Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

thegraduate

I would think that 20,000 is too soon. You shouldn't need to worry. I have no idea about drum brakes though. I had a 95 EX and it had disc all the way around.

My 1996 Accord got 131k on the front pads, and currently has 178k on the rear drums (they're the originals). The first 100k or so of the car's life was a good bit of highway.

according2u06

Thanks for all the replies all. So from what I've gathered from everybody, the front brakes should last at least 40~50 k miles without any problems. While I do not 'abuse' my brakes or do a lot of emergency stops, I probably fall more into the kind tankbeans described LOL. The 178k on the rear drums is just amazing! Any particular tips on how to achieve that thegraduate??? If I can master that I probably won't need to replace them again after the first replacement!

I'll check the rear ones on the next tire rotation as suggested. Thanks again all!

blane

"The 178k on the rear drums is just amazing!" That's fine for drum brakes on a two generation old 1996 vehicle. However your 2006 vehicle built a full decade later and of more modern design has disk brakes, not drums. You cannot correlate the two.

thegraduate

It's pretty simple...

The car is very light (2855 lbs), and the rear brakes do little of the stopping. Also, for the first 6 years of the car's life, it did 70 miles a day of commuting, 55 of which were beltway interstate (I-459 in B'ham, AL). They've just never been heavily used.

according2u06

I understand there is a difference between the two, blane, and your point holds with many 7th Gen Accords. However, my LX does not come with the 4-wheel disc brakes as many other trims do. I wish I had them instead of rear brake drums though(should've waited for the SE...oh well).

The car is very light (2855 lbs), and the rear brakes do little of the stopping. Also, for the first 6 years of the car's life, it did 70 miles a day of commuting, 55 of which were beltway interstate (I-459 in B'ham, AL). They've just never been heavily used.

Ah I see... so lighter vehicle weight and excessive highway use has to do with the long brake life too. :P It's very impressive nonetheless!

thegraduate

However, my LX does not come with the 4-wheel disc brakes as many other trims do. I wish I had them instead of rear brake drums though(should've waited for the SE...oh well).

That's one thing I can say I've never missed in my old LX. It has the drums, but has the stopping power to lock up on dry pavement, so I could never ask for more than that. Would they fade faster? Sure, but I live in an area where we don't have long mountain grades, and I'm not a hot-rodder (as evidenced by my brake wear, and in other forums, my achieved fuel mileage). What it amounts to is that I'm happy with the cheaper drums.

And yes, the excessive highway use is to "blame," if you will, for my long brake wear. I'm now at 47,000 miles on my 2nd set of front brake pads in the old LX, with no problems.

savegas

2007 SE I4 Auto, depends on when to shift into Reverse position when engine is cold, the Tachometer reading may go up (running higher) then down. Is this normal? Anyone else observer this condition?

Thanks.

according2u06

That's one thing I can say I've never missed in my old LX. It has the drums, but has the stopping power to lock up on dry pavement, so I could never ask for more than that. Would they fade faster? Sure, but I live in an area where we don't have long mountain grades, and I'm not a hot-rodder (as evidenced by my brake wear, and in other forums, my achieved fuel mileage). What it amounts to is that I'm happy with the cheaper drums.
On your lighter 96 Accord, maybe yes! But would you rather have brake drums on your 06 EX or EXL? I believe the Accords nowadays (3200 pounds for LX and over 3300 lbs for the EX etc) are too heavy for the brake drums to be effective in certain circumstances. They are adequate in most cases, yes, but I tell you, there will be times you'd wish you had them if you don't. For instance, one time on a sunny day, I was traveling 65-70 mph on the highway, suddenly every car around me slowed rapidly and stopped! I didn't realize what was going(there was an accident somewhere ahead) on so I jammed my brakes and luckily, stopped just about 1-2 ft behind the vehicle in front of me but scared the crap outta me and my sister along the way(Mind you, I was keeping a 'safe distance' just like everyone else so that was not the issue). Would I think disc brakes would help? Definite yes!
Also, I almost failed to stop in time on a few occassions in some rainy days. Obviously, that could have something to do with the OEM tires' ability on wet (I kinda agree they're crappy in this regard) but I doubt the tires would be as much an issue if my car was equipped with 4 wheel discs. See my point?

according2u06

Are you saying the tachometer goes up and then down as you select to reverse but without stepping on the gas(moving the car)? I believe that's not an issue as that's what happens whenever I idle the car in cold mornings(tach goes higher b/c engine is cold, and goes down as engine is warmer etc).

savegas

>Are you saying the tachometer goes up and then down as you select to reverse but without stepping on the gas(moving the car)?

Yes, as I select gear to R but without stepping on gas!
I never experience anything like this with other vechicles even with Honda Pilot!

tankbeans

Mine has done that a couple of times. I haven't noticed anything wrong. It only does it when it is extremely cold.

elroy5

I big reason I like disk brakes over drums, is I do my own maintenance, and disks are much easier to change. I wonder if the dealership charges more for disks or drums?

according2u06

I don't know this for sure, but since disks cost more than drums, I would think that they'd naturally charge more for disks.

So it seems there are so many benefits of disc brakes... easier for maintainence for DIYers, better stopping power and longer brake life as several of you mentioned. I think I'm liking them more

blane

One very important advantage of disk brakes over drum brakes hasn't been mentioned here.

When you drive through deep puddles, disks expel most of the water by centrifical force as they spin, thus drying themseves relatively quickly. Drums keep the water trapped for a bit longer because it has to exit sideways. That causes longer and less safe stopping distances.

according2u06

hmm you never experienced that with the Pilot? I thought this is rather normal for most cars. How high in rpm does the tachometer go? As tankbeans said, this is pretty normal in fairly cold weather. Does it do that when you select R after starting the car in warmer weather?

according2u06

This is very good info! I'll start watch out for those potholes in rainy days now

rumpletzer

I drive like an idiot and I'm heavy footed on both pedals. My 2004's rear pads (disk brakes) began screaming at about 40K miles. I popped the wheel off and the pad was worn down to the metal indicator. The front pads still looked fine, but I swapped them all out for ceramics. I see no performance difference, but my alloy wheels stay a lot cleaner looking (white brake dust instread of brown/black).

I did the swap myself. It took about ninety minutes including putting the car on stands, removing all the lugs with a crow bar, swapping out the parts, and putting everything back together again and on the ground. It was my first time... and I have disks all around.

I'm at about 75K miles now and all the pads are still fine. I can feel that the front rotors need turning. I haven't decided on how to do this yet. I hate to pay others for stuff I can do myself (stuff I like doing myself), but I'm reading that it might be better to turn the rotors while they're still on the car (as opposed to me taking them off and having them machined at a shop).

Any opinions?

tallman1

removing all the lugs with a crow bar,

You know those lugs have threads so that you don't have to pry them off with a crow bar.

savegas

How high in rpm does the tachometer go?
It may dump from 1000 to ~1200 and then coming down below 1000 rpm.

Does it do that when you select R after starting the car in warmer weather?
It does that as well!

Again, it all depends on when to shift the gear into R position.

austinman7

I'm looking to replace the OEM Michelins on my '04 LX. My Honda dealer says the Michelins he would sell me are different from those I would get at my local tire store (in both cases, the same model tire and same specs), the implication being that they would be better in some unspecified way, only because they are made especially for Honda, to use mainly on their new vehicles. When pressed, he offered no specific reason why, except that they were made to Honda's standards, or words to that effect.

Any truth to that claim?

I've bought replacement tires for years at my local tire store, including Bridgestones and Michelins, and always assumed a Michelin was a Michelin, regardless of where you bought it. My main motivation has been price -- much (much!) better deals from the tire store than the Honda dealership. However, my Honda dealer is implying those tires are somehow inferior to Honda's supply of the same model tire. :confuse:

tankbeans

Personally, having never bought tires before, I'm only 19 and haven't had any car long enough to need tires, I would go with my gut instinct. If the guy at the Honda dealer seems slimy or shady go to your normal tire guy. I'm in your camp, a Michelin is a Michelin and a Bridgestone is Bridgestone. I don't think the dealer would get any specially manufactured tire. It would be uneconomical for tire manufacturers to do that because all car manufactures would want them special made for them and there just isn't enough space for that.

I'm rambling and I'm sorry, but one more thing, if a car manufacturer really does want to have a tire built to their own specs chances are they would market their own brand.

according2u06

Next time when you start the car, leave it in 'P' (park), and see if it does the same thing. There shouldn't be any issue if it does. Mine does the same when in 'P' or in 'R' right after I start the car. Sometimes my rpm goes even higher than 1200 if it's really really cold outside(it always drops back to around 750~800 after it's warmed up). I don't notice this happening when in warm weather though, but maybe that's because I just drive away right after engine starts in such weather.

Your car is still under warrenty right? Again, I don't think it's an issue but if really in doubt you can always take it to the dealer and have them check over your car.

according2u06

...the implication being that they would be better in some unspecified way, only because they are made especially for Honda, to use mainly on their new vehicles. When pressed, he offered no specific reason why, except that they were made to Honda's standards, or words to that effect.
Any truth to that claim?

Yeah, there could be truth to that claim. Except it's their (especially made) tires that are inferior than the ones you can find elsewhere. I remember I read somewhere in other Honda forums that Honda made a deal with Michelin that gives them really good price (something like $10 a tire???). I don't know if that is entirely true but the point is if anything, the dealers get their tires cheaper than your tire store and if there is any difference, chances are the ones from your dealership will be inferior.

Like tankbeans said, you should be in good shape so long as you stick to a good brand and the right size.

bunkie1

Sounds like a crock of **** to me. I bought Michelin MXV4s from Costco to replace the OEM Michelins for my '03 EX. They were identicle in every way, even down to the lettering.

If he's not cheaper, then I'd tell him to take a hike.

austinman7

bunkie1, tankbeans, according2u06,

Thanks for this feedback. I'm inclined to go with my first reaction, that the dealers are just trying to get you to buy the tires through them. It wouldn't make any sense to me that Michelin, or any other tiremaker, would admit to giving local tire stores an inferior version of their product. That would damage their reputation a ton.

The Michelin Energy MXV4 is what's on my car now. In round numbers, the dealership is saying $860 to install four new ones, and my trusted tire store is giving me a $550 quote for the identical tires. I can't imagine how the dealer's Michelins could give anyone $310 more in value.

Here's a related question -- have any of you dealt with the online store at www.handa-accessories.com? When I get these new tires, I'm thinking of ditching my LX steel wheels with their plastic covers and installing Honda alloys. My dealer has them for $218, while handa offers them at $155 and says they are a genuine Honda wheel, which to me would mean OEM equipment.

Anyone have any dealings with this online store and know about the quality of their stuff? Thanks. For what it's worth, I do remember that my dealer actually referred me to this store once for something that dealers no longer stocked -- Accord carpets or something like that.

imidazol97

My dealership, not Honda, a few years back reminded me that they sold tires now and could handle warranty problems on tires on my then warrantied car. He also commented that they got their tires from a local high volume tire store. So their Michelins would have been the same Michelins I could have bought from the Tire Discount chain, which I think is national?

blufz1

Just pick a Discount Tire location convenient to you and get them there. Free lifetime rotation and balance and best price.

austinman7

Well, I have decided to try to get an answer straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. It turns out Michelin has a very visitor-friendly website, and I just sent them an email asking the question of whether the Michelins I would buy at my dealership would differ in any meaningful way from those at my local tire store. I'll let you all know what they have to say.

Thanks for all your feedback.

according2u06

Here's a related question -- have any of you dealt with the online store at www.handa-accessories.com? When I get these new tires, I'm thinking of ditching my LX steel wheels with their plastic covers and installing Honda alloys. My dealer has them for $218, while handa offers them at $155 and says they are a genuine Honda wheel, which to me would mean OEM equipment.

I have purchased from them once before. Great prices, great products (all OEM, even have Japanese characters on them ) and packed well! Shipping time was relatively quick too.

One thing to be aware is the shipping cost if you are going to buy the wheels, not that they'd overcharge you on that but at 10lbs each x 4 wheels, you are likely looking at pretty steep shipping cost depending on where you live (they're located in CA I believe).

according2u06

That's a good idea!

austinman7

Thanks for that feedback. You're right about shipping costs. At this point, I'm inclined to spend a little more to get the alloys from my dealership, for the convenience factor, but definitely pass on their tires. I'll get the tires where I normally do (saving a bundle), and have my Honda dealership mount them and install the wheels.

Another reason I want to do it this way -- they're telling me the 16" alloy wheel for the '04 EX is the same, as far as fit goes, as the 16" accessory alloy for the LX, which I don't like the appearance of nearly as well as the EX wheel. They (the parts guy and a mechanic, who have installed them on an LX before) say the center bore, offset, and so on are fully compatible with both the LX and EX. So, if that's true, fine. If there's a problem, the wheels are theirs and they will have to make good on it. But it sounds pretty straightforward.

elroy5

Dealerships will tell you anything (they think you will believe) to make some $$$$. My wife was at the dealership, and heard the service manager tell this lady that she needed to buy her battery from them ($100), because it was specially made for her car. Which is total BS. I bought a battery the same size, made by the same company, with more CCA, for $45.

elroy5

I buy all my maintenance items from HandA. They are Honda oem parts, and I have never had a problem with them. As mentioned though, heavy (wheels) or large (under spoilers) items will have high shipping costs, pretty much negating the lower prices.

blufz1

Just my .02 but I would never buy new wheels unless I damaged 1. But,if you are going to buy them, buy them locally. You may very well have problems getting them balanced and/or the wheel itself may not be round!!

austinman7

elroy5,

"Dealerships will tell you anything...."

Sad, but (mostly) true. Isn't it a shame that car dealerships have created the cynicism many of us have about what they tell us. I've been lied to and misled by both the sales and service departments over the years. I feel like I have to really be on my toes when I'm dealing with them, to avoid getting ripped off. Your anecdote about the battery is exactly the scenario I'm getting about the Michelin tires -- "Buy them from us because Michelin makes them in a special way just for your car." BTW -- I heard back from Michelin this morning that they got my question on this subject and will respond within one business day.

In spite of that, I continue to take my Accord to my dealership for service. I've bought into their policy of preventive maintenance (all the inspections, etc., every 10,000 miles), which is expensive, but at least I feel the car is well taken care of. I still don't know if it's a waste of money or not.

This is in contrast to my previous car, a 1996 Buick Regal, that I drove for 7 trouble-free years and just had maintenance done when necessary. Much less expensive to own, actually, than my Accord.

austinman7

For anyone interested, I received my reply from Michelin this morning about my question of whether there is any difference between Michelins purchased at a reputable tire store and those purchased at an automobile dealership.

Here's a direct quote from their response:

"No, there is absolutely no difference between what is sold at your local retailer and what is sold at your local dealer."

And, of course, any reasonable person would have to ask, why would there be?

So, my parts department fellow at Honda says I'll get a different (and a LOT more expensive, BTW) Michelin if I buy from him (same model, specs., etc.), and Michelin says, no, that's not true.

You know, I think I'll go with the horse's mouth on this one. And just what other part of the anatomy of the horse would that make my dealer?

I must add, that I found Michelin's website to be very user friendly, and their response to my question very prompt and to the point. These kind of email questions often get lost in the corporate fog, but not with Michelin. I'm impressed with them as a company now, as I have been with their tires for many years.

I don't know if this is allowed on this thread, but if it is, I'd be happy to forward the email response I received from Michelin to anyone who's interested. It doesn't say much more than what I quoted above.

according2u06

"No, there is absolutely no difference between what is sold at your local retailer and what is sold at your local dealer."
Great. Now you know for sure your dealer was messing with you. :P

In spite of that, I continue to take my Accord to my dealership for service. I've bought into their policy of preventive maintenance (all the inspections, etc., every 10,000 miles), which is expensive, but at least I feel the car is well taken care of. I still don't know if it's a waste of money or not.

What do you mean preventive maintenance? Besides oil change(which doesn't have to be done at dealer) there is no need to take your car back to dealer every 10,000 miles unless you suspect something is wrong.
Did you purchase an extended warranty when you purchased the car? If so you absolutely don't need to worry about their 'preventive maintenance' policy as long as you do all the regular maintence (oil changes, tire rotation etc).

austinman7

No, I didn't buy an extended warranty.

At 30,000 miles, there was an oil change and filter, rotate and balance tires, new air cleaner, replace automatic transmission fluid, new pollen filter, brake inspection, and various other inspections of belts, exhaust system, fluids, etc.

The 10,000 and 20,000 mile services were much less -- mainly oil and filter, rotate tires, and inspect brakes.

according2u06

Ah I see. So just to play safe the 30k mile service is rather important and kind of necessary then. Still, I think a (trusted) local shop can handle most of those tasks at a cheaper cost than what the dealerships would normally charge.

blufz1

Best to get all the services done at your dealer at least until the warranty expires.

thegraduate

Hi guys...

When I leave my headlights in the "on" position, they automatically turn off after shutting the door. I always lock the car. They are supposed to come back on when I press the unlock button on the key fob, but lately, they only do so intermittently. When I open my driver's door, they come on instantly.

Any thoughts on the issue here?

I have 29,350 miles on the car.

elroy5

I don't know about your problem grad, but I did have an issue with the automatic off head lights. I decided to leave the lights on one night, just to see how it worked. An hour or so later, I noticed the lights flashing (like a flash-to-pass) a couple of times. I decided to turn my lights off manually after that, since I really have no need for the automatic off function.

thegraduate

I park in the dark often, and use the auto-off headlights most every night. That's not acceptable for me, especially since I'm under warranty!

elroy5

So do you plan on getting the dealership techs to check it out on your next visit?

thegraduate

Yep. I've already paid for a cabin filter installation in my car (although i had my glovebox locked when i left it so they couldn't do it). When I take it for that I'll mention it to them.

damgreg

My 2003 Honda Accord, w/ 110,000kms is suddenly consuming a very large amount of oil: an average rate of .72liter per 1500kms or just under 4 liters between oil changes! I was informed by the dealer that the acceptable automotive oil consumption level is one liter per 1500kms, regardless of mileage! In other words, you could drive a brand new vehicle off a Honda dealer’s lot, it could consume every drop of oil in the engine before hitting the first oil change and that would be OK. I am told, it is still within the "normal" range and therefore no service under warranty will be provided since there is nothing wrong! By the way, my car is still fully covered under a Honda Plus warranty to 160,000kms. Somehow I don't believe they would really deal with a customer with a brand new vehicle in the same way they are dealing with me...my warranty appears to be a second-rate warranty, because my car is older.

My first Honda Accord was a 2001 model and, even at the end of my ownership when it had 180,000kms, it never consumed even one drop of oil. For Honda to say that this staggering consumption is normal is very disappointing. Perhaps this benchmark was OK for vehicles 20-25 years ago, but not for modern technology. It should also be noted that I checked with Toyota and Nissan and they BOTH also have the same guideline with respect to oil consumption. Has anyone ever heard of this or had any experience with this ridiculous standard?

kiawah

Well, that is right, they claim that rate of oil consumption as 'acceptable'.

However, what is more concerning to me.... is that your oil consumption changed drastically. That means something happened. You may not be able to get them to find and fix it given the high mileage you have and still technically 'in an acceptable range', but you should be concerned until you can figure out exactly what is happening, and what you are going to do about it (fight their ruling, dump the car, fix whatever is wrong yourself, etc).

I think I'd start first with doing a compression test, to see what kind of pressure each cylinder has, and pay particular note to the status of each plug when you pull it. One plug burning oil (I suspect), all plugs burning oil. Also check your PCV valve.

according2u06

This is definitely not normal! My family has had several vehicles over that mileage (110,000 km) and none of them ever had consumed so much oil. This should not happen to any car, much less on a Honda. Since you have the extended warranty, you should demand your dealer to do a full inspection on your car to figure out what the problem is and fix it. If they refused, tell them that you will hold them responsible if an accident occurs as a result of this problem. This is absolutely intolerable! I hate these kinds of irresponsible dealers! :mad:

chucko3

You have 15 seconds after pressing the unlock button on the
key fob. After that the headlights are off again.
I tried my 03EXV6. last night. They still work.

chucko3

My 89LXi didn't burn oil unitl it got over 200K miles.
This is not normal!