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crus'n in 6th :shades: ,
MidCow
Julie
Mrbill
So we had it towed to a local honda dealer out there- (Sidenote- The warranty just went out last month). The service manager called us on Saturday and told us that we needed a new computer- that it was ruined from the leak- which he could not find.
So now we have a rental car here in PA and have to go back to Ohio to get our car- whenever the computer comes in and they find the problem.
My question- other than wondering if anyone else has experienced this- is should we keep the car?
It has always been my belief that once something has water damage- that you should get rid of it while it still has some value. There is water damage because now our entrire front passenger side is soaked through.
What do you think?
Thanks for your input! :confuse:
Could it have just been a leaky hose that squirted coolant all over the engine? A bad water pump? A hole in the radiator? The type of "water damage- that you should get rid of it while it still has some value" would normally be associated only with a vehicle that was submerged, ala Hurricane Katrina.
The main thing is for the technicians to locate and remediate the leak. The Service Manager telling you that they could not find the leak, is totally unacceptable. A replacement computer could probably be located at a wrecking yard. However, replacing it and having it too get soaked, makes no sense. That's why the leak must be repaired first.
You've got a great car. Just have it repaired and it will last you many more thousands of miles.
If your car was seriously flooded, where it sat in water that was high enough to enter the car, I would be worried. If the water damage was localized to just the passenger side, then the damage should be minimal and I would not be concerned.
Have you checked with your insurance? I don't know if they would cover non-flood water damage, but it can't hurt to ask.
Mrbill
I think my concern is more with the fact that water got into something. I just was under the impression that something like this usually is the start of more problems.
We are waiting to hear back from the Honda Corp. in regards to what they are going to do for us.
It just sucks when you think you have something nice and this happens.
All I know is that I am extremely disappointed by this.
1> Was there any odor in the car from this "water"? (Engine coolant has a "sweet" odor from the ethylene glycol.)
2> If yes, has the coolant ever been changed out in this car, and, if so, what kind was used?
(It seems like a burst heater core is a real possbility from the sparse information you gave. The wrong or too weak a concentration of antifreeze might've lead to sufficient corrosion in the thin heater core tubes to result in a pinhole rupture. With ~17lbs. of internal pressure, it wouldn't take long to make an expensive mess. Dunnno specifically about previous generation Honda Accords, but many cars tuck their ECMs somewhere in the dash maze, so it might've been sprayed.)
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=817-1409-GR-2V-D&category=15- &lpage=none&bc=c
I drove to manahatten on the nj tpk and george washington bridge yesterday, and for the first time, not one noise from the car!
Besides the run channels and stuff the dealer canf ix, the problem involves the tight fit of the doors compressing the thin seals. I think its more of a rubber on metal squeak than rubber on rubber. Sounds like a new source of rubber is warented, silicone impreganted?
The tch said he hadnt seen another complaint........makes me want to laugh..........
Over the weekend my daughter was visiting from out of town, drove the car all day and left the car parked in the garage for the night with the HAND BRAKE engaged, something that I haven't done for years...
The next morning there was a PUDDLE on the floor, right under the ABS Module. I had to add brake fluid to the reservoir again.
The next 2 mornings there was not a drop visible on the garage floor, and the reservoir is full.
Something is leaking in the system around the ABS Module, but the mystery is -- my mechanic can't understand why would it leak so much more -- when the HAND BRAKE is engaged... There isn't supposed to be any connection between the two, is there?
If there was no odor and no greenish color, than it has nothing to do with your engine's coolant/antifreeze. I presume that your windshield washer fluid has a blue tint. If that is the case, and the water that you mentioned was not blue, than you don't have a washer fluid leak. If it didn't smell like gasoline, that fluid must be ruled out. There are no other non-motor oil, non-power steering or non-braking system fluids in a modern automobile
The only two possible other reasons for a clear non-odoriferous liquid to be in your car are:
1. A liquid carried into your vehicle by a passenger (water, soda, etc.)
OR
2. Water from a hose, rain, puddles, a car wash, etc.
My bet is on number 2 as the cause of your problem.
I'm new to this (or any) forum, but I needed to ask a question of a large Honda audience. My 1999 Accord LX has a manual transmission, a 2.3 liter four cylinder engine and about 55,800 miles on it. I am the original owner and it has been dealer serviced according to Honda's schedule. It recently developed a rattle when I engaged the clutch. It went right in for service and was diagnosed as a bad clutch. The next day, when it went out for a road test, the original noise was even worse. The engine bearings were replaced and the dealer covered them as a "goodwill warranty" item, so I only (!!) paid for the clutch replacement. Nine (9) days after I got the car back, the noise returned. This time they replaced the short block which American Honda covered as a "goodwill warranty" issue, only charging me for the labor involved!! My questions follow: Should this engine have "died" at only 55,000 miles?? Does anyone have any similar experiences with this engine?? Should I have any confidence in this rebuilt engine?? Thanks!!
What I find interesting is the dealer 1st changed the bearings, then put in a short block when the noise returned in a few days. If they diagnosed the problem correctly, made sure the crank was in spec before they replaced the bearings, and more importantly, you had correct oil pressure with the new bearings, then the new bearings should have lasted. Smells fishy to me!!
Rebuilt engines can be as good as a new engines if done correctly. Engines are constantly rebuilt in larger trucks and busses, giving them as much life as when they were new. Give it a try, keep an eye on oil usage, and listen for noisy bearings esp. when first starting the car in the morning, if it doesn't rattle, it doesn't burn oil, you should be just fine.
Mrbill
guess my only concerns now are if the antifreeze made it past the piston rings as that will spell disaster later.
the gasket set itself goes for $140 dollars at the parts store.
now im contemplating wether to patch it up and get er runnin again...
or make a few modification befor i slap her back together.
Mrbill
My dissatisfaction with the '04 Accord started on day two of ownership when I was greeted by a loud rattle from the windshield...it was not sealed properly at the factory ( J vin#) but the dealer quickly repaired it, even paid for a rental car.
As an aside, my CD player has been skipping, stopping, sporadically after about 10 months of ownership. I've lived with it for so long 'cause it was sporadic but I figured I better get it looked at before the warranty expires. Service mgr didn't even question me, said he would order me a new one and it should arrive next week.
That service mgr is the main reason I'm holding on to the Accord '04 despite the obvious quality problems with this unit. Admittedly the problems are not horrendous and I've yet to be stranded by it the thing but even the most avid honda fan , such as myself, has to admit this car has been a bit of a disappointment. I was going to look at Acura's as a future replacement but I'm definately re-thinking that decision.
I shoulda went for the cr-v....my wife has one and we both love it. It's everything I would expect a honda should be.....no strange creaks, cd player doesn't skip, feels solid as a rock.
Just do what I did to the run channel, you will never hear the rattling noise again!
It's a simple fix.
I'm thinking of the mechanics of rear drum brakes and emergency brake being applied, it may also apply to 4 wheel disk brakes, but I haven't seen the setup on the Accord yet.
When you pull the emergency brake, it mechanically pulls a cable which pulls a lever that moves the shoes. It may be putting a little back pressure on the brake cylinder which in turn pressurizes the fluid a little, which in turn is leaked out.
Again, I'm making a guess, I would really have to watch the mechanics to see if it truly doing this.
Mrbill
Question ... the Honda dealer where I bought the car has a service schedule of every 3750 miles. I don't have a problem with changing the oil every 4000 miles, but for everything else, which schedule should I be going by? It seems that I will be doing more than required service work going by the dealer's schedule.
Your DEALER did not engineer, design, test, or manufacture your Honda automobile. I'd suggest that you rely on the information provided by the manufacturer in your Owners Manual's Maintenance Schedule.
The dealer stands to make lots of money selling unneccessary services to unwary customers.
I am sure you can find it at Home depot.
Not only the window rattling noise goes away, the wind noise disappears too.
This might me a misunderstanding. Only the FIRST, INITIAL oil change should be done at 3,750 miles. After that you go with the 5 or 10,000 interval.
I, personally, would go with the 5,000 interval.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My old Accord has 4 wheel discs. I would guess that if applying the hand brake puts some hydrolic pressure on the system (seems as if on this model the ABS hydrolic line is part of the brake system hydrolic line, right?), than the fluid might look for a weak spot to escape.... Apparently that weak spot is some loose connection under my ABS Module (which was replaced some 4 years ago)....
Thanks,
Thanks.
And do you have a test track in your back yard?
Read the owner's manual--that's what it's for and it says nothing about any 3,750.
My '04 EX-L (4 cyl.) owner's manual says 10,000 miles OR ONE YEAR under "normal" conditions.
You may drive under "Normal" condition, but my wife drives 2.5 miles to work every morning... That's called "Severe" driving condition.
Under "Severe" driving you're supposed to start with your first oil change at 3,750 or 6 month, whichever comes first.
I don't have the manual handy, but you can check this official Honda site:
http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/Maintenance/maint_schedule.asp
And mamamia2, no, the dealer was recommending oil and filter change every 3750 miles. And they were recommending the 10,000 mile service in the Honda manual at 7500 miles. They did have a disclaimer that their recommended service might not reflect that of American Honda.
http://members.cox.net/mkebay/honda_tsb_a04-027.pdf
TSB's date was July 9, 2004. The problem has long been recognized by HOA. No reason why dealers should be charging owners when HOA is footing the bill. Out-of-warranty cases simply require the dealer to request the "District Parts and Service Manager" or the "Zone Office" for a goodwill replacement.
I have a 2005 Accord Coupe 4 cyl that I bought about 2 months ago. I have been averaging between 26-27 mpg in stop and go freeway driving and surface streets. I live in Southern California so I rarely get to drive on an open freeway. This last week I have used my defroster for most of the way to work. My mpg dropped to about 23.5 mpg. Is it because I am using the defroster, and that activates the air conditioner?
I read in past posts about switching the a/c off during defroster mode. What I am not understanding is why does the a/c need to be on during defrost? Does the defrost work better with a/c on in cold climates, where it snows? Does the a/c need to be on for the type of weather that we have in southern California?
I appreciate any and all info. Thanks, Lea
I have a 91 accord too, the distributor was R/R feb 02....recently I started tracking down significant oil leaks under the distributor and elsewhere...after replacing the Oil pan gasket, the old-brittle O-ring on the distributor and checking the torque on other bolts I found one leak remained....the oil is leaking THROUGH the distributor - leaks out at the bottom edge between the cap and distributor body. My question can this type of leak be fixed without R/R the distributor ( cost $269.00 two + years ago)...stillgoing
Below is a paste from another Accord site from about 1 year ago. This process seemed to turn off the automatic A/C in defrost mode with my 03 V6 Accord. But, I had to do it more than once.
Hey IMIS...there is "fix" for this annoyance. I don't know if it will be the same for your Accord, but, here is the way to do it in a 2001-current Civic(Canadian Acura EL):
1. Car is in off position.
2. Turn both the fan control knob and the temperature control knob all the way to the left (counterclockwise)
3. Press on BOTH the recirculate button and the a/c button
4. Turn the car on while holding these two buttons in...hold for about 7 seconds.
This procedure has worked in my '01 Civic Ex Coupe and my new '04 Civic Si...even though the manual for my Si says that the a/c can't be turned off when it's set to the defrost mode. I know that the HVAC/Stereo controls are different and more hi-tech in the Accord so I don't know if your procedure will be exactly the same. Try it and see if it works...if it doesn't, check w/ your dealer or Honda of Canada...someone somewhere within Honda will know the exact way to do it for an Accord. Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
Recently, I've noticed that the needle goes up after driving for a little while(20-30mis), especially when I stop before traffic lights. (the left fan in front of engine was changed a few months ago).
I've been driving like that for two months. I don't know what problem is. Thermostat or water pump? I appreciate it if you have any idea.
Thanks.
shadingding2