Honda Accord Problems 2000-2005

bburton1

Used to get only 25K on the front pads and around 75K on the bands of an 80 accord. On my 97 accord replaced my first front pads at around 112K-they had at least another 10K of life left. Checked the rear bands-probably good for another 100K.

Have noticed friends with several different car brands having to replace rear pads very early. Helped a friend replace his BMW rear pads. Wow how small those things are-think the design guys are screwing up by using such a small pad on the rear. Why have disc brakes on the rear anyway-brake fade is not a problem for my driving style.

Being a cheap skate I have yet to use "genuine" honda brake parts and not a squeak or problem in about 500K. Got the last set of pads from auto zone for my 97 for about $14.

Only problems I have encountered is warped rotors caused by yahoos using air driven impact wrenches to tighten lug nuts-even with torque sticks. Was a particular problem on the 80-really sensitive. Did not get the rotors turned-just retorqued the nuts and although never did get all pulsing out-it was at least manageable. Understand it is fairly easy to replace rotors on newer (97+) Honda's. Sure a pain on the older ones.

isellhondas

43,000 miles. Brakes inspected about 2000 miles ago. Original pads less than 50% worn.

Of course, we are careful drivers, don't ride the brakes etc. On previous cars, the original brade pads have lasted 75,000 miles and more.

We all follow people every day whose brake lights are constantly on...

Yeah, the type of car can make a difference but mostly it's the driver.

lalakrsfan

I have a 1998 Accord EX. Can anyone give me the instructions for resetting the Maintenance Required warning light?

Thanks!

teo

My sister got rid of her brake eating 1999 Accord LX...what a relief.

And besides what the Honda salesman tells us here, these cars have lousy quality brakes no matter how carefully you depress the pedal, etc.

You don't have to ride the brakes on a Honda Accord to experience chronic durability problems with them.

chandrak

Hi, I have a Honda Accord 2000...16months old. I observed this morning that the beading has come off my wipers(maybe during the last snowfall). Apparently, I need to replace them...can i take it to my dealer or any HONDA dealer cuz the warranty is still not over. Can somebody enlighten me about the whole process? I will need to use my wipers soon if it snows again :-)

Thanks,

robr2

...are a wear item and typically are not covered by warranty. You can take it to the dealer for replacement with Honda blades or go down to the local auto parts store to buy and install them yourself. Replacement blades are fairly inexpensive and should be changed at least yearly or as soon as you detect any streaking IMHO.

Personally, I switch between summer and winter blades.

robr2

Check under the hood where the hoses attache to the nozzles and push them in to ensure they are snug. I had that problem.

Also, the nozzles may be clogged with debris. Maybe slide a sewing pin in to see if it is clogged?

chandrak

Hi, I have a Honda Accord 2000...16months old. I observed this morning that the beading has come off my wipers(maybe during the last snowfall). Apparently, I need to replace them...can i take it to my dealer or any HONDA dealer cuz the warranty is still not over. Can somebody enlighten me about the whole process? I will need to use my wipers soon if it snows again :-)

Thanks,

mikefm58

>>You don't have to ride the brakes on a Honda Accord to experience chronic durability problems with them>>

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, including me, and I think you're full of it.

Your sister is either a bad driver or you need a new mechanic.

teo

Hey Mike, my sister owned several Hondas before her 1999 Accord LX and this was the only car with severe break related issues. None of her previous Accords ever went back to the dealership to have brakes repair on an ongoing basis.

Full of it? I think you are the one Full of yourself and then some. You don't know my sister, you never seen the car, so obviously you can't issue a clear and fair judgement. If you wanna play "Judge Dredd" or "Judge Judy" you are in the wrong place, pal.

Yeah, the best Honda dealer in Miami could not fix the freakin' car. Best service bays, best mechanics, could not solve the premature wear of the brakes. Honda field rep and service manager had to acknowledge that the car indeed had defective brakes, trust me they really did scrutinize the car, service repair history and even my sister's driving habits. Service manager told us that the Oddessey minivan (99-2001 models) are also known for the same brake related issues. He showed us two vans being serviced in his area for the same issues.

So I don't give a damn about YOUR FRAKING OPINION or ISELLHONDAS or anyone's to the contrary. Hondas do have brake issues. My 1997 Acura 2.5TL was another brlliant example of Honda brake durability excellence.

carguy62

"So I don't give a damn about YOUR FRAKING OPINION or ISELLHONDAS or anyone's to the contrary."

Seems like you should move on. These boards are all about opinions and your above statement is pretty insulting. You are saying you don't care about anyone elses opinion if it contradicts yours.

teo

Yada, yada, yada...

Yeah no more insulting than the previous posts, don'tcha think?

ravyn

i recommend the "bosch" brand. i'm very impressed with them.

isellhondas

teo's sister's problems should now be over.

After all, she bought a Volkswagen!

hungrywhale

You, my friend, need some sort of muscle relaxant. May I suggest a rectal insertion?

carguy62

No I don't think so. The previous post was not insulting. Yours was. And since you don't care about any one else's opinion why do you even care what is written here?

teo

It was, carguy, indeed it was.....

mikefm58

Chill out "pal". Like I said everyone is entitled to their opinion. Sorry if I put you in "auto reply" mode. No need to defend yourself or your sister, simply post your experience and opinions, and leave it at that. Let's see how long it takes before teo replies.

chandrak

Thanks for sharing. Best place, this town-hall :-)
cheers.

timadams

I'm at 59,800 miles and still on my original brake pads, front and rear (on a 98 V6 Accord). Hardly a brake-eating machine.

I'm due to have it gone over at 60,000 miles. I'll see how much wear is left on my brakes.

carguy62

....and he comes here to say Honda has lousy transmissions and brakes????

carguy62

I didn't get that much out of my front pads (I'm thinking 40K or so, I will double check), but my rear (drums) lasted ~120K miles and even then probably could have gone much longer. All this in an urban environment (read stop-n-go). Yep, terrible brakes.

bburton1

Got 112 out of my first set on a 97 accord. They had at least another 10K on them and the rear bands should make at least 200K.

Driving style and conditions can make a huge difference. If I had to drive in LA traffic on a daily basis-25 to 50K would be expected for pads. Also some people really abuse their brakes by standing on them at the last moment when coming up to a stop.

Older accords disk brake rotors had a bad habit of warping very easily when some yo yo used an air driven impact wrench on them. The newer are less fragile.

Yeah some people get bad vehicles-maybe built on Monday or something but IMHO Toyota and Honda are both extremely reliable vehicles. Honda had a few problems with v6 trannies but how about Ford and their AXOD series of trannies. They kept producing this POS for years knowing it had huge problems and fought paying claims. Same story with DC and their mini van trannies. How anybody can rail about Honda trannies given what Honda has done to correct the problem and compare that to the big US producers continuing to sell the same unreliable trannies for years.

teo

Yeah an Impala that blows your plastic wheeled, Singer sewing machine engined Accords right out of the water!

isellhondas

Last time I looked, our Accord didn't have plastic wheels and neither did our CRV.

No brake problems either...

What am I missing?

zoomzoom79

Having owned a 99 EX 4 cylinder w/ almost 40k and a 2001 V6 coupe w/14k without a single problem with the brakes I don't think there is a universal problem with Honda brakes. I too think the driver might have alot to do with it.

Teo: Good luck to your sister. I hear ECU amd electrical problems are much more fun than replacing rear brakes. Although with all the time the VW will spend in the shop she probably won't have a chance to test the longevity of VW brakes.

plastic wheels? singer sewing machine engine? That's funny. I guess it takes all kinds.....

samoberoe

I have a burned out clock light bulb on my Honda Accord 98 EX. Tried to replace it but cannot reach the back of the clock to take the old one out. Anybody knows how to change it?

inkie

I am enjoying your b.s. but your last post shows me the people on this post are getting to you. No car is perfect and all makes have problems but when you mention an Impala I have to chuckle. The engine cradles and steering boxes are giving the service dep'ts fits its an ongoing problem since the Impala was introduced and so far GM says just shim the rear and change the front cradle to one with a stronger weld unfortunately the replacements are not fixing the problem. I hope your one of the lucky Impala owners that did not have a faulty cradle, but I am sure you had trouble with Onstar, the rear defroster, the power windows, water leaks,and wind noise. Thats bigger problems than someone changing pads at20k?. If you are that upset with Hondas why don't you go to the VW or Impala boards I am sure they can use your help.

inkie

Oh! and I forgot to mention poor blower motor assemblies, the CV boots and the refusal of GM to authorize replacement of the steering boxes {ISS}.

mikefm58

<<Yeah an Impala that blows your plastic wheeled, Singer sewing machine engined Accords right out of the water>>

Why do you post such garbage in a Honda Accord message board? I read your "discussions" on the VW Jetta board and they're just as inflammatory as they are here. Do you intentionally try to tick people off or is it raw talent?

Doh, my bad, I broke my New Year's resolution already, which was to simply ignore people like this on message boards and stick to the prudent discussions. My sincerest apologies to the moderator and regular posters.

Well stated bburton1 and inkie, all manufacturers have problems. I almost bought my son a Chevy S-10 before I researched the quality problems and talked with several owners. After researching, the Toyota Tacoma is the best small truck out there for my money. Hmmm, why doesn't Honda build any trucks?

clock light by samoberoe: I'm not sure how close the clock light on an Accord is to my CRV, but I'll check my CRV shop manual and then compare things with my Accord and get back to you. Aren't the clocks LED though? If so, you may have to replace the clock itself.

teo

My 2001 Impala LS has so far 10K troublefree miles and not a single problem. Not a single trip back to the dealer for anyhting other than 3 oil changes.

OnStar has been excelent, defroster works on command, water leaks, wind noise what the heck is that????..... the car operates like the finest Swiss Watch....

Car is tight as a drum!

'Nuff said.

andre1969

...you people that are getting high mileage out of your brake pads...what kind of driving do you do?! Best I ever got out of a set of front pads was 39K on my '00 Intrepid. The pads on the back had to be replaced around 50-51K. Don't know if that's going to be my best though, because I also have an '89 Gran Fury that's got about 44K on the rear drum brakes, and they may last beyond 50K.

Then again, I used to deliver pizzas, and rarely took long trips, so that's probably most of my problem!

mikefm58

I'd expect you'd have to drive mostly highway miles. Don't ride the brakes. If you have a manual transmission, down shift to slow the vehicle down, but then you're using the clutch, so be careful. Living in hills or the mountains can also put alot of wear on the brakes. And just take it easy on the vehicle, no sudden stops.

mikefm58

And I'm sure Pizza delivery guys and taxi cab drivers go through brake pads quickly.

lancerfixer

I don't get it-- you had a long string of Honda/Acura products...now that you've moved to GM, all you can do is bad mouth Hondas. Your Impala seems, by your accounts, to be the greatest thing since sliced bread even though your first Impala was bought back by GM because of a serious safety defect. On other forums you've mentioned your interest in buying a BMW. My question, then, is whether you'll spew vitriol towards your pushrod-engined Impala after you've had your 3er for a while. Something here doesn't compute.

lancerfixer

I got almost 70k out of my first set of Accord pads. I've now got ~45k on the second set, and they're about due for replacement (didn't use OEM pads. A mistake.)

isellhondas

The clock housing needs to be gently pried out of the dash. The bulb can then be easily replaced.

Mine just went out too after three years and 43,000 miles...Terrible! eh teo?

teo

Oh yea.

jeffman1971

I just started reading about the brake pads issue today. By an amazing coincidence I also took my 1999 Accord Coupe V6 for service. My car has about 37K miles on it. Within the past few weeks I began hearing a metallic rubbing sound whenever I veered the car to the left. Also I began hearing a louder grinding noise when shifting the car into reverse. I'm not the type of person to slam on brakes. I usually gradually increase pressure to the pedal as I get closer to whatever is in front of me. I only stomp the brakes in an emergency.

The Acura dealership I went to told me that the noise was coming from the rear brake pads and they needed to be replaced ($332). They also noticed a tiny transmission seal leak ($171). I also had them do the 30K mile service ($395). This is the first major work I've had done on the car...otherwise everything is working fine. In fact this is my first trip to a dealership since buying the car back in 1999. But this was alot more $$$ than I anticipated. Has anyone else here had similar pricing at service departments?

ravyn

you'll tend to pay more at an acura dealership, rather than a honda one. for example, i bring my own oil for oil changes (going to start doing them myself and save money soon) to my acura dealer. they go from $24.95 to $19.95. when i went to the honda dealer, they didn't budge from $19.95. that was their "low" price already.

and it also depends on the area you're in. apparently since i live outside of d.c. i can expect to pay between $350-390 for my 30k service, for my '00 coupe, but a friend in mississippi, just paid around $150 for the same service for his '00 4-door. labour costs. go figure. ;P

gjensen1

Hi Accord Owners. I have had to replace the starter in my 94 Accord twice. I'm beginning to think I will need it replaced again, since it's had some trouble starting a few times. I know for sure it's not the battery - the lights, radio, heater all turn on but the motor doesn't turn until I either leave the key in the on position for a second or just try it again. Has anyone else had this problem or is this just a freak thing? Thank you.

qwalls

I'm not sure about the '94 model year, but I'm inclined to think it's a freak thing. I just sold a '91 with over 208k miles, and it still had the original starter. I did have to replace the distributor once though which was a known problem with that vintage.

isellhondas

That would be a VERY freak thing. If you replaced the first starter with a poorly done rebuilt one I wouldn't be surprised.

alcan

The way to properly diagnose your no-start without replacing expensive parts unnecessarily is to measure voltage at the positive cable at the starter when attempting to crank. If it's within 1V of battery voltage there's an internal starter problem or ground return path problem. If it's a lot less then there's probably a wiring or starter solenoid/relay issue. Check all battery cable connections, including the negative cable at the engine block, the most overlooked one. Also, check for starter current draw when it won't crank. If over spec, and the battery is charged, it's likely internal in the starter.

grbeck

I'm kind of baffled at teo's constant criticism of Honda quality. As I recall, his first Impala was such a lemon that GM bought it back!

mikefm58

Clock light question by samoberoe, I believe isell has already answered this question. Good luck, hope it's as easy as he says.

gjensen1's starter, I'd have to agree with the group. It is unusual for the starter to go and if you bought a cheap one at some discount auto parts store, then I wouldn't be surprised it went again. How many miles did you have when the first one went?

jeffman1971's Acura, How much do you trust this Acura dealership and did you notice any leaking transmission? I'd be a bit skeptical with what you were quoted. I can't say for the transmission leak, but can you call around at other Acura dealerships and ask for a quote on the work that was done to see if it's in line?

urchin34

Starter - After 3 starters (all Honda parts replaced at the dealer) and 5 batteries (in 6 years) my starting problem in a "90 Accord was diagnosed and by an independent shop as a cracked main relay. That fixed the problem.

Costs: Except for the fact that you use the Acura dealer, I would think you were using our local ripoff. Costs averaged $1000 per year over 9 years. Probably would have worn out more brakes and other parts if it had run regularly. This was for what was reportedly one of the most reliable cars on the road. On the other hand, my 1999 Isuzu Rodeo, known as one of the most problematic cars on the road has cost me a total of $347 for oil changes, and 15 and 30 thousand mile services. Not only that, the car has been ready as promised every single time, which I can never recall happening at the Honda dealership.

zoomzoom79

It's amazing how some people can take getting ripped off at a repair shop and flip that around to say that the car is at fault for their inability to verify the problem themselves. I've learned over time that whenever my mechanic says that something on my car needs to be repaired it means that I need to see that part that needs to be repaired myself.

For $1000 per year in maintenance/repairs for 9 years why didn't you just buy another car? Out of all of the Hondas/Acuras we have owned we have never spent more than a $1,000 total to get them in "like new" running condition. I can't think of what you can spend a $1,000 a year on in a Honda. Good luck with that Rodeo.

jmtreetop

I have heard if you gradually apply the brakes they wear faster than if they are pressed harder for shorter periods of time...anyone else hear of similar???

mikefm58

zoomzoom79: It's very easy to get ripped off at a repair shop. I had a Firestone shop tell my son he needed $1000 in brake work on his 1987 Ford truck. He had just bought it off his grand father who lived up north where the salt rots the underneath of the truck. Had he not known that the vehicle had just been thoroughly inspected, he would have had the work done. Finding a good reliable trust worthy shop is difficult. I moved here to Orlando and it took me 5 years to find one and he's not a dealer, just a small mechanic shop with a few mechanics. Good enough to do most maint/repairs, but I wouldn't have the timing belt changed there.

urchin34: I think you found a good reliable shop at your Isuzu dealer and ripoff at the Acura dealer.

jmtreetop: I've never heard of that, but would be interested if anyone has an article about it.