Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
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
This seems wrong.
I took one long highway trip and at 60-75 Mph It got very good mileage, upwards of 32 MPG.
But I find 20 MPG over the long hall in the City very underwhelming considering both the expectations and experience I had which led me to make the purchase. (I'd expect 20 MPG City from a Honda V-6 automatic).
I have heard several possibly overlapping or conflicting explanations or rationalizations of this phenomenon:
1.) City MPG EPA estimates for automatics are *always* too high, whereas those for manuals are more or less accurate.
1a). The dealer's service manager asserted that the EPA estimates in general are "pie in the sky".
2.) Some circles of opinion suggest that there is a very long, slow upward improvement to be expected over time in the fuel economy for this car.
3.) Some point to the reformulated gas ("MTBE") in CA as the culprit here.
If (1) is in fact the case, that is quite useful and should be widely disseminated. It would explain, at any rate, the descrepancy between my experience with 5 speeds and their respective city ratings, and the new automatic and its city rating. The dealer's claim (1a) is not convincing on a number of grounds, and is at variance with my own previous experience as well. Claim (2) sounds interesting, but it is not consistent with my experience driving other new cars and so, unless new Hondas are unique in this respect, it would be interesting to have some technical supporting argument to justify this claim, or some more widewpread empirical evidence.
The bottom line is that scraping by with 20 MPG, albeit in the city, in a 2.3 Liter 4-cylinder Honda just feels wrong. I wonder if anyone really knows what might be going on here? I don't want to even bring the matter up with the dealer unless I have researched the matter to the point where I do in fact have an unassailable position.
Thanks --
R.b.
Second, while low, yours is well within what I would call the "envelope", that is the range of expectations I would consider not unreasonable depending on the usual variables. That you got over 30 in highway conditions tells me there is nothing wrong with the car. Our '98 4 cyl LX automatic generally averaged around 24 mpg in mixed suburban driving, but would easily push 30 on long trips [even at 75 mph with the AC on all the time], and yes, we occasionally saw as little as 20, especially early in the game.
I counsel patience. Call again when you get some real miles under its belt...
P.S. What I've learned about Asian vehicle's is they develop unusual noises or quirks, which are 99% of the time just that... quirks.
Solution: Just keep driving 'em till they don't drive no more. More or less, they won't let you down over the long haul(usually around 300+K conservatively)
Here's the listing for the TSB from the NHTSA site:
Service Bulletin Number: 00038
Bulletin Sequence Number: 125
Date of Bulletin: 0004
NHTSA Item Number: SB612567
Make: HONDA
Model: ACCORD
Year: 2000
Component: POWER TRAIN:TRANSMISSION:AUTOMATIC TORQUE CONVERTER (8/82)
Summary: VEHICLE MAY EXPERIENCE SHUDDER OR JUDDER WHEN DRIVING AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 20 AND 40 MPH, VIBRATION IS MOST NOTICEABLE WHEN THE TORQUE CONVERTER LOCK-UP CLUTCH IS IN THE PARTIAL LOCK-UP MODE. *MJS
I felt the shudder more often at slightly higher speeds than the TSB lists... most prominent from about 45 - 60 mph. Fortunately, nobody ever drives at those speeds... ;-)
The site lists this TSB for the 1999 and 2000 model years of Accord V-6, but not for 2001. I don't believe anything on the tranny was changed from 2000 to 2001, so I doubt that it was remedied once and for all... but I could be wrong.
The number 38 is a direct reference to the TSB in the book that Honda provides to the dealers... the service tech at my dealership showed it to me after I gave him the NHTSA information.
I never experienced the RPM drop that you describe. The torque converter replacement *might* fix it, but I really don't know.
One more thing, has anybody experience or have used hparts.com? How are their prices compared to dealers? How does one get the part #'s to use on that site other than from inquiring thru the dealer for them? Thanks in advance .
The EGR valve usally does not need replacement. The intake manifold has to be drilled at the port hole points, cleaned out and plugged. You need a few special tools for this so it may be best to get a quote for the repair..
I recently noticed that most of my indicator lights(battery, ABS, brake, doors, and tail lights) light up at or around 3000rpm. I took it to a non-honda shop and hooked it up to the battery tester. It looks like the alternator is putting out too much power(over charging) to the battery. The normal voltage, I believe, is about 12-14 volts...but at 3000rpm, the voltage reaches about 16-17 volts.
Could this problem be caused by anything other than the Alternator? Has anyone ever experienced or heard of this problem? Please help! Any advice would be very helpfull.
TIA, John
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 99I002000
Component: FUEL:THROTTLE LINKAGES AND CONTROL
Manufacturer: AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Year: 1997 Make: HONDA Model: ACCORD Recall Date: 02/17/2000
Type of Report: Tire
Potential Number of Units Affected:
Defect Summary:
THIS IS NOT A SAFETY DEFECT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SAFETY ACT. HOWEVER, IT IS DEEMED A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN BY THE AGENCY. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL FEELS ROUGH OR NOTCHY WHEN YOU PRESS IT.
Consequence Summary:
IT MAY FEEL LIKE THE CAR IS NOT RESPONDING PROPERLY WHEN TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS AND ARE REQUIRED TO MOVE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO MAKE SLIGHT SPEED ADJUSTMENTS.
Corrective Summary:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE THROTTLE CABLE.
i really appreciate ur help with all this
The mechanic told me that their was an internal leak in the modulator and it would cost $1500 to fix it. Could this be true? I have notice no external fluid leaking. I read one of your post where you stated that it could be a stuck value in the modulator.
Since my Accord has almost 92k miles on it and not worth much money, I was thinking about buying a used or rebuilt modulator and replacing the old one. Is this something I could do or does it require a certified mechanic?
Maybe because I have visited the dealership so many times (5-6 times within one year), they become somewhat quite unfriendly. What should I do? Please help.
The are two ways to see if the cable was replaced is to look at it carefully under the hood and see if it is at all weathered looking or new looking.There are a couple of cables under hood to compare it too.The other way just lets me/you know if it was charged to Honda and that is by doing a VIN / warranty inquary on your car.
The recall I was thinking of is an emissions extension which covers some 97's but not all and is broken down by VIN's so I will try and remember to bring home a VIN range for you to compare too. Uless you want to E-Mail me your VIN then I could check on the Honda net. It's up to you.. Just let me know
The area around the modulator assembly is usally visably wet with brake fluid and the res. is usally low on fluid when there is a leak. So check that and see if it is leaking. If the light comes on and the fluid is full then there are a few things it could be. If you take it out and excersise the ABS(sudden stops on a slick or sandy surface)several times and listen to the system pump presurizing you can usally fix or diag the problem depending on how long the pump runs. As for the price, that sounds as if they are replacing the unit and yes it is expensive to do so. They are not hard to replace but you will need line wrenches and a know how of how to bleed the system.Let us know how it goes..or write back if you have more questions
richard85
The temp repair should not have affected the gas mileage and mileage complaints are totaly dependant on the owner usally unless the check engine light is on or the tire presures are low.As for them being tired of seeing you, that should not be the case but if you feel it is try another dealer as your warranty is good at any Honda dealer.
1) The gas mileage is constantly 3 miles below the specified average (I only got 23 miles per gal under 65% Hwy and 25% City driving). (Note: I had made a driving under "controlled condition". 210 miles round trip on Hwy by keeping the speeds between 62 to 67 mile per hour under no traffic jam and without fast acceleration. The best I got from this trip is 28.4 mile per gallon.)
2) The muffler at the idle speed (round 800 rpm) is rattling and noisy. More precisely, it seems that the muffler is "choked" and so produces a high velocity exhaust gas. You can feel it very well when you place your hand even 6 inches away from the exhaust tip.
3) Comparing the same card of the same mode, I would say that the amount of exhaust (gas) from my car is 10 times of that from the normal one. (Note: One of my coworker told me that some car has a assisting air fan used to control the catalyst converter temperature by adding additional air to the exhaust system. Do Accord have such fan? If yes, then could be the temperature control system malfunctioning that is causing the fan turning at full speed even at low engine speed?)
4) Carbon deposit was found in the inner wall of the exhaust pipe.
This morning, I took the car back to the dealer service department and explain the above syndromes to the servicemen. The first two told me that they didn't understand what I said (meant, they didn't think those were problems). After I explained to the third one and he compared the exhaust with the same car from the lot, he acknowledged that my card did have much more muffler noisy. He suspected that there might be some "Baffle" in the muffler that causes this. Then I asked him what about the syndromes # (1), (3) and (4). His answers were: For item # (1), they could not check the gas mileage till 6000 miles: For item # (3), the more air (exhaust) the better."; and For item # (4), it is normal.
They are going to replace the muffler with a new one on next Tuesday. I will further inform you the result.
Does anyone here has different opinion from that my serviceman told me?
Any suggestion what the real problem could be?
Appreciated if someone can enlighten me.
How can I tell when and if torque-converter lockup is occurring when shifter is in D3?
In D4 it seems pretty obvious: after lockup it appears (around 40 MPH) that the "one-way clutch" effect is absent: the RPM stays up whether or not the accelerator is applied. The transmission feels, in other words, like a manual-- in the lockup regime.
In D3, however I cannot observe this behavior; when the accelerator is released, the transmission seems to "coast" directly into Neutral, and the RPM falls -- no matter how high they were initially. Is this normal?
There are a few things that no one can explain yet, i.e.;
1. Compared to the exact same model/year/at the same idle speed, my car has much more exhaust air (as I guessed, 10 times more. Where does the extra exhaust air come from?
2. Tonight, under the help of one of my friend, we tested the exhaust air (velocity) at different engine speed by placing a string connected with a small nail on the muffler tailpipe. Very interesting result! The nail was pushed outward more at the speed 700 RPM (normal idle speed) than that at the speed 3000 RPM. Also above 2000 RPM, the muffler noisy disapears and the exhaust becomes very uniform. What could cause this?
I am a chemical engineer but unable to give a good explanation :-)
Thanks
Don't let your engineering curiosity get the best of you! The new muffler should solve the problem. Let us know, please, results with the new muffler.
carguy62
If it catches then dies maybe you ignition switch is going bad we see a few of them.So try and see if you can release the key to a sweet spot so to speak and keep it running. Other than that maybe wiggle the key around while it is running and see if it dies. Other than that on that model we see coils, tach signal wire breaks, igniters to just name a few. Good luck
Honda Accord DX has its inherent large volume and uneven puff exhaust at the idle speed. Good or bad, I don't know.
Another interesting diff. noticed between my accord and Nissan Quest is that for the Nissan, on downhill, when releasing the gas paddle, car speed goes up and the engine speed goes down; for the Accord, in the same situation, the engine speed goes up a little to match the car speed.
Oh, well. We always learn something new.
I just bought a '91 Accord EX and did not get a manual. What is the recommended octane?
I am also having the rough idle/vibration while stopped at a light in Drive.
The car has 136K and I am hoping to get MUCH MORE out of her!
Thanks
and my mechanic who is a Honda specialist claims that this malfunction is common and
that I should contact Honda in regards to this defect and ask for a goodwill A/C repair.
This A/C unit cost is over $800. Is there a Honda complaint phone # I can use?
Does anyone else out there know about this problem?
I bought a Honda so I would not have to go thru something like this!
I feel like I purchased a Nissan or a Ford!
It seems like a lot of the older Accords have the vibration when stopped (idle). My '91 EX idles at 700RPM and vibrates quite a bit, sometimes worse than others. It is very annoying. I have read through all of the responses and really have not found a "list" of things to try. I know a lot of you have had this problem, what fixed it? What did you try?
Would increasing the idle RPMs to 800 or 900 work? I realize it would not fix the problem but would not be as annoying....
The sending units go bad more often than the guages so that would be my guess. I dont however even have a clue on how much they are.
gc_mitch
I don't know of anything at this time but I will check and see if there is any information out on it. Hondas will drive in the direction you point them with little return to center on its own.
mikebegin
Some times we find the motor mounts to be bad. Check the front one first as this one goes bad the most. The rear one can be checked by pulling off the vacuum hose going to it and see if the vibs get worse, if not then it is bad. The older a car gets the more these vibs creep up due to lots of things getting worn so sometimes the only thing you can do short of replacing alot is to bump up the idle a bit. Good luck
My mechanic, who checked out the car before I bought it, said to clean out the EGR ports which might fix the problem. I think I might try that or bump up the idle, like Auburn suggested!
Thanks again!
Has anyone encountered a similar problem and found a solution? I do not have confidence this is the real problem.
I have one problem though.. sometimes i smell something like sulphur in the car while driving.. this smell comes erratically.. no set pattern... it seems that it comes from ac vents.. is this coolant leak? sometimes its very strong.. has anyone experienced something like this? any input is welcome..
Normally at low speeds, 1000 rpm, I normally hear a whinning problem. I have been going to the dealer and he says that it it possibly the alternator charging ???. Is this true. This is more prominent especially when we start the car and the car is warming, u press lightly on the gas and at around 1000 rpm the noise is heard.
Why does the car so noisy when we start it in the mornings?
Lately I am also hearing a sweaky noise when I start the car in morning and then as it warms, the sweaky noise decreases. This noise is heard when we stand near the driver side's tyre.
Any help would be appreciated.