Older Honda Accords

alpha01

The ONLY thing I said was that you, bunk, seem to make acceleration and shift quality the most important aspects upon which to base your continually agonizing purchase decision. Personally, I do not feel that Honda's automatics are as good as the best ones from GM and Toyota, but I have never really brought that up here, since you are interested in a stick. NEVER have I EVER read about a traction issue in conjunction with the Accord, but hell, why not just test drive the car in the rain or whatever- In addition, like ickes_mobile, I could swear the EXV6 has traction control. I completely realize that buying a vehicle is a HUGE decision, requiring significant reserves of income and financial planning. But for the love God, man, you seriously are NOT GOING TO FIND THE PERFECT VEHICLE at this price point (or perhaps any price point). The Accord is an INCREDIBLE DEAL RIGHT NOW, go for it, and you will be happy.
~alpha

ickes_mobile

could be due to off-balance tires too. They would have a greater tendancy to shake during braking because the wheels are under stress...

jfavour

I have a 2000 LX-V6 sedan and it does not have traction control. I think this became standard on 2001 V6's. I do have wet weather traction problems. My wheels spin easily when the road is wet or snow covered. I think a lot of the problem is the tires. Mine came with Bridgestone Turanza EL42's. They are not a very good tire. Mine are worn now at 41,000 miles and vibrate some at speed. I just ordered a replacement tire (Bridgestone Turanza LS-V) and should have them on within a week.

Regarding shift quality with the auto V6, it isn't always super smooth. It seems to be at it worst in the morning when the car is just starting to warm up. It often hesitates a bit and sometimes seems harsh. I would echo what alpha01 said about Honda being behind GM and Toyota in auto tranny quality. That being said, my 1995 Acura Integra auto felt better as does my 2002 Honda CR-V auto. Perhaps the Accord V6 auto in the current generation isn't Honda's finest.

bunk

Sorry if I confused what you said. I speed and shifting are not all I worry about. I think it is quite obvious that I worry about all facets of the car. : )
I did not mean to offend.
I do know for fac that there have been a couple of reports on the traction not being so good on the EX V6 and yes it does have traction control.
If you want you can look up the info right here on Edmunds. It is in the reviews section under Honda.
Bimmer4me, yeah, I do fret a bit too much, but it is not about Honda issues, it is about issues with any car I may purchase that I will be driving for at least three to 5 years.
Sorry if I am driving you all nuts.

bodydouble

What I know has been posted by others. All V6 Accords have traction control. It's the type that applies the brake to the wheel that's spinning. Basically it serves the same function is LSD in that it helps transfer power to the non-slipping wheel. Some will argue that it's not as effective as LSD since it will hamper forward momentum. But I think if you're stuck in snow, it'll do the job. However, it won't be a performance enhancer like LSD is.

The auto tranny in the Accord is not the best. There are some issues with regards to durability. But I think it's fine if you don't abuse it. Sometimes at lower speeds it seems to hesitate as to which gear it should be in, but I find that once you get used to its nuances you can adapt your driving style to help it perform better.

One factor that you should consider is that the '03 likely will offer a 5-speed auto. To me, that is more of an enhancement than the reported 40 additional horses in the V6. I think the extra cog really helps to eliminate any flat spot in the acceleration curve -- there is a proper gear for any condition.

adamr2

I will agree with everyone that automatic transmissions are not Honda's strong point. I had a '94 prelude, wife has a 00 Civic, and now I have the '02 EX V6. None of these cars have smooth shifting transmissions. The prelude was the worst. Although i just got the accord, and it is getting smoother (engine only has 400 miles so it is still braking in), it is still not the best. As for traction, i have not yet been able to test it in the rain as we just are not getting any hear in the Northeast. I was pushing the car in some corners today and it handled them fine.

Although transmissions aren't the best on Honda, it is sure not a deal breaker. I have driven cars with much worse trannys.

One other point I considered on my purchase, which I have not mentioned. This is the 5th year of the current accord and the engine. I figured if they ever had a shot at getting the car right with all kinks out, this was it. Me personally, I would not want to buy a car in its first model year. Leasing it I would consider it though.

On the acceleration issue with the accord as compared to the Altima: The Altima v6 is a good couple of grand more expensive as compared to the current accord.

cokane5227

went out car shopping for my best friend today, told him all about how good accord is and since 2003 will be out soon we can probablly get a good deal. (i've never done any negotiations before though).
went to honda of oakland, test drove an SE and he liked it, luckily, he had cash on him and the salesman went to the same high school and college which i'm currently attending. that made the whole thing a lot easier.
used all of the techniques i read here at edmunds and applied them during different situations in the negotiation, all worked out really well, plus my friend isn't in a hurry to buy a car anywayz. so, here's the numbers.
invoice, $19,277, MSRP, $21,310, dealer asking price, somewhere between $22,000-$23,000. the price we got after 30 mins of negotiation and 3 attempts of leaving, $18,000 firm. $19,701 out the door.
what do you guys think, good deal?

PS: the experience in the F&I room was not pleasant, the finance manager tried to sell us the protection package doing everything he can, he explained the profit of the protection package over and over and over, we had to tell him "we don't want it" for like 10 times, he kept repeating himself which made me want to staple his mouth so he would shut up and do the paperwork. =P

hemihead1

I had to replace my Accord (160 K miles), and looked at the Accord, Altima and Camry. I got the Camry SE 5 Speed because of its superior isolation, engine smoothness and cornering. It took me a while to get used to the higher hip point. The seating position is very comfortable, at least on the electrically adjustable driver side seat. I still miss the (better?) stick on the Accord, and despite several shortcomings on the Camry that have been noted in these message boards, am happy with with my choice ... till, I suppose the 03 Accord makes its appearance.

venus537

"Although transmissions aren't the best on Honda, it is sure not a deal breaker. I have driven cars with much worse trannys"

this may be true with the accord, but not with the others. the newer design cars such as the CRV and Odyssey have superb autos. when the 03 accord comes out, substandard auto trannys from honda will be history! but will they now get the message with road noise?

crv16

I have an 01 Accord EX, and just had the rotors turned by the dealer to eliminate a vibration while braking. That solved the problem, and it was covered under warranty.

Brake rotors seem to be one of the weak points with Accords. I've owned several Honda's over the years, and most have had this problem.

alpha01

I am sorry if I gave you the impression that you are driving the posters here nuts. That is not the case- I personally feel, though, that having such lofty expectations for a car in this class is setting you up for certain dissappointment. The Big 3 in this class offer different features, and all are appropriate to different buyers... the Camry is biased toward refinement and finesse, the Altima toward power and sportiness, and the Accord is a good balance of both, though excels neither the Camry in its ride/isolation/transmission/noise or the Altima in its handling/acceleration. Perhaps this will change the 03 Accord, but for now, its seems that you will find the best balance in the Accord. When comparing 4 clyinder models, my parents preferred the Camry above the others, due to the aspects I mentioned. They didnt care about the difference between a 157 hp engine and a 175 hp engine, and its rare that they hotrod through the twisties. I'm bordering on getting yelled at for making comparisons, aren't I? Someone hide me from Pat! Best of luck, bunk, and if you pick the Accord, you might want to do it soon, before they run out of 02 EX V6 models at WalMart prices.
~alpha

mwwhite

I have bled all the old fluid and replaced it, replaced the brake pads front and rear and I am going nuts trying to figure out why this is happening. There is no fluid leaking anywhere and for some reason, at a stop light with the AC running, the pedal goes to the floor in about 45 seconds. If I pump it it comes back up but goes right back down. This didn't start until the outside temperature was over 80 degrees. What is this? It seems to have something to do with the power braking system because they are fine when the car is off. By the way, the brakes work fine during normal driving. Also the emergency brake is adjusted correctly.

dmullins

how many miles were on your car when the rotors were turned under warranty?

maq4463

mwwhite,

Irinically the same thing happened to my "90" Accord couple of years back. It showed the exact same pumping and pedal coming back etc. The reason was "bad break master cylender" its the part where you put your break fluid in. The part is only around $70 but I think I paid around $260 for parts and labor if I remember. There is no repair for the part and had to be installed new and best left to dealer, its not DIY thing b/c of adjustment needed in between the master cylendar and the break booster.

And let me guess, you have around 150K on it. You may want to dbl chk rear break drums also, mine started leaking and changed that myself with oem. My accord 5spd has now around 188K and going very strong. Still does around 29.6xMPG. Hope this will solve your problem.

bunk

Thanks for the info. I appreciated the way you simplified what each car offers. I wish I could find the Walmart prices people have been bragging about, but this is the best quote I have gotten so far :

"Thanks for the email, for an Accord EXV6 2 door with a rear spoiler and chrome tail pipe ends you can purchase for $22241.00 plus fees (tax,title,doc fee & plates). To lease the vehicle for 36 months @12K $339.00. Interest rate for a purchase is 4.75%."

I wish I was getting prices like bilalkidwai got :

#346 of 350  2002 V6 EX Coupe Price in Houston by bilalkidwai  Jul 19, 2002 (01:15 am)

Hello All!
Just got back from dealership in Houston, TX. I actually went there to test drive V6 EX Coupe. After several minutes of haggling with the Fleet Manager I got a pretty decent deal, 21,500 + TT&L. Just before signing paperwork I decided to wait a little bit because the sales person I initially dealing with said the new accord is absolutely gorgeous. I was totally double minded at that time; embarrassed too coz I agreed on the deal before. When I was leaving a dealership the fleet manager came personally and knocked another $250.00 off. He also agreed on giving me 0% APR. I am totally confused I don't know what to do. So right now the deal is $21,250 + TT&L and 0% APR, is it too good to pass or paying lot more for 2003 gives me more satisfaction, I don’t know yet.

***** 21250 AND 0% APR!!!!??????******
I WISH!

beach15

I'm not sure if it's already old news, but has anyone else read the article in the latest AMI Auto World Magazine on the 2003 Accord? It has actual car pictures, inside and out, gives all the specs, and has a few comments on their first drive of the car. I'd be glad to post more information and/or the pics if you guys haven't already seen the article.

talon95

You don't even need to ask... post away!!!

ickes_mobile

Post first, ask later...

maq4463

If you are talking about www.autoworldweekly.com
I can't find any refernece to 2003 Accord in there. Post your full link pronto! I can't wait to see the interior pics, plenty of exterior but, no interior.

The guy who posted the pics(the link couple of days back we saw) could have taken the interior shots OF A PARKED CAR ON THE CURB!!!! Its not that someone could have stoped him. DAMN. I can't wait for the interior pics...

lenscap

If you read Edmund's just-posted review of the all-new Range Rover, you'll see they make reference to the 2003 Accord's navigation system.

They say the Accord's voice activated system (no touch-screen, no toggle switch) is the best operating system.

Does this mean the system is different than what's in the Acuras?

maxamillion1

PLEASE! What did the interior look like? I am going to call all the bookstores in my area! I have got to see those pics! Is the interior anything like the current car, is it similar to the new Camry or Altima? Are the materials anything like the Passats? What about the styling, how is the front end? Thanks in advance

diploid

AMI's web site took FOREVER to load, and in the end, it said nothing about the Accord.

So I did the second best thing and drove to my nearest supermarket - they don't carry that magazine!

alpha01

But I am confident Honda will followToyota's suit,and the interior will be greatly upgraded, with less ugly black plastic surrounds on the center console/instrument panel, and two tone color schemes for top and bottom portion of dash- unlike the monotonity and inexpensive appearance of the Altima.
~alpha

maxamillion1

But they had the old edition as of yesterday afternoon. The Embargo on the Accord ends July 29, so expect EVER magazine to have something about the Accord in it!

maxamillion1

Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket in Upstate South Carolina

talon95

Piggly Wiggly is alive and well in Wisconsin.

beach15

Okay, give me 5 minutes and I'll have it all up!

It doesn't show the interior in full, but rather just the center stack with the radio and air controls. That, and a large view from the rear of the driver's side of a new beige EX V6 Sedan. The other pic is of the new 2.4 liter 4-cyl.

Oh, and this is from the magazine, it's not on the website.

Give me a few minutes...

bodydouble

bodydouble

beach15

If this stupid computer.....oh well!

Okay, I scanned and uploaded all 3 pages (I hope you can read them, if not, I'll figure something else out). They should be all up, but the server might take a minute to show them:

http://community.webshots.com/album/44150265fKlFcS

I'll try and see if I can also scan just the car itself so you don't have to put the 2 pages together.

jimxo

Thanks for the pic's.

beach15

And, here's the full size, one-piece pic of the sedan pic in the same album:

http://community.webshots.com/album/44150265fKlFcS

It might take a minute or two to show up.

dragonfire

This angle looks way better than the ones from tov. thanks for the pics!

it's our first look at the specs also!!! love the gas mileage!

diploid

beach- thanks for the time and effort, we really appreciate it.

Yup, 3.0 V-6 is 240hp, and torque is 212 lb-ft.

The one pic of the Accord without that stupid front bra and we still can't see the front! arghh

maxamillion1

The Accord V6 not only has equal horsepower to the current Altima V6, but it gets the tilt/telescoping steering wheel, nicer interior material, an optional Navi system, and it probably will be cheaper than the comparable Altima. Also, the writer states that most Accords will have 16 inch wheels, hopefully only the DX will have 15 inchers. I like that pic of the new Gold Color. The tails still look a little funny though. Did any of you notice in the review that Honda has now made power windows standard on the DX, and that the car actually looses 1 inch of rear leg room, but the front gains some.

beach15

Glad you guys like the pics and information! It took me a little while to get it all scanned in, saved, and uploaded, but I got it done!

bodydouble

I guess more sleepless nights for poor bunk!

ghomaz

Thanks for the pics. I'm sure all of us appreciate the effort that you put in. But tell me which issue is this article in? I checked the August issue (which says "display till Aug.6") but I couldn't find the writeup. However, I could have missed it since I flipped through it real fast as the newstand guy was giving me dirty looks!

talon95

I assume that since the new Accord is getting pretty significant equipment upgrades, that Honda wouldn't downgrade the suspension. But the article didn't specify if the double wishbones were still there or not.

I hope that if they were gone, it would be significant enough to mention, so hopefully they made the cut...

BTW, beach15, thanks for humoring all of us ravenous Accord fans!!!! I looked for the magazine but the newstands didn't have the latest edition yet.

ickes_mobile

Autoworld is published by the same company as the National Enquirer. So, unless your favorite newsstand or bookstore carries that rag Autoworld can be hard to find. I checked Target and they were two issues behind. Do you have a subscription, Beach?

WOW, this is really only a teaser...

Glad to see that I was in the wrong on the V-6 horsepower. Technically impressive with gains in horsepower AND fuel economy. Lexus like gauge cluster?!

Only disappointment is relatively low HP in 4cyl. and loss of rear seat leg room...

bodydouble

Do they take the MAXIMUM measurement? So, for example, when they measure rear legroom, they push the front seat all the way forward?

brillo_ad

I would like to thank beach15 for scanning that article, it’s a good read and a great teaser for the Accord. After speaking with two separate dealers in Houston, both told me there Honda reps had told them that the I-4 would do 175 HP, not the 160 in this magazine (I do take this with a grain of salt, however, they sounded pretty confident) Not saying the Magazine is wrong, it could be right for all I know, but I will say the magazines do sometimes get it wrong on specs as Autoweek’s cover story on the Mazda 6 said its I-4 would do 160 HP when in fact it will really only do 150 HP. While I certainly hope the V6 is 240, I’m looking for a manual tranny so I hope the I-4 number is wrong. Again, just thought it would be interesting to post. Any thoughts on Magazines getting it wrong? Any other instances of this your aware of?

diploid

At least I don't feel like I live in an isolated area...it seems as if some of you are having just as hard a time trying to locate this magazine.

I checked the website, and the cover photo for the current issue on the newstand has a silver VW Beetle in front of a bunch of other cars and I think the story regards safest vehicles.

Anyone else wonder why this little magazine has the scoop and not the big names like C&D, MotorTrend, etc.?

diploid

Vtec has some more photos of the same white Accord with the front bra in case anyone wants to see more pics.

Quite honestly, I'm getting really tired of that Accord. I wish someone would just rip that front bra off and take pictures.

brillo_ad

maybe someone could slip the guys driving a $20 and get some interior pics too

benjaminh

I just bought a new 2002 dark blue Accord LX 5-speed. The experience at the Honda dealership was great, and the price I got was so good that I'm embarassed to list it, but here goes: $15665. The only problem is I don't actually have the car yet, because they didn't have the color I wanted. My salesperson very kindly arranged to get one from a dealership that's more than 100 miles away. It should arrive Tuesday evening. I'm on pins and needles hoping that everything goes well, and that they don't suddenly change my numbers on the trade. Anyone have any suggestions about picking up the car? Should I buy the extended warrantly? Do they offer remote locking/unlocking as an dealer accessory on an LX? How thorough should my inspection be? I'm a little nervous, but I think I may have just made the best car buying decision of my life. The salesperson was so nice (and funny!) that I couldn't believe it. I somehow doubt I'll ever buy another American car, because the car and the sales experience were so extraordinary for me.

bartalk2

How did they get 240 hp from the 3.0 liter engine? Sounds like it will require premium gas, no?

According to the mag posted, the new Accord will be more than an inch WIDER than the current model. Should provide more shoulder room and make the car feel considerably bigger inside.

Did this magazine break the embargo or what? Someone said the embargo ends on July 29. Does this mean reports on the new Accord will be forthcoming in the next issues of the big 3 car magazines, due out the first few days in August?

beach15

I do have a subscription and I just got it yesterday--it's the September issue. I assume all the information is correct, and that they just printed up and sent out the magazines too early or something, I had no idea they were affiliated with the National Enquirer.

I'd assume the other 3 magazines should start arriving in the first 5 or so days of August and will have information on the 2003 Accord also.

clykens

I was talking to our Honda Rep the other day and he told me the 4cyl was for sure 160hp and that the 6cyl was 240.He did also say that the interior was alot better but did not know any demensions.

bodydouble

I wonder if they would bump the hp for the base TL? Otherwise I would hate to be the Acura salesman trying to sell the TL.