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That's like trying to prove a negative or "have you stopped beating your wife yet" etc.. No reason to make the accusation.
Driving conditions are different in different countries and often the engines are different or modified for different regions and they may adjust maintenance requirements as needed.
Your points are valid. It is messy. However, if you ever want to try an analysis just to get an idea how well your engine is doing, ask the take-yer-money-ship's oil change jocky to catch a sample for you while it's draining. Blackstone Labs will send you the sampling kit free on request. Once you transfer the pulled sample to the mailing bottle and send it in, the actual cost is $20.00. (An additional $10.00 if you want a "TBN" - total base number that indicates the amount of active detergent additive still remaining in the oil. Anything less than 1.0 indicates the detergent package is pretty much exhausted.) If Blackstone finds something that merits immediate attention (generally unusual, but something like bearing-destructive antifreeze in the oil would qualify) they'll call you about it if you've left contact information on the submission slip. If nothing of immediate concern arises, the results will be emailed within two or three weeks depending on how backed up the lab is, with a snail-mail result generally following several days later. You don't have to be a gearhead - Blackstone always includes a plain English comments section that explains what's right and what may be questionable and suggestions on whether to extend or reduce your oil change intervals. In the raw numeric data section they always include your engine's various wear and contaminant values as well as the average values for same make engines like yours so you have a comparison.
Do they have any kind of general brand name results that they share?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
As you can see below, 2.5 inches difference at most between the Accord and the BMW 3 series.
However, when adjusted the driver seat for my height (5'9") and then sat behind the driver's seat, in the 3 series, no leg room! My knees (5'9") were well jammed against the back part of the front seat. In Accord, plenty of leg room.
Is there a way to get a better sense of the interior room of a car has without having to physically visit the dealer and sit in one? Because to me, stats below (other than the trunk volume) tells me that BMW 3 series interior space is just slightly(misleading) smaller than the Accord Thanks.
Interior SEDANS: 2006 Accord.....2005 BMW 325
Front Headroom..............38.3 in..........37 in.
Rear Headroom...............36.8 in..........37.4 in.
Front Shoulder Room.......56.9 in..........54.4 in.
Rear Shoulder Room........56.1 in..........54.2 in.
Front Hip Room...............54.6 in..........Not Published
Rear Hip Room................53.5 in..........Not Published
Front Leg Room...............42.6 in..........41.4 in.
Rear Leg Room................36.8 in..........34.6 in.
Maximum Luggage Cap....14 cu.ft.........10.7 cu.ft.
Maximum Seating.............5..................5
2 inches may not sound like much but in terms of things like hip and shoulder room you need to double it. The numbers listed are only for one side - take away a total of 4 inches in those areas and it gets tight.
Even if you know the numbers, it still doesn't speak to comfort. Your example of the legroom, with the seat adjusted to you, is a good example.
It takes quite a while driving to really get a feel for a car (IMO), but a quick test sit and fiddle will pretty much tell you how the room is.
A car show is good for doing this, although in most cars you won't be able to adjust the front seats (no power).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
http://www.nuxx.net/hondamusiclink.html
I'm wondering what people think of the Dension ICE>Link or else a simple aux adapter installed in the center console (I assume a 12v power adapter is in the covered console of 2006 Accords)?
If you setup play lists in advance and have the iPod or a remote for the iPod at arms reach in the center console, it should be easy enough to deal with without complete integration..
What do you think?
timing belt
water pump
what else?
I'm having trouble interpreting your question. What are you referring to by the "general brand name results" part? Specific motor oil brand(s)? If that's your reference, the results you receive only apply to the sample you submit. As an example, here's the breakdown of my last analysis from Blackstone for my '03 Hyundai V6:
Aluminum ..... 2 .. 3
Chromium ..... 1 .. 1
Iron ......... 8 . 10
Copper ...... 34 . 80
Lead ........ 2 .. 3
Tin ......... 2 .. 5
Molybdenum .. 60 . 48
Nickel ....... 0 .. 0
Mangenese .... 1 .. 2
Silver ....... 0 .. 0
Titanium ..... 0 .. 0
Potassium .... 2 .. 1
Boron ...... 105 . 53
Silicon ..... 14 . 28
Sodium ....... 3 . 25
Calcium ... 2069 1718
Magnesium ... 26 . 27
Phosphorous . 766 737
Zinc ........ 952 880
Barium ........ 0 . 7
The first figure shows the various elements present in my used oil sample. The second figure shows the unit averages of those elements for ALL submitted oil samples that Blackstone has tested to date. Aluminum through tin are wear metals - the less the better. Molybdenum is an antiwear agent - the more the better. Nickel through titanium are alloying metals which may or may not be present in a specific engine and are not directly related to engine wear. Potassium is a common ingredient in antifreeze. While not specifically a wear agent, its presence indicates the possibility of ethylene glycol contamination (the main ingredient in antifreeze concentrate) which is very erosive to engine bearing materials. The presence of glycol in motor oil indicates a leaking or blown head gasket. Boron may be either an alloying agent or part of anti-wear additive. Silicon is most often dirt (silica) - very abrasive, so not something you'd want to see in used motor oil. But, many sealants used in engines are now silicone based. The silicones in these selants harmlessly leech into the motor oil in new engines through the first 10,000 miles of operation. Since the analysis can only detect the presence of silicon, and NOT it's actual source, elevated silicon levels in a near new engine are usually nothing to be concerned about. Otherwise, silicon may indicate a problem with engine air filtration allowing dirt to be drawn into the combustion chambers where some inevitably makes its way into the engine oil as "blowby" past the piston rings. Sodium is also common in antifreeze, so is not traditionally a good thing to find in used motor oil. However, ExxonMobil is using sodium in formulating its latest detergent packages, so if you use current Mobil or Exxon motor oils, do not be surprised to find 200+ parts per million of that metal present. In that use, it's harmless. Calcium is the traditional metal used in formulating motor oil detergent additives. I'm not sure what Magnesium's purpose is or whether it's merely a trace element present in virgin motor oil. Phosphorous and zinc combined as zinc diethyldithiophosphate is an antiwear agent. The latest oils use less of this compound because minute quantities of phosphorous present in oil burned in the combustion chambers and blown out the exhaust systeme is suspected by some automanufacturers (notably GM) to contribute to early catalytic converter failure. To compensate, oil blenders are using more molybdenum or other antiwear agents. Zinc dithiophosphate's attraction originally was that it's both effective and C-H-E-A-P. Molybdenum as an oil-soluble salt (molybdenum dithiocarbamate) is also a VERY effective antiwear agent. Barium is also probably a trace element present in virgin motor oil.
In the comments section, Blackstone's analyst wrote:
"Nice improvement in both wear metals and silicon. They were high in the first sample because the engine was new, though it is well past that stage now. All metals are at or below universal averages, which is a good indication that no mechanical problems are developing. The viscosity was a little light for a 10W-30 [I used Havoline for that at my previous oil change], but the flashpoint [the temperature at which sufficient vaporization will form that will sustain a flame if an ignition source is introduced - NOT the point of auto-ignition] was normal, so we don't think fuel was the cause. [Motor oil will lose its initial viscosity during the first couple of thousand miles of use, and then, as oxidative products - partially oxidized, abrasive hydrocarbons that contribute to sludging - build from use, will progressively increase in viscosity from contaminants the longer the oil stays in service.] No moisture or antifreeze was present and insolubles [oxidative products] were low at 0.1% showing excellent oil filtration. [A $2.00 WalMart "SuperTech" 3593A oil filter which is applicable to most Hondas and Hyundais!] At 11,947 miles on your Hyundai, everything looks good."
My comments were enclosed in square ([]) brackets. For those who slogged through this entire post, congratulations! For those who gave up - can't blame ya'.
Maybe I should have check this sooner however, I could use a 5th grade explanation on the following features that are included in the 06 Honda Accord EX I'm about to lease.
In laments terms what is this?
1. Premium interior seats
2. Drive by wire
3. Chrome exhaust finisher
4. Maintenance minder system
5. DBl wishbone front suspension
and last
6. What's the big deal about Alloy wheels
Thanks for the help
soon to be 1st time Honda owner
Premium interior seats -> fancy cloth.
2. Drive by wire -> electronic control of the throttle (instead of a cable conected to the gas pedal, it is run by the computer)
3. Chrome exhaust finisher -> shiny piece on the end of the tailpipe
4. Maintenance minder system -> gizmo that keeps track of your driving and tells you when it is tiem for an oil change.
5. DBl wishbone front suspension -> Double withbones means uppper/lower control arms and coil springs instead of the struts that most makers use. Probably not something most buyers noitce, but tuners love them.
and last
6. What's the big deal about Alloy wheels -> mostly they look cooler, and you don't have plastic hubcaps.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
For a minute there I thought I was about to lease 007s car :-)
In addition to stickguy's great explanations, I'd like to clarify the point about Alloy wheels.
Alloys are usuallly made of aluminum. That makes them somewhat more decorative and they are also lighter than steel wheels, thus reducing vehicle weight and saving you about $3.16 of fuel per year.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME INQUIRING--OUR RECOMMENDED TIME IS STILL 3,000 MILES---THE ENGINES AND THE OIL ARE STILL BASICALLY THE SAME AS BEFORE---DUE TO THE CONSTANT TEMPERATURE CHANGES AND HUMIDITY LEVELS IN OUR AREA THE OIL BREAKS DOWN QUICKER--THERE ARE NUMEROUS REASONS I HAVE HEARD WHY HONDA HAS CHANGED THEIR OWNERS MANUALS--WHICH STATES 5,000 MILES TO 10,000 MILES---IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFO YOU MAY CALL ME AT ANY TIME Think I will go the middle way and have it done every 5,000 miles it only has about 7,000 on it now and it is an 05.
When I bought my car new in Jan. '04, I avoided the 6 cyl. models because of the recall going on at the time concering some transmission failures. At that time, there was no evidence that 4 cyl. models with automatic transmissions were affected.
My question is, has that held true in the intervening two years? Have there been any posts on this thread about transmission failures, or other problems, with the 4 cyl. model?
I'm right at 20,000 miles now and am considering how long to keep the car. My transmission has performed flawlessly, as far as I can tell, and I'm hoping the 4 cyl. models have a trouble-free record overall. If that's the case, I may go for the long haul with this car.
Any background any of you could provide would be much appreciated. Thanks.
I'd bet that the Little Rock dealer's service department makes a lot more profit each year changing folks' oil much sooner than the Honda engineers that designed and tested your vehicle's engine recommend. I'll also bet that the service manager gets a percentage commission on those extra sales.
Double wishbone suspension: an engineering luxury (though an old one versus the newer, lower-cost strut design) where the wheels are at optimum traction angle with the road surface at all times. The design also allows less friction between moving suspension parts resulting in smoother steering action, etc.
That the Accord has it, although its performance benefits will probably be enjoyed by only a minority, is imo a nice value-add of the car.
Alloy wheels: Main benefit is lower weight, which translates to better handling and suspension system longevity. A lighter metal like aluminum or magnesium is blended with steel to achieve lightness.
Do that and see what they say.
Pay no attention to people who are less than helpful.
Just click on my name to see my profile.
Age and mileage will also mean updating the brakes ($250), suspension ($500) and possibly electricals on that particular model. All told, about $1,500 in mechanical updates for the car to be roadworthy. Add that to the car's hypothetical purchase price of $1,350, and your total acquisition totals almost $3k.
I'd suggest looking at a $3k one-owner, service-documented car with major mechanical updates recently done. Or, getting the Prelude's price down to around $1k.
Follow the manufacturer's maintemnance schedule.
No, Little Rock is no different than hundreds of other cities. There is nothing unique in your environment that dictates following selfish dealer advice.
Double Wishbone allowes engineers the flexibility to tune the suspension for both predictable cornering feel, and emergency maneuvering as well as a smooth and stable ride, unlike other suspension systems with just lower control arms.
Premium seating is a thicker upholstery. Chrome exhaust is just glitz.
Maintenance minder: You probably won't need an oil change for at least 6000 to 7000 miles. It gives you the precentage of oil life, and maintence required intervals. It's the latest and most economical way to care for your car. You'll spend less on maintence than on anyother vehicle. No more 3 months or 3,000 miles, or even 6 months or 5,000.
Alloy wheels are more of a personal preference.
Arkansas does not have extreme weather conditions compared, for example, to Alaska or the Arizona desert.
In the April 18, 2005 issue of Automotive News, page 26, there is an artical about sludge. It says sludge is caused by poor maintenance. If you live in a dusty or severe weather environment, or deal with
lots of stop and go traffic you need to change the oil
more frequently.
Honda Customer Service 800-999-1009
Have you offered less? You can tell him what Kelly Blue Book says and see if he'll come down.
However, to expect them to pay for normal wear items like brakes and struts on a high mileage car that is already priced to reflect the mileage is not reasonable. You cannot expect that old of a car to have brand new brakes and suspension for that price.
It doesn't bother me too much, except that the air is actaully warm, certainly not just outside air (it was in the low 40's today).
I do tend to turn the CC off quite often if the temp isn't bothering me, especially when it warms up a smidge, since I keep the moonroof open as much as possible, and really don't need the AC or CC on at the same time!
Is this the way the system is supposed to work, or can I change a setting to cure the problem? I'm wondering if the air flow is based on the stored settings (temp and mode) somehow?
And yes, I should dig out the owners manual to see if it is addressed there
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The problem is dealers often make up their own self-serving schedules that are even more frequent than even the most severe schedules listed in the manual.
At least some dealers have stopped telling people to come in and change the oil at 500 miles "to clear out all the metal shavings" because it has become more widely known that changing the break-in oil before the recommended time can sometimes actually cause harm on many of today's new cars.
Read your manual.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
MHO is the 4 is plenty good enough, and the Honda unit is especially nice. In many ways, the V6 is really overkill, but still a nice engine.
I just bought an EX-L, and stayed with the 4 cyl. But, I did gt a manual, so there may be a difference with the AT, but there is plenty of power with the 4.
Now, you might make the decision based on usage. For putting around town with one person in the car, you won't even come close to tapping the capacity of the 4 cyl, let alone the 6. But, if you routinely load 4 adults and fill the trunk with luggage and do long highway drives at 80 MPH, the 6 might be more appropriate.
Again, it's up to you, so try them both.
Oh, I also have a son that is almost 15, so pretty soon the extra performance might even be considered a drawback!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Also, keep in mind, that the I-4 is down only about 30 hp from your current car, but with the 5-speed auto, it should be about similar in accelration.
(If memory serves, the 1998-2002 V-6 hit 60 mph in 7.7 sec. A manual EX 4-cyl can do that in 7.2, and an auto around 8.0 sec. No big difference in acceleration because of the extra gear ratio.)
The V6 engine actually blew me away on my first test drive. I went from a 125HP 01 Corolla, to a 240hp Accord. After that day, I fell in love with the power. The 4 cylinder was actually fine, but I just loved the power. I loved how you could pass people on the highway with little effort. I guess you could say I was, "power hungry" :P