I just am ignoring the oddball sensations, and driving it until it does throw a service code or I want a new car. It still outruns and out handles most of the other crap people are driving around here, and the price and features were right.
A new Acura of the model you suggest is just a 'little' more expensive than a new fully loaded V6 Accord Sedan - 'little' being around $20K or so. As for the mileage, the EPA rating for a V6 RL AWD is nowhere near the 29 highway - and it is very unusual for a typical driver to exceed that number.
I always want the toys on a new car, so the loaded price is realistic for me - and for $50+ there are higher rated / reviewed cars to choose.
------------------------------------
2011 Acura RL test results from C&D
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q4/2011_acura_rl_sh-awd-short_take_roa- - d_test
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $56,010 (base price: $48,060)
ENGINE TYPE: SOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 224 cu in, 3664 cc
Power (SAE net): 300 bhp @ 6300 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 271 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 110.2 in Length: 195.8 in
Width: 72.7 in Height: 57.3 in
Curb weight: 4115 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.1 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 34.2 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 6.4 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.7 sec @ 96 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 132 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 180 ft
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 17/24 mpg
C/D observed: 16 mpg
Our 2008 Honda Accord was fine for 28K - then went beserk, tranny downshifting by itself, VSA lights on, D ligh.t flashing on the dash. The dealer siad it was input and output sensors in the tranny going bad, but when I got the car back, it was not right, staying in 5th even after turning a slow corner and not downshifting. I think the VCM had something to do with it, its constant in and out of 6-4-3 modes constantly, causing the tranny to shift more often than it would otherwise need to with a normal V6
I am thrilled with the car - everything I remembered about an Acura, and more. The technology in this car is awesome, and you can't touch it in a BMW or Merc for less than $20,000 + new. And I have owned those - repair hell - BMW = Break My Wallet. When they are runing right, they are great cars. Takes too much to keep them that way IMHO. I don't want to be taking my car to the shop all the time. The used Acuras we had? Bought one with 96k on it for our son, drove it to 168K and sold it - no troubles. Another with 122K - one owner, drove to 180K and donated it. No problems. '94 Legend Coupe with 49K - put another 25K on it without any problems, then moved to NYC and sold it. A good used Acura, certified? You can't go wrong. My NEWLY purchased Honda gave us more serious trouble and nearly stranded us on the road. Unacceptable and gone.
I would love to have those email addresses for the CEO and directors. Please post or email me at gusmorgan@cox.net.
thanks,
Gus
HAHAHAHA.
Sometimes you can really feel the VCM in my Accord get confused. I just ignore it, as I know the car is running 'normal' - but it is easy to tell, regardles of the silly eco light (marketing gimmick).
Dealer said there were no firmware update at my last visit.
----------
The also did the fix in the TSD for the package shelf rattle, it didn't work.
Don't get me wrong: I STILL don't like VCM & will never buy another Honda if it has VCM.
I guess we will have to drive our Accord for awhile.
FWIW, we have no local dealers for Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Land Rover or Volvo. That's the price you pay for living where there's few people, no traffic and no smog--works for me!
Regarding VCM mileage, my daughter just drove our 2011 Accord VCM from Indy to Nashville and with only 2,000 miles on the car, it averaged 32.5mpg.
Not bad.
AND, it has not burned a drop of oil.
But that said, I will never again buy any car with variable cylinder management regardless of the manufacturer. It is disappoionting to see Honda now put the VCM Engine in the Odyssey, Accord, and now the Pilot.
I hate it. Hope they never do it to the Acura or I will be finished with them after 30 years of loyal ownership. And given the latest from the EPA? I intend to hang onto my '08 RL for as long as possible.
I stripped the trunk and removed the rear seat in our 2010 Accord EX-L 4-door and glued in a huge bunch of Dynamat on all the exposed surfaces. This dropped the noise level to the point that it is now tolerable. It took an entire afternnon & evening to get the job done, but you can have Dynamat installed by some car stereo shops--expensive though. They can also do the inside of the doors & entire floor if you want more noise reduced. If you don't like noise, Dynamat is your friend!
When I removed the back seat, there was only one very small strip, about 2" x 12-15" of what could be considered sound deadening material stuck on the sheet metal. I was able to simply pry it out and toss it away. I can't imagine it deadened or reduced much noise as it was less than 1/4" thick and resembled dried mud.
High levels of road, tire & wind noise was mentioned by Consumer Reports as one of the reasons they no longer recommend the new 2011 Honda Civic. Older Civic models had been high on CR's list for many years.
What the heck is going on at Honda?
The seemingly never-ending problem with excessive wind, tire & road noise is SO easy to fix, yet Honda won't step up and do what is needed. This issue will continue to plague Honda and become a primary reason potential buyers reject their products. IMHO, this issue shouldn't exist, especially in cars that were much quieter in the past.
As a side note, this particular topic has seemed to attract an unusually high number of dissatisfied Accord owners, especially those with VCM problems/issues that Honda refuses to fix. Perhaps that's due to not having a different topic on this forum where problems/issues can be openly discussed/debated. Whatever. It's good for the soul to have a place to vent & rant, especially if you have been treated badly.
If it's a person's first Accord, they don't notice. But if you have owned an Accord from certain prior generation models, it's painfully obvious.
The car has gone from a slightly tight interior size with nice features/performance/build quality, to a butt large living room sofa (ala the Crown Victoria) with any model other than the EX or higher model feeling like a rental car due to strippage of features. That my opinion, as I have an 08 Accord EX-L V6 NAVI, and got an a 08 LX loaner from the dealer during service - BLEAH!
The Acura TSX is what an Accord is overseas, and seems more in tune with what prior generations were. I should have looked at it, but I didn't expect the Accord to have certain issues, but it does.
It also seems like the dealers are turning into the stereotypical domestic car dealers of old - feeding people bs on service issues, getting back into pushing packages of services for mileage intervals (instead of what the auto maker recommends), etc.
And yes, every time I drive a decent highway trip, the VCM is right there bogging in and out, along with the rear package shelf rattle the dealer applied the supposed fix for. Top off with the brakes shuddering in hot weather on high speed braking, yet that issue doesn't seem to present on lower speed driving - weird.
He Ended up with a loaded Toyota Venza (ruled out the ugly slow selling Cross V6)with none of the VCM crap and a six speed auto>>something Honda is trying to avoid! While this may be an apple to an orange comparision, the Toyota V6s has NO VCM, is turbine smooth, with 6 speed auto and gets the same economy!.
Honda is way behind the curve..even consumer Reports said the new Civic is no longer a class leader. The Accord is nothing more than an also ran. Too bad, as I had enoyed many years with the older Accords! Reminds me of how the old GM lost its way>> paving the way for me to go to Honda to begin with! Now GM seems to get it!
I always notice the VCM, don't need the eco light to tell. The people who pay attention to their cars functioning will notice the vcm easily after driving it a bit. Only reason I haven't traded mine, is the low mileage, and job uncertainty at the moment. Normally it's three years and out for my cars - and lately that's been before the 30K mile mark.
I got a very good price on this car, even with dealer add-ons that I wanted. Trouble is, price is secondary to quality for me. My prior car was a 06 Subaru Outback Wagon XT Limited (4cyl turbo w/five speed manual) - which is a pricy vehicle for it's size. It's sticker in 06 was equal or higher than the 08 Accord EX-l V6 Navi.
This Accord has the most paint flaws of any new car I've had since 96. Kinda sad, but since I had to wait for it to be produced and delivered, I couldn't turn it down for those minor things...
I'm not ready to say GM has 'got it', yet. Have to remember that all the bankruptcy did was allow them to cut their personnel costs. It didn't suddenly create great designs, better quality, etc. The models on sale now are from before the re-org, and while they may be OK, it remains to be seen if GM will put too many incentives on them - resulting in the same 'dime a dozen' issue when getting rid of a used one (low resale).
Today I have been noticing this new problem. The car vibrates when I am driving on the freeway. At this point I am not sure what else I can do to fix this issue.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
thanks....
Yes, I won an Acura RL - made by Honda - but let me tell you - there is a WORLD of difference between them - and it is made in Japan. Tight and solid as a any German car.
I had the same problems with my 2010 V6 and the oil consumption seems to have abated with no noticeable consumption noted over the last 2000 miles.
http://mordor.rutgers.edu/accord/tsb/A10-033.PDF
http://dvpatel.homelinux.com/forumfiles/SB/A11-033.PDF
Insist the appropriate service bulletin(s) are installed in your vehicle. Print out the bulletins and take them with you. Hard to argue when you have the documentation in hand.
Thanks in advance,