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if YOUR solution was aftermarket parts, that is great. but i bet Honda won't do a commercial on TV about a great lease special on a reliable Honda Accord, and all you have to do is "pay the first months payment and taxes and tags. oh, and you will also need to purchase brakes for the car"
when that happens, i will be quiet about my awful experience with Honda quality and service.
just out of curiousity, i also asked a tech about getting brakes wet. i have heard on here that Hondas can't get the rotors wet or they will warp. indeed, the tech said that can be a problem. yet, surprise surprise, does it say in the owners manual that you shouldn't take your car through a car wash? to avoid driving in the rain? nope. some of these "reasons" that the consumer is at fault just kill me. its like, out of all of my 15 cars, 3 being Hondas, only the 2003 Accord can't be driven in the rain without possible rotor damage? that is what is being said if you think about it....what did they change about the 03 model that made it a fair-weather car only?
anyway, i do agree with some people - this topic at Edmunds is pretty pointless, as no one seems to actually KNOW ANYTHING. these "all car makers" boards, i am figuring out, are for the "i love my car!" or "my car is better than your car" posts. the mfgr specific sites generally seem a little more investigative and sometimes solution oriented.
just my $.02!
still LOVE the V6 (power and good MPG's), and climate control, and HomeLink in my Accord!
now in your case, for whatever reason, you're having to take the car back too many times. IMO, it would be best just to drop a few bucks, buy aftermarket and move on. in the end its up to you. for me, it wouldn't be the ideal solution, but then I would look at it as an upgrade vs an unnecessary purchase. I wish I didn't have to upgrade the sound system, but IMO, even the stock 120W one in the Coupes is very poor. I took the opportunity, did so and don't regret it.
Also check the Torque settings on your lugs. Should be about 80lbs on the Honda Alloys. 100lbs is a bit too much for the Accord. Think back to when you've had tire service....did they rotate or move the wheels shortly after driving? The car has to cool down in order to do it properly. Always recheck your torque settings after 2 days of normal driving too.
The rain comments and what not...sound valid to me. I've always avoided excessive heating of the rotors prior to going to a car wash. It's not like I drive on the expressway to get to one, so it's not really a factor. Stock Brakes and rain don't often mix well. Again, IMO, it's due to driving styles. No one wants to admit it, but even today on my trip from Louisville to Columbus, I saw tons of folks driving way to fast in the rain and then having to slam on or ride thier brakes. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Don't believe me....just search on yahoo for 'warped rotors and rain' and you'll see just about every car make/club is affected. It's driving style that causes the brakes to heat up so fast. In your case and even mine, if you've had the rotors turned, they will be more likely to warp again. They can't shed the heat as easily.
what lots of folks don't realize is that our brakes are meant to handle multiple freeway stops like many folks I see driving do. They zoom up to off ramps, they tailgate and brake often, etc...repeated braking from say 65-80mph will cook your pads and rotors if they are stock. Even a recent review of the G35 Coupe/Brembo Kit notes that they don't use high enough quality brakes for track like use.
Reading through some other boards, I found a post on a Dodge Truck Board as it relates to warped rotors. Think the grass is greener on the other side? Well in the end this poster also felt it was an engineering flaw.
Don't believe what I've been saying about brakes....go search and read. Google is your friend. Every make of vehicles has a group of Brake Issues Folks that blame a design flaw. They also have folks like me who believe it's the driver to a certain extent. The common denominators among them....they all have brakes that warp due to the same reasons that have been mentioned on recent posts here.
Go drive a nice new Corvette...well, not the 05's as they have nice brakes...but heat those suckers up and then park it....do that for a couple days and see what that 'power drive' home and then parking it will do. Those pads will cook the rotors as they sit there after your enthusiastic drives home. If you're warping the rear rotors...something is up.
Back to crazy dumb drivers...in my trip to Louisville....saw an older man weaving and speeding in a Crown Vic.....several kids racing around in civics and talons....the freeway braker today in the rain was in a Lumina....another was a 100mph Chrysler minivan...yeah..it's the brakes fault. Like those cars were designed to be abused. Wonder if the drivers even consider that they are killing the brakes when they go to stop from driving like that.
I do have a LX v6 sedan and I will check locally. Sounds like you have a good combination from your posts. And you are right about torquing the lugs I torque the lugs immediately if the tires were removed. Been doing this for many years with american or foreign only car it did not work on was the Triumph Spitfire. I used to carry spare rotors. LOL.
but i agree - there are crazy drivers out there. they just don't care about brakes either because there cars aren't nice enough to bother, or they just don't notice things like that because they aren't "car people". i just drove up 95 from Richmond to DC. i notice that the older and crappier the car, the worse they drive.
I do not, however, understand your chronic brake problem.
I have asked three different Service Advisors and at least six of our line techs if there is a brake problem with 2004 Accords and they all said there is no problem. They were surprised at my question in fact.
They all told me about the service bulletin that applied to 2003 Accords. there were **a few** with problems that were solved by updated pads and a rotor turn. I asked if the updated pads always solved the problem and they ALL said yes...once the update is done, there are no more problems.
So, justin, I don't know what is happening. I do know that 2004 Accords do NOT have "crappy" brakes as you often state.
I am sorry you have this problem and I wish I had a solution.
As a guy who used to manage a high volume auto center, I do know, and EVERY mechanic/technician in the world knows that brake life is largely determined by driving habits. A tailgater who lives and drives in San Francisco will wear out his brakes a lot faster than someone in Montana.
But, you claim not to be an agressive driver and you say your other cars have had no such problems.
So...I don't know.
It looks like my desired colors of 04s (silver and graphite) are getting cleaned out of dealers' inventories. But they have a lot of black ones around, which I like...when they're clean.
What I'm afraid of is what it will look like when it's covered with road dust and salt. Has anybody used Rejex or similar products? And what kind of wash mitt and towels do you use to wash and dry without leaving scratches?
I've never owned a dark colored car before, so I'm wondering if I'll regret choosing black. Thanks.
Any soft towel/mitt will do. Just make sure you rinse the car well before washing it.
In my opinion, dark colored car looks shinnier after a wax job.
i have a 2003 Accord. perhaps the rotors on the 04's are stronger than on the 03's? maybe a running "silent" change was made or something?
once i get the rotors replaced, hopefully that will solve the problem. certainly can't hurt to try!
maybe i asked this before - not sure. can your techs tell you if the 03 rotor part # is the same as the 04 part # for a V6 Sedan? do the parts actually look and feel the same?
of course i know that i can't drive the Accord the same way as my Miata, but if the Accord competes with the Passat and Altima, what is their excuse as to why the Passat and Alima can be driven in a fun way, and the Accord can't? they have basically said "if you drive the Accord in a sporty way, the brakes aren't our responsibility".
i guess it is depressing to me because the Accord used to be the sedan you bought when you wanted an affordable and reliable somewhat sporty family sedan. it seems like they have resigned themselves to giving that title to VW and Nissan based on how they design the brakes. again, unless my specific brakes just happen to be a bad set, in which case they could just admit that and not blame the driver....Honda wants to accept no fault at all. they keep going in circles.
fingers crossed that new rotors are the solution!
Impractical to send them all out at the same time.
Get the fix soon and you'll avoid any issues.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
We had been discussing our dislike for the automatic days before the V6 recall came out. The automatic is a nice car but I can't stand not being able to lock out the downshifts. So we now own a EX-L 5 speed.
One thing we did notice though. The 2.4 makes a little more power with "plus" gas than regular. The downshifting cut waaay back after we switched grades. Premium made no further improvement though. The same thing worked with my SI and our Ody.
Hondaphile...Maybe. But I can see the forest. Look at those trees.
I think manuals are more fun to drive, but I grew up with them on winding backroads in Northern California. In the gridlock of the Chicago area, a manual might be more of a pain.
Is this a Honda dealer, or a local gas station? No, it is not OK to use 10W30 oil.
Hi,
I'm considering buying an '01 Accord with 32000 miles on it. It's over an hour away from my town & I have no trusted mechanics in the cars area.
The sellers are going to get the scheduled 30k maintenance done at the dealer prior to, or as part of the sale. I called the dealer service to inquire about combining that service with a pre purchase inspection, how much more that would cost, or if the scheduled maintenance itself could serve as the inspection. They told me that the 30k service is major and more inclusive then a pre purchase inspection and I can use the service report as my inspection without paying for anything extra.
Is that the straight dope? Can I trust a Honda dealer service report? Is there a certain standard of quality and honesty from Honda dealers service departments or is it really dependent on the particular shop as much as with any other shop?
The car seems and drives beautifully, carfax checks out, the sellers seem totally honest & have all the service records so I feel pretty confident in general, but I'm no mechanic and this is a lot of money for me so I want to be safe
Thanks in advance,
Aaron
thanks for the help
I mean, it **could** need front brake pads or something like that but those would get checked as part of the 30 K inspection.
One year later while having it appraised by Carmax, we learned it had been in a serious wreck. Carmax showed us how they know, and it was a way that not a regular mechanic would know.
To do it yourself, reach under the fenders and rocker panels to feel for any sharp surface transition of the paint. When a body panel is repainted, paper sheets are taped inside wheel wells/fenders/rocker panels to prevent overspray. After they're removed, they leave a telltale surface transition.
In more serious cases, and I believe it's for this reason that Honda extended warranties, one would be doing 80 mph and the transmission could suddently downshift on its own from 5th or 4th to 2nd, slowing down the car abruptly. In close-quarters driving and/or slippery road conditions, a serious accident could result.
The "clutch packs" may not be the culprit in my opinion. Honda of America now appears confident that installing "oil jet kits" in later cars is a permanent update / fix.
Since transmission design changes slowly, my guess is that the oil jet kit may work for both the previous and current generation of Honda/Acura cars.
Bottom line: see if you can have the oil jet kit installed on your daughter's car, even at her expense, by the dealer.
The front and back seats do get cool enough. I do find that the A/C saps some power from the engine though. The climate control works wonderfully. There is also a nice feature that if you hold the door unlock button after you hit it the second time, all the windows will lower and allow the hot air to escape from the vehicle as you approach it on a hot day.
As far as safety, the first Graco car seat (the infant seat with the base and removable carrier) and the new one (Britax Marathon) fit great. The latch system makes installation and removal super easy. The Marathon is a big car seat and when in the rear-facing position does not really interfere with front passenger comfort or ability to adjust the seat. We found that if the seat is in one of the outboard positions it leaves a lot more room for one of us to sit next to the baby in the back seat. The vehicle has received excellent safety ratings (especially with the standard side head curtain airbags). As far as reliability, we have had no problems in over 20K miles. I would suspect it should be the same as previous accords - i.e. excellent.
Congrats and good luck with your decision.
There used to be alot of 3rd gen Accords on the road, but Ive noticed a steep drop-off in the past few years.
I was just curious to hear from other folks, what they think of '86-89 style Accords. Perhaps many people on this Forum have previously owned one, if so, what was your experience like with it?
In my case, I dont have any major complaints, other than my DX has a carburetor, and last Winter, it started acting up (going into fast-idle mode, stalling out etc...) and I had to spend quite a bit of $$ taking it to various Mechanics, before someone could tame the problem (which apparently had something to do with the float valve). I have since learned, many Mechanics out there dont seem to be too inclined to want to spend their time nowadays dealing with complex carburetor issues - apparently, trying to adjust a Honda carburetor is like performing delicate brain surgery
Well, hopefully when the cold weather returns, the Carb will behave itself, and I wont have to have the idel raised higher again to keep the car from stalling out (which was the case last winter. Its a bit uncomfortable to have to press your foot harder on the brake pedal, when the idle goes above ~1000rpm).
I was also curious to know: what is the general opinion on the Brakes of the 86-89's? I was never quite satisfied with the brakes performance on mine- even though, the pads etc were fine..., the brakes always seemed to be just mediocre, liek they dont... "bite"- I find that the car is ok for local driving, but at hi way speeds, the 86-89's seem to need extra stopping time. Are the brakes better on the LX, Lxi models?
I must admit, I have been tempted by the idea of getting a new '04 Accord. But since I take public transportation to Work, I dont put alot of miles on a car, Maybe 5K/yr at most, so I think I can get by driving the 'ol '87 for a while. Obviously if I were to get a new Accord, I'd need full Insurance coverage, and of course, that means the cost of my Premium will go up.
I'm wondering if the new gen '03/04's are built to last like the ol 86-89's are. Sure, the new ojnes might run great for the first couple of years, but is the Honda Quality still there, or is the car going to fall apart after ~100K miles??
I already mentioned the brakes in my car, and Ive noticed in previous messages on this Forum, the new Honda's (the '03's) seem to have brake issues as well- Unbelievable! If thats true, well, I would be mighty upset to buy a brand new car, and find out, it already has problems.
My other concern with the new Accords: Has Honda done anything in terms of better anti-theft protection, such as a built in engine immobilizer or something? Nothing makes my blood boil more than to have a damn car thief steal my car, its just amazing how these cars get stolen, as if by magic- when it happens, no one ever hears or sees anything. So, I'm hoping these new '03/'04's wont be magnets for car thieves in the coming years. (and hoping my '87 is considered too old for any theif to be interested to take- especially as I dont have theft insurance, so if I spend the $$ to replace expensive Parts on mine, and someone steals it, I'm really screwed)
A few other thoughts/comments on the '03/'04: They seem to look nice when they are clean & shiny, but I noticed that they sure seem to be prone to getting scratches on the bumpers. (not such a concern with my '87, as it has the black vinyl around it- and the Armor All treatment keeps it nice & shiny:)
I still cant make up my mind on the styling of the new Accords, a see them on the road, and sometimes I think they look nice, and other times... I dunno... that bubble-shape......
I think the '86-'89 body style still holds up pretty well, and those flip-up/retracting headlights are way-cool
I was also interested to know: Acura TSX vs Honda Accord. Is the TSX worth the extra $$ compared to the Accord??
Finally, are there any new Options are changes in the upcoming '05 Accords? I was thinking if I did buy a new Accord, I'd be tempted to get an EX model, since leather seats are only offered in the EX. I like black leather, but its only offered in the Silver Accord. Silver is ok, but would be nice if Honda offered more exterior color choices with black leather.
Regards,
Fred (Queens, New York)
kathgip: The oil jet kits are for auto transmissions, but Honda is installing them on 6-cyl cars, not the 4-cyl.
Apparently the 2nd gear on 6-cyl cars is starved for oil at low rpm; the oil jet kit is supposed to splash that gear with extra oil to prevent the gear from seizing and causing lock-up, which in turn abruptly slows the car.
Theory is that the 4-cyl engine generally operates at higher rpm more than the V6 and therefore don't need the kit. My opinion is that for the car's longevity and peace of mind, Honda should be installing the kits on both V6 and 4-cyl automatics.
Beside wear & tear and the front brakes, this car is very much trouble free for me. The front rotors can never last more than 10k miles. After 10k miles, they starts warping. I agree, at 70-75 mph the car needs extra stopping time.
I live in Boston area. I don't see many 86-89 Accords around. I saw quite a few when I was in California last March. I guess salt ate them around here. ;-)
""I think the '86-'89 body style still holds up pretty well, and those flip-up/retracting headlights are way-cool
You got it. At 41, I feel much younger driving the 89 than the 03. LOL!
I am not worrying about somebody steals the car after I put in expensive part(s). I worry about if it's total in an accident. Do you really think somebody would steal a third generation Accord?
I dropped collision coverage on my 89 Accord, and it only costs a couple hundred bucks less comparing with a full coverage on my 03EXV6.
Until I can put in airbags & ABS on my 89, it will be more expensive to insure it.
The brakes on my 03 is much much better. So far the car is also trouble free. Knock on wood. First I didn't like the look of the new Accord, but I do like now.
With all complains about brakes, tranny, and rattlings that I am hearing, I am considering to put in a little more money to keep my 89 going longer. Next on the repair list, replacing the brake master cyclinder and flushing/drain&fill the tranny fluid (brown color now).
Man, I really abuse this car after 100K mark.
Anyway, I'm rambling. My point is that I have never had a new car with so many little problems. My car was delivered to me with a scratch over the gold emblem, some sort of marks(ink?) on the leather(front and back), scratched steering column, white specks in the flat black paint of the A pillars, chipped paint down low on the rear quarter panels, a couple of scratches in the moonroof, two bad door weather strips, some kind of gluey residue on several parts of the body, several gouges in the alloys.....and a buzz in the door/A pillar(?) that my hearing isn't good enough to locate exactly. Also, at times when driving over 60mph, there's a sort of rattling in what I think is the headliner, but my wife and daughter think it's in a rear door.
Most of these problems have been at least partially resolved, but I just never expected there to be so many issues with a Honda. Our last car, an '01 Maxima(Japanese built) was flawless in terms of build quality and there never were any buzzes/ rattles. And, of course, it was a thirty thousand dollar car as opposed to under twenty-five thousand for this Accord. I suppose, then, I'm asking a couple of questions in this post(aside from venting some pent up frustration): 1. Do any of you know definitely what the buzz in the door/pillar is, and have any of you experienced the rattling in the headliner? Are there easy fixes for these problems? 2. Are there any other owners out there that found themselves surprised by the amount of problems they discovered in their Accord?
I really want to like this car, and in many ways I do. I love the way it handles( a great balance between sporty and easy to maneuver), I think the little 4-cylinder is a jewel, and I may be one of the few dorks out here that really likes the way the car looks...I put a decklid spoiler on ours, and it really helped the appearance, I think. I'm disappointed, though, in what I perceive to be carelessness on the part of Honda. I don't see how so many things were overlooked on my Accord, and I'm more than a little irritated about it and tired of the trips to the dealer. I bought a Honda so I wouldn't have to spend my time in service waiting rooms.
Any thoughts? Any response to any of my meanderings? Thanks in advance.....
Personally, I wouldn't use 10W oil unless you're in a hot climate like FL or AZ. Go with Mobile one if you do. Although many 6th Gen folks have been running it all year with no problems..
My suggestion is a good synthetic 5w30 as it will yield best power and protection and a longer change interval. It cost less in my area anyway and is totally fine to use.
http://www.globemegawheels.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20- - 040805/MEGHOND05/cars/
What the heck is going on with Honda. First the transmission oil jet pack crap, now this.
This is potentially pretty serious. Now, the Accord suddenly feels less safe.
Hopefully, the tested vehicles were manufacturing aberrations. Damn.
2.) Use only the oil recommended for your vehicle, in this case 5W20.
3.) Change your oil and filter often. My Honda dealer recommends oil and filter changes every 3,750 miles. I have the dealer perform this service every 3,000 miles on both our 2004 Civic and 2003 Accord. (both four cylinder vehicles).
4.) If you are going to change over to synthetic motor oil in the future, do so after you have 6,000 miles on the engine, (to be sure that it is broken in properly)
5.) Keeping clean oil in the engine is the most important part of a "high quality preventive maintenance program". Motor oil cleans, seals, lubricates and cools engine parts. Clean oil does a "great job". Dirty oil does not do a "great job"! Oil and filter changes are "cheap preventive maintenance". Engines are expensive. If I am going on a long road trip, and I know that I will be exceeding the 3,000 mile oil and filter change ,(on the existing engine oil and filter), I will have the oil and filter changed just before the trip. The 2003 4 cylinder Accord now has 32,000+ miles on the clock. When checking the oil level using the dip stick, the oil is as clean as a new vehicle. That is the way it should be throughout the life of the vehicle.
6.) Change the automatic transmission fluid every 30,000 miles or every two years which ever comes first. Fluid is cheap, transmissions are expensive!