Older Honda Accords

jimh16

does anyone know if the new accord v-6 has a timing belt or chain? Also, I am in a lease until August 31. I want to buy the accord sedan v-6, automatic, with leather but no navigation. Should I wait for the 04 or try to get an extra discount on the 03, and how low can I get one?

mitchflorida

Battery Caused Alternator Failure A battery cannot damage an alternator unless the battery has been charged in reverse. If the battery has been charged in reverse, it will not start the vehicle and will instantly damage the alternator. Interstate Batteries, therefore, would only potentially honor a warranty claim if the battery damaged the alternator at the moment that the battery was installed for the first time.

If a 12-volt battery has a dead cell or an internal short, then the battery voltage will instantly fall to 10.5 volts or below and will not start the vehicle or affect the alternator, which requires adequate voltage to operate. Even if a battery fails while the car is running, causing the alternator to operate at maximum output for many hours, it still will not damage the alternator. The alternator would only fail because of problems in the alternator. In fact, when a battery and an alternator fail at the same time, it is usually because the alternator has malfunctioned, not the battery. In this situation, the battery is either overcharged or undercharged.

ian2

The V6 has a belt while the i4 has a chain.

dindak

Really? I'm surprised they would still use a belt on a new V6 these days. Chains are a touch noisier but much more durable.

mikefm58

Do you have any aditional information on the recall? My wife has a 2001 Accord LX 4 cyl. and we did not get any recall notice.

ian2

The i4 is a newer design than the v6, as the v6 is only an updated version of the old 3.0.

dindak

Ahh, I see. The guy at the dealership told me it was a "new" engine. Guess I should learn to not listen to these sales men.

Belts are bad though, I would think they could have added a chain design when they updated the motor.

robertsmx

The only issue I have with timing belt is that they need to be replaced after 90K miles or so. That is a minor issue to me, anyway, and in fact I just got it replaced in my 98 Accord.

gee35coupe

A chain long enough to cover the valvetrains on both sides of the VEE would be very long.

dindak

How much did that service cost?

akal50

masroz, I agree the gold is the best. My current Accord is black which is not only a pain to keep clean, but all the dings and scratches show up too easily.

tenor38, I'm also interesting in knowing how closely to inspect the Accord. I just ordered a Gold EXV6 sedan.

I keep hearing about the rotten egg smell issue. The dealers keep saying it depends on the gas I use. Obviously, you don't want to go to cheap gas stations, but I'm also wondering if using premium fuel would make a difference. I wouldn't mind using it if it boosts the engine performance and if it helps prevent the rotten egg smell problem, that's even better.

robertsmx

$395.00. OTOH, replacing the tires cost me $440 (I'm on third set of tires now), that is without going to Michelin MXV4 Energy Plus ($137/tire!), the tires that came with the car.

bburton3

Inspect the vehicle very carefully. While in process of buying a new accord several years ago, happened to see very faint buff/scratch marks on all the horizontal surfaces of the new accords in a dealer's lot. Finally got the blind and thick salesman to see the swirl marks-"WHAT HAPPENED". He pointed to a new cell phone tower in the middle of the lot-they got paint on the cars and the body shop got out their power buffer-this was in Mpls MN and I betcha every one of those cars now has a paint problem.

Check to make certain everything works-on one honda the fan motors ran all the time-even in dead of winter-they wired them up wrong. Also a few weeks ago looked under a new Oddy in a showroom-sales guy asks-what are you doing-I swiped up some dripping atf on my finger and said loud enough for the couple looking at the car to hear-"Hey this thing has an atf leak-better get service to look at it".

robertsmx

With the i-VTEC engines, Honda is using timing chain instead of timing belt. So, I will not be surprised to see the V6 using i-VTEC to have chain. It is possible that we will see the first DOHC i-VTEC V6 with the launch of new TL in a few months.

gee35coupe

4 new Michelin MXV4 tires $280. Cheap.

robertsmx

Used?

bricklayertx

On the question of seat comfort on the 3300 mile trip. I'm 6'2"---------No problems, very comfortable . My wife is 5'4" and always complains about her back on a long trip. She had to put a small pillow behind her lower back and never complained after that. Overall---good seats. I do think Honda should add power lumbar to both front seats instead of just a manual system on the driver's side.

mikek37

Im about 5'8" and my back begins to hurt fter about two hours or so. I will have to try the pillow trick.

beechjet21

I've noticed the rotten egg smell on my '03 V6. I've not tried changing changing fuel brands, but according to the customer care section of the Honda website:

"What's that sulfur smell coming from my vehicle?
   All gasolines contain trace amounts of sulfur. The human sense of smell can detect sulfur odor in concentrations as low as 3 to 5 parts per million in air.
   The exhaust on today's catalyst-equipped Honda vehicles will emit varying degrees of sulfur odor depending on operating temperatures and conditions. On normally operating vehicles, the odor is usually noticeable when the engine is cold, right after deceleration, or after wide-open throttle acceleration.
   It may not be possible to eliminate sulfur odor completely due to the various operating conditions".

I've noticed the smell after hard acceleration.

dudleyr

The alternator should last well over 100,000 miles. Extremely fast highway cruising and lots of short, hot, high revving, stop and go city driving will shorten the life. 50,000 is way to little - bad unit. You may not have to replace the alternator. When mine went at 130,000 miles I just bought new brushes from an electric shop and replaced them - total cost less than $30. If you have them do it add an hour or so of labor to the cost. A new (rebuilt) alternator is $300 plus installed.

serug

Called the local dealer and asked what the difference is between a ULEV (ultra low emission vehicle) Accord EX V6 and a regular Accord EX V6... especially since the list prices are the same. The sales person said that he had no idea what the difference was...

Does anyone know the difference? exhaust, components in the engine, other?

dudleyr

I think one is sold in California and northeast and the other isn't.

mitchflorida

an alternator SHOULD last 100,000 miles . . but the delphi model in my 99 accord crapped out after 52,000 miles. cost me $300 plus tax to put in a new rebuilt one in . . with a Honda warranty of only 1 year or 12,000 miles.

I think I got shafted to be honest. .. Hondas are usually more reliable. The car had to be towed to the dealer.

He did the ignition switch changeout for free .. that was a recall item.

why would it fail so soon? defective materials?

gee35coupe

Sure it should have lasted but some don't. Kinda like engines. Some people get a few 100,000 miles out of an engine but some people in here had engines that failed much sooner.

Maybe you ought to be glad you didn't have a premature timing belt breakage. It's rare but i'm sure it happens.

My Michelins were new. Must have come off a car that was wrecked soon after getting new tires or something. Or maybe it was a new car. Who knows. I know we totalled a 2002 Civic with 1500 miles on it. The tires had to go somewhere.

gregoryc1

The "rotten egg smell" is coming from fuel injectors that are "hanging up" due to a lack of lubrication in the fuel. They allow a "dribble" of fuel to enter the combustion chamber,--(when the injector should be closed). The engine cannot burn a liquid, so as such, this overloads the converter, and you get a "rotten egg smell". When I first took delivery of our 2003 4 cylinder Accord, I noticed this problem. I started to run an upper cylinder lubricant in the fuel. The problem no longer exists! ---Just my opinion. ---Greg

gregoryc1

How did you come up with the idea that an alternator should last 100,000 miles?????----- I have see American cars go through alternators in 30,000 miles. Your alternator gave you 52,000 miles of service. It cost you $300.00 to replace the unit. If you want the manufacturer to pick up the bill for maintenance, you should purchase a 7 year / 100,000 mile warranty with "0" deductable. Then if "big ticket items" fail, there isn't a problem with the cost. One transmission overhaul, or a computer replacement would give you more than the cost of the warranty back. Then for the remaining portion of the warranty you will be riding free. You can't have it both ways. If you don't purchase a maximum warranty, you must pay for the needed repairs. This is part of "vehicle ownership"!---The dealer and manufacturer are in business to make money. This is the "real world"!------Just my opinion. ----Greg

mikek37

I highly doubt using the mystery marvel oil will stop the release of sulfur, thereofre ending the rotten egg smell. Lets get real here. Its due to the catalytic convertor, the ULEV rating and other factors, not becuase the cyclinders are not lubricated properly.

tenor38

I picked-up my EX V6 Sedan last evening - sweet! One thing I noticed (who could miss it!) was that as I was tooling down the highway with the front windows down I decided to roll them up and try lowering the rear windows to reduce the blast of air.

I raised the fronts and as I was lowering the rears I started to hear(FEEL) a deep thrumming sound - it got worse and worse and I really got alarmed - it was that loud...so loud and intense I could feel it and I thought my ears would pop. I immediately rolled up the rears and the sound stopped.

Tried it again - got the same thing. I think I have it figured out. The rear windows only go down 3/4 of the way and they must have been vibrating in their sockets to produce that sound and feeling.

Has anyone else experienced this? It was REALLY alarming to me, and something I definately did not expect!

snowful

I don't know anything about the problem, but I noticed a slight smell when I first bought mine. I've had my car for 2 1/2 months now and the smell has totally vanished. I didn't add anything or change anything, just broke in my car, that's all.

bigorange30

This issue has been discussed ad nausium on the 4Runner board as there seems to be an issue on the 2003s too. The only idea there seems to have been the type of gas used. Different regions of the country apparently have different levels of sulfur in their gas. You might want to try some different gases.

pj23

That noise (or sensation) is not unique to Accords. It happens in many vehicles, and I believe is a factor of air trying to enter from outside and exit from inside at the same area. It's kind of like when you tip a bottle completely upside down to pour out liquid, the flow of liquid out is interrupted by the flow of air in, and the movment of neither the air nor the liquid is smooth and causes a sound and vibration in the bottle.

And I too had a sulfur smell occasionally coming from the exhaust of my '03. Whether it was the winter gas in the northeast or that the catalytic converter needed breaking in, it doesn't smell anymore. And I have not used an upper cylinder lubricant/additive.

mitchflorida

I think you are missing the point . . The reason I have purchased Hondas in the past was because of their reputation for reliability . . . now I have to warn others about the unreliable alternator.

robr2

One alternator does not make an entire product line questionable. Alternators are mechanical parts - mechanical parts wear and fail eventually. Yes 52K sounds early but I don't think it is an indicator of more issues.

bburton3

Fried one when the drive belt started slipping-not a good thing-got a rebuilt for $40 from a auto parts place-Beck Arnley I think-it went for another 50K till I sold the car-still going-easy to replace-just don't over tighten the belt and replace worn out belts.

I live on the line where gas containing ethanol and gas free of it is sold. For some reason the ethanol stuff has more sulphur in it-stuff does stink while the ethanol free stuff does not stink. Think it has to do with the crude source.

Oh in case you missed it-our wonderful bought and paid for pols have just passed legislation increasing to 20% the ethanol content for all gasoline to be sold in the US-so down goes the mileage and if you have any rubber orings in older cars made from natural rubber-kiss em bye.

isellhondas

Mitch...

Life isn't always fair. Your alternator failed after 52,000 miles?

Get over it.

I'll agree it was a bit premature but there really isn't a set lifespan on alternators.

Another one might go 200,000 miles.

Just the luck of the draw.

berbel

Re numerous posters questioning the value of pre-
mium fuel benefit in light of the supposed dual
stage knock sensors in the V-6 engine.

Took delivery of my '03 EX-V6 yesterday. Included
with the normal operating manual was a "quick start
guide" with plastic coated pages and spiral bound.

Page #2 says "Use regular unleaded fuel; premium
fuel HAS NO benefit." (Emphasis added)

This, on its face, is a blanket statement and I
presume applies to either the V-6 OR 4cyl. engine.

Anyone of you who has knowledge contrary to this...
please comment here.

berbel

dindak

There is no benefit to you, only the oil companies who make big $$ on premium fuel.

lenscap

Premium fuel is an advantage/necessary if the engine was designed to run on premium. Both Accord engines were designed to run on regular unleaded so premium is simply not needed. One dealer I talked to said one customer used premium and had a rougher idling engine. He was told to switch back to regular and the engine became smooth again.

akal50

There has to be a pattern to this rotten egg smell. Does it happen on both 4 and 6 cylinder engines? Both transmission types? Does it happen in certain parts of the country or with specific brands of fuel? Does it vary according to outside temperature? I'm in the midwest and we have 3 Honda dealers nearby. I've called the service departments for all three and none of ever heard this complaint. I've driven the Accord twice, accelerating really hard to see if I could get it to produce the smell. Nothing happened.

snowful

FWIW, I have a V6 auto and I only noticed the smell a couple of times when I first got it. No extreme weather conditions, and I get my gas at the exact same gas station all the time. Now everything smells as it should.

emale

because of its dual range knock sensors the new v6 can indeed take advantage of high octane fuel and create more hp/torque. now whether or not an individual can tell a difference by their seat of the pants feel, i'm not sure. i can't tell when i put in 89 octane. btw, my owner's manual for my '03 v6 coupe just says use 86 or higher octane. doesn't say anything about not using high octane fuei...

gregoryc1

You want to "get real", so here we go! Let's take your posting one part at a time. You state: -----"I highly doubt using the mystery marvel oil will stop the release of sulfur, therefore ending the rotten egg smell".------- Mike,------ you did not read my posting carefully, or you chose to read it with a "hidden agenda" in mind. I stated that the fuel injectors were allowing fuel to dribble into the combustion chamber, when they should be closed. The action of the injector is not smooth. It is not closing properly. This could be due to new injectors having to "wear-in" and / or the lack of lubrication in the fuel. The injector is an electro/mechanical /magnetic part. There are moving parts in an injector that need lubrication. This lubrication can only come from the fuel. It is this extra raw fuel, that is over loading the converter, which is causing the odor. That is why you notice this odor after "hard acceleration and stopping". If you noticed, I did not mention the product by name. I simply suggested an upper cylinder lubricant. If you chose not to agree with me, that is "ok", but it doesn't mean that you are right, and I am wrong with regards to my diagnosis of the problem. It simply means that we can agree to disagree. Some people on this board might be interested in this solution to the problem. ----"Lighten - up" and have a nice day! -----Greg

emale

ROTTEN EGG SMELL FROM CATALYTIC CONVERTER

The sulphur smell from the exhaust, is actually caused by running the engine/cat convertor slightly lean for long periods and then running under a rich condition (ie going up a hill under heavy load) This is when the sulphur smell (rotten egg) is produced.

Under relatively lean conditions, the sulphur found in gasoline is converted to sulphur trioxide, then during the rich running condition the sulfur trioxide is converted into hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg smell) within the catalytic converter.

Audi of America issued a service bulletin Group 24, #92-04 which detailed this problem. They list the cause as : the gasoline sulphur content and the characteristic of catalytic convertor to store sulphur compounds and release them during rich engine running conditions.

Switching gasoline brands may help. The Oxygen sensor may also need to be replaced to correct a fuel injection mixture problem.

mikek37

Greg sorry to poke at your message. You are correct I jumped to conclusions and didnt break down my arguement correctly.

What I disagree with is your opinion on Gasoline leaking into the cyclinder.

Ps I know you were implying MMO

anonymousposts

I have nearly 12,000 miles on my 2003 EX-L Coupe and so far the car has been great. Had to have the black trim pieces beneath the windows replaced because they were wrinkling and somehow my rotors became warped. But Honda replaced the trim pieces without trying to say it occurred when I had my windows tinted and they machined my rotors without trying to say the car was driven too rough or it was a "wear" item. Two very minor issues and neither have lowered the faith I have in Honda's overall reliability. Sure, a few of them may have problems but the same can be said for any car built, especially one that sells 400,000 units a year.

atlantabenny

This responds to posts about early failure of major car components. IMO where a car make moves from "Zero Ownership Problems" (as in my case with 3 previous Honda products) to "Sporadic but Still Few Ownership Problems," like it or not that's the report card for that maker. Consumers shouldn't accept lower quality marks because that lowers the bar for vendors.

venus537

the accord v6 is a high compresion ratio engine that will benefit from premium fuel. it's design to run on regular fuel however. i4 is a different story though, no point in using anything but regular.

slvrexl

Hi all, just got my 03 Silver EX-L on Saturday and absolutely LOVE IT. It is everything I had hoped it would be. A couple of quickies:

I am new to having leather seats and it has been puring rain all day. Does Honda pre-treat the seats for water proofing in case they get a little wet from the rain?

Also, my stripping around the drivers door seems to be curling in one place...has anyone else seen that?

Finally - what is everyones thoughts on the grade-logic?

dindak

I was reading about the same issue in the Corolla forum. I wonder if Toyota and Honda are using the same supplier for catalytic converters.

petrnyc

Yes, Corollas do stink and frankly the "aroma" carries over to Camry line as well — one of the reasons I no longer consider Toyota for my next purchase. Waiting for '04 Accord.