Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

yingyang006 · January 2006

I recently purchased the 2006 LX special edition 4-cyl. The car is so new I havent passed the break in period yet, it's only got like 525 miles on it. The car is really awesome and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I have however experienced very poor gas mileage on it. I filled up the tank and it's down to 3/8 of a tank, but I've only gotten 150 miles or so in city driving. This is far from the 24 mpg rating. At this rate it's only about 14 mpg! I figure maybe it's cause its the winter and I know cars are supposed to use up more fuel in the winter, or maybe it's cause it hasn't passed the break in period? I don't rev the engine excessively nor to I accelerate very hard (I can't do so even if i wanted since it isnt past the break in period anyway). Has anyone else had this problem at all? Should I take the car to a dealer and have it inspected? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

neumie2000 · January 2006

Thanks for the info. I have seen that bulletin before, but noticed that it did not say anything about an extended warranty on the trans. HondaCare can be purchased up to 3 years or 36K miles from in service date, but there will be a $100 deductible. I'll call the dealer and find out. Thanks again.

ramida · January 2006

Same here.

I have a 2006 Accord SE with 2800 miles on it. I'm only getting 23 MPG for 60-40 city-hwy mixed driving. My previous car (03 Accord LX 5-speed Manual) was averaging 28 MPG on this same route.

I'm very disappointed.

ramida

timothyaw · January 2006

Hey guys you're still in your break-in period. You typically don't get good gas mileage during the first 5k-10k. Just give it a little time, it should get better.

user777 · January 2006

short answer, no. probably no long-term effect you'll notice.

consider yourself lucky. other people with other makes claim a completely dead battery when internal lights left on.

i've left ALL my lights on in my ODY overnight and no problems.

if you deeply discharge a battery, i think an alternator may be insufficient to re-charge it - in that scenario I think you must use an external battery charger. if deeply discharged, perhaps it will incurr permanent reduction in capacity, but to be honest, i'm not sure.

doesn't sound like you have a problem.

thegraduate · January 2006

This is somewhat true...mine improved on average by about 5-10%. On highway at a steady 75 mph I get 36mpg (no A/C running), in mixed city/hwy driving I'm averaging 28mpg. In my first 2k miles I averaged 25-27 in the mixed route.

Someone earlier posted that they filled up with 3/8 of a tank left. You can't use the gas gauge as a judge, use the digits on the pump readout. Do:

Miles since fillup / Gallons at current fillup

to get proper mileage figures. My car reads half a tank after 7 gallons. Half a tank would technically be more than 8.5 gallons, so it is somewhat pessimistic in its display. It does this so at "E" you have a cusion to fill up.

yingyang006 · January 2006

what's considered the break in period then? the manufacturer states 600 miles.. just curious

yingyang006 · January 2006

I have actually filled up already once (i'm only on my second tank of gas haha) and even using the figure on the gas pump to calculate my gas mileage, (it was approx 13 gallon fill up for about 275 miles, the odo was 125 when i got it, odo reading now is about 550 with 150 miles on trip meter since last fill up) it was only about 21mpg. However, this was actually mostly highway driving with some city mixed in. This isnt as bad, but still really horrible for mixed driving. And you're right about the cushion, I filled up when the low fuel light went on and it seemed like honda decided the cushion should be about 4 gallons. I asked one of my friends who is a car enthusiast and he suggested I take it into a dealer, but I don't want to walk in emptyhanded and get a whole lot of BS from the dealer.

blane · January 2006

The initial , basic, break-in period is 600 miles according to your Owner's Manual. That's the time that you should treat it very carefully... no racing, no steady speeds, etc. But your engine will not be fully broken in for several thousand miles.

yingyang006 · January 2006

thanks for the tip, so assuming i will get better mileage after break in, are the figures i have already stated completely ridiculous? or is it just expected to be that way during initial and full break in periods?

blane · January 2006

Sure, IF it is an accurate figure, 14 mpg is very low. However, you can't judge by a single fillup due to variables. For instance, you really cannot know exactly how full the tank was when you first drove off of the dealer's lot.

Try this. Fill your tank completely. Drive normally until your low fuel indicator illuminates, while keeping track of the exact number of miles travelled since the fillup (that should be somewhat over 350 miles). Fill your tank completely. Divide the number of miles driven (to the tenth of a mile) by the number of gallons you purchased (to the tenth of a gallon). That will be your miles per gallon figure. Do that for at least three tankfulls and average the numbers. Only after that exercise will you have a good idea of your car's average fuel consumption.

It will improve over time, but not dramatically.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2006

I don't think your mileage will improve *dramatically* after break-in. If you consistently get that mileage up to say 1500--2,000 miles, there's something wrong.

imidazol97 · February 2006

Improvement in gas mileage is an unlikely event as cars break in past the first few thousand miles. The compression increases up to about 4-5000 miles; after that it is operating as efficienctly as possible. The octane requirements go up at that point but the car is designed to compensate for the fuels you put in. From there on it's all downhill in octane requirement due to compression ratio.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2006

I am noticing slight improvements in fuel mileage as my car breaks in but it's already leveling off at 1,800 miles. I'd say it improved perhaps 5-10% max.

blane · February 2006

Shifty,

Care to tell us about your new wheels?

Mr_Shiftright · February 2006

thanks but it's off topic!

Shifty

lastwraith · February 2006

I second user777s comments. Car batteries (unless they are specifically deep cycle) do not usually respond well to deep discharges mainly because of the recharging process afterward. The best thing to do with a deeply discharged battery is to charge it slowly on an external charger. However, I have had older batteries in the past and the majority of them were fine even after a deep discharge (alternator failure, etc). Your battery, and whole car for that matter, being so new means you can rest easy.

Best to remind the hubby to leave the lights off next time though

ezshift5 · February 2006

..using the 'normal' 7500 mile service interval ('05 AV-6 6 MT).

..appreciate y'alls feedbag vis-a-vi: anticipated dealer cost for 15k service........

...recall initial 7.5k service $28 American near the university.........great car.

best...ez..

viper168 · February 2006

I have a 2003 Accord I4 with Auto, my wife driving it to and from work, mostly hwy driving without traffic jam, and I've got 23-24mpg. They fixed the check engine light problem due to fuel burn too lean problem, but after they fixed it, same mileage. it is a comfy, good handling car, expected a reliable, but for a I4 with 23mpg, IMO is way to low for a new car. BTW, my friend's 2000 V6 got 22mpg with a lot of traffic jam and mostly city driving, and my 16 years old camry got 29mpg. EPA should change how they rate MPG, it is really meaningless and misleading to buyer.

user777 · February 2006

FWIW: 2002 Accord I4 wAT, I'm getting I believe just shy of 30MPG with 80%HWY / 20% CITY. On a recent long distance HWY only drive, I think my wife and I got 34 at 75MPH average speed.

carwala · February 2006

Sorry for the late reply, but I wanted to make sure I get it right.

Yes, I see this problem while driving on the perfectly level road. I definitely see the problem (breaking while de-accelerating), but it comes and goes. which is going to make it hard to get it fixed. btw - Just crossed 1000 miles.

Right after I bought the car, for few days I noticed this problem at around 25 miles speed. I took an appointment with the dealer (the earliest one was after one week). In the mean while the symptoms stopped. When I went to the dealer, he did road test with me, but could not reproduce the problem. He told me that he hasn't seen this problem reported on Accords yet.

Now again for last 3-4 days I see this problem. If I go above 45 and then let go the gas, at exactly 38, I feel the sudden break in the speed. Same happens If I let go the gas pedal above 30, the car breaks at 25.

Could it be the faulty Grand Logic Chip? I have taken another appointment with a different dealer. Will keep you posted.

One more point about actually applying breaks. When I apply little hard breaks (not TOO hard), at 25 miles, say at red light, I notice that the car comes to complete stop and THEN moves little ahead as the breaks let go a little. I know this is how ABS is supposed to work to prevent locked breaks, But I never felt that in my Mazda MPV which has ABS as well.

hnguyen1 · February 2006

I have a 06 Accord LX V6 (1800 miles). I also have this braking problem when decelerating even on leveled road. I thought it had something to do with the brake-assist feature, but since you're going to the dealer, please let me know what they say...

I also have the long cranks when starting; there has been a few times in which I thought the car won't start at all, but somehow it managed to start at the last second.

And the latest problem I have is the odometer keeps on flashing "check fuel cap." It just happened today, I checked the fuel cap, tried to tighten it until I heard 2-3 clicks but the message doesn't go away. The tank shows 1/4 left so I'll try to fill up the tank before heading to a dealer...So much for the reliability of Honda...sigh

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

I have a 2003 Accord EX-L with 6MT w/Navi with Nighthawk Blk paint. (Set of problems listed with my car at bottom)

It's funny but my father was asking why I had ashy flakes on my car and I took a close look at my hood and notice a bunch of microscopic white/gray spot. I had not paid too much attention because I drive alot(62K) and thought it couldn't have been mosquito debree, but it's not,crap.

I have found a couple of other people with the same problem and I think because my car color is dark, it can be noticed. Here I thought my care needed a polish or a buff job, guess it's a new paint job for me.

My question? What can be done about this issue, what resolution came about in your efforts?

Another Question: I want to get tinted windows but I heard that there is a flaw with the design of the window for the accord and it ends up getting badly scratched. Does anybody know or heard of this?

Other Problems I have experienced:
1. Plastic Vynal peeling on exterior window trim(Dealer has fixed them on both driver and passenger 4 times)
2. Door panel rattle on my "cool 180watt 6 cd changer" when hearing music and not even that loudly (Dealer ended up replacing both door panels, better but rattle is still there)
3. Inside front window pilar material fabric is starting to "bubble" (After huffing and puffing dealer owner has agreed to change it out at no charge)

4. TCS light ! would stay on as a result from a bad break switch.

5. DRIVERSIDE auto switch did not work properly, the window would go up and inch and go back down. (I took it to dealer and they sprayed WD-40 on the interior window guide and it worked however not good enough for me. So I huffed and I puffed at service manger and he agreed to change both doors and no charge.

A CALL FOR HELP TO HONDA, YOU WERE MY VERY FIRST CAR I PURCHED THAT WAS NEW. I decided to buy American and support our economy so I bought my an American assembled Honda from I think your Maryland plant. I was the first cat in Los Angles California to role big on you Coupe EX-L 6MT with Navi and I love my car but I am hating the defects I so much laughed at others that have GM's and Fords. You should do the right thing and fix my issues for free and I will continue to defend you as one of the best Japanese vehicles and you could even take my picture with my big smile and post it on your website under the satisfied customer posting with my free Honda T-Shirt.

I know I wrote alot but it's all true and in a way it was kind of theraputic to get it all out with hopes that someone will forward my plee the the right people at Honda, ahhh, wishfull thinking I guess.

-Johnnybgood75

:lemon:

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

I took a close look at my hood the other day and notice a bunch of microscopic white/gray spots. It looks as if I have been through a bad dessert storm and got sand blasted. I had not paid too much attention because I drive a lot of freeway (62K) and thought it couldn't have been mosquito debris, but it's not, crap.

Other Problems I have experienced: 1. Plastic Vinyl peeling on exterior window trim (Dealer has fixed them on both driver and passenger 4 times)
2. Door panel rattle on my "cool 180watt 6 cd changer" when hearing music and not even that loudly (Dealer ended up replacing both door panels, better but rattle is still there)
3. Inside front window pillar material fabric is starting to "bubble" (After huffing and puffing dealer owner has agreed to change it out at no charge)
4. TCS light ! Would stay on as a result from a bad break switch.
5. DRIVERSIDE auto switch did not work properly, the window would go up and inch and go back down. (I took it to dealer and they sprayed WD-40 on the interior window guide and it worked however not good enough for me. So I huffed and I puffed at service manger and he agreed to change both doors and no charge.

A CALL FOR HELP TO HONDA, YOU WERE MY VERY FIRST CAR I PURCHASED AT A WOPPING AMOUT OF MULA. I decided to buy American and support our economy as well as Japan's so my American Accord was built in your Maryland plant. I was the first cat in Los Angles California to role big on your Coupe EX-L 6MT with Navi and I love my car but I hate the defects damper my experience with my first buy after college. You should do the right thing and fix my issues for free and I will continue to defend you as one of the best Japanese vehicles and you could even take my picture with my big smile and post it on your website under the satisfied customer posting with my free Honda T-Shirt. I know I wrote a lot but it's all true and in a way it was kind of therapeutic to get it all out with hopes that someone will forward my plea the right people at Honda, ahhh, wishful thinking I guess.

-johnnybgood75
:shades:

yingyang006 · February 2006

Just to follow up on the problem, I filled up on my third tank of gas just today with 13.722 Gallons, but the miles counted on my trip meter since my second fill up was 201.9 miles. I calculated my fuel economy with these numbers and came up with 14.71 mpg...this figure seems consistent with my estimate for the fuel economy I got when i filled up on my second tank of gas, although i didn't calculate that figure as precisely as the one I posted this time. This figure is definitely not normal at all, even for city driving during the break in period. I just passed the 600 mile mark on the odometer. There was no way I could have driven aggressively during the break in period, so this figure seems even more outrageous... I want to take the car to the dealer to have it inspected, but I want to know more about the situation before I do so. Anyone have any ideas why my fuel economy is coming out more like that of a huge SUV instead of an accord?

steve58 · February 2006

Hey J75, I'll chime in with you! Honda paint and finish is a CRIME! My front end is becoming a chipped up mess. I am getting ready to go to a ding and chip company , although this is only a temporary fix .There will be more. Sound like your dealer cares though.

mrbill1957 · February 2006

Is your car a 4 or 6 cyl?

The 6 cyl models have plastic hoods, where the 4 cyl have metal hoods. My 04 has the metal hood, and no problems with the paint so far. I wonder if the problem is just with the plastic hoods.

Mrbill

haefr · February 2006

Keep one thing in mind about city driving. Everytime you're stopped at a traffic signal, you are getting ZERO miles per gallon. The extra gasoline injected to get a stationary car rolling, even if you don't have a lead foot, impacts fuel economy negatively, too. When I purchased my Sonata V6 in late 2002, the EPA fuel estimate on the MSRP sticker listed 19 city/27 highway. My first several tankfulls in the city hovered around 13-14 mpg. The first lengthy over-the-road trip at ~300 miles into break-in returned a dismal, just barely, 24 mpg. Now, at over 18,000 miles, I'm routinely seeing 21+ mpg in the city (A/C on), and 31+ on the highway (A/C and cruise control on). I doubt my results are unique, nor specifically brand related. I use only 87 pump octane ARCO gasoline. For those of you with under 1,000 miles on your new cars, be patient. Further break-in miles past the nominal break-in period DO make a difference. You do not have to continue driving at reduced speeds after the nominal break-in period, but don't get the idea that all moving parts are finally and completely aligned to their mating surfaces, either.

user777 · February 2006

i'd suggest people also be mindful that when vehicles are originally delivered, the tires may or may not be inflated for maximum mileage. some people like a softer ride and run with less tire pressure. some prefer a firmer ride and run a few pounds less (checked when cold) than the max rating on the tirewall.

low tire pressure will negatively affect mileage. it might not represent many MPH, but a lead foot, air resistance at high speed, dirty air filter, underinflated tires, A/C...it all adds up (or rather takes away) from mileage.

blane · February 2006

mrbill1957,

You wrote, "6 cyl models have plastic hoods"

Where did that information come from? Gee, mine must therefore be the only V6 made by Honda in the past few years with a metal hood. It will probably be worth lots of money as a one-of-a-kind on the antique market in about 25 years.

By the way, the paint on the metal hood of my 2004 Accord Coupe is in perfect condition after about 25,000 miles.

mrbill1957 · February 2006

I'm only going by what I was told by 2 people that have 6 cyl with the plastic hoods. I guess that some do and some don't have plastic hoods.

I never personally looked at them myself to verify they are. I think that one of the cars is an 03 coupe.

Maybe they stopped using them after 03?

Mrbill

jhuckaby · February 2006

I have a 2005 Accord LX. Today the odometer keeps flashing "check fuel cap" as does yours. I checked, it's still there. Removed and replaced the cap several times, turned the car off and cranked back up, message still there. I even went to the auto parts store and bought a replacement gas cap, message still there. Looks like the gasket on the original cap is torn, so I'm sure there's a pressure leak there. Will take car to dealership tomorrow and let them figure it out. Hard to believe such a cheap gasket on a gas cap! Maybe they know of some way to reset the code that I don't.

hnguyen1 · February 2006

I took mine to a dealer and they said it usually would go away after a week (it took a certain # of key starts...) I'm not sure if that's true or maybe they were just BSing to get me to go home since I came without making an appointment. They also tell me to either to return on Monday so they can turn the message off or return in a week if it doesn't go away.

My car is only 1 month old, but I truly think there's something wrong either in the cap or the sensor. I filled up my tank last Sunday, drove around for 5 days without any warning. But all of the sudden, the warning popped up on Friday night. If the warning popped up right after I filled up the gas, then I'd understand maybe I didn't screw the cap in tight enough, but it took 5 days for it to appear.

I really want to make sure they truly fix the problem (either the casket or the sensor), rather than just disable the feature. For me, there's no point of the feature if all they do is turn off the feature so the warning goes away.

Please keep me posted of your experience w/the dealer. I will take my car there this upcoming weekend and hope they actually fix the problem.

yingyang006 · February 2006

I only have a four cylinder engine on the accord special edition... You were getting similar figures on a V6 engine. According to your estimates, I will have to wait over a year before I get close to the rated MPG fuel efficiency. This is the first time I've purchased a new car, is it normal to have to wait that long? 14.71 city mpg vs 24 city mpg rated for my car, I don't know, even factoring in everything that negatively affects fuel economy, tire pressure (my tire pressure is fine), stop and go traffic, break in period, extra gas to accelerate, even all of that doesnt seem like it should decrease the fuel efficiency by 10 miles per gallon. Any other opinions? I'm still just curious about what else would would cause this to happen. Anyone else experience such drastic decreases during the nominal break in period on this car?

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

I had the same problem occur about a week ago when my 03 Accord was in for a problem with the driver side lock actuator. I as soon as I was driving home from the service dept. I notice my auto switch on driver side did not work unless I kept holding the button.

The next day I went to the dealer and found that the side window guides had accumulated dirt and somehow was interfering with the window using the auto switch. The dealer tested the switch and it was good so the tech sprayed WD-40 and it worked. I however did not like this solution and voiced it to the service manager and he decided to replace the parts on both doors just in case.

Possible solution is to spray some kind of lubricant that will be safe especially if you have tint, try a silicone base lubricant or replace the rubber guides on the side of your window.

-Johnnybgood75 :shades:

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

I had the same distortion problem with what I thought was my speaker on my 03 accord EX-L.

The issue is a poor design in the door panel if you apply some pressure to the door panel you will see that the distortion will stop. I had my dealer try to fix it a couple of times until they replaced both door panels and it went away for a full two weeks and yes it's back.

I have given up to fix this because the service guys look at me like I'm crazy and besides they just take my care for a whole day and tell me they could not duplicate problem. This time the distortion isn't as bad but it's still there.

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

Based on the weight and feel I would have to guess that my hood is metal and I have a 6cyl

neumie2000 · February 2006

My wife's '03 Accord V6 had the long cranking issue as well. Like you said, sometimes it would sound like it was not going to start at all, but it too has always managed to start. For what its worth, we experienced this issue for the first 12K miles, and then, just as it came, it went away. We have about 30K on it now, and the problem just is not there anymore. I do not subscribe to the "problems just work themselves out" theory, but it seems to apply in this case. Try and give it some time and see if it improves. Not that this is helpful at all....but good to know others have (or are) experiencing the same issue.

thegraduate · February 2006

I took mine to a dealer and they said it usually would go away after a week (it took a certain # of key starts...) I'm not sure if that's true or maybe they were just BSing to get me to go home since I came without making an appointment.

The dealer was telling you exactly right. Same thing happened in our 2005 model. After a week or so, it stopped. It takes a while for the engine to understand that pressures aren't ideal, plus the fact that pressure in the gas tank changes as fuel burns off, so the problem may not have surfaced until Friday, no? There is nothing wrong with your gas cap or what the dealer is telling you...just make sure you click the cap the recommended number of times. Take a deep breath...its not a lemon.

bquan · February 2006

Went to get my 37,500 mile tune up on my 2003 Honda Accord. Service dept calls me up and tells me that I have 20% of my brakes left on the rear set. I didn't think that the brakes would wear down that quick. I have gone to the dealership for all scheduled checks and it seems strange that this would happen all of a sudden. I did notice before that sometimes when I braked the pedal would pulse a bit and it felt that the tires were rumbling. Is this normal. I am past any warranty but have the extended warranty. Any you you guys getting low miles or troubles from your brakes?

thegraduate · February 2006

This happened on my dad's 2005 EX. He had to have new pads installed at 12,000 miles. Apparently, some of the pads installed at the factory weren't heavy duty like they should be...He know has 38,000 miles on the car (26,000 on the new front brakes) and no problems. After replacement with "genuine honda pads", he has had no problems or grinding like he did before.

jhuckaby · February 2006

I took a closer look at the fuel cap. Looks like the gasket is torn. Have an appointment Wednesday for the dealership to check. Will post again when I find out what they find out. Seems odd the "check fuel cap" message did not come on until the next day after filling up.

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

The same issure with my 03 EX-L, I was surprise how little life I got

bmbrplt · February 2006

I replaced the rear disc pads on my 2004 Accord at 32000. I thought that was rather early, and that it was strange that the rears wore thin before the fronts. The dealer wanted $150 bucks to replace the pads, so I did it myself.
The rear pistons require a tool to rotate them back into the wheel cylinders, and Auto Zone will lend you the tool.

bmbrplt · February 2006

Anybody have trouble removing the original low beam headlamp bulbs. The book says a quarter turn counter clockwise, but I couldn't get the bulb housing to budge. :confuse: TIA

thegraduate · February 2006

Did you attempt to get that covered under warranty by your dealer? It is wear and tear, yes, but it is obviously premature, espcially since they went before your fronts (which should always go out first).

snakehair · February 2006

Replaced my rear pads at 43K. They were down to wear indicator minus thumbnail thickness. The rear pads are thinner and smaller than the front. With electronic brake force distribution they take on more of the load than you would expect. Expect them to wear out as fast if not a bit faster than front pads. Rears are not prone to the dreaded vibration the front gets from warped rotors. Piston can be turned back in with large screwdriver. OEM pads are semi-ceramic and organic. New pads are better than original installed. Dealer replaced my front pads and rotors under warranty at 36K. Wanted too much for "worn" rear pads. Did them myself at 43K+.

rcc8179 · February 2006

Anybody have trouble removing the original low beam headlamp bulbs. The book says a quarter turn counter clockwise, but I couldn't get the bulb housing to budge. TIA

I had to replace a headlight bulb last year and had the same problem. After much frustration (and swearing), I realized that there are 2 (I think) philips-head screws--one on either side of the bulb. Loosen the screws a couple turns and the bulb will turn. Good luck.

joon · February 2006

I have never heard an Accord doing 14.7 mpg. Do you live in the East Coast or the Midwest? If it is very cold, it could be part of the reason, but still 14.7 mpg seems very low. In sunny California, my 05' 4 cyl AT gets mid 20's on city driving and mid 30's on freeway driving at 70-75 mph. When I used to live in the Midwest, I remember fuel economy was noticeable worse during the cold winter months. I would take get it checked.

yingyang006 · February 2006

I live in the Chicago area, I was getting 14.7 in city only driving. From what others have said so far, it might be so low due to the fact that it's still in break in period. I have about 615 miles on the odometer now. But it just seems to me that it's still really ridiculous even factoring in the break in period, cold weather, and city driving. Our weather recently has actually been very warm compared to normal winters. In the upper 30's farenheit at the low end and sometimes getting almost 50 farenheit in the day. Thanks for the tip, I guess I'll have the dealer take a look at it and hope they don't give me a lot of BS. Anyone else experience fuel economy like this?

Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

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