Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

user777

leave that fob far away and try another. maybe it's defective and always sending the close command.

hondaguy06

Two weeks ago, I bought a 2006 Honda Accord sedan 4 cylinder VP (formerly known as the DX). It has a ton of standard features for a base model, and it has a very confortable climate control stystem, and has good power and safety features. It also has a very powerful inline four engine.
However, on three occasions now, my ignition has locked up, and I cannot turn the key. I only had this problem once with my old car (a Pontiac) and I simply fixed it by giving the steering wheel a little nudge. The same is with this car, since when I give the steering wheel a nudge, it unlocks. However, the problem continues to reoccur, and while it is quick and easy to fix, I want to know why it continues to do this, or if it is normal. I think it is caused when I don't park with the steering wheel straight, but it seems as if no one else has the problem. Also, are there any ways that I can permanetely correct this problem? I love my new Honda, and I hope on keeping it for a real long time. I just want to know why my ignition locks up on some occasions.

tallman1

Are you turning the steering wheel after you take the key out? That will lock it up.

thegraduate

This is an anti-theft feature I believe. Every car I've ever driven had this feature, including Hondas as far back as 1987 models. Nothing is broken. The wheel in my car locks in approximately the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions.

user777

exactly. put the car in park. turn off the engine. pull out the key... all the while not turning the wheel.

it should not be locking up as tallman1 indicated... that should only occur if you take the key out and turn the wheel till it locks.

hondaguy06

Have you been running the a/c a lot lately? Running the a/c can cause the car to use up more coolant. I just bought an accord vp 2 weeks ago and have been running the a/c a lot lately. I have 500 miles on it, and the coolant level has dropped considerably since I bought the car.

djm2

There are only two possibilities for the coolant level dropping in the system. ----1.) There was an air pocket in the system when it was filled, --- or ---- 2.) You have a leak in the system. I have a 2003 4 cyliner Accord, and I use the AC system constantly, and the coolant level remains the same. I suggest that you have the dealer pressure test the cooling system. ---- Best regards. ----Dwayne

imidazol97

Agree with your points. The cooling system may have been refilled and the procedure for removing air bubble from heater or certain points high in the system may not have been followed. On one of my cars that requires a completely hot system and then revving the motor to 3000 rpm 5 times to force the air bubble out of the heater.

Using the air conditioning should not change the level other than since the whole system runs hotter after extended use therefore the total volume of the coolant will be slightly greater due to higher temperature everywhere in the system--i.e., the radiator is hotter.

tinatina

Hello,

Well the noise returned on my 2006 Accord SE and its back in the shop again as of this past Monday. I just brought it back home on Wednesday night of last week, so I could not go back right away, nor did I use the car until this past Sunday - so I would say they never fixed it the first time around. The dealer service is awful (from the service writer to the "technicians" to the service director who never returns mu calls, so when i get the new car survey, I will note this on that section of the survey - for whatever its worth. If they are not able to fix, I'll have to get Honda corporate involved and perhaps seek recourse through CA Lemon Law (I think there must be four documented repair attempts). Anyway, anyone have any thoughts on the following:

The car experiences a popping noise when warmed at low speeds 5 to 15 mph - when coasting - sounds like from the left, front wheel well area. The noise appears more pronounced when going up a hill. They replaced the left wheel bearing. Do you think its a strut, the cv, or the springs isse affecting the TLs? or the RSXs. Maybe, I need the spring silencer tubes? Can the plastic under the front wheel weel be making that noise as well? Suspension bolt not on tight enough? The noise is not brake related, nor related to the 2003 TSB dealing with faulty welds. The more that the car is driven, the louder the noise is - ie on a 1 hour road trip versus a 5 minute trip.

Any help is appreciated. I just don't want the hamburger helpers at the dealer to change any more parts that are not necessary. I may wait a bit and see if the problem fixes itself since the car has less than 1k miles on it.

Happy Fourth!

gerbrio

Hi, quick question and I hope I'm in the right forum. I just bought an 06 accord v6 lx coupe. When I clean the back window, is there a chance of damaging the defoggers? I hope Im calling it by the right name. It's those horizontal lines on the window. Apologies in advance if my question seems vague.

tallman1

Soft cloth... don't scratch... it will be just fine.

mrbill1957

I've had cars for years with the rear defroster lines in the windows. I've used just numerous products to clean the windows and it never harmed the lines. As long as you don't scrape them with something sharp, you will be fine.

Mrbill

civicbuyer06

I have driven my 2006 Honda Civic for about 3000 miles and I noticed one day when it was parked that it had a nail stuck in the sidewall rim of the tire. It was either vandalism or I had driven over a nail but the nail is located on the sidewall which makes it unlikely that I hit a nail. I think it was a sticky finger vandal.

With this bad luck, I drove my car to Pep Boys and Sears and they didn't have the tire. I went to Goodyear Tire at 4305 Jonestown Rd, Harrisburg,PA, since it was a Goodyear RSA P206 55R16 89H tire.

Since the car is new, I told the sales guy that I wanted the same exact tire. The sales and technician who was the same guy, 069 David F., told me the tire was in stock. He sold me the tire and replaced it. I never even bothered to check to see if the tire was exactly the same. I trusted the guy which was a mistake. I should have looked at the tire before I drove away from the Goodyear dealer. I have driven the car for 2000 miles since I bought the tire and one day when my husband and I swapped cars, he noticed that the back of the car looked lopsided and uneven. He told me something was wrong and that I needed to bring the car to the Honda dealer to check the balance. I said that was strange since the side that was higher had the new tire. I looked and sure enough the tire was different. Not only did I get a nail in the tire which costed $162.55 to replace, the sales guy sold me the wrong tire which could ruin my new car. I told the guy I wanted the exact same tire and he even said that a replacement tire needed to be exactly the same too. How much bad luck can a girl take!

The morale to this experience: Even though I was upset about the nail, I should have still checked thoroughly the tire I had bought and made sure that it was exactly the same and never ever trust anything that salespeople say. I thought car salespeople were bad, I think repair shop people are THE worst. This confirmed that repair shop people just want to make money any way they can.

imidazol97

You ake the car and receipt back to the store manager. Since it's a Goodyear branded store you have somewhere above him to complain if he doesn't relace it properly.

djm2

civicbuyer06:
I am sorry to hear about your problem. ------This is why I purchase all my tires from the dealer. First, I know that I am going to get the proper size / quality tires for the vehicle. ----- Second, if a problem arises with regards to performance, alignment, balance or the quality of the product, I just go back to the dealer, hand them the keys, and "let them figure it out"! I have all my service performed by the dealer, (brakes, tires, oil & filter changes ---etc.) Since I do a lot of driving, I have "on - going" service appointments scheduled in advance. I work with one service advisor, and if a problem develops while I am on the road, I simply call my advisor, and add this issue to the next service appointment, (if it is not an emergency). Should the issue need immediate attention, and I am in the area of the dealer, he takes the vehicle in ASAP! The dealer also provides a loaner or a rental. I work with the dealer, and the dealer gives me high quality / outstanding service. I also believe in factory extended warranties. I always either break even with the cost, or come out ahead! --------- Best regards. ---- Dwayne

msgivnz

Ok, last post on this topic.
Just bought an '04 EX Coupe (tonight) and didn't realize the passenger door lock "button" is missing. Power locks still work. Any idea if this is an expensive fix?

whitecloud1

I must confess, I don't get it. What?

fw_man

I recently got this Accord and very happy with it. The radio does not have a cassette player, but apparently can hook up to an "auxilary" device. This implies that if I were to open up the radio area, I should be able to find a connector for this auxilary device.
What I would like to do at a minimum is to connect/splice in a 3.5mm stereo connector suitable for iPOD that would be selected by CD/AUX button on my radio.

Does anyone have a pinout for this connector?
How does the radio know there is or there isn't an AUX device connected?
I do not want to use FM transmitter to connect iPOD to radio.

Any and all help is appreciated.

thegraduate

I didn't think there was a power door lock on that side. My granddad's 1997 Civic LX Sedan doesn't have one on the passenger side...just driver side.

hals2

I have had several very intermittent problems with the AC. We purchased the car new, first of 2003. It has 77K miles now. Wednesday the AC went out. It was on max low, but blowing very hot air, hotter than outside. I had my wife drive it straight to the dealer, and leave car on, as this had happened before. when they got the car, they found that the freon was low, about 1#, so they added freon and dye, to try and find leak. Unable to locate any leaks yet. But car is cooling again.
This has happened in the past, once when the car was still in manufacturer's warranty. The dealer could find no problem and said we must have had the AC controls set incorrectly. It has happened again a couple of times, but it seems if you shut car off and back on a little later, it works.
However this time they checked freon and found it was low. My experience with low freon is that the AC should still cool a little bit, but not blow extremely hot air.

I think there is something else wrong with the AC besides just low freon.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

whitecloud1

Yes there is a power doorlock on the passenger side. At least
from '98 on, with the EX trim.

gerbrio

Hi guys, I just bought a car hand vaccuum. It uses the car battery as a source of power. I realized after I bought the vaccuum this might be a bad idea. Will it drain my car battery too much or should i worry at all? It's a 12 v vaccuum and i have a honda accord 06 coupe v6.

thnx in advance

thegraduate

Ok. I don't remember the Civic having one on the passenger side in our Silver 1998 EX Coupe, but that was quite a few years ago (traded that car in 2000) so I could be mistaken.

thegraduate

As long as you don't use it for an incredibly long time, you'll be fine. I have a Black And Decker Car-Vac that I use in my 1996 LX Accord, and it's never caused me a problem with battery life. Don't worry too much. Enjoy the car though...what color did you get? I loved the coupes when I was shopping for my 2006, but I fit better in the Sedan at 6'4"!

user777

depends on how much debris you have in the vehicle and how long you need to run it while on battery only.

you can always start the car if you find your working the vacuum for extended periods (which I highly doubt you would be).

my only concern would be the construction of the male plug. look into your 12V recepticle and note the seperation between the center contact and the shell. now examine the male plug. what you want to avoid is putting in the plug for the vacuum into the outlet at a gross angle (i.e. you want to push it straight in so the tip of the male plug can't short out the female outlet).

also i'd advise you to insert the plug for the vacuum when the car is off (key not in the ACC position or car not idling) since you have to either turn your key to acc or have the vehicle running to get power to the outlet.

taking those precautions will avoid blowing a fuse by accidently shorting the center contact with the shell with the tip of the male plug. this is probably an issue which only occurs with badly / cheaply designed devices with lousy male plugs but it doesn't hurt to do it in a less risky manner.

may your hand vacuum and accord become good friends.

stickguy

You need some kind of adapter designed to work with the radio I think. You can't just plug a wire into the aux input.

There are a number of units designed for this purpose, specificically for the Honda radios. I have a USASpec unit in our Odyssey that works great. It has an Ipod connector that plugs into the dock port, so it even charges the unit, and it also has a set of RCA jacks.

P.I.E. also makes a number of options, some of which are cheaper but have less functionality.

ANyway, with any of the units, you just have to get to the back of the radio to plug it in, and off you go.

Look on Edmunds. I think there are some threads about using an ipod. If not for the Accord, there are certainly some under the Odyssey thread list.

desertmom99

Thank you for also being confused. I am one of those that has read the manual and can honestly say that I posed the question because I didn't feel the manual was very clear about this. I have no problem driving a manual transmission but cannot seem to equate the changing of gears on the automatic to that of the manual. I don't know why. It seems to me that with a manual transmission, I changed gears mainly by sound (I never redlined or came anywhere close to redlining). On an automatic, however, I cannot seem to do that because the engine seems to be screaming if I try to change gears. Therefore, I'm scared to attempt to change to even D3. As an example, I believe that I can use D3 if I am going down a steep hill to help maintain or slow down the speed, but the car still seems to pick up momentum and the engine whines and I don't know up to what speed I can switch into D3. By the same token, how fast can I go uphill and switch gears? If I need extra boost going on an incline, what gear do I drop it to and at what speed (or actually, what would be the maximum speed allowed). Sometimes I wish I had bought the manual transmission again but I got tired of constantly shifting in our Los Angeles traffic.

hondalova

You may remember my recent posts about my '04 V-6 Coupe's naughty computer codes. When last we left our intrepid hero, we had cleaned the exhaust tube where the EGR valve sits and replaced the EGR valve.

Car continues to idle roughly for the first 1-2 minutes after starting - but usually only when really cold (after sitting at least 4-5 hours). This morning, after two weeks of otherwise happy motoring, it coded again and the idiot light came on on the dash.

Mechanic downloaded a: (1) P2195 Code, which is the REAR AF-11 (bank one sensor one?) Air/Fuel Sensor indicating its stuck on the lean setting, and (2) stored a pending P0301 misfire code for cyliner #1. Code conditions indicated that idle was at around 926 rpms at the time it happened, suggesting that its consistent with the misfire that happened when I started the car cold this morning.

Anybody got any ideas here? Is it a lazy sensor? A fuel pump issue? An O2 sensor issue (kinda what an Air/Fuel Mixture sensor is anyway, isn't it?)? I like my mechanic but I'm seein' just too damn much of him lately. Besides, this car has ~$50 miles on it and shouldn't be doing this.

Also, so nobody seeing this for the first time wastes their energy: We've eliminated bad fuel (over a 100 gallons from different suppliers during 6 week course of problem), bad plugs (pulled one from each bank - they're fine), cleaned the EGR tube and replaced the EGR valve with a new one.

Any and all new ideas welcome - this is becoming REALLY frustrating for me - I'm in my car 30k+ miles per year and I don't have time for this.

Thanks!

whitecloud1

Oops! My bad, I was thinking Accord, not Civic.

thegraduate

I was wondering if that happened...I think the subject line was throwing everyone off anyway. It's not a Civic forum, so let's leave that subject alone, shall we?

Don't apologize though, it's a simple mistake...although the rest of us here ARE perfect...

gerbrio

I got the black one. I love the color of it. Thanks for the answer. That's a good thing caz i don't wanna return the vac. I think best buy charges you restocking fee if you return. Not too sure though.

06nighthawkv6

ar39,

I've been getting a really loud thunking noise when I put the car in reverse backing out of the garage the first time of the day. It happens right when I go from (P) to (R) and it doesn't happen on subsequent shifts all the way to (D)Drive. Do you know what could be causing this? It doesn't happen after the first time and it doesn't happen everyday. Like maybe 3 to 4 times a week. This is not the click(clack) you hear when you put it in Reverse like many new Accords have but this is a loud thunk like the sound of someone closing their hood (doing the 15-20 inch drop, noise)
Any ideas? It doesn't happen on subsequent shifts from (P) to (D) during the day. :mad:

wishman

I bought 2006 Accord SE Automatic in May 06. It now has around 2000 miles. I have been observing a vibration in the gas pedal while driving. Has anyone experienced it? Can anyone contribute anything? Thanks in advance.

user777

well it's under warranty.

It was brought up by a few people in a Honda Accord Problem and Solution forum which was closed by the hosts when they decided to split up the P+S for the Accord based on a range of model years:
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef98496.ee997a9

FWIW: just hazarding a guess here - that seems like a bad motor mount perhaps... specially if you feel it in the pedal but not in the steering wheel.

cgustafson

Hi cf2...I don't own an Accord however I did trade my 03 Odyssey in on a new 06 Odyssey in May. From day one I have had same vibration problems as you are describing. Honda has balanced tires twice including "Road Force" balancing and did not solve defect. Honda factory rep. checked vehicle and said it was a "quiver" and implied it was within Hondas standards! Feel Honda is now "stonewalling" me...in short they are attempting to shift the burden of their problem off on the consumer! Defect seems to be in VCM equipped vehicles and faulty noise and vibration cancelling ACN (Active Noise Cancel) system and electronic engine mounts...Just a guess...as vibration is safety factor suggest you file complaint at National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, www.nhtsa.dot.gov...Honda is well aware of the defect and either can't repair it or they feel cost of repair is excessive. They did offer me and others, according to other internet postings, a free extended warranty to compensate for our inconveniene!! Good luck.

magbarn

Lemme guess, your garage is at a slight incline. When parking, try pulling up the parking brake while holding the brake down to switch from D to P. This should cure the problem. BTW When leaving, don't release the parking brake until you're holding down the brake pedal and switching from P to R...

j8dygirl

Hi,
I just bought a brand new accord and my family noticed that it was leaking fluids on the drive way. I called the salesman and he told me not to worry b/c the car is brand new and that it is condensation from the AC. So I let it go for a few days. Then I noticed the fluid is green and greasy. So I take it to Honda service and they told me there is a leak in the head gasket and that it is very unusual b/c the car is brand new. So I demand that they replace it b/c I paid for a brand new car, not a damaged one. They have to take the engine apart to repair it and they told me it would be at least a week, which translates to 2 weeks! The service manager is a total jerk and he says I have to contact the corporate office if I want the car replaced, but he said that they don't usually do it for a 'minor repair'. This to me is a big problem, after they take the engine apart and put it back together, who knows if there wont be other problems. So now I've been trying to contact the corporate office. This has been a nightmare! The whole point of buying a brand new car is so I don't have to deal with these problems, but of course it's not the case. Please let me know your thoughts on this!!! I think I deserve a new car, that's what I paid for right?! :sick:

user777

well, the response can be everything from: let them fix it - to demand they replace it... depending upon where it's leaking and how much was lost. don't know how you or anyone without the vehicle is going to make that determination.

if they end up fixing it, and you plan on retaining it, push for an extended warranty at no cost. akso if they have your car for this period, i'd think they'd make a payment for you.

elroy5

I know, this being a brand new car, you don't expect to have problems. Stuff happens. As long as they are willing to give a comparable replacement while yours is in the shop, you should give them a chance to make it right. The dealership would loose tons of $$$, if they give you another new car.

A girl (talking on her cell phone) rear ended my wife, and my car was not fixed until 2 months later. Be happy that it's not damaged, and just 2 weeks, instead of 2 months. That's life.

mamamia2

Our '05 Accord with 6,000 miles has developed 2 minor issues, and I'm wondering whether others here have noticed it too:

1. When pressing the pedal it feels, AT THE VERY BEGINNING of its movement down, a slight "grinding" vibration, as if the pedal (or is there a cable?) needs some lubrication.

2. When releasing the pedal, half way on it's movement up, I can hear/feel a subtle CLICK.

...Anybody have a comment? Thanks.

06nighthawkv6

I got an oil change where the tech firmly believed my car needed 4.65 quarts instead of 4.5 quarts. He put what I think would be an extra 5 ounces off the last quart with 11 ounces still left over in the bottle. There should have been 16 ounces left over off a 32 ounce/quart bottle if you read the manual and it says it's 4.5 quarts but the tech/lube place says the Accord needed this much. Do you all think it's too much? It's it so miniscule that I shouldn't need to even take this little amount of oil out? I've driven 1200 miles and no problems so far, infact I am experiencing all the great bump in power and performance associated with changing out the factory oil and putting in a performance oil by the same manufacturers of the factory oil, Exxon+Mobil. The dipstick when we checked after changing read right at the Max line but when the eingine cools or is cold, it's way over the max line...4.65 quarts (what I have) - 4.5 quarts (what is should have)=.15 quarts more...what do youa ll think?

user777

i'd pull, check, clean the dipstick several times with the vehicle stopped, cold, level.

qbrozen

my feeling on this issue always depends on the repair. When I hear of folks getting a new engine in a car, I feel they should demand a replacement vehicle (because now the engine and chassis VINs don't match). However, in your particular case, a head gasket is not a big deal. It is, after all, just a gasket. Its a piece of material that seals 2 parts together. Its not a big deal. As long as the car runs right and no longer leaks when they are through with the fix, the car is just as good as a new one.

normkol

.15 quart is not going to cause any damage. Forget about it.

Are you being sarcastic about the "great bump in power and performace"? If not, I can't imagine what you are referring to.

06nighthawkv6

Bump in Power: not being sarcastic bro..V6 gets smoother in the upshifts so it's like you're getting a new car.
If you break-in your car without redlining it the first 600 miles (I didn't go past 4k on the RPM myself) and then you leave the factory oil in for 5k miles then you car is going to give you more power. No sarcasm at all bro. Not sure about the I4 but the V6 is all about this and yes, I am finding this out by surprise too but I do know you and only you control how much power you can ultimately squeeze out of your car! You control this not the car!

blown Head gasket person: My integra had this problem too but it was because I put stop leak in it at around 70k miles and it never ran right after that. But that was because I I broke a hose and the gasket blew again. If you fix it right (from the dealer) you should not have any overheating problems ever again unless:

Aluminum block engines are sensitive to overheating but it usually never happens since you always have coolant and the condition of your hoses is always good.

1. You run out of coolant in your car while it's running and it overheats again.
2. The condition of your hoses deteriorates and one of them breaks while you're driving. One of you radiator hoses breaks (upper or lower or maybe one of your heater hoses) and you drive on it (even a few hundred feet) then your head gasket could blow again.

Other then that you are good to go if they do the job right. Get a guarantee in the form of an extended warranty. Simply get an extended warranty from them to ensure this and you're good to go. No worries.

djm2

j8dygirl
QUESTION: ---- Did the engine overheat? If the answer to this question is "YES," I would want a NEW engine, (not a repaired engine), or a replacement vehicle. If Honda does not want to give you that solution, then let Honda give you an 8 year 120,000 mile "0" deductable extended factory warranty on the vehicle, (at NO CHARGE to you.) If they believe that there is nothing wrong with the engine, let them "back it up" with an extended warranty! --------- Best regards. ----Dwayne

elroy5

let Honda give you an 8 year 120,000 mile "0" deductable extended factory warranty on the vehicle, (at NO CHARGE to you.)

You've got to be kidding. You must live in the land of OZ. Because only the Wizard himself, could get you that warranty. Are you a munchkin?

06nighthawkv6

I got a leak too! The dealer won't look for it and says it's running fine. I never got to talk to the mechanic to tell him I smell it infrequently in my cabin(twice maybe three times a week) and i don't know if it's hotter in the cabin or not due to this. They give any excuse to not try adequate troubleshooting steps and say it's at the right temperature only. I definitely feel they are going the path of least resistance so I don't know what to do, call honda PR?? My car's life hangs in the balance. And this is at my alternate dealer too cuz my primary dealer I know are excuse machines. Any ideas anyone? What it is is that I smell a whiff of coolant from time to time in my car so how does one go about getting Honda to put the dye in and look for a small leak? When I told the service advisor that this is what Honda does for other, he looked at *me* like *I* was the one on crack...Any help and or step by step would be appreciated. Did you smell coolant in your cabin *before* you saw in on the ground? Did the problem happen gradually from this? I don't see any coolant on the ground so I know it's just a small leak somewhere..but where?

djm2

You would be surprised what you can get if you approach the dealer and the manufacturer in a professional manner. Dealers have a lot of power. They can help you with the factory representative. If a person purchases a NEW vehicle, and a defect in the cooling system causes the engine in the NEW vehicle to overheat, they are entitled to at least a NEW engine, not a repaired, (rebuild / remanufactured), engine. (Remember we are dealing with Aluminum Engines). If the manufacturer does not want to give the customer a NEW engine, and they only want to repair the existing engine, then they should back up the repair with their "top of the line extended warranty", and for Honda, that is a 8 year 120,000 mile warranty. (That is called "good faith" on the part of the manufacturer. If they truly believe that the engine repair will hold up for the life of the vehicle, then let them back up that opinion, with their money on the line.) This is why it is VERY important to be a service customer of a dealer. Any new car dealership, will go out of their way to assist a customer that frequents their service facility. When the factory representative asks the service manager, "is this person a good customer", the response will make or break the final deal! A "good customer" not only purchases vehicles from the dealership, but they also have routine maintenance done at the dealership. In return, they get "taken care of" when something happens! That is just human nature!

06nighthawkv6

If this is the case then all car salesman, dealers deserve the awful reputation that they have worked so little to earn. IF this is the case, Screw the dealer and everyone that works there! I have never heard more BS then this. I buy a near thirty thousand dollar item that comes with a warranty (that I payed for) and I have to provide customer service or as you put it, be a "service customer" to the dealer and especially those service advisors who don't know jack and only think they know jack. Who needs this kinda complication in their life. Life was meant to enjoyed and car dealer and everyone that works there is the antithesis or antichrist, if you will, of the idea that Life was meant to be good/enjoyed!

(Having said that, I will try that nice guy approach cuz they got everyone by the balls anyway )