Honda Accord Problems 2000-2005

tntitan

If you don't mind spending a little money (about $10 per application) then you should put some Leatherique on your leather. Leatherique blows away Lexol, 303 protectant (which I love), saddle soap, mink oil, etc. This stuff is remarkable. Go to Leatherique.com

brisaccord

Hello sir! After perusing a couple thousand posts, I see why jrct9454 recommended you! Here's the problem: I have a 98 accord with 34k miles. It was purchased used in May with about 31k miles and had the now familiar "Thump at cold start" (tsb 00-059, which I'm sure you know...) problem and it was "fixed" by the dealer. However, on cold starts only (first start in the morning), the rpm's reach about 1750 upon engine ignition, along with the engine making a fairly aggressive "vrooom". Any other start throughout the day is very smooth with the rpm's in the 1250-1500 range, and no "vroom". My only comparison is of the apple/orange variety: the 97 civic I had prior to the accord started smoothly every morning the four years I had it. After a not very satisfying dealer experience "fixing" the 00-059 thump (they 1) never heard of the problem, 2) wouldn't look up the tsb # even after I gave it to them. Finally agreed to look it up after having to virtually force them to do by wanting to talk with the service mgr. All this with a "what do you know" attitude. Also had to take it in a 2nd time for service (3x total)b/c after having my car for 11 hours and three calls to THEM they told me they didnt actually do any of the work b/c the person who diagnosed the prob on visit 1 was not in when the car was brought in for service - visit 2 - Herb Chambers Honda - Burlington, MA)I'm not overly inclined to bring it back to them. The car is "certified" with 1 yr of factory warranty and could take it to another dealer, but I'm wondering if I'm paranoid, or if this "vroom" I see/hear every morning is normal or not...if not, any suggestions as to its cause would be appreciated!

auburn63

It doesnt sound abnormal to me,stone cold idle is 1800 to 2100, but it is hard to say and not actually be hearing it. If there is no other vibrations noticed at any other time then it most likely is normal and no big deal.

prodigy

Thanks tntitan.

I looked at the Leatherique web site and I'm going to give their stuff a try.

Pat S.

bodydouble

Is yours a V6? Our 2002 V6 does the same same. First start in the morning, it would go "vroom", the revs would go up to about 1700-1800, then settle down to about 1000 within a few seconds. Mind you, now with the warmer weather, it doesn't "vroom" up that high, maybe to about 1400. But what you're describing sounds normal.

fritz1224

Mine does the same thing, v6 2k accord. It's normal-as long as it drops down real quick. Of course, this drop is affected by the ambient temp. In real cold weather the rpms drop down a little more gradual than in warmer weather. And an already hot engine shouldn't have too high an rpm when started therefore very little drop if any.

rtfmdude

When I go over a speed bump I hear this THUG sound coming from the right front. It's pretty loud.

It only happen when I go over speed bump that are above average height. It doesn't really sound like a bottoming out sound but more like a slippage between two surfaces. This happen as I go over the bump at normal speed and the spring is compressing.

Anyone experience this or know what is happening.

Also what is use to stop the suspension from compressing to much and hitting the frame. I don't see any rubber bumper or anything.

01 accord sedan

brisaccord

Auburn63, bodydouble, fritz1224; thanks to all of your for the input. The cars is not a v6, it's a 4 cylinder. However, my car behaves as bodydouble's/fritz1224's car: first start of the day "vroom" to almost 2000, right back to a "normal" idle rpm 1250-1500. For the most part, the car seems to idle quite smoothly, sometimes I feel it's a bit rough; however my gut feeling is the car always idle's the same and it's me perceiving it's idling rough. Part of my problem is I had a perfectly good 97 civic manual but knee probs caused me to go for an auto. I ended up paying more than I wanted as the american cars I looked at were junk compared to the fit/finish/quality of the honda, and upgraded to the accord as I wasnt too enthused about a civic auto. The civic was the definition of honda: zero probs during entire ownership, no cash invested other than wear/tear/maintenance items. After paying more for the accord, then starting right off with the "thump at cold start"/horrible dealer service, I'm not toally trusting of the car yet, and admittedly, am a bit paranoid. This brings me to my last question: I hear some sort of tapping/rapping/knocking in the engine when the car is first started. Normal? Premium gas seems to help but I wonder if I'm wasting my cash...any suggestions are appreciated. It's appropriate to give jrct9454 a shout out for all his help; thanks jrct9454!!

elmerito25

Hi Accord Lovers ...
Yupp ... you read it right, just this monday, I brought the car to the dealer because of the intermittent noise (like the sound of a helicopter propeller) that is coming from the front passenger side of the car. Honda Tech looked at it, drove it and found out that I have a bad transmission, they said they will order a "new" transmission and it will be delivered in a week. They didn't give a loaner car, they said that there is no harm (beside the transmission) to still drive the car.
Is this true ?
Is bad driving habits causes bad transmission, or its just happens to the "few" accord owners?
I know that Accord have problems with their trans but that is for V6 owners, mine is 4 cyl ?
BTW, I've already put 25K miles on the car.

Thank you all ...
Elmerito25

jrct9454

...just not as often as to bad cars.

There are no inherent or generic problems with the Honda automatic with either engine [Auburn can feel free to disagree if his experience says otherwise], but that doesn't mean that one in a thousand or ten thousand or whatever isn't going to fail. Just the luck of the draw when you dealing with any mass-produced device.

There were/are a lot of negative urban legends that built up about the 6 cyl automatics, that actually affected a very small number of cars during the first part of the 2000 model year. It was a bad part that the OEM supplier apparently decided to change without consulting Honda [you can believe that won't happen again anytime soon], and they eventually nailed it after a couple of months of production. This sort of thing happens all the time to everybody, Japanese, American, German, where some piece or other decides to start giving problems. The difference is how quickly the Japanese typically respond and how closely they work with their suppliers to nip problems in the bud. The Germans are notoriously slow about these kinds of problems, because they steadfastly refuse to monitor their OEM suppliers the way the Japanese do. American makers are usually somewhere in between.

But sooner or later, every maker has things that break for no special reason other than the fact that they are designed and made by human beings. Yours is probably an example of this law...

alkanx

When I purchased my 02 Accord, dealership did not clean the windows nicely, there were several sticker marks & dust marks around the inside of the windows. I took it in, the fellow who was going to clean made a rude remark, he said: "to clean what you are asking, the windows need to removed." I was not too happy about that & cleaned them myself, did a good job though. Can we complain to someone about this?

AL.

petersteele

1999 Honda Accord 4cyl, parking brake locked up first time using it at 18k miles, transmission started leaking about the same time. Panels had to be adjusted. New transmission at 28k miles. Breaks were bled at 36k miles. Now the warranty has run out and they tell me that the fuel tank need to be removed to check out a "possible" leak from the fuel and/or evaporator system (200$ min). Now a high pitched whine from engine compartment when put in reverse. This was my first Honda because of quality and it is my last due lack of quality. I'm going to Toyota or Nissan as soon as I can.

bodydouble

I would complain to the service manager first, then the general manager if necessary.

cokane5227

about a few months ago, somebody scratched my right rear corner in my own apartment parking lot, couldn't find out who it was though. since it wasn't a huge scratch (very noticeable though), i just put some touch-up paint on it and left it there, today out of curiousity i brought it to a body shop across the street from my apartment (never been to that shop though) and had a guy taken a look at it, at first he said there's no way to fix it other than repainting the whole bumper, then he asked if the scratch under the touch-up paint was white or black and i said white, so he went into the shop and came back out with a wet towel that had a chemical smell on it, i simply watched him wiping the whole thing off (touch-up paint and the scratch), it was like wiping dirt off. has anybody experienced similar stuff? what was possibly the stuff on the towel? can i make some on my own? cuz i have some other little white marks that i would like to wipe off.

auburn63

No argument hear I agree with what you are saying..

brisaccord
The noise is a normaly developed noise with some miles. Usally is a bit of a piston pin slap but some times also a little of a crank knock. Neither worth doing anything about as they very rarely get any worse or to the point of needing repair.

95hondaaccord

Thank you for your help. I took it to the dealer today, Treadwell Honda, Mobile, Al. He charged me $50 bucks for a diagnosis. He found more stuff wrong with the car on top of what I found. He gave me an estimate of $2,334 to get everything fixed. Should I look into getting another car or get it fixed????????

bodydouble

There is something that I wonder if it's normal and whether others have noticed it. When first started up in the morning, if you're standing outside the car, until the revs settle down, you can hear this "thump, thump" in the idle. Almost sounds like if you have one towel in the dryer and you can hear it thumping against the dryer drum. It seems to go away after the idle settles down though.

auburn, is this normal? Thanks.

alkanx

Hi all,
Anyone knows the life time for front brake pads, is it around 50k miles?
Thanks,
AL.
(02 Honda Accord V6)

bburton1

Have a 97 I4 non vtec and on start up and in colder weather the engine makes a pecking noise-sounds like a valve is too loose. Have been told there is a lubrication problem on the intake rocker shaft and rocker arms between #2 &3 intake valves resulting in wear and loosening up the intake vales causing it to ping.

Anybody familiar with this issue and will it get progressively worse. Do I need to replace either the rocker shaft or arms or both.

Brake pad life depends upon driving style. If I lived in LA, I would be happy with 25K on pads. Got 113K on my first set of pads and they had about 10K left. 50K would be reasonable with a lot of city driving.

alkanx

I am new to Hondas, have had Nissans in the past & their pads usually last a long time, at times over 60k. I normally do not use excessive braking, normal city/hwy mixture. But thanks for the info & good luck w/ your valve sound, may be its nothing...

bodydouble

Can you give more details on this "helicopter propeller" noise? How loud is it? When does it usually come up, at low speed, high speed, when shifting, etc.? Thanks.

auburn63

95hondaaccord
Depnding on what the overall condition of the car will be when your done and total investment is what you need to look at. Plus what else could you buy for the same amount of money after the repairs.Then decide..good luck

bodydouble
Sounds mormal, I hear like a slight misfire in cars as they warm up that sounds as you say. Probably due to incomplete combustion when cold..

bburton1
There has been some #2 cylynder intake rocker wear that creates a valve tap noise. Inspection of the valve adjustment can diagnose this as the gap will be somewhat larger on that set. Replacement of the rocker arms in that cylynder is the fix..

princess786

hi everyone-i don't know if this is just me-but i just ot the 02 accord coupe w/leather and everythng.this is my first car, but not my first choice.right now im only 16, and i get my license in january. my parents got m the car because they love honda's and the dealership we go to gave us a great price.i never liked the back of this car to tell you the truth and i only got it because it seemed i had no other choice.now i don't know if this is because of the weather, but i really think the car has horrible acceleration.i was on the highway with it yesterday with my mom anda friend in the car.as soon as we paid the toll i hit the gas and the car took forever to go.it almost felt like i was in neutral, and i wasn't.i don't know, i'm really not happy with it and would love to get rid of it.the problem is we finance it..by the way i got the car june 29th and it was built like the week before and theres just over 1000 miles on it.since i have the financing, how do i get rid of the stupid car.my first choice was always a jetta, so if i went to he vw dealer, they would give me a "trade in" price for the accord right?? my other idea was to sell the car privately, but i heard all the money u get goes to the financing company to pay off the car.does that mean the only way to get out of this is to trade in the car at wherever i decide to get a car from?!?!please help me!!!

isellhondas

You poor little thing...!

Maybe your parents will go buy you that Jetta!

Do make sure you like the way the back of the car looks though...hate for you to make another mistake!

roby8

2001 vp accord w/ 34k needs a new tranny. dealer
didn't know(right?) but on the "alldata" site
there is a tsb on tranny exchange program.
also there has been simliar posts on "nhtsa" site.
symptoms around 40 - 45 mph consistent noise and hesistation. also dealer didn't hesitate to replace.

bhaley3

I spent an hour trying to change the low beam bulb on my mom's 1992 Accord. I can see the locking ring but it is hard to get a grip on it and it won't turn in either direction. How do you take out the bulb?

Bill

cokane5227

girl, u spoiled! there's nothing u can unless u wanna damage ur parents' credit, live with it and welcome to the real world where not everything's perfect.

elmerito25

Thats the closest that I can associate the sound to ... sound like the propeller of an helicopter but not that loud. The sound is noticeable if your running at 40 MPH or greater and more noticeable if your in a smooth (asphalt) road, road noise usually hide the noise. It usually come up when your accelerating and even when you decelerate. It is coming from Front Passenger Side of the car. Mine is an automatic trans so I don't do much of shifting.

Still waiting for the new transmission ...

regards ...
Elmerito25

02mdx

I have a 1990 Accord LX (manual) w/ 143K miles which developed a hairline crack in the upper tank of the radiator. I have been told by several auto enthusiasts that this is an easy DIY job as long as you have the proper tools and patients. IS it relatively easy to replace this radiator? (I do some maintenance on my Accord, but nothing too complicated)

I have heard that this model Accord had two different radiators suppliers, Nippon Denso and Koyo. My vehicle has the Denso radiator, can I replace it with a Koyo radiator? Supposedly they are interchangeable??? Should I replace the hoses and thermostat as well (although they have been replaced once before and remain in great condition)?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

bodydouble

Thanks, Auburn: I guess my previous description of "thumping noise" was probably too harsh. I guess it should be more accurately described as a lumpy-sounding idle. Now that you mentioned mis-firing, that sounds like a reasonable cause.

Thanks for the feedback, elmerito. Good luck on the new tranny.

roby8: Please elaborate on the "noise". I guess with all the talk on failed Honda tranny, I'm getting paranoid about any and all noise that I hear!

bodydouble

You're 16 and no doubt a "princess" in your parents' eyes so this is your time to be spoiled. I can't hold that against you. But 10 years from now, you'd realize how lucky you have it. When I was your age I was driving a second-hand 52hp Honda Civic with a 4-speed manual! I'm sure you think the Accord coupe isn't such a cool car, but it's not that bad. My daughter (age 17), who doesn't have a car, said her first choice would be a Civic Si coupe. Perhaps that's what your parents should have gotten you -- less expensive and more appropriate for your age. But like others have said, it would just be too expensive to trade it in now. Your parents would take a bath on the depreciation.

auburn63

bhaley3
Since it seems it is a bit tight what you need to do is: Take a flat blade screw driver and in the holder ring you will see a slot take the screw driver and put the blade in the slot and give it a bump in the counter clockwise direction. By bump I mean hit the handle of the screw driver lightly with the palm of your hand.

02mdx
I dont think you can change brands because I believe the fans mount differant. However you can go aftermarket if you wish. Other than that the change is easy, pull the hoses off disconnect the fans wire connectors, take the four 10mm bolts out of the hold down brakets and if A/C take the 10mm's out of the hold down braket and remove the radiator..GL

fastdog1

This is a '95 Accord, auto tran., with 111K miles. The shift lock solenoid has started to "click' louder than in the past. FYI, not to insult, the shift lock solenoid is below the console of the auto trans shifter. When electrical power is energized and you press the brake pedal, it releases a lock so you can shift from Park to any gear selection. While it is normal for it to "click", (indicates it is working), I wonder by getting louder if this is an indication of impending failure. This when you would have to use your key to manually release the shifter. Approx repair cost if needed? Thanks

mikemw1

about 100.00, more at dealer

maxhonda99

cokane, How is credit going to be damaged by trading in a car??? The only thing little princess's parent's will lose is a lot of $$$$.

jomiwi

I have an '02 V6 LX and have noticed something similar. Slight "thumping" on cold idle. I have not noticed it in other cars I've owned, but it always seems to go away as soon as rpm's go up or as engine warms. Meant to mention it to the dealer but forgot when I brought it back for the first oil change.

sunbronx

I just got a 98 Accord LX a few days ago, and already I love it. However, the Enging Malfunction Lamp came on about 24 hours after I started driving it. I've called Honda dealers, who say there are about 100 things that can set it off. They specifically ask about the gas cap not being on tight enough, which I hear can set the light off. The dealers tell me to bring it in to have it checked out (which they can charge me $80 for), but I hate to pay them to tell me the gas cap was loose. I was wondering if anybody knew how long it takes for that light to shut off after replacing the gas cap properly. Is it a bad idea to drive it around for a while to see if the light goes off by itself, or should have the light checked out as soon as possible?

jrct9454

Yes, there are only at least a hundred reasons why it could be lit. Yes, the gas cap is a common one. Always turn it several times past the point where you can here it click.

IF it is the cap, and IF you have corrected the problem, the trap should be reset after a fixed number of engine restarts, which unfortunately vary from one maker to another. A good rule of thumb is that it could take at least a dozen engine cycles, and as many as 40, to clear the code. If you're a busy driver, that means that if you want to wait a week to 10 days, it could reset itself if the problem has been solved.

Honda, Toyota, and everybody in the business told the EPA that the OBD II problem thresholds were set too low, and that the result would be thousands of needless and harmless OBD alerts that would cost drivers money and dealers time. Yep.

auburn63

Most of the time you can reset it by removing the battery cable and waiting 30secounds. If that doesn't work anymore then it will take three trips/drive cycles. A trip/drive cycle must meet certain driving conditions such as: ECT and IAT (engine coolant and intake air) temps must be within 5 degrees of each other and be below 85F, must reach operating temp within a specified time frame, and must be above 15mph. Some parts of the country and drivers never get into a drive cycle while others do it every day. The best way is with a diagnostic machine, that way you know the code and get it cleared in one trip. If the battery thing doesnt work any more then good luck...

jrct9454

...is that it also clears all your radio presets, doesn't it? Are there any other consequences from taking the battery offline?

markz2k

Does more than clear your presets, disables the radio completely till you enter the code number that was printed on a card that comes with the car.

khager

I Have a 2002 Accord VP it came with the CD and 6 Speaker Stereo System. I noticed today it sound like the Drivers side speaker may have blown it sounds kind of tinny unless I turn the treble all the way down and the Bass up It sounded fine for the last month until today. Just curious has anyone else had problems with thier speakers I don't listen to loud heavy metal with the volume all the way up or anything like that. Mostly soft rock with volume at mid levels and I never had it happen in any other vehicle I have owned.

maxhonda99

Last Thursday, I went to the dealer with the Squeaky Moonroof problem that appears on just about every 1998-2002 Accord. The dealer installed that clear thin tape the moonroof surround. This morning it rained for the first time, and guess what? This morning I have little pools of water around the moonroof, inside the car. Has anyone else who has had the tape installed noticed this problem??? If I remember right, before the tape was installed the water would never appear under the moonroof.

bburton1

On my 97 accord-just pull fuse #39 for 30 or so seconds and yes you will have to reset your clock but my radio is not altered. Also unhooking the battery is a PITA-can pull #39 fuse with bare pinkies.

Before clearing the CEL code-check it by shorting out the blue wire connector that is just under the glove box-has 2 blue wires and connected to a plastic wire holder. With the engine off stick a wire in the two circuits in the blue connector-turn the ignition to the on position-don't start engine and then look at the CEL light adn count the number of flashes. If it is 9 long flashes followed by a longer blank interval-that is a emissions code. Got one constantly on my accord-mine has an extended emissions warranty-to 150K. Replaced a control solenoid valve-no change-replaced the gas cap-ok for a few months and now more 90 CEL codes.

let us know what u find

naimfan1

All--

Have a 02 Accord EX 5 speed; have had it for a month and change. There is a noise--a cross between groaning and thumping--that appears to be coming from the drive wheels. It is especially noticeable when turning right and accelerating. It almost sounds like a bad CV joint.

Has anyone else had this problem? Car goes in Thursday, so we shall see what the dealer's service dept. has to say. Any pointers?

Best Regards,

Bob

pblevine

First a little recommendation. I just tried a glass cleaning product called "Sprayway" with very good results.

Now about my little problem with my '98 Accord Coupe EX V6. Until now, everything about this car has been great. I never experienced the rattles, tranny problems, etc. that others have reported. I've had the car up to 115mph (rated top speed is 137) and its a daily commuter.

Recently, the powers that be have been resurfacing the Henry Hudson Parkway here in NY. Over the last 2 months, at least a one mile section of the road (at a time) has been "roughed up" prior to laying down a new patch of asphalt. 'Trouble is the 'current surface removal method' (er, I'm being kind here) sometimes removes the concrete below the level of the asphalt. And the result is an absolutely consistant surface of nothing but potholes, rough surfaces, groves, stones, rocks, uneven strips of road, etc. Ugh!

Its been killing my car. My Accord seems to have stayed the course very well. But the suspension feels a bit off. 'Just a little too loose. It doesn't feel as tight horizontally (ie: side to side during turns etc.) The shocks and vertical movement appears to still be good. And I sense a slight rubbing vibration on the gas petal at low speed. I'm not sure of what I should tell the dealership folks to look for when I next bring it in for service. Help. Could it be the front end alignment? What else should I look for?

gblake

Light came on about ten days ago. I took it into the dealer and heard the story about tightening
the gas cap and additional trips to reset the ECM. After they checked the computer the
service manager came back and explained that they would have to replace the oxygen sensor, the computer module, and all four injectors. Svc. Mgr. stated that Honda has been having problems with the 2000 2.0L accord engines, problems that would require exchanging and/or replacing these critical parts.

This sure doesn't seem like a small or typical problem. If anyone has had this experience or might know why this extensive work may be required, we would like to hear from you. All I can say is we are lucky that it's still under warranty.

bodydouble

I have not experienced any water leak after the tape was installed on my CL.

Gold101

PBLEVINE,
You might want to ask your dealership to "retorque" youur suspension. I've had it done a few times to my Acura TL to keep it nice and tight. I guarantee you that you will notice a difference after having the procedure done.

bodydouble

I've never heard of that procedure. What exactly do they do?