Hybrid Honda Accord

dewey

Backy,

 

"I'm not going to wait five years "

 

I dont wait 5 years too. I just buy the car that excites me most.

 

Reliability stats that go beyond the warranty years are far more helpful, since it is these stats that will determine your own out of pocket expenses.

 

But you are definitely correct about the mileage stats. It will be nice to know what they are in real world conditions.

americanhonda

The entire point of the HAH is performance! Is it not enough that you get Awesome V6 power for typical 4 cyl. gas mileage? Yes you pay for the technology R&D, so as long as you don't pay more than MSRP just enjoy the ride. Legit MSRP is $30,505; and 32,505 with Navigation. And contrary to rumors, a moonroof is not a option this year.

backy

If you buy what excites you the most, reliability stats are moot, right? Might as well go out and buy that HAH right now!

 

I'd have to wait 10 years for powertrain reliability stats on my two Hyundais if I wait until the warranty is up... that's a long time!

dewey

Hyundai's 10 year warranty is an exception to the norm! This exception does not change the silliness of using 30 day reliability stats as a justification for buying a car!

backy

Who does 30 day reliability stats? I think J.D. Power's are 90 days for the short term, plus they do longer-term reliability studies.

viet

Hello Masters Wayne, Backy, MidCow, Dennis...(PHD-degreed Masters in automotive engineering/ hybrid technology):

 

Dear Sirs:

 

Finally, today I bought a graphite HAH with NAVI. at $32,050 /MSRP + $774 (for fog light, splash guard, 4 wheel locks, 2 chrome exhaust tips) + TTL. They charge me $490 something for the 2 fog lights. Are the fog lights very useful while we drive on foggy roads?

 

I traveled more than 200 miles today between 2 Honda dealerships. My wife loves the graphite so she diverted me to the other dealer while I was driving to the first dealership to pay for the Desert Mist HAH with NAVI. at MSRP which will be in stock during this month. I had to pay extra $774 just for those 4 stupid accessories for the second deal just for the color that my wife loves. The dealer won’t sell the car at MSRP if I do not buy those 4 accessories. I did sacrifice $774 to please my wife. Otherwise, we will have to wait longer for the graphite with NAVI. Most other dealers sell the HAH at a mark-up price from $2K to $4K+. One dealer asked for $35.5K for the graphite HAH with NAVI. And it is very tough now to get a HAH with NAVI. at MSRP.

 

I am having the car in about a week or a week and a half. Will report to “My Big Automotive Masters” on the MPG, performance, overall value...The HAHs have been built in Japan. It means top quality.

 

Please give me your feedback on the price and my deal today. Appreciate it.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Viet,

Like a Japanese, I am bowing my head/ back real low for great appreciation to my "Internet Hybrid Automotive PhDs".

viet

I drove my "10 years old baby Accord I4 200K miles" to buy a "zero year old HAH" today. My "10 years old baby" just proudly revved up its engine on hilly highways for almost 260 miles to accomplish its mission. It was a fantastic drive but I am a little bit tired now. I have not got a chance to test drive a HAH but I trust Honda enough to pay to get it ASAP. This HAH is another Accord in my Accord collection. The female Fleet Manager told me most of Honda hybrid buyers (Insight, HCH and HAH) are engineers or engineering related people. I am one of them. It was interesting to hear that.

 

It is real relaxing to put my favorite CDs in my Honda's CD audio system to listen and temporarily forget about Bush, Iraq war, federal budget deficit, ups and downs in life, nasty co-workers, etc. It was my great joy whenever I buy a new Honda. This HAH should be a state-of-the-art automobile with lot of electronic stuff inside. Many thanks to Honda's intelligent and dedicated engineers.

backy

I did sacrifice $774 to please my wife.

 

Ah, but what price can you put on your wife's happiness, eh? And those fog lights will be useful if you drive in foggy conditions. The splash guards will keep the rocks off the underside of your new baby. And the exhaust tips will look cool--must have that on a $32,000 car! If you ever park in a high-crime area, you will be glad you have the wheel locks.

 

It will be a long 10 days for you, I think.

viet

Thanks, Automotive Doctor Backy. I hope I made a right decision to buy a HAH in terms of performance, new advanced technology, "saving/ pricing", MPG, durability, reliability, resale value, excellent performance track records of the Accord, etc. I always do a lot of research before I make decision to buy a new car. This time I could not resist not to buy the Navigation system as an only option on HAH. The reason my wife wants the graphite pearl HAH because our 2 other Accord are already Gold/ Cashmere/ Beige. It is the complete package with lot of value in it. I heard the Honda NAVI. is the top one on market.

 

I know real well all features of the HAH so I will only test drive it a little bit and check all features of the car to make sure they work OK before I sign off to close the deal and accept the car.

 

My 10 year old, 145 HP Accord I4 at 200K miles still runs so great to beat all hills on highways. My V6 EX 02 200 HP is another highway monster. My son V6 EX 03 240 HP is so quiet on highways and the car body was 26% more sturdy. This HAH is very hard to resist too in terms of its 255 HP, 0-60 in 6,5 sec., gas saving, refined hi tech technology, 3rd generation of IMA...In fact, Honda offers a lot more on the HAH for a few thousand dollars more on top of the V6 gas model. Why not going ahead with the deal?

 

The timing is so good because I do need an extra car now. The gals at the dealer told me the HAH is super quiet on the highway, no road noise. The road noise used to be the weakness of the Acccord compared to the Camry.

 

I am so glad to add one more top (Hybrid) Accord in to my fine collections of Accord, one of the most fine cars on earth at those price ranges.

dewey

Yeah, yeah Backy. 90 days not 30 days. Does this make a difference? Is this repetitious dialogue about 30 days( oops I mean 90 days) surveys of any use or is this like flogging a dead horse(no offense to equestrians).

 

backy

I don't know... you brought it up.

viet

My dear automotive PhDs:

 

Acura (abbrev. of Accuracy)

Infiniti (abbrev. of Infinite)

Lexus (abbrev. of ???)

 

I hope I would have the Accuracy, Precision and Excellence with My brand new HAH as I have it from my other Accords.

 

My friend mechanic once told me the Japanese are extremely talented to put things together to build excellent automobiles.

 

Viet,

Bowing my head nad back lowly and respectfully (like a real Japanese)

westfldude

I was one of the lucky people to get an Accord Hybrid already (12/11/05). As expected, it is the quietest, fastest, most luxurious car I've owned. A true 10 on a scale of 10 in every respect.

 

I traded a 2003 Civic Hybrid and the resale value on that car was excellent.

 

Despite all I read on the cost disadvantage of hybrids, my personal experience has been that the overall cost of ownership is actually very low. I did not have a single problem with the Civic in two years and 30,000 miles of ownership.

 

These are great cars.

viet

Congratulation Westfldude, one of the "Hybrid PhDs". I hope I would be the second luckiest guy in the room after you. I guess my HAH will be delivered in about a week to 10 days. I will surely buy a second one for my family after about 6 months to a year when the price is a little bit cool off. What's the color of your HAH? You got the NAVI. too? You must enjoy Christmas with your "baby hybrid " very much.

gagrice

I was one of the lucky people to get an Accord Hybrid already (12/11/05).

 

Welcome to the forum. Don't be a stranger keep us posted on your new HAH. We are all anxious to hear about your mileage and opinions. Of course you already have an advantage having a hybrid for two years.

viet

"Of course you already have an advantage having a hybrid for two years".

 

You are quite right Gagrice. Before making decision to buy a HAH I did extensive research on specifications and customers' feedback regarding Insight, Civic hybrid and Prius on top of my experience with (gas) Civic and Accord. Please share your experience with us on your Civic hybrid, Westfldude.

 

I am a bit concerned about the possibility of replacing the expensive battery on the hybrid after 8 years. But, one Insight driver drove his Insight for 170K miles without problem. The other taxi driver used his Prius as a cab and put on 200K mile with no problems.

fxtool

Hello all. I just plopped down the cash for my HAH yesterday and will be receiving it in 7-10 days here in So. Cal. I'll check back in with mileage, raves, complaints etc.

 

Cheers-

 

fxtool

falconone

Someone recently posted sales prices for Accord V6's and they were priced CONSIDERABLY less than the HAH. The disparity is something like $8,000!!! I have NOTHING against the HAH, but you're not going to have any benefit of fuel dollars saved. I just don't get it.

 

As far as what gagrice brought up about the car's safety, I disagree. The CIVIC and ACCORD are VERY safe cars. How safe is your Suburban? Does it brake as well as the Accord and Civic?

backy

Since you haven't been following this discussion lately, I'll summarize: it's not about the money!

robertsmx

If it were just about saving $$$, but still wanted an Accord, nothing would make more sense than getting a deal on Accord DX 5-speed manual transmission.

 

Accord Hybrid is new to the market, and could command MSRP if people are willing to pay for it. And those who are doing so, must have other priorities besides savings $$$.

dewey

Bad PR problems for the HAH!

 

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04121307.htm?ref=foolwatch

dewey

Look out Honda and Toyota, here comes the GM-Daimler Chyryser hybrid Juggernaut.
Will HAH be competing with a hybrid G6. This must be making everyone in TOkyo shaking in their boots(and this is not due to an earthquake)

 

http://www.ai-online.com/industry_detail.asp?id=670

larsb

That recall is six months old and has nothing to do with the current HAH intro.......:)

varmint

"Will HAH be competing with a hybrid G6?"

 

Maybe the G7. Looks like Honda has half dozen years to prepare.

 

"GM’s first application of the system will be launched in the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe in late 2007. DCX will offer a full range of hybrids, but its first application of this system will be in the Dodge Durango shortly following the GM SUVs."

gagrice

That recall is six months old and has nothing to do with the current HAH intro.......:)

 

That is a problem they have not fixed that transmission. It is used in the HAH. Go to the Honda boards people are getting their transmissions replaced on 2005 Accords and Acura. It is a bad design and they have only done some patches that are not holding up....

gagrice

As far as what gagrice brought up about the car's safety, I disagree. The CIVIC and ACCORD are VERY safe cars. How safe is your Suburban? Does it brake as well as the Accord and Civic?

 

I don't know if the Suburban will stop faster than a Civic or Accord. I have never slammed on the brakes in 6 and a half years. I can see problems out in front of me and avoid those situations. I'll ask you would you rather be in a Suburban when it is hit by an Accord? Or an Accord when it is hit by a Suburban?

 

The Suburban has a much better insurance rating than the Accord or Civic. Ask your insurance man if you don't believe me. The NHTSA tests are flawed because they only test against cars of equal size and weight.

larsb

that has a problematic tranny - are they? This has to be less than credible. They have been making good trannies for decades now - why the 2005 issues? Seems kinda odd to me....

rfruth

Does the AH use the same 5 speed auto transmission as the ICE only Accord ?

gagrice

In all, Honda is recalling more than 1.1 million Accords, Acuras, Odyssey minivans, and Pilot and Acura SUVs. That's nearly 90% of the company's total annual U.S. sales for all of 2003 (1.35 million)!

 

Sounds like a good trannie to me, NOT.... And it is still being used with all the V6 vehicles they sell. One guy is on his 3rd transmission on a 2004 Acura TL.

dewey

I just wanted to add some controversy to this forum since it was beginning to sound like a HAH cheerleading session.

 

Debate is what makes these forums interesting.

rfruth

So the hybrid does use the same 5 speed auto since it (the tranny) is used in all the V6s ?

dewey

If it is a different tranny or redesigned tranny on the HAH, that Motely Fool article would be quite Foolish!

rfruth

The Motley Fool(s) make for great money advisors IMO but automotive experts they're not so when a article such as their's says "Our Take" at the top it makes me wonder ...

gagrice

Three transmission failures in approx. 7,000 miles (each replaced under warranty) with last failure occuring on interstate traveling at speed limit when all of sudden it began downshifting... serious safety issue.

 

Considering filing for BBB arbitration or filing lawsuit as Acura has refused to replace or buy back car voluntarily and they had the audacity to simply offer to extend the normal warrnty... how does this fix the transmission defect that they have not been able to fix!

 

With two of the transmission replacements, dealer messed up stereo and had to replace it both times.

 

http://www.all-acura.com/article71.html

 

http://world.honda.com/news/2004/c040630.html

 

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/040702-2.htm

 

http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=93&did=908

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv4.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt- _id=464507&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=10895&ASSORTMENT%3C%3Eas- t_id=333137

gagrice

None of the articles including ones from Honda indicate they have changed design of the 5 speed transmission. I will try to find where I saw a poster that already had to have his 2005 Acura TL transmission replaced.

dewey

In defense of the Fools at Motely Fool, they are very good at presenting facts about various industries(whether automotive or fertilizer).

 

The Fools at Motely Fool are not such great money advisors except for their value portolio suggestions(influenced by the ideas of Warren Buffett)

stevedebi

DC and Chrysler? Boy, that should be an interesting unit. Look for a 10 year cycle before they get it right...

dewey

GM and DC combining their r& d for their hybrid endeavors makes a lot of economic sense.

 

Will they compete with Honda and Toyota. Who knows? But I dont think the Japanese should be too complacent. This combo will improve the competition to improve hybrid technology. That in itself is a great benefit for anyone who wishes to buy a hybrid sometime in the future.

 

  

explorerx4

sometimes, it's a matter of the right people trying to sell the concept. there are probably a lot of great ideas that just don't fit the audience making the decisions.

viet

Tranny on my Accord 95 I4 at 200K miles works terrific. My son's V6 Accord 03 was recalled as a preventive measure, not a big deal. I have owned 7 Civic/ Accord and a numbers of Honda motorcyles. They have been best cars/ motorcycles on earth. No complaints whatsoever.

dewey

Viet,

 

I hope you dont have a CRV in your Honda portfolio. If you do make sure you wear a fire proof suit. (there is a fire hazard issue with these vehicles). I am just concerned about your well-being Viet.

 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/crv_fires.html

viet

My brother-in-law has a CRV and he said he would buy another one. If you want his phone # and/ or his email address please let me know so I can confirm with him if you could call him to verify that.

dewey

Thanks for offering your brother in law's phone # but I cant help him.

 

WARNING: Just make sure he can call 9-1-1 from his CRV!!

backy

Or just make sure the oil filter was removed properly during the CRV's first oil change.

 

Gee, folks, if you want to bash everything Honda, why not start a discussion in News & Views for that, maybe "I Hate Honda, How About You?". But what does a problem with oil filter gaskets on some CRVs have to do with the Honda Accord Hybrid?

gagrice

Gee, folks, if you want to bash everything Honda

 

I agree there is a Honda bashing thread called "has Honda's Run Run out" Most of these issues are on that thread. The Auto transmission problem relates directly to the HAH. I have not seen any evidence that Honda has changed for the 2005 year. I am sure Honda is gambling that they can come up with a fix.

viet

My 10-year-old Accord I4, 145 HP still runs so strong at 25 - 30/32 MPG as day one with original muffler and starter. It still runs so great. All 4 spark plugs are still clean and dried every time I change oil, no oil leak, no oil burning. It still runs with full power. What do you want for more Dewey and Gargice? I feel extremely happy with my Accords and feel making big profits to own and drive them. My other V6 EX 02 and 03 are so fun to drive and so quiet on highway drives.

 

That was why I was not hesistant to buy a brand new HAH for my special Xmas and will buy another one for my wife. Why not? Honda'a autos and motorcycles have been proven for years as extremely solid products with high quality and...hi-tech too. I am a (dirty) old man but I rather die (hard) for my Honda cars. I am open to all cars and absolutely do extensive researchs whenever I have to buy a new car. I am strongly convinced I have made a right decision to buy my HAH.

dewey

Ok Viet,

 

CRV is irrelevent for these discussions and I should not have brought it up. The site below is my peace offering. I am sure most forum members read it already!

 

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=33&article- _id=8922

nw1997

It is articles like these that made us go for the Accord over any other. Keep up the good work HONDA, just work out the bugs please.....

falconone

I'd rather be in the Accord! At least it doesn't have a propensity to tip over and it doesn't brake like a freight train! If we all thought like you we'd have NO fuel left for our children!

robertsmx

The Auto transmission problem relates directly to the HAH. I have not seen any evidence that Honda has changed for the 2005 year.

 

How do you expect to see an evidence right away?