Honda Accord (1994-1997) Maintenance and Repair

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  • accordmqaccordmq Member Posts: 28
    The left high beam on my car, 1996 Accord coupe AT 160K Miles, is not working. Both low beams are working fine. It is a Canadian model, meaning it has the DRL whose relay is known to fails at around this mileage. When in Drive with headlight turned on, the DRL warning light is lit.

    I've checked the basic stuff listed below, and wonder if anyone can give some help before I take it to the mechanic.

    1. Checked the DRL fuse, fine.
    2. Checked both left and right headlight fuses, both fine. Even swapped the fuses, not difference.
    3. Put in a new high beam bulb on the left, still not working.
    4. Swapped the original left high beam bulb to the right, and it worked on the right, so the bulbs are fine.

    At this point, I can only conclude that there is no power to the left high beam. I am suspecting the DRL relay, however, doesn't the DRL relay get completely cut off when the headlights are turned on? How can only the left side are not powered?

    Thanks in advance.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Well, considering she does a lot of in-town driving, her mileage seemed decent at 25 MPG on average (I fill up her car for her as the good grandson I am :)). She drives really conservatively though (she's 72 and has probably never seen the high side of 3,500 RPM!) I replaced the filter today with an STP filter ($8.79 at AutoZone), then drove the car a mile or two. It felt somewhat similar on throttle tip-in, but it scooted up the hill at the end of our street (a steep grade) with much more verve than it did yesterday. Big difference in grunt.
  • jhuckjhuck Member Posts: 17
    I have been having that problem for a few years now on my 96 Accord. It was the "if I lock my car, after some time it would start unlocking and locking itself over and over." No problem; I worked 5 miles from home both in a very safe area, didn't lock it anyway. Heck some days the key stayed in it. In the last few months it changed. Unlocking makes the motor sound after it unlocked but it still worked. Now if I want to lock the driver's door it has to be manually. Does it progress any worse beyond this? I still don't plan on fixing it - I don't work outside the home - so I only drive one mile a day to take the little one to school then back to my garage. But I don't want to be locked out of my car or worse my children locked in.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Well, I should have knocked on wood last week when I said I was going to make it a year with a repair on my 12 year old Accord (I've had one repair a year for three years now). My Accord 4-cyl Accord LX Automatic has a split in the radiator, quite a bad one (coolant was puddled up in different areas around the cooling fan).

    I thought the car had been smelling hot lately, but I couldn't find any puddles under the car and the car never even threatened to overheat according to the temperature gauge. I looked yesterday and found the leak. My car is now at the dealership getting fixed. I was told $550 or so for the replacement.
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    anything on broken odometers? I looked yesterday and noticed it stopped moving! Its been stuck at 17699.9 for about 3 days now! The speedometer and tac are all functioning fine.

    -Cj HELP! :cry:
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    17699.9? My odometer doesn't have tenths of a mile, only the trip odometer does. Maybe you just meant 176,999 miles.

    I have a new odometer/speedometer unit in my car, which was replaced around 112,000 miles. It was replaced because the speedometer was sporadically dropping to zero. My odometer currently says something close to 61,000 miles. Makes the car feel new :) j/k
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    My Accord 4-cyl Accord LX Automatic has a split in the radiator,

    The plastic part on top usually cracks close to the filler neck.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Yep, about an inch below the pressure cap. The crack was horizontal, and over an inch long.
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    yup my mistake. ITs 17700 about to come on and it was 179.9 in the trip one.

    How did you find a reliable unit and how much was it. We're looking but trying to wait to use Honda as a last resort.

    -Cj
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    It was still my grandmother's car at the time, so she had it replaced at the dealer.
  • thinkdifferentthinkdifferent Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    Now I know that I am not crazy. I have this exact same noise (love your descriptive spelling) in my '96 Accord EX 4-cylinder auto. It occurs exactly the same way as you describe.

    My dealer also could not figure it out. I was wondering if you ever got the issue resolved and could let me know what the problem was?

    Driving me totally nuts!! I find that if I let off the accelerator right before the noise and then get back on it real quick it doesn't happen. I do a lot of around town driving so I hear this noise about a hundred times a day it seems. I'll do anything to make it stop!

    Any help is appreciated.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Wow, that's an OLD post, but ya know what? I'm at 173,000 miles and I still have that resonating metallic/growling noise. I've never had a problem from it though.

    I've driven the car for about 50,000 miles since I've had my license (I'm now 19), and am so used to it, I really don't notice it much at all, and really know how to work the throttle to work around the noise.

    I'm kinda glad I'm not the only one with it, to be really honest with ya, so like you said, I now know I'm not a nutcase.

    Sorry I don't have a solution for ya though, thinkdifferent.
  • mamamia2mamamia2 Member Posts: 707
    With an 11 year old car, what can you expect... Please enjoy your car and don't drive yourself nut about it... It's probably some kind of a vibration somewhere that will be extremely difficult to detect...

    With such an old car, as long as it drives well, forget about the rest...

    BTW, used to have a '95 V6 Accord EX, which after 5 years of ownership (I bought it used), I traded in 15 months ago (for a new Sonata), and as much as I love my Sonata -- I still MISS my old Accord, I really do...
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    As I posted last week, I had my radiator replaced at the dealership in my Accord with 173,000 miles on it. Today, on my way home from work, my car started running hot. Even after cranking the heat all the way up, turning the A/C off, and dropping my speed to 50 MPH, the gauge just kept climbing. I pulled onto the shoulder of I-59 and turned off the car. On a hunch, I checked underneath the front and sure enough, I was leaking coolant VERY quickly (probably 3 drips per second. The leaking stopped after about 10 minutes (while I waited on a tow truck), so I assume it all leaked out.

    What are the odds that it is something simple like a hose popping off the bottom of the radiator? I have driven very modestly since I got the car fixed (I may have hit 4,000 RPM only ONCE since I did). I was driving 65 MPH with A/C on when the car started running hot.

    Needless to say, my car is at the dealership tonight :sick: :cry:

    I think it misses me! It's sick and it needs me!

    I'm supposed to hear back in the morning as to what happened. The dealership covered the tow truck, and I assume they'll cover the price of the issue, whatever it is, since the radiator was replaced less than a week ago (for $563 after tax). :(

    Luckily, I didn't blow a gasket or anything, since no steam erupted from the engine. Any chance I could've damaged much? I pulled over when the gauge was in between the half-mark and the red-mark.
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    As long as you didn't get into the red, you should be ok. Hopefully, they just forgot to tighten a hose or something. :cry: I would assume they checked the hoses (for weaknesses) when changing the radiator. :confuse:
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Never got into the red (was probably about 45 seconds from doing so at the rate it was going though!), I was headed that way when I got the engine shut off, the hood opened, and the cooling fan ran for a good five minutes after I opened the hood on the shoulder.

    They told me they checked the thermostat (it is original equipment) and it checked-out ok, so surely they'd check hoses. I'd hope so, anyway!
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    the cooling fan ran for a good five minutes after I opened the hood

    Another good sign. :) So I guess you could not tell where the coolant was leaking from? Of course if it's steaming up, you don't really want to sick your head under there huh? A heater hose blew off on my brother once, and it burned him pretty good. :sick:
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    No steam at all, actually (which bodes well for the head gasket). I couldn't see it looking in the brief time that I did. To be honest, I was reluctant to stand in front of the car. I was about 6 feet from traffic moving at 75-80 MPH on Interstate 59. If my car had gotten clipped, it would have run me over. I spent most of my time in the grass well off the shoulder so I wouldn't get hit.
  • tankbeanstankbeans Member Posts: 585
    Hello all-

    A couple of months back my ABS light started coming on and off. It then stopped until just a couple of days ago. I reread post 739 talking about filling the abs reservoir slowly while the engine is running. My question is where is the reservoir? I had the hood open and found a strong candidate up by the driver's side headlight. I noticed that it was a little under the max line? Is this the right reservoir? Only reason I ask is because I don't want to be pouring fluid into the wrong area and risk possibly damaging something.

    I apologize if I'm asking very redundant questions.
  • mamamia2mamamia2 Member Posts: 707
    No, your ABS module is on your LEFT, when you open the hood (granted you have a '95-'97 Accord...). At the very far left you'll see it with 4 thin pipes coming out of it, and going down. That's your ABS module, and attached to it is a SMALL plastic reservoir with a gray rubber cap, the size of a penny, on top.

    Check this picture... This is looking from the left side of the car into the engine. The gray cap is to the right of the larger round. You fill up that reservoir till you see the fluid filling the top...

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-97-
    HONDA-ACCORD-4CYL-ABS-PUMP-MODULE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategory
    Z33560QQihZ010QQitemZ200089395977QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V
    #ebayphotohosting
  • adrendariadrendari Member Posts: 1
    My '94 Accord's speedometer doesn't work most of the time, but will on occasion start working. Of course, this also means my odometer and trip meter also don't work.

    I figured this was the VSS, and so did my mechanic. He said he tested it and it was indeed bad, so he put in a new one for me. However, this didn't solve the problem! :mad: He now tells me that the speedometer head is bad. I've already spent $150 for the VSS (yes...he got it from Honda) and $150 for him to 'trace' the problem. Is it possible that there is just a bad connection since it's working intermittently? Anyone have suggestions, because Honda wants $190 for the speedometer head, and I'm not having much luck finding anything other than aftermarket speedometers. :cry:
  • omarromarr Member Posts: 88
    I have the same problem. What did you do to fix the speedometer?

    Thanks
  • mamamia2mamamia2 Member Posts: 707
    Do a search on "Speed Sensor" here.... That's probably your problem... I, and others, have posted some interesting stuff about it in the past.... May save you money too....
  • accord95exaccord95ex Member Posts: 7
    Is this normal? When I turn the ac/heather dial all the way to cold on my car even when the fan is off and ventilation is open, it kicks hot air out, (with ac off as well) while the outside temp is cool.

    Also I feel that my ac does not blow cool air enough.

    For more info. I recently changed my T-Belt and water pump as I was not sure if it was changed when I bought this car (turned out it was!) plus I don't trust my Temp. gauge as it registers about 40% all the time after about 2 min driving no matter what...

    Please let me know if you have any idea. Thanks.
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    Honda wants $190 for the speedometer head, and I'm not having much luck finding anything other than aftermarket speedometers.

    They have been known to go out. I've heard they were made by Ford, of all people to get parts from.
  • tallman1tallman1 Member Posts: 1,874
    When I turn the ac/heather dial all the way to cold on my car even when the fan is off and ventilation is open, it kicks hot air out,

    Is your temp control knob broken? They are notorious for cracking and even though the knob turns, the stem doesn't. You might want to pull it off and check.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Is this normal? When I turn the ac/heather dial all the way to cold on my car even when the fan is off and ventilation is open, it kicks hot air out, (with ac off as well) while the outside temp is cool.


    When it does this, run the A/C for a minute to flush out the hot air. Sometimes, hot air is trapped in the ducts from sitting in the sun, etc...

    When I roll my windows down after getting in my car (with no intention of having A/C on), I still run the A/C a minute to keep hot air from wafting from the vents. Then I turn it off, and the air that does flow through the vents is cooler.

    Hope this tip helps.

    TheGraduate
    1996 Accord LX 4-cyl
    2006 Accord EX 4-cyl
  • toolow4metoolow4me Member Posts: 7
    If anyone happens to have a 97 accord lx 4-cyl, or knows someone with one that doesn't run or they are stripping parts to sell. please reply. i need a new subframe/engine cradle. i hate rain and medians. i don't think i should have to say more. i'm trying to get the cheapest price possible.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    The 1996 is mechanically/structurally unchanged from the 1997, so you should be able to use that model year too.
  • mamamia2mamamia2 Member Posts: 707
    Don't worry about your temp. gauge staying at 40%.... Mine NEVER climbed to the middle line.

    Actually my new Sonata does the same, never seen the needle go to half.
  • omarromarr Member Posts: 88
    omarr returns.

    There is a lot of bogus information on the web on this problem.

    If the VSS is not working you are going to have a lot of other operational issues.
    You will most likely get a error code.
    If the cruise control still works the VSS is okay.

    If you speedometer is reading approximately 15 to 20 mph with the key on, it is the speedometer head. The speedometer will probably bounce from 15 to 20 when slightly moving the car forward or back. I got a used cluster from reputable used dealer locally $200.00

    Checkout doctorautoparts.com for VSS if needed $30.00

    Checkout majestichonda.com COMBINATION METER COMPONENTS for speedometer head $133.00.

    If you take the speedometer apart caution on the small screws on the back do not overtighten, you will break wires. These screws attach the gages and are also actual electrical connections .

    Been there done that.

    Replace the Head
  • sam421sam421 Member Posts: 14
    I recently bought a used 96 Honda Accord and the CEL came on. I need to inspect it in PA and it wont pass. There are no fault codes coming up. The EGR Valve was replaced before I bought the car. The only other thing that is wrong is the speedometer and mileage do not work. The speedometer stays at 20mph when driving. I keep getting the CEL reset but it continously goes back on after 60 miles of driving. Please help!
  • omarromarr Member Posts: 88
    This is a pure guess.
    Some where I read that if a particular fuse is blown the codes will not come up. I can't remember which one so check the fuses.
    If there is an Advance Auto or AutoZone in your area they will check the codes for free. They can read OBD II codes on 1996 and newer vehicles.
    I don't know how you are resetting the CEL but some codes code have to be cleared with the code reader. Disconnecting the battery doesn't always work.
    If your cruise control works, I fell the speedometer head is bad and the CEL is a separate issue. If the cruise don't work than the VSS is probably bad Are you sure that you are seeing the CEL and not the maintenance required indicator. This turns red every 7500 miles (oil change, ETC) reset with your key by pushing the lower center reset button.
  • sam421sam421 Member Posts: 14
    I brought it to the mech twice and he cleaned the EGRs and stated there were no codes coming up. I guess the reader cleared the CEL. I never disconnected the battery. I never tried the cruise control but i will tomorrow. If it is the VSS does that mean a sensor could be bad causing the CEL to come on? I am positive it is the CEL that i am seeing. What lower center reset button are you talking about? Thank you for your help!
  • omarromarr Member Posts: 88
    Near the "0" on the speedometer is a vertical rectangular slot
    to reset the maintenance required indictor.

    P0500--VSS Circuit Malfunction (M/T)
    P0501--VSS Circuit Range/Performance (A/T)
  • sam421sam421 Member Posts: 14
    Oh Ok great. Thanks for the codes also. I'll get back to you about the cruise control.
  • sam421sam421 Member Posts: 14
    OK I tried the Cruise Control this morning and it worked BUT here's the catch ... the speedometer worked too! That was at 7am. At 9am I got back in the car and the speedometer didnt work again. I was POed that the speedomter didnt work that I forgot to check the cruise again. I will get back to you in a little while.
  • mamamia2mamamia2 Member Posts: 707
    I can only post here some of my experience... I had a problem driving the car on the highway, and at high speed the spidometer needle was jumping and then sometimes would be resting at 0. At the same time I noticed a subtle bucking.

    After they replaced the Speed Sensor and the Distributor cap all went back to normal.

    If the car has less than 150,000 miles on the odometer, there is a good chance Honda would cover for the repair under service bulletin 98-081. They did it for me.
  • sam421sam421 Member Posts: 14
    OK the CEL has NOT come back on since my mechanic cleaned the EGR port(s). It has been well over 100 miles driven. He is inspecting it today and it should pass. As far as the speedometer and cruise control the speedometer works 75% of the time and the cruise control works all of the time even when the speedometer is messed up. Thanks for your help omarr and everyone else!
  • pj_columbiapj_columbia Member Posts: 12
    In March the car wouldn't start about 11 a.m. My wife called a tow truck to get it towed to the shop and when the tow truck arrived, he started it right up. I thought "bad gas", got some dry gas and 2 days later had the same problem. This time we started the car and got it to the shop. They replaced plugs, distributor and rotor. It was time for a timing belt change, so we got that and the water pump changed at the same time. No problem - until she was on her way to Nebraska and tried to start it one morning and it wouldn't start. It turns over beautifully, but just won't catch. She called a tow truck and they got it to a shop where - you guessed it, it started right up. They had it on the diagnostic computer and saw nothing out of the ordinary. So - bad gas? She got to Nebraska and was to come home yesterday but? Wouldn't start again, first thing in the morning. Tow truck came, took it to the dealer and ? It started right up. I'm at a loss here. Can anyone give me some idea(s) on what's going on and what I can do? It's got 85K miles and is in great shape otherwise. We'd hoped to get another few years out of this, but can't take the chance it'll continue to have this kind of problem. Thanks!

    PJ
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Sounds like an electrical malfunction....relay or cam sensor or ignition pickup module. Sometimes a good diagnostician can induce failure by freezing the suspect component.

    Intermittent problems are tough to solve. You have to be ready to test at the moment of failure. It may have to fail completely before you know.

    Definitely not "bad gas".
  • pj_columbiapj_columbia Member Posts: 12
    Thanks for the suggestions. I've passed on your advice. The folks who have the car now are testing it but of course it's working fine. We'll see if this latest visit will give us some piece of mind before my wife drives back to the East coast.
  • neeper_97neeper_97 Member Posts: 20
    It sounds like the valve from the heater hose is not closing all the way when you turn the temperature knob to cold. On my 97 EX, even when it was cold outside and the vent was open it would blow warm air. When the a/c was on it just didn't seem to get cold like it used too. To find out if you have the same problem I had, open the hood and look down at the heater hoses by the firewall. Have somebody turn the temperature knob back and forth from hot to cold. Look where the cable is cycling the heater hose valve. When you find it have them turn the knob as far as it will go to cold then push on the valve lever with your finger in the same direction. If it moves further we may have found your problem. Now check the a/c to see if it gets colder than it did before. If it does the problem is the cable is not cycling the valve all the way closed so the air is always being heated even if the a/c on. You can have the temperature knob, cable and heater valve checked/replaced or in the mean time you can just adjust it by hand when it's hot outside. Let me know if this helps, neeper_97
  • sandiehsandieh Member Posts: 3
    I drive a 94 Accord LX and am having the exact same problems as pj. When I get it to the mechanic it starts every time. Bring it home and 4 starts later it won't start again! It has 170,000 miles and a year old timing belt. I wrote down what you said to show our mechanic. He thinks fuel pump or fuel module. It will start if we spray starting fluin in a vent hose. Please advise I am desperate!Sandie
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    I think it could be your fuel pump or the main relay. This link has some troubleshooting. help for this situation. Hope it helps. Good luck. Link below.
    http://techauto.bravehost.com/
  • sandiehsandieh Member Posts: 3
    I drive a Honda Accord 94 LX and my car is doing the same thing as pj's not starting! Get it to the shop and it starts. I would love to know if pj solved his car problem with his 95 Accord that was doing the same thing. And what it was!!!
  • sandiehsandieh Member Posts: 3
    Elroy, thank you so much! I went to the tech site and it was all right there! I am taking my car and the print out to my mechanic! God Bless You!! sandie
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    Thanks for saying so. Glad I could help a little. Hope you get it worked out. :)
  • autoboy16autoboy16 Member Posts: 992
    I have those problems now(aww man you jinxed me... :mad: :cry: ) except for the speedo. My speedometer is fine but my tac goes out on occasion. Once i actually spoke to it ("i wish you could join us") and it came on :blush:

    My Odometer stopped working at 117800 miles. I'm guessing its almost at 120000 now. But it starting to get old because i noticed my cruise control light and low fuel warning lamp don't illuminate anymore. I love this car to death but i cant wait to get a newer[er](technically i had a 1991) one. I might do like thegrad and keep the car but instead get a TSX for a second car. (I love that exhaust note!!).

    Somewhere between 118k and 120k miles,
    Autoboy16 -Cj :shades:
  • only95konly95k Member Posts: 2
    I had a new radiator, thermostat, and thermostat seal put in by an auto repair shop after my radiator cracked 450 miles ago. It overheated a little today and after looking there was no water in the coolant reserve tank! After it was repaired the tank was half full (to the mark). It appears it is using a lot of coolant. I have not seen anything leaking and have checked by putting some cardboard under the car. What might be the problem? Thank you!
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