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Comments
Someone who drives little (say: 5,000 mi a year) should change it at least annually.
As many of you already know,the owner's manual doesn't say how to do some maintenance for common items that the average owner could do themselves.
Having to spend money,and time to go to the dealer for a engine air filter, and cabin filter change is ridiculous is just a couple.
Anybody have a favorite web site for the basics?
Thanks
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/logon.asp
Just click on owner's manuals on the left, and enter 03 V6.
For using regular oil, follow your maintenance minder. When it hits 15%, get your car serviced. As far as alignment done VERY often as you mention, it'll be a lot of wasted money if your car doesn't actually NEED an alignment.
I drive on bumpy metro-Birmingham interstate and hit big bumps at high speeds, and my car still tracks beautifully after 38,000 miles, in my 2006 Accord.
I remember reading about cheap windshields and something at or close to OEM. Anyone have any thoughts? I should get this fixed before winter. I know insurance will cover it but I'm thinking that I'll just pay it myself.
I remember checking on a cheapy for my 95 Accord a couple of yeas ago... something like $200. I'm guessing my 06 will cost much more, especially if I get a quality replacement.
comprehensive coverage?
The insurance won't raise your rate.
I'm guessing that others don't know about much about replacement. I've been reading online... it may not be too hard to find a reputable OEM installer. I'll check when I get back home.
Do you have any suggestions on where to get the Silverstars you got? My 2004 Accord EX Sedan w/ Nav has its right headlight out and I've been thinking about replacing both headlights with something better and brighter (but not a "hooked up/modified" type of headlight).
All this talk from you guys on changing the headlight is scaring me. I had one bulb go out on me a few.. years? back and during either my 60k or my 90k service (I can't remember which one - I'm pretty sure 60k), the dealer had changed it without asking me and tried charging me like $20. I said I didn't ask for it so the guy said, alright, never mind, we wont charge you. But if it's really this complicated, I feel bad now not paying.
My car's at 117,995 miles now about 4.5 years old (I bought it in April 2004). This bulb's either lasted 60kish miles or 120kish miles.
Over the weekend, my dad took my car out and called me when he got a flat. I changed the tire with my brother and took the tire to wal-mart and they showed me the gash and said it couldn't be replaced.
My car is at 117,995 miles and I had put all 4 Bridgestone Potenza G009s on at 57k miles so unless my math is off, all my tires are 60k miles old. The last time I had all these tires looked at (7/5/2008 @ 114,242 miles) was during my routine visit to Wal-mart for my free lifetime rotation and balance. Nobody said anything about my tires going bad.
I'm wondering what I should do next. Tires should be replaced in at least pairs right? So maybe I buy two tires and replace the damaged tire (err.. Donut for now) and the tire that's in the worst shape, then rotate the new ones to the - front or back?Or are my tires so old @60k miles that I should look into replacing all 4?
If I do replace all 4, I'd like to aim for something around the price of what I paid when I first got them at over 2 years ago. A cut and paste from a post I made recently discussing my usual Accord Routine (http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.efdf924/3936):
"... I researched on Tire Rack and saw the Potenza G009s were getting good reviews. I got my local Firestone to match the price of Tire RackTaking the price of the tire down from $95.99 x 4 tires = 383.96 - $91.96 = fees = $309.80. And I got a $50 rebate for all 4 tires. I took these tires down to Wal Mart and mounted them for $55.85 total and the best perk was lifetime rotation and balance...."
Any thoughts?
You can't really complain about that many miles. I'd just replace them all, especially with winter coming.
Also, if you buy tires at most places, they will perform free rotation/balance/flats fixed. You don't need to go to Wal Mart for that.
Man my car must be a baby in comparison to all of yours. I mean it's an 03 and I still have under 60k.
I recently brought my car in to have them check the balance on my tires. It was shaking between 55 and 60. The tech said that the balance was fine, but that the tires were a bad match for the car. What does everybody think? They are the Republic Ensigns. They came on the car when I bought it used a year ago.
2003 Honda Accord LX coupe.
I think the G009s are no longer made because I don't see them on tirerack.com. With all my tires at 60k, perhaps I should replace them all anyways, but I had thought I could get away with just replacing two because no one had said recently that my tires are going bad.
But - if the G009s are no longer available, then I might as well replace all four. The question is with what? And again, I hope I can find a deal or something if I am going to replace all four.
Tallman1 - I really like Wal-mart because they will usually mount the tires for the cheapest price and the wal-mart I usually go to, I like the people that work there. I usually hang around and make small talk with them as they do my lifetime rotations and balance. And I have always found them to do a good job at this. So I think I'd like to get my tires from either online at Tirerack.com or if they are Bridgestone, from a Firestone store getting them to match Tirerack's price.
Since I have already mounted 4 tires on this car before, I'm in their system already as someone entitled to lifetime rotation and balance so even if I got these tires mounted somewhere else, I could still keep going to wal-mart for my routine tire & wheel maintenance.
pastatie - could you tell me more on the Mastercraft Touring? Who makes that? I don't think I see that on TireRack.com.
UPDATE: hmm.. I could buy them off ebay too - what do you guys think?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Nice-Bridgestone-Potenza-G009-Tires-205-60-16_W- 0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ66474QQihZ014QQitemZ330267670044QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDV- W
I've had the tires rotated a couple times. It remains pretty consistent.
...or the tire threw a belt.
I may sound stupid, but what does that mean? I've never heard of a tire throwing a belt.
My friend has a set of 3 rims, he's looking for a fourth, that he might sell to me, provided he finds the 4th. The are 16 inch rims. Will they work on my car an 03 LX I4 without messing with the speedometer?
Do you have a diagram you can direct me to?
Thanks
You won't find Mastercraft tires on Tire Rack. I have a local tire America who ordered them in for me based on what I read on the Mastercraft website. The exact tire is Mastercraft Touring LSR--520 treadwear, A traction, A temperature ratings. They warrranty them for 60K. I change to winter tires with steel wheels I ordered from Tire Rack because in Pennsylvania I personally do not believe in all weather tires. The ride on these tires beats the Michelin standard tires the car came with. The tire noise when any style Michelin I have ever used as it gets towards 3-4/32" made me look elsewhere.
I have a friend in a Tire America store who ordered them in for me--I'm sure their website could help you.
I went with the ebay tires - 2 used G009s for $66.85 total. Hopefully he shipped out today so I can get them by Monday and get off my donut (he's shipping from Cincinnati).
With them being at 6/32", they got some life in them (at least according to this: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=51). I am guessing that I still got some life in my tires too, though i haven't checked recently to see how low they've gotten after 60k miles. If these tires are in better shape than my two old tires that will remain, do they get moved to the front or back? Since I've been rotating regularly and (I believe) always keeping the left and right tire matched, my front right tire (since my front left one is flat) will be moved to the garage to serve as my back up tire.
thegraduate, I called up Firestone today and they did in fact say the G019s are replacements for G009s and are pretty much the same thing. But again, I don't want to get all 4 new tires yet if I got some life in my remaining 2 (well, 3 if you count my new backup tire).
Pastatie - I've made note of the suggestion you made here:
pastatie, "Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair" #4142, 5 Sep 2008 12:11 pm#4141
When I'm up for changing all four of my tires, I'll look into the Mastercraft Touring LSR--520 treadwear, A traction, A temperature ratings w/ 60k warrranty. Tire America seems to be the place to find them. What are the cost of these tires like?
Anyone else on this thread have any familiarity with them? I've never heard of these but they sound like they may be good based on your experience and the apparent research you put into your decision.
Same car, same problem, with drifting to the right since April if not applying constant pressure to the steering wheel. I had two alignments done within a few weeks by the dealer and an independent garage and the problem just won't go away. Dealer didn't mention any bulletin and insist that there's nothing wrong. Did you manage to get your problem solved?
(01/12/07): Vehicle pulls/drifts to L/R.
The new tools were developed to diagnose the problem.
My cost for the four, mounted, new style spin balance, nitrogen inflation was @$400 out the door.
As I previously posted I was looking for a touring tire, something I can feel comfortable with in dry and rainy weather. Well I have to tell you last Saturday Hurricane Hannah was doing its best to submerge I-95 through Virginia on our way to the Outer Banks. I felt very confident in these tires, I would have to say more so than Michelins I have had in the past.
In my previous career I had to drive at sometime ridiculous speeds to get to the next incident. Standard tires then were Goodyear on the Chevrolets and Ford Crown Victorias. I really like these Mastercraft tires.
If you have a 4-cylinder you will need to undo 4 clips 2 on each side and then you will need to give a pretty hefty tug to dislodge the cover. Be careful, but don't be afraid to really yank on it. Once you get the cover off it literally takes about 2 minutes if that.
If you have a 6 cylinder I don't know what to tell you. Good luck.
What kind of filter is it? I just bought an STP air filter for $9 last year for a 2002 Accord I4 (My grandmother's car).
thanks again in advance.
Tensioners are bolted on to the side of the engine, which sometimes it can be easier to access thru the wheel well. Personally I don't know your specific vehicle, but you can look up the part on line.
under EW. The lights haven't come on for 3 weeks now.
I don't drive that hard and for the most part, I mostly drive highway miles. I'm just curious if this is normal or not. I'm not a car whiz but for a car that is not even 2 years old with less than 10,000 miles a year, I find it kind of odd this is happening.
Would the standard warranty cover something like this?
Thanks in Advance.
Jason
The cost was $26.99 a tire for the mounting, but the perk in going there is that I was able to get my lifetime alignment done after mounting.
They gave me a heads up right when I dropped off the car and left that the two G009s I got from ebay were down to 4/32" and also cupped and dry rotten. They said this could cause vibrations and wouldn't last all that long. I said that was fine, just put them on. My other two tires are down (that are on the rear, the G009s that are almost 60k miles old) are at about 6/32". Firestone gives me a more detailed inspection because I'm a Complete Rewards Gold memberand in it, I saw that one of the new tires had some sort of cut in the thread. What I probably should have done was have them mounted in the rear. I'm due for my Wal-mart 10k miles lifetime rotation and balance soon, in another few thousand miles so I'll just get the tires rotated during that.
One of the things I forgot to do was tell Firestone not to throw away the "old but still good" 60k used G009 from the front right. I called after I left and they said I can swing by today to pick it up but I didn't get a chance. I hope it'll still be there tomorrow.
Maybe in another 10k or so miles I'll look into getting all 4 of my tires replaced. The advice from pastatie on the 4 master craft tires for $400 OTD sounds all right. I just wonder if we have a tire america around here in MD, I don't recall ever seeing one.
I won't leave negative feedback for the seller just yet, but if Wal-mart does in fact confirm what Firestone said about the tires I got, then I will. The tires were supposed to be 6/32" and in good shape (the auction can be seen here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330267670044)
These are the "common items" done in increments less than 120k, but would also be due around 120k:
- oil change (every 10k miles)
- rotate tires (every 10k miles)
- check front and rear brake wear
- check parking brake adjustment
inspect-
- tie-rod ends, steering gearbox, and boots
- suspension components
- drivshaft boots
- brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
- all fluid levels and conditions
- exhaust ssytem
- fuil lines and connections
- inspect drive belt
- replace dust and pollen filter
- replace air cleaner element
These were the two 120k specific events:
- replace automatic transmission fluid
- replace engine coolant.
Basically, Firestone said that for $20, they can do a detailed complete vehicle inspection which would knock off all the "check" stuff. I want to do the two filters myself so that will help me save some cash. This is what I did on my dad's 2007 CR-V and the finaly price paid for my 30k service was a far cry from the $300 or $400 I remember being quoted by the dealer.
Two 110k services are also on the maintenance list for the '04 Accord. The "check valve clearance," which I think may have been covered within the vehicle inspection (there's a check mark here next to valve cover gasket). Also, at 110k, you're supposed to change the spark plugs, which Firestone said would cost $76 from them.
As far as the Coolant and Transmission fluid goes, I'm thinking of having that done by Honda themselves. I'm not sure what the hell they would charge, but these just seemed like something I should maybe have them handle. Plus, I got some random coupons in the mail from my dealer for $25 off of any parts/service, $50 off, and a $75 off (with no minimum price listed) so.. that could help soften the blow. I'm also thinking they might be the ones to go to for spark plugs. I'd love to here thoughts on all three of these though.
It's worth noting that I did randomly have the transmission fluid done earlier back in 7/22/2007 while my car was at 90,964 miles. And someone gave me a heads up here:
srizvi1, "Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair" #3948, 18 Jun 2008 7:23 am#3947
that the transmission fluid flush probably wasn't done right (I never had a chance to go back to Firestone and follow up on this).
The Firestone people put a circle by Struts saying they should done every 60k miles. I've never had struts service done, any thoughts on that? I think I remember it being pretty expensive - like $500 or even higher.
And lastly, they recommended my rear rotors saying they're rusted and that service would cost a whopping $377.97. They also suggested just replacing the rear break pads since they are down to 60% worn.
Looks like I got a pretty big order to place with h and A accessories - the two filters, oil filter, the transmission fluid, and the coolant for starters.
Then there are three clips I believe, little plastic bits that have a small cover, which can be pried off with a flat head screwdriver. Remove these clips.
Once the clips are removed there is another round indentation, looks like a screw hole, but a tad deeper, work a small screwdriver in there and jimmy they inside cover of the wheel well open, the wheel well cover is seated in the bumper. Once you have that open you should be able to pry the cover back.
You will then have access to the lights. From there you will be able to remove them and replace them.
Make sure you don't touch the bulb as any oil from your hands or any moisture whatsoever will cause the bulb to explode.
If you have a jack stand I might put the car up on stands so that there is a little bit more room in the wheel well to work around.
For the driver's side the wheel must be cranked towards the passenger's side. Otherwise the rest of the procedure is the same.
I hope I haven't confused you.