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I'd be happy to share it with you.... when they mail me the paperwork. They were already a little late getting my car back to me so they sent me on my way and told me that they'd mail it out. Nice touch, I thought.
Finally had a chance to take the car in yesterday. They replaced the left front strut assembly and "could not duplicate" the ringing noise from the rear.
The strut replacement cured the noise at takeoff, somewhat. I am still hearing it occassionally, but it is no where near as loud. I do however still hear the noise going over bumps, the same as before. Look's like I'll be headed back one day soon.
My question is, does the 2003 and 2004 Honda Accords have the same glove box assembly? And if so, where is this spring and where does it attach to?
Yes, they have the same glove box. The spring (or damper is what Honda calls it) is on the passenger side of the glove box door. Maybe it is not attached to the door. If it is the screw holding the damper (spring) you have to get to it through the dashboard side cover (the part hidden by the door when closed). Good luck
Thanks for the advice...the noise was coming from the dash but stopped two days before my scheduled service. Glad it stopped but wondering when it will show up again.
I'm coming here to vent! I've owned maybe 10 cars in my lifetime and replaced many headlight bulbs and lamps in the old days. I've never seen a worse situation than replacing this headlight bulb! I bought some nice new Sylvania starlight bulbs and then opened the manual to see how to replace them. Imagine my surprise when I saw that you had to pop two plastic rivets in the wheel well to take the inner fender off to get to the light. Of course the first rivet broke as it came out but not the second. Then there was a screw I had to remove not mentioned in the manual...perhaps put there by the previous owner as I did buy this 2004 v6 loaded with everything car second hand when it only had 25,000 miles on it. So I try to bend back the plastic inner fender and it will only go part way. Plus I find out how flimsily the car is actually built when I see that by just taking off those two plastic rivets the metal lower front fender piece is now free to move also!
I think if I was mini-Me I might be able to fit my hand comfortably into the space to get to the bulb but I'm a big guy so this is a major issue for me. And once I finally get my hand in there I can't budge the bulb more than 1/8"!!!
Now I'm going to have to go to the dealer and spend God knows how much to have these headlights replaced...They probably won't want to put my bulbs in!
Bottom line is that this is the first and last Honda I will ever own. Car manufacturers that don't take routine maintenance issues for consumers into account are at the bottom of the car heap in my opinion. Honda, here's a big raspberry to you for making lowbeam headlight repair an almost impossible task for a consumer! I should never, ever have to remove any body part for routine maintenance like this! This is the first and last Honda I will ever own! :mad:
Hi, I was changing m the oil filter on my 2003 accord and broke a wire that was comming from a device that was right above the filter. I think it might be the oil pressure sender. I was able to put the wire back and I think it is held in place by the rubber boot. Will it do any damage if I dive it? Thanks for any info, Norm
Same problem here. Just put back in the factory bulbs after one of the Sylvanias burned out. Passenger side was easier than driver side but still a pain. Had to remove battery for access to driver side bulb. Luckily I didn't have to do the under-fender route. But still not user-friendly. Air filter replacement is another bear !
)) "I was able to put the wire back and I think it is held in place by the rubber boot. Will it do any damage if I dive it?" ((
OK, Norm, by the numbers: 1 - Does the oil pressure light in the gauge binnacle illuminate when you turn the ignition key to the "On" position? (Make certain you're not merely turning the key to the "Acc" position.) 2 - If "yes" to the above, does the oil pressure light go out shortly after you start the motor? 3 - If "yes" to the above, congratulations, you affected a professional-grade repair. (Actually nothing broke - you merely disconnected the lead that someone on the assembly line with likely less education than you have attached in the first place - and perhaps not fully secured at that.)
If there was a "No" answer anywhere in there, then the circuit is still "open" due to a breakage - probably in the brass metal connector that slides on the oil pressure sending unit's contact. Fairly easy to fix, though you may want to have an auto-electric shop deal with it unless you're comfortable with soldering and/or splicing. It won't cost an arm, leg, and your first-born. (A Honda dealership will charge more for the same work unless the service manager is your mother.) In the meantime, you're doing NO damage driving the car as is. The only caveat is that you would have no warning in the extremely unlikely event your engine sprung an oil leak and lost pressure*. (Emphasis on "extremely unlikely")
*Unfortunately automakers in an effort to cut production costs have all but erased from their collective consciousness any memory of the wisdom of installing oil pressure gauges. An oil pressure idiot light tells no tale until it's TDL - too damned late. At freeway speeds it would be the rare motorist who noticed the light in time to shut the engine down and avoid very expensive engine damage. These lights would be more properly identified instead with the legend: "Your motor just bought the farm, Jack".
An oil pressure idiot light tells no tale until it's TDL - too damned late.
The oil light started coming on just when the engine was at idle on my 92 Accord. It was an early warning (not TDL). I found out that the oil pickup screen in the oil pan was getting clogged. Took the pan off, cleaned the screen, no problem. The oil light did it's job as designed. This is why they are called "Idiot lights". Because a glowing light will attract more attention than a dial on a gauge moving slowly. Even an Idiot will see the light glowing in his face.
You probably already knew this, but the cabin air filter was likely replaced as part of the 30K mile service. The air filter is accessed through the glove box, so my guess is the noise is somehow associated with something that was done while replacing the filter. Good luck!
Driver side - yes, by moving the battery aside to make room. Passenger side - unless someone who has smaller hands & arms can help (like a cooperative wife), no.
To remove the passenger side bulb, grab by the bulb tail - right before the wire begins - and pull towards engine. The driver side bulb rotates same way.
I'll add a couple comments to the previous post. I have changed both my headlight bulbs ('03, I-4). The through-the-fender method works, though it would have been nice to have a third hand--one to hold the fender trim back, one to point a flashlight, and one to actually remove the bulb.
The one thing the owner's manual doesn't mention is to loosen the 3 phillips-head screws. This will make the bulb housing turn *much* easier. I figured this out after much frustration and cursing ("Why isn't this ... thing turning?").
So...I took the car back today and the service manager rode with me again and heard the knocking noise. He told me to leave the car with him, but he can't make any promises. But get this, he then says:
"Cars are like people, there are somethings [incessant knocking] that you just can't get out."
You just don't tell a customer that, at least give a glimmer of hope. I've had the car almost 2 months and now you [service dept.] are telling me that I am may be paying for a car that will always make noises like something out of Detroit? I may love Europe and acting European, but I am still a litigious American.
ask them specifically to look at the timing chain for the vehicle. maybe it is off spec; if so, i imagine no amount of anti-knocking / timing compensation commanded by the computer is gonna help.
I bought 05's Honda Accord LX two years ago and drove it for 25,000 miles.
This car has a long-time problem with the engine. Namely, when I drive it at above 60 mph on the highway, it has a strange high-pitch humming coming from engine whenever I push the gas pedal. The hummming disappears when I move my foot from the gas pedal.
Honda mechanics checked it last year and told me that it's no problem as long as the humming is not very loud. But the humming is obvious for driver and passengers.
Now, the warranty for the car will be over after next 8 months. I really worry that someday the hummings become very loud and my car's engine break down while the warranty is over at that time.
Could you give me some suggestions about it. Thank you very much.
So, it hums all the time when you push the gas? Have you driven some other Accords to see if they have it? Some have been known to "drone" if they are going too low of an rpm, sort of "bogging down." If you push the gas harder, and make the car downshift, does the humming stop? If it does, then I wouldn't worry much about it.
When driving in local, it has no humming. But at above 50-60 mph, it hums when I push the gas pedal even just a little bit. Actually, at cruise control, it hums.
I have another Accord, which is 96 LX. It has no such problem.
I just worry about it that someday the engine break down.
I have a 1996 LX too! Cool, how may miles? 169k for me.
At 70+ MPH do you hear humming? I would assume it only hums in 5th gear when the RPMs are around/under 2,000 RPM. Find a stretch where you can take the car to 75+ MPH and find out if it hums (if you don't know). At this point, it shouldn't be bogging down (RPMs will be at 2,500+). At 50 MPH in top gear though, the engine may be lugging because the transmission went into high gear to early for the load it is trying to pull. Usually, a little dip into the throttle makes it downshift to 4th gear, and you don't hear the little "hum."
The hum I sometimes hear is really low in tone, like a bass almost... is this what you are referring to?
I went to pick the car up at 4 but they still had the hood open. I waited for about an hour then the service manager came in and talked to me. He said he has no problem producing the noise but cannot find a problem with anything. He even checked the master cylinder and some other non suspension components and said the car is safe to drive. He also said hopefully it will be a problem that plagues other 07s so a bulletin will be released and he can fix mine. He saw a similar issue on an 03 that required a field engineer but the strut assembly is completely different now. I'm leaving town on holiday tomorrow so if I get bored I may drop it off at one of the dealers in the city I'm going to and let them have at it.
The humming is just like high-pitch humming. I think it's abnormal. Maybe I need to go to another Honda dealership for checking. Do you think so?
Kind of a transmission whir/whistle sort of sound? Mine has this as well. I'm sorry for being so inquisitive, just trying to figure out if my car has the same sound yours does (I have a 2006, my father just got rid of his 2005, so I could tell you whether this sounds normal for our cars or not).
i think a low hum when getting on the gas at a certain rpm/speed range is perfectly normal.
however, i would imagine anything excessive could be the result of a poor or missing exhaust hanger (those serious looking rubber grommets), contact of the exhaust system somewhere with the vehicle body, or perhaps an engine mount going or something.
I have a manual transmission in my accord but don't Accords with automatic transmissions have a "D3" setting (highest gear is 3rd)? If so, do you think this person is driving around in D3 on the highway? That would make sense that driving around in the city wouldn't cause the noise, because the driver isn't going at a high rate of speed. Perhaps this driver is on the highway in D3 and the "humming" is the engine at high RPMs???
that's possible, but unlikely. i mean you'd really be winding out the engine, and that would seem to me to be really obvious. but, i've heard it happens.
)) "...don't Accords with automatic transmissions have a "D3" setting (highest gear is 3rd)?" ((
Good catch, but just slightly in error. Prior generation Hondamatics had a four speed automatic transaxle with a "D3" position to prevent fourth gear overdrive engagement. Current generation Accords have a 5-sp automatic transaxle, so the shift console now has a "D4" position which prevents normal 5th gear overdrive engagement. But your post correctly highlights the possibility that the original poster is mistakenly setting his gear selector to D4 believing doing so results in normal operation instead of correctly setting the gear lever to the proper, plain "D" position which actually allows all five forward gear ranges to function for quietest and most economical engine operation. Even in the normal "D" position, the transaxle will automatically downshift to fourth gear when necessary for passing or climbing hills, but subsequently automatically upshift to fifth gear again when appropriate.
(If anyone understands all this, please explain it to me - I totally lost it after the second sentence...:confuse:)
Although the current generation Accords do have 5 speed auto trannys, they do not have a D4 position, at least not the 03-05 models. Strange, but true.
I have a similar noise in my 04 EX-L I4. To me the noise (very slight) sounds like gear whine. The noise is present under power, but disappears when I back off the gas. I realize the I4 has a timing chain, but I kind of ruled it out since the noise goes away during deceleration.
Like I said, the noise is very slight, any conversation, rough road, or the radio drowns out the noise.
Good catch, but just slightly in error. Prior generation Hondamatics had a four speed automatic transaxle with a "D3" position to prevent fourth gear overdrive engagement. Current generation Accords have a 5-sp automatic transaxle, so the shift console now has a "D4" position which prevents normal 5th gear overdrive engagement.
Nope, it is as accord6mt said, it's D-D3-2-1 in my 2006 EX I-4 5AT. No D4 position is available.
By dang, you're right! Got my '07 Accord brochure out and one of the interior shots does depict a "D3" position on the shift console. I presume third gear is direct drive and gears four and five are the two overdrive ratios? Thanks, elroy5. (and thegraduate)
)) "I have a similar noise in my 04 EX-L I4. To me the noise (very slight) sounds like gear whine. The noise is present under power, but disappears when I back off the gas." ((
Slight excess lash (but still within factory engineering tolerances) in the transaxle's differential ring and pinion gears? Though annoying, it's harmless. (Once established, it's usually futile to attempt adjusting the noise out.) If you're still under warranty, bring it up with your dealership. They might do nothing, attempt to adjust, or replace the transaxle outright. What've you got to lose asking?
At this point, I have a while on the warranty, I bought the 04 in 05. At the level the noise is, it doesn't bother me. I'm guessing the dealer won't even hear it. I'm going to wait and see if it get's any worse. Other then that, the tranny shifts flawlessly. I'm worried that if they did replace the tranny, the next rebuilt/re manufactured tranny could be as bad or worse, or have other problems.
My '03 Sonata has some noise, too. An ASE Master Hyundai tech in Canada with whom I corresponded on another forum told me that Hyundai had some differential noise issues for a while and it looked like my car was one of the "lucky" ones. That was four years ago - car & driver still going strong. The only real complaint I've had with my Sonata is that it ain't an Accord...
Have you ever had any luck in fixing this problem? I recently purchased a 2007 SE V6 and am experiencing the same. As I am getting ready to return to the dealer for my first service interval I would appreciate any info you may have found out.
I think I replied to your post on one of the other threads, anyway the only thing I have found out is that this rattle in the dash is very common in the Accord. I don't think there is a definate fix though some people report getting it fixed. I called my dealer and they said they have never heard of this rattle, (Yea right). I wont let them tear my dash apart, I live with it for now. Let us know how you make out with the dealer.
I don't know if you're hearing the same noise my car makes, but it's possible.
Honda replaced the transmission in my '04 LX 4cyl. automatic at 4,000 miles because of a high pitched whining noise coming from the transmission. The service manager showed me a Honda article on his Web site titled "AT Whine."
I'm now at about 29,000 miles and the replacement transmission has developed a similar whine, though not quite as bad. It's definitely sensitive to throttle pressure. My take on this is that when you accelerate, you're putting pressure on the transmission's parts, causing the whine. If you let off the pedal entirely, it pretty much goes away, since you're effectively coasting, with no torque pressure on the transmission.
This fall I decided to complain to American Honda, and they simply directed me back to the dealership for another look at it, which judged it to be a normal noise for this car. (Don't you love it when they say it's normal, as if shoddy engineering or manufacturing should just be accepted.) My service manager even went out with me in a loaner with about 5,000 miles on it, and sure enough, it had a similar whine. This whole experience with American Honda, by the way, wasn't real great.
I've thought about going to the next level, the Better Business Bureau, but don't really have the will to do it.
The whine is fairly noticable when you're on a very smooth highway, but any normal highway that creates some road noise begins to drown it out, and a little Stones on the stereo usually takes care of the rest.
Both the original transmission and the replacement transmission have performed flawlessly in terms of shifting.
The thing is, this little car does so many things so well that's it's hard for me to stay mad at it, or at Honda, for long. It's just one of those things. I do feel, however, that's it's shameful for Honda engineers not to be able to do better as far as this whine is concerned.
I thought also about trading for the new model 2007 Camry V6, but if you want to see some transmission problems, check out the Camry thread here on Edmunds (2007 Camry Problems and Repairs).
I'm thinking I may trade next year for the next generation 2008 Accord, a V6 this time. That's what I intended to buy back in 2003, but Honda had a huge recall (about 1 million Accords, Pilots, and minivans) for a transmission problem.
It seems possible that this whine really is a characteristic of the car, so at least we're not alone. And it doesn't seem to be a safety issue -- there's been no recall on it.
Don't know if this helps, but that's my three-year experience with the problem.
Maybe you should have gone with the Accord V6. My 03 EX V6 has been trouble free. Yes, they had a recall on the transmission, but it seems to have worked. The car is silent, on a smooth highway. 40k miles, and still perfect.
mrbill, from time to time i hear the whine in my '02 4DR 4spdAT under the exact scenarios you describe. i consider it pretty normal - never considered the timing chain. your analysis seems good to me.
The center console backlighting on my '03 Accord EXL 4 cyl. w/dual climate control has died. Nothing lights up from the hazard light switch down exept for the "on indicator" bulbs for the climate control switches (not the backlighting). No problem in the instrument cluster. Is there a single bulb that lights all of this area? I've checked fuses that I thought might affect this area, but haven't checked 100% of the fuses. Does anyone know exactly which fuse would cover this light? Could it be the multifunction switch? Any knowledge or advice would be appreciated.
If you are talking about the radio display light, it's a common problem. The entire radio has to be replaced. Bring the car to the nearest dealer, tell them you know this is a common problem, and that you do not expect to have to pay for a replacement. Good luck
Search the forums, there are many who have had the radio replaced at no charge well beyond the warranty period.
Have had mine (and my wife's) head unit replaced for $50 & $95, respectively. Other folks haven't had to pay anything, so you should be able to negotiate the same. There's a TSB, issued as early as 2004, where American Honda has let dealers know it'll fully compensate the dealer for the replacement; there may be some dealers who'll try to get away with charging you, but let them know about the TSB.
Like you this problem confounded me; after some research I found that Honda, for one, crams as many functions as it can into as few wires as possible ("multiplex" wiring) for weight and cost considerations. One such wiring system is the Accord headunit's which combines the center console lighting. The outsource vendor's engineering and QA evidently fell short in this case.
Glad to share tips. If you're up for an oil change or something, you might offer to buy that service in exchange for their effot. But you probably don't have to; Honda of America is fully behind the repair, and a district rep could help overcome any dealer resistance. Good luck.
The outsource vendor's engineering and QA evidently fell short in this case.
I'm sure Panasonic is footing the bill for the new head units (at least), I don't think they want to loose Honda's business. Honda is probably eating the labor costs, or charging customers for a little labor, if the warranty is over. Honda could make the customers pay the whole thing (after warranty), but that's not the way they do business. They know repeat customers are very valuable.
I have a 2003 honda accord 2.4l engine with 96,173km am located in the bahamas, and i was told that my honda came direct from japan, I recently had both 02 sensors go bad one after the other, i had them replace but every now and then i expirence the same symptoms as i did with the sensors were bad(starts up and cuts right off then rolls over and would not start)the difference now since the new sensors were put in is; that i leave it for about a min. then try it again and then it starts up)my mechanic does not no what the problem is.
any advice Note: no honda dealer tech service on my island
Comments
The strut replacement cured the noise at takeoff, somewhat. I am still hearing it occassionally, but it is no where near as loud. I do however still hear the noise going over bumps, the same as before. Look's like I'll be headed back one day soon.
Yes, they have the same glove box. The spring (or damper is what Honda calls it) is on the passenger side of the glove box door. Maybe it is not attached to the door. If it is the screw holding the damper (spring) you have to get to it through the dashboard side cover (the part hidden by the door when closed). Good luck
PS: If you need pictures, I can post them.
I think if I was mini-Me I might be able to fit my hand comfortably into the space to get to the bulb but I'm a big guy so this is a major issue for me. And once I finally get my hand in there I can't budge the bulb more than 1/8"!!!
Now I'm going to have to go to the dealer and spend God knows how much to have these headlights replaced...They probably won't want to put my bulbs in!
Bottom line is that this is the first and last Honda I will ever own. Car manufacturers that don't take routine maintenance issues for consumers into account are at the bottom of the car heap in my opinion. Honda, here's a big raspberry to you for making lowbeam headlight repair an almost impossible task for a consumer! I should never, ever have to remove any body part for routine maintenance like this! This is the first and last Honda I will ever own! :mad:
I was changing m the oil filter on my 2003 accord and broke a wire that was comming from a device that was right above the filter. I think it might be the oil pressure sender. I was able to put the wire back and I think it is held in place by the rubber boot. Will it do any damage if I dive it?
Thanks for any info, Norm
OK, Norm, by the numbers:
1 - Does the oil pressure light in the gauge binnacle illuminate when you turn the ignition key to the "On" position? (Make certain you're not merely turning the key to the "Acc" position.)
2 - If "yes" to the above, does the oil pressure light go out shortly after you start the motor?
3 - If "yes" to the above, congratulations, you affected a professional-grade repair. (Actually nothing broke - you merely disconnected the lead that someone on the assembly line with likely less education than you have attached in the first place - and perhaps not fully secured at that.)
If there was a "No" answer anywhere in there, then the circuit is still "open" due to a breakage - probably in the brass metal connector that slides on the oil pressure sending unit's contact. Fairly easy to fix, though you may want to have an auto-electric shop deal with it unless you're comfortable with soldering and/or splicing. It won't cost an arm, leg, and your first-born. (A Honda dealership will charge more for the same work unless the service manager is your mother.) In the meantime, you're doing NO damage driving the car as is. The only caveat is that you would have no warning in the extremely unlikely event your engine sprung an oil leak and lost pressure*. (Emphasis on "extremely unlikely")
*Unfortunately automakers in an effort to cut production costs have all but erased from their collective consciousness any memory of the wisdom of installing oil pressure gauges. An oil pressure idiot light tells no tale until it's TDL - too damned late. At freeway speeds it would be the rare motorist who noticed the light in time to shut the engine down and avoid very expensive engine damage. These lights would be more properly identified instead with the legend: "Your motor just bought the farm, Jack".
The oil light started coming on just when the engine was at idle on my 92 Accord. It was an early warning (not TDL). I found out that the oil pickup screen in the oil pan was getting clogged. Took the pan off, cleaned the screen, no problem. The oil light did it's job as designed.
This is why they are called "Idiot lights". Because a glowing light will attract more attention than a dial on a gauge moving slowly. Even an Idiot will see the light glowing in his face.
To remove the passenger side bulb, grab by the bulb tail - right before the wire begins - and pull towards engine. The driver side bulb rotates same way.
The one thing the owner's manual doesn't mention is to loosen the 3 phillips-head screws. This will make the bulb housing turn *much* easier. I figured this out after much frustration and cursing ("Why isn't this ... thing turning?").
"Cars are like people, there are somethings [incessant knocking] that you just can't get out."
You just don't tell a customer that, at least give a glimmer of hope. I've had the car almost 2 months and now you [service dept.] are telling me that I am may be paying for a car that will always make noises like something out of Detroit? I may love Europe and acting European, but I am still a litigious American.
This car has a long-time problem with the engine. Namely, when I drive it at above 60 mph on the highway, it has a strange high-pitch humming coming from engine whenever I push the gas pedal. The hummming disappears when I move my foot from the gas pedal.
Honda mechanics checked it last year and told me that it's no problem as long as the humming is not very loud. But the humming is obvious for driver and passengers.
Now, the warranty for the car will be over after next 8 months. I really worry that someday the hummings become very loud and my car's engine break down while the warranty is over at that time.
Could you give me some suggestions about it. Thank you very much.
When driving in local, it has no humming. But at above 50-60 mph, it hums when I push the gas pedal even just a little bit. Actually, at cruise control, it hums.
I have another Accord, which is 96 LX. It has no such problem.
I just worry about it that someday the engine break down.
Nah - just something out of Ohio...
At 70+ MPH do you hear humming? I would assume it only hums in 5th gear when the RPMs are around/under 2,000 RPM. Find a stretch where you can take the car to 75+ MPH and find out if it hums (if you don't know). At this point, it shouldn't be bogging down (RPMs will be at 2,500+). At 50 MPH in top gear though, the engine may be lugging because the transmission went into high gear to early for the load it is trying to pull. Usually, a little dip into the throttle makes it downshift to 4th gear, and you don't hear the little "hum."
The hum I sometimes hear is really low in tone, like a bass almost... is this what you are referring to?
Thank you for your explanations. Actually, I can hear humming when I push the gas at about 50+ mph. Of course, including 70+.
The humming is just like high-pitch humming. I think it's abnormal. Maybe I need to go to another Honda dealership for checking. Do you think so?
Kind of a transmission whir/whistle sort of sound? Mine has this as well. I'm sorry for being so inquisitive, just trying to figure out if my car has the same sound yours does (I have a 2006, my father just got rid of his 2005, so I could tell you whether this sounds normal for our cars or not).
however, i would imagine anything excessive could be the result of a poor or missing exhaust hanger (those serious looking rubber grommets), contact of the exhaust system somewhere with the vehicle body, or perhaps an engine mount going or something.
Good catch, but just slightly in error. Prior generation Hondamatics had a four speed automatic transaxle with a "D3" position to prevent fourth gear overdrive engagement. Current generation Accords have a 5-sp automatic transaxle, so the shift console now has a "D4" position which prevents normal 5th gear overdrive engagement. But your post correctly highlights the possibility that the original poster is mistakenly setting his gear selector to D4 believing doing so results in normal operation instead of correctly setting the gear lever to the proper, plain "D" position which actually allows all five forward gear ranges to function for quietest and most economical engine operation. Even in the normal "D" position, the transaxle will automatically downshift to fourth gear when necessary for passing or climbing hills, but subsequently automatically upshift to fifth gear again when appropriate.
(If anyone understands all this, please explain it to me - I totally lost it after the second sentence...:confuse:)
Like I said, the noise is very slight, any conversation, rough road, or the radio drowns out the noise.
Mrbill
Nope, it is as accord6mt said, it's D-D3-2-1 in my 2006 EX I-4 5AT. No D4 position is available.
Slight excess lash (but still within factory engineering tolerances) in the transaxle's differential ring and pinion gears? Though annoying, it's harmless. (Once established, it's usually futile to attempt adjusting the noise out.) If you're still under warranty, bring it up with your dealership. They might do nothing, attempt to adjust, or replace the transaxle outright. What've you got to lose asking?
At this point, I have a while on the warranty, I bought the 04 in 05. At the level the noise is, it doesn't bother me. I'm guessing the dealer won't even hear it. I'm going to wait and see if it get's any worse. Other then that, the tranny shifts flawlessly. I'm worried that if they did replace the tranny, the next rebuilt/re manufactured tranny could be as bad or worse, or have other problems.
Mrbill
As I am getting ready to return to the dealer for my first service interval I would appreciate any info you may have found out.
Thanks
JC9821
I don't know if you're hearing the same noise my car makes, but it's possible.
Honda replaced the transmission in my '04 LX 4cyl. automatic at 4,000 miles because of a high pitched whining noise coming from the transmission. The service manager showed me a Honda article on his Web site titled "AT Whine."
I'm now at about 29,000 miles and the replacement transmission has developed a similar whine, though not quite as bad. It's definitely sensitive to throttle pressure. My take on this is that when you accelerate, you're putting pressure on the transmission's parts, causing the whine. If you let off the pedal entirely, it pretty much goes away, since you're effectively coasting, with no torque pressure on the transmission.
This fall I decided to complain to American Honda, and they simply directed me back to the dealership for another look at it, which judged it to be a normal noise for this car. (Don't you love it when they say it's normal, as if shoddy engineering or manufacturing should just be accepted.) My service manager even went out with me in a loaner with about 5,000 miles on it, and sure enough, it had a similar whine. This whole experience with American Honda, by the way, wasn't real great.
I've thought about going to the next level, the Better Business Bureau, but don't really have the will to do it.
The whine is fairly noticable when you're on a very smooth highway, but any normal highway that creates some road noise begins to drown it out, and a little Stones on the stereo usually takes care of the rest.
Both the original transmission and the replacement transmission have performed flawlessly in terms of shifting.
The thing is, this little car does so many things so well that's it's hard for me to stay mad at it, or at Honda, for long. It's just one of those things. I do feel, however, that's it's shameful for Honda engineers not to be able to do better as far as this whine is concerned.
I thought also about trading for the new model 2007 Camry V6, but if you want to see some transmission problems, check out the Camry thread here on Edmunds (2007 Camry Problems and Repairs).
I'm thinking I may trade next year for the next generation 2008 Accord, a V6 this time. That's what I intended to buy back in 2003, but Honda had a huge recall (about 1 million Accords, Pilots, and minivans) for a transmission problem.
It seems possible that this whine really is a characteristic of the car, so at least we're not alone. And it doesn't seem to be a safety issue -- there's been no recall on it.
Don't know if this helps, but that's my three-year experience with the problem.
Mrbill
please pass the brie, chutney and table crackers.
Search the forums, there are many who have had the radio replaced at no charge well beyond the warranty period.
Like you this problem confounded me; after some research I found that Honda, for one, crams as many functions as it can into as few wires as possible ("multiplex" wiring) for weight and cost considerations. One such wiring system is the Accord headunit's which combines the center console lighting. The outsource vendor's engineering and QA evidently fell short in this case.
I'm sure Panasonic is footing the bill for the new head units (at least), I don't think they want to loose Honda's business. Honda is probably eating the labor costs, or charging customers for a little labor, if the warranty is over. Honda could make the customers pay the whole thing (after warranty), but that's not the way they do business. They know repeat customers are very valuable.
any advice
Note:
no honda dealer tech service on my island