Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

atlantabenny

Are you using leaded gasoline? It's one of the primary causes of 02 sensor failure. Here's an article that discusses the problem:

http://www.cruzinmag.com/oldsite/editorial/2004/Pit%20Stop%20June%2004.htm

Apparently, anything that "coats" an 02 sensor like oily exhaust gases, slowly burning silicone sealer, etc. will make the computer cut the engine off. The article suggests gas conditioners as a fix.

06nighthawkv6

#1906 of 1918 Re: 05's Honda Accord LX with humming engine [austinman7] by elroy5 Dec 23, 2006 (2:57 pm)
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Replying to: austinman7 (Dec 20, 2006 7:16 pm)

Maybe you should have gone with the Accord V6. My 03 EX V6 has been trouble free. Yes, they had a recall on the transmission, but it seems to have worked. The car is silent, on a smooth highway. 40k miles, and still perfect.

Yeah well if you put the right tea in the crankcase, you can coax a silent monster out of the V6.
I am gonna try to get max performance and ratchet it up a notch and put some full-synthetic oil in the car. Mobil is Group III but too much money ($6.00+ /qt???)Pennzoil or ?? in it but so far, it's been nothing but a steady diet of Mobil. I am not convinced Mobil 1 full-syntehtic is gonna upgrade and it's price/performance quotient is not good and if I can get Pennzoil full synthetic at a good price, I'm going to make the jump to full-synthetic! I just envision this smooth V6 can reach it's peak of creamy buttery smoothness in revving up but only after building up it's oil base! Although I am having huge successes with the Mobil blends, I imagine this 3.0 litre V6 can get better with a synthetic and I am leaning for the cost-competitice Group III Pennzoil! why not?!?! Why not "some" full 5w-20 synthetic at the same or lower price then a blend that can do a better job?!? If anyone has full-syn 5w20 recommendations, please reply to this post!

w9cw

Are you in Canada? I pay around $4.25 per quart for Mobil 1 synthetic here in Illinois, sometimes as low as $3.95 when it's on sale. I've used Mobil 1 for years, and never have had an oil-related engine mechanical failure.

elroy5

I use Castrol Syntec (full sythetic 5w-20). I also thought about Mobil 1. But the price, coupled with the fact that 5 quart jugs of Mobil 1 5w-20 are impossible to find around here. The one quart bottles of Mobil 1 (full syn) cost way too much. The Syntec has Honda recommended printed on the label, so that helped a little with the decision.

user777

if i'm not mistaken, it would be next to impossible for a consumer to knowingly put leaded gasoline in the vehicle since the fill nozzle is of a size too big to insert into the unleaded fill tube neck / hole.

now if the gas station was supplying leaded fuel in the pump...

mrbill1957

I would think that if the car has seen leaded gas, the catalytic converter would also have been damaged.

Mrbill

joeqpublic

I posted in the 2007 Accord forum, also posting it here in case this issue has surfaced in earlier models...

I got my new 2007 Accord SE (AT, 4-cylinder) this past October (in Canada), and I've already experienced 2 situations and wondering if anyone else has experienced these:

- all 4 windows were rolled down halfway down, even though they were fully up when we went in (this happened to my wife)

- every time car was started, odometer display kept displaying a msg "Check Fuel Cap", even though the fuel cap was tightly closed. This happened for a few days, and finally last night,the display returned to normal (ie message dissapeared) - & I hadn't refuelled the car either for it to stop..

Any help is greatly appreciated

atlantabenny

Probably true. But with scruby4 being in the Bahamas, wasn't sure if one gets leaded gas there. Would also agree with mrbill1957 that the cat converter would have been damaged by now, explaining why the engine continues to malfunction even with new 02s.

thegraduate

I replied to you in the 2007 Maintenance Forum, here is the link to my post.

user777

i think thegraduate has you covered with plausible explanations for both observations.

w.r.t. the fuel cap, when you put your gas cap on, ALWAYS make sure you hear several audible clicks when you turn it. if the message should come on again, it's possible you have a pressure leak in the system (perhaps the cap itself is bad) and you'll want it diagnosed.

thegraduate

Actually, it used to be that you were supposed to tighten the cap "at least three clicks" as written on the gas cap of my father's old 2005 that he just got rid of... now, since 2006 (I know this b/c mine is this way) all it takes is one click of the cap. Anything extra doesn't matter, and is just extra wear on the cap mechanism. I've never turned mine more than the one click it says to on the cap.

Our friend is correct though, when they say that if you continue seeing the message routinely (again, remember it takes several days to turn off, but shouldn't come on again until another tank-pressure-issue occurs) you may have a bad fuel cap.

wildman63

The window roll-down is caused by pressing the unlock button one time too many on the key. First push unlocks the driver's door. Second push unlocks all other doors. Third push lowers the windows until the button is released. It's pretty handy if you're parked in the hot sun (not an issue this time of year ;-) )and want to cool the car off quickly. Don't forget that if you don't open a door within 30 seconds of unlocking it, all doors will re-lock.

The Check Gas Cap warning is probably due to not properly seating the cap when you last refueled. It happened to me about 100 miles after refueling. You can temporarily kill the light (after seating the gas cap) by pushing the little dimmer stem on the instrument panel, but it will reappear each time the engine is started till it resets itself. My light finally went out after a couple of days and about five starts.

ol07

I took my car back to the dealer today to have the popping/knocking noise checked out one last time. They had to adjust the body panel clearance between the bulkhead and shock tower. I am glad it is gone, but can only wonder why the other dealer didn't think to check this one of the 3 times they had the car instead of replacing the strut assembly. To each his own I guess...

blane

w9cw,

You wrote "I've used Mobil 1 for years, and never have had an oil-related engine mechanical failure."

In my forty-eight years of driving and forty-three years of ownership of about twenty vehicles, I've used everything except a synthetic engine lubricant, and never have had an oil-related engine mechanical failure.

I'll happily continue to use naturally-based motor oils and continue to pocket the savings.

ray_h1

)) "Mobil is Group III..." ((

And your authority for that grand pronouncement is?

thegraduate

The window roll-down is caused by pressing the unlock button one time too many on the key. First push unlocks the driver's door. Second push unlocks all other doors. Third push lowers the windows until the button is released.

Actually, you can hold the button on the second push and the windows will drop. Save you an extra button-press!

scruby4

No am not using leaded gasoline.(we stop using leaded in the bahamas also)
I was told that the octane rating that we get is a little lower than the U. S. gasoline. so I've started using a gasoline conditioner to see how that works.

mallya

Great tip. I followed the manual and was frustrated as I could not loose the bulb housing. I found this tip and did it again by loosing 2 out of 3 philips screws accessable from the driver's side wheel. I can turn the housing and the bulb was replaced in a few minutes. This is much easier if you have small hands.

fullback100

I have 06 Accord SE. Has anyone noticed this weird noise coming from passenger's side above 70 mph speed? Only on fast crusing. It sounds like fast repeating thump noise coming from glove box or strut. It drives me crazy on freeway cruising especially at night since the noise becomes much more prominent. I would appreciate any input.

jc9821

Visited my dealer recently. He found that the strut tower in my Accord did not have the proper gap between it and the firewall. It was a quick fix to establish the correct gap. What was happening was metal to metal contact with the firewall which sounded like the popping sound was coming from the dash. So far it has not returned (over 450 miles. It might be worth a try at your next service interval.
Good Luck.

anderson9

Good point. However I notice a noise from the door windows when the road condition is not very good. The noise is like to be caused by the glass knocking the other parts. Could you give any input on this? Thanks.

anderson9

Hi guys, the new oil filter was fall off when I tried to change my engine oil. Although I check the filter that there was not any big sand on it, I am still a little bit worried that some small sand may enter into the engine. If some small sand does enter the engine, will they be trapped in the filter after one cycle? Another question is what is the worst situation when the sand enters the engine. Thanks advance for your input.

cchinn

ol07...you mentioned a knock...could you tell me when it happened? Mine starts when you first accelerate and when you brake....lessens when you get over 20 mph. It is like something is "popping" under the driver's side...very annoying!

Help anyone?!

ray_h1

Unless the new oil filter was mounted so loosely that it was leaking oil like a sieve, I fail to see how it could've allowed dirt or sand into the motor's innards. In any event, dirt, sand, normal wear metals, whatever - will be trapped by the filtration media as long as the particulates are no larger than 15-20 microns* in size. As to the last part of your post, sand is silica. Silica is HARD. Dirt is just smaller sized sand. Both, but especially dirt, can be very damaging to soft bearing metals, cylinder bores, and piston rings if not trapped by the air and oil filters. (I s'pose that's why automakers bother to install air and oil filters on their engines... ) If you're still worried, drain the oil, replace it with fresh motor oil, and remove the current oil filter and install a brand new oil filter. (Myself? I wouldn't bother. It's very unlikely any damage ocurred. Presumably you've tightened the oil filter sufficiently that it's not leaking.)

*1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter (or 1 thousandth of a millimeter). An object 15-20 microns in size can be seen with the aid of a microscope, but not by the unaided human eye.

06nighthawkv6

No, I am not. Ofcourse not. I get all my 100% factual and oil analysed info at BITOG.com. They do analysis on used oil or can get it analysed right off the shelf to find out it's ingredients. This is not something I am stirring up because I dont have stock in Exxon Mobil and somehow do in something else. I used EM DC75k oil which is 100% GRP III + GRP IV PAOs. I do not believe M1 has *any* GRP IV PAOs.

vegasproblems

My 06 did this. They could never fix it. I was later told the only option was to replace the hole windshield. The general manager told me his car did the same thing.

bunkie1

FWIW, My '03 VW Passat does this too. It seems to happen on cold days after the car interior has warmed. I assume it's caused by thermal expansion of something. I haven't really looked too hard though.

ray_h1

)) "I do not believe M1 has *any* GRP IV PAOs." ((

And why not? Because of a few BITOG hysterics out for a good time? Hint: BITOG does not analyze motor oil. Forumners do so (at their own expense - most frequently through one of BITOG's advertisers: "Blackstone") and post for discussion/advice. Whether those posted analyses are genuine or bogus is anyone's guess. I suspect genuine for the most part, but nothing on BITOG can be assured to be 100% factual. Anyone can register and anyone can post anyTHING. Does that mean nothing can be believed that's posted on BITOG? Of course not. But, until YOU can provide me with more than recitation of what we've both read about TomNJ's "analysis" of the results of his alleged gas chromatography on ONE sample of Mobil 1 EP 5W-30 full synthetic motor oil with his breathlessly reported results of it being no more than 5% Group IV (PAO) base stock content (itself done under wraps at his alleged place of employment, on alleged company equipment, and without the knowledge, let alone permission, of his alleged employer), please don't cite chapter and verse of what blew up in BITOG's face as nothing more than hysterical dismissal of an entire company's premier product line for allegedly elliminating ALL use of Group IV (PAO) base oils. When pressed for details, "expert" analyzer, "TomNJ" demurred with a stock answer that doing so might blow his cover with his employer - an embarrasment that both he and his employer could ill afford. (Yeah, right - how convincingly convenient...) So, show me the evidence. Hearsay doesn't count - and that's all "TomNJ" ever provided. (One thing about BITOGers - they'll chafe on the truth but swallow a camel, whole.) Curiously, once the proverbial stuff began hitting the proverbial fan, BITOG closed that discussion down, COLD. (Even BITOG understood the ramifications of civil litigation from a large entity if they continued to allow their site to be used to dissiminate unsupported allegations about a product of that entity.)

(Before you post that I'm an ExxonMobil apologist, take a chill pill - I don't use any of EM's branded or secondary products. I'm perfectly happy with a synthetic blend motor oil from one of EM's competitors - nor does this company use Group IV base stocks in formulating its synthetic content products. Strictly Group III. Apparently Ford is likewise impressed with this company's blend technology since the company blends and bottles Motorcraft lubes. If you're as familiar with the general knowledge level on BITOG as you imply, care to guess the name of this company? Hint - it's the fifth largest oil refiner and blender/bottler in the U.S. )

tallman1

I am way late in getting this out. I haven't been around here the last month due to power outages, vacation, the holidays, etc. However, this is what the paperwork says on correcting the infamous rattling windows issue:

826199 L/Window INOP
3904 W
1 72235-SDA-A11
Channel, R- FR-
1 72275-SDA-A11
Channel, L- FR-

The description says, "Replaced and shimmed both front run channels.

The result is that I no longer have the driver's or passenger side window rattles. The bad news is that they attempted to fix the headliner cracking/popping sound but it is still very much there. Sigh.... another trip back to the dealer. :sick:

ol07

@cchinn

The noise occured the at the same times yours does. However, I would hear it at all speeds. Although, it became less intrusive as speed increased. I was on US-78 in North Mississippi about 2 weeks ago and noticed more of a click at 75-85mph where as it was a knock at 20-30mph.

The next time you are on a smooth road, turn your climate control off and set it to recirculate, and lean forward. Oh, and make sure the radio is off too. I don't know how to describe the noise I would hear, maybe like something is loose and wobbling? You will know it when you hear it. If it's there, you may have the same problem I had, as that noise is too gone.

Hope this helps.

bmr123

I gave up on it. Too much time wasted. They replaced and looked at mine 1000x's.. don't waste your time with it. Just try to live with it.

tallman1

They had a service bulletin out about it but replacing the A Pillar didn't work for me. It is awfully annoying so I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet. I think I read that some folks were able to get it fixed.

yanker

My 03 Accord ExL has been fine but occasionaly it go brrrrt and then start. I noted it under warranty and informed the dealer. Any suggestions if this serious or just a poor connection in the ignition ?? I have 44000 miles and the problem is more likely to happen after the car has been sitting a while and is cold

elroy5

Yanker, I think I know what you are describing. If the key is between the second position, and the third position (cranking), the buzzer sound will be heard. This usually happens because if you try to turn the key all the way from off to the cranking position, your wrist is turning so far, that it's almost to the limit. If you turn the key with no hesitation(between 2&3), you will not hear the buzzer. Try it.

ray_h1

Is this a very rapid series of mechanical clicks? Would a marginal starter solenoid perhaps be the culprit?

kvenanzi

Had my 2003 accord EXL in for its first brake change 49K...rear only and said it also needed rotors because there were very close to the specs for failing. Went to a respected garage but didnt think rotors wore out this fast. Should i expect to change the rotors each time i change the breaks?

ray_h1

Typically a rotor will survive two sets of brake pads, but driving conditions/driver habits and brake pad material choice can influence the actual rotor life, too. A misadjusted parking brake that wasn't fully releasing could've also been an issue. So, in answer to whether you can expect to have to replace the rotors at every rear brake service, I can only give you a "definite maybe".

yanker

The dealer says they have seen two in last few days and it is a relay in the ignition and there is no cure yet.
Just live with it. It shows up on cold mornings 20 30 degrees F and has existed for 15000 miles. I guess we wait until Honda puts out a service bulletin

accord2007tx

I have the same issue. So if I hope someone can help us with finding out what is causing it

accord2007tx

Same thing happens with my 2007 EX-L

beechjet21

Has anyone been experiencing an engine backfire with their V6 Accord? I get an occasional engine backfire (actually I believe the correct term is afterfire since it is through the exhaust)at the 1/2 shift under hard acceleration. Since this is an intermittent problem I don't have a lot of faith that my dealer will be able to correct this. Any ideas?

fated

Hi all,

I have a quick question regarding heating vent on 2006 Accord (Ex-L). When I turned the heating on, I noticed that the hot air is only coming from the two vents on each side of the car. There's no air flow at all from the two vents in the middle. Is that normal? Are the middle two for air-conditioning/cooling only? Please advise. Thanks very much in advance.

thegraduate

Hey buddy, not to worry. Let me explain briefly how Honda's Automatic Climate Control works (our van was the same way):

(By the way, this is assuming you have it set to FULL AUTO)

When the car is trying to cool things off inside, the cold air comes out the dashboard vents, as this is generally how most people would set it for max cooling. It ventilates the interior the fastest.

When the car is trying to warm things up, it puts the vents on "feet" mode, which also allows some heat through the side vents as well. This is because warm-air rises, and you can warm the whole car to a comfortable temp without making it "Stuffy." When the air is temperate, you will notice it is blended on all the vents sometimes.

If you prefer, you can always push the "mode" button and manually select how your air flows throughout the cabin.

In other words, what you are experiencing is the Climate Control working properly.

I hope this helps. If you have more questions, let us know!

fated

Thanks, thegraduate. i did have it on the feet mode, with the little person icon and a down arrow. however, it just seems weird that no air is coming from the two vents in the center above the radio at all. i wasn't talking about the dashboard vents -- there is some hot air coming from there. the two vents above the radio in the middle were my concern. hopefully as you said, it's normal. thanks again!

thegraduate

Yes, air comes from the side vents and floor vents when heat is being produced (or it is set to "feet" mode). Air comes out the four dashboard vents when cool air is blowing (or when set to come out the top only). This is normal - my aunt's 2005 Odyssey, our 2000 Odyssey, and my friend's 2001 Acura CL all operate this way (the Acura CL uses the same basic system).

It's normal. Enjoy your Honda!

mrbill1957

I have a 04 EX-L. As mentioned, the system selects which vents to use. During heating, the bottom vents and side vents are on, I'm guessing the sides are one to defrost the side windows. During cooling, the center vents come on.

You might try warming the car up and then lowering the dual temperature settings way down. This should crank up the A/C and turn on the center vents.

Mrbill

chucko3

To have the air come out of the two vents in the center above the radio you need to have a little person icon with
a right arrow.

fated

Thanks so much for your answers on my heating vent question guys!

I have an additional question about my car that has been puzzling me from the start - Accord Ex-L 4 Cyl, bought new about 5 months ago. Here's my situation:

I drive local only, 2 miles per day on average -- I live close to where I work, 1 mile away, four traffic lights. Now I have close to 600 miles on the car. Filled up 4 or 5 times now. Each time about 12 gallons, and each time about 100-110 miles, which means I am only getting 9-10 MPG. I am expecting lower MPG for local driving, but never thought it would get this low. I thought 14-15 would be normal for such circumstances but maybe I am mistaken.

Do you guys think there might be a problem?

Many thanks in advance!

user777

opinion: the problem is, even for stop and go driving, you aren't driving far enough.

your engine and transmission aren't even warmed up in 2 miles of travel. your vehicle is basically being start cycled on the "too much", or "way too much" side of the spectrum and frankly, and i don't want to scare you, i assume you *may* do damage to it by exclusively doing short trips like this. :surprise:

seems like you're running the vehicle constantly in a rich condition (lot's o' fuel), but you know this.

btw, your battery isn't getting recharged with this sort of drive cycling either. :sick:

elroy5

The engine not being warmed to operating temp. and stop and go will not be good for gas mileage. I drive about 3/4 mile to and from work twice a day, and I would not want to do that to my new car. I have an old S10 pickup to drive to work. It has a small 4cyl engine, that warms up very quickly. I would suggest you take a trip (with some highway miles) and check the mileage on that type of driving. If you don't get at least 25mpg on the highway, I think something is wrong. Good luck