Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

nash123 · February 2006

I have an 05 LX Sedan with 2000 miles on it (bought it in July of 05) and have the same issues, I live in Chicago too. My results are not good either, but I want to take a road trip before I come to some conclusion, since I drive the car only on the weekends and put little mileage on it.

jhuckaby · February 2006

Was at the dealership for 45 minutes. Code P1456; tear in fuel cap gasket. Replaced gas cap, ran function test, system normal. Warranty covered replacement, problem solved, happy customer!

jeffyscott · February 2006

I believe CR measured 16 mpg in city driving for 4 cyl Accord. So 14.7 in true city driving should not be that surprising. If this is more like suburban driving then I'd expect a lot better mileage than that from any 4 cyl engine.

mamamia2 · February 2006

The real test of any car's gas-milage is on long, highway trips. If you take your car for a 3-4 hour steady drive, trying to maintain a steady speed.

You'll be amased at the results. I know I was on my V6... Terrible MPG when driving around home and work (less than 20) and about 30 mpg when doing the highway trip.

exlodie1 · February 2006

I just replaced low beams with SilverStar bulbs. You have to take the electrical connector off first. The bulbs will then turn. Just as a note, I was able to reach the passenger side from under the hood but for the driver's side, I had to take some of the plastic clips off that hold the plastic fender wheel well cover and got to it that way.

mitko · February 2006

To all guys complaining about Honda's paint quality. My car is a Accord LX V6 coupe 2003 silver color with 21000 miles. So far I have no problems with the paint, but I hand wash the car every week, wax it every 2 months and clean the paint with a clay bar twice per year. Most of the time the car is parked outside but still looks brand new. So before to start complaining think first what kind of care you took for your car.

w5gcx · February 2006

My 2005 LX 4-cyl pulled to the right at 2000 mi. Dealer aligned it. STill pulled. breaks alsoo pulsed at high speeds. They turned the rotors and put on new pads telling me that dragging break rotor would make the car pull to that side. better but not gone. Then they changed the 2 front tires and aligned it. Still there.

now at 8000 mi they have aligned it and adjusted the position of the shock mount. Now its good. I hope my tires don't wear too much.'

frustrating !! My '98 eX V6 is much better on steering !

eg

hnguyen1 · February 2006

Good

Mine disappeared on its own as the dealer suggested. But the starting problem still persists. Reading from other readers' posts, I'll just wait for another few months to see how it goes since it always managed to start.

phisher · February 2006

Does anyone have any ideas on a possible steering problem? My 05 accord tended to ride a little bumpy after 6,000 mile. now though at higher highway speeds 65+ it will start to vibrate enough to get little thing like my keys to shake in the ignition. This is really annoying when the radio is off and we are trying to get my 6 month old to sleep. The other thing I've noticed is at low city speeds when I take my hands off the steering wheel (only to check this problem) the wheel will move back and forth about 3 degrees in a pulsating motion that will speed up as the car does and slow down when the car does. Is this an alignment problem, wheel out of balance? And will this be covered under warranty? I only have 11,000 miles on the car. Any ideas would be appreciated.

stickguy · February 2006

the most likely thing is a wheel needing to be balanced. Try that first, and if it doesn't help, move on to other items (suspension, etc).

I think they might cover it under warranty for 12K, but don't hold me to that. Check with the dealer. At least a wheel balancing isn't too expensive.

mamamia2 · February 2006

You start with the front wheels balanced (inexpensive and easy to do), then if the problem persists, I'd check front-end alignment, which should cost you about $65.

Both would probably NOT be covered by your warranty, but you can always try, you'vr nothing to lose...

mrbill1957 · February 2006

If you have the tires rebalanced, ask whomever does the work to keep a close eye on the tires themselves. The steel cords can get damaged from a pothole or road debris.

I had to get a tire replaced after hitting a section of guard rail that was laying on the highway. It didn't cause any cuts, but created an egg shaped lump right in the middle of the tread. That gave the front end the shake as you describe. I could not see the lump in the tire until I rotated them and then spun it on the back of the car while it was up in the air.

Mrbill

car_crazy1 · February 2006

I had the same problem a while back on my 2002 honda accord se. I went crazy like you... i leave my hands... it kind of goes in a wrong direction on a flat road... i hold my hands on the steering, it pulsates and even after i come home, my hands still feel that... car ride is not silent...

anyway, for the new tires that i got, i had all of them changed under warranty first because sometimes, a minor tire problem can cause this issue and such things cant be detected. your best way to detect it is to do a "X" model rotation of tires and see the change on the steering wheel. if it shifts, then you know that its a tire issue. costco does this rotation for free if you are a member.

remember, if you are having three new and one old tire, this can happen. in that case you have to buy two new to make it even....

get the four rims on your car checked. one of them could be slightly bent due to some road hit.... its difficult to detect that.

next, attempt to check the pressure. when the car has not been driven more than 1mile, it should be 30 psi all and if its driven more than 1mile when you check your pressure, it should be 4+ psi. I suspect if your cars tire pressure is a bit more but since you are saying left and right movement, this might be contributing and not the main cause. Not all guages are accurate.

next, if the above dont work, get wheel balancing and alignment done at honda and ensure that steering is centered when they do alignment .

next, get POWER wheel balancing done at honda. this feature is not there with outside firms like 'just tires'.. i tried outside 6 times with no use and then claimed a refund and got it done at honda and it worked. You will hear thousands of opinions debating this but i saw the difference between those two.

next, if the steering vibration is more when braking, get the rotors checked for too much grooving...

one of the above will fix your problem.
good luck.. i spent two months attempting different things to fix this problem.... when everyone kept saying that they could not find anything...

blane · February 2006

mitko,

You... "wax it every 2 months"? That must be killing your fuel mileage with all of that added weight.

mamamia2 · February 2006

...But then waxing it every 2 months must be good excercise for mitko. His Accord is adding weight, while mitko is loosing weight.

...See, that's how he ends up getting the SAME gas mileage.

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

Let's be real about things, first of all I do take care of my car's finish. I do wax it and I have clayed it once since I purchased the car and even polished the paint. Paint should stay on even though you don't do these things. As long as you was your car with decent soap, you shouldn't worry about your paint falling off. Most if not all people don't go to all the trouble of waxing and claying and their paint doesn't fall off, their paint might not look as good as new but it still there fairly good shape. If it was a requirement to clay your car the dealer or Honda should state in big red bold letters stating "Warning if you don't clay, your paint will fall apart in a couple of years", thats bull crap. Anyway here is a possible scenario for you stop waxing and claying for 6 months and take a good look at your paint, will you feel confident it will hold??? I don't think so and you know what you should have to second guess your paint if you don't clay. There is however a difference between defective and neglect, this issue in my case is a defect since I do take car my cars finished.

mamamia2 · February 2006

Washing, yes, waxing, yes, polishing... well, not too frequently, please...

BUT WHAT IN THE WORLD IS "CLAYING"??? Never heard of that before.

another_person · February 2006

claying is using a special clay that removes junk from your clear coat with out being abrasive like polishes. It's safer the polishes because it doesn't polish away your clear coat/paint. However, after claying, you MUST wax (or even better zaino) your car.

mamamia2 · February 2006

...So Claying is good only on NEW cars, isn't it. Since the Clear Coat fades away after a couple years, isn't just applying Wax enough on older cars?

And where do you buy Clay, under what name? Have never seen such a product in any automotive parts store...

imidazol97 · February 2006

Clearcoat doesn't fade away. It protects the actual color layers of the paint that are underneath it.

I used clay on my newer car a year or so back. It's great. It uses a lube sprayed on and you rub the clay glob over the paint and you can feel the rough material that has attached to the surface rub free--even after a good wash job. The spray is a detailing spray that's included with the bar. Check at Pep Boys and Advance Auto. I think I got McGuires. The clay and spray was enough to do almost 3 cars.

I sort of laughed at claying on the discussion here about detailing as overkill. It's great. Then when you wax the job is so easy becasue the surface is SLICK.

mamamia2 · February 2006

Thanks, imidazo. I'll check it out next time I am at Pep Boys.

imidazol97 · February 2006

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ee9960b/3560
Search for clay in this discussion.

I bought Clay Magic based on price. Apparently you can buy the clay from 3M without the spray and use your own. I liked what I got.

blane · February 2006

Great point mamamia. Why didn't I think of that?

another_person · February 2006

actually, for those that do want to mix there own solution, it's basically just a cap full (tablespoon) of regular car wash soap to about a 16 oz spray bottle and just use that as your lubricant. Nothing special, just car wash soap and water.

phisher · February 2006

Thank you for all the suggestions. I brought the car into a tire shop today and had them pull the front tires off. The inside of the front passenger tire had a good size dent in the rim. a trip to the junk yard or the politically correct term auto recycling center and a little lighter in the pocket book and the problem was solved. Now when my 7 month old is fussy on those long rides and my wife tries to get her to sleep by having me turn off the radio I'll be able to listen to only a crying baby and the hum of the engine No more annoying keys shaking. After 6 months the crying becomes background noise Thanks again everyone.

voicemailking · February 2006

Have a 2005 exl with nav, purchased in march of 2005, drivers side seat is ripping in the seam...It is leather, i have had at least 5 or 6 cars with leather and never had this problem...anyone else have this, as it looks like wear, and it is definitely NOT....Any feedback will be appreciated!!! Thanks in advance.

Steve

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

sciman10 · February 2006

From previous posts and by talking to a salesman at our local dealership I learned that earlier Accords with the V6 engine sometimes had faulty automatic transmissions. Have these problems been addressed and how sound is the transmission in the 2006 Accord EX V6? The salesman I talked to told me that Honda came out with a new transmission for the V6 a couple years back that took care of the problem. He also said that Honda covered a number of the faulty transmissions after warranties had run out. This says a lot but is he right? I don't want to buy a car with a weak transmission so comments by anyone with knowledge in this area are appreciated.

Mike

thegraduate · February 2006

The warranty on the faulty transmissions has been greatly extended. Honda has supposedly (who really knows) addressed the transmission issue, and is not experiencing the same troubles it did before 2005.

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

Check with your service center, I was told if that should happen, it would be covered under factor warranty.

I have leather on my 03 version of you car and my seets still look preety good. :shades:

blane · February 2006

Those concerns were addressed having to do only with 2003 and early 2004 V6 Accords. They only affected specific VINs.

minamora · February 2006

:lemon:

Hello,

I turned on the car this morning and set the airflow to maximum, set the temperature to high, and felt no air (hot or cold) coming from the two central vents; the side vents were working OK.

Some air was able to escape through the windshield vent even though the front and rear defoggers were off. The strangest thing was when
I turned the temperature down to match the ambient temperaure of the cabin (74' at the time): there was a marked increase in flow from the center. But one uptick in temperaure setting (to 75') completely killed the flow that I had at 74'! What's going on?

neumie2000 · February 2006

If you were using the Accord's "auto" feature, the car chooses the vents that the air will come from. For example, if you are heating the car, the air will blow onto the windshield and on your feet. When you try to cool the car, it will blow toward your face. My guess is that what you experienced was due to this feature. When you tried to heat the car, air flow was directed toward your feet and the windshield. When you brought the temperature down, it was directed toward your face. Try using the button that changes the direction of the air flow and see if it responds. Sounds like if your system was on auto, it is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. Hope this helps! By the way...air was coming out the side vents to try to defog or defrost your side windows.

car_crazy1 · February 2006

I used to own a 2002 honda accord se and now i upgraded to a 2006 honda accord exl. i find that the heater in the new one is not as powerful as the one in 2002 or may be because i am now using an auto feature , i find it like that versus the 2002 being a manual one.

stickguy · February 2006

I have an '05 EX-L, and I have never had a car that put out so much heat so quickly. I don't leave the CC in the full auto mode though. I guess I have it semi-automatic, but once the heat temp is higher than the ambient temp in the cabin, it cranks.

timothyaw · February 2006

People as said earlier about paint, it's NOT happening just on Honda's it's all manufacturers cars. It's that lead based paint is not used anymore because of government regulation. They used water based paint. That's why cars years ago had better paint and it lasted alot longer.

natenj1971 · February 2006

That happened with my 2001 (seam separation). NJ Dealer service said no problem - ordered a new seat cover and replaced under warrenty. Hope you get the same response!

thegraduate · February 2006

What neumie2000 said about the Auto function of your accord was correct. The last two Odyssey's I've driven operated the same way also.

Hello,

I turned on the car this morning and set the airflow to maximum, set the temperature to high, and felt no air (hot or cold) coming from the two central vents; the side vents were working OK.
Some air was able to escape through the windshield vent even though the front and rear defoggers were off. The strangest thing was when
I turned the temperature down to match the ambient temperaure of the cabin (74' at the time): there was a marked increase in flow from the center. But one uptick in temperaure setting (to 75') completely killed the flow that I had at 74'! What's going on?

carwala · February 2006

Today finally went to the dealer. Mechanic did a road test with me. First he drove for 10 mins and them I drove it for 10 more, both on highway and local roads.

I was able to reproduce the breaking problem while decelerating at both around 38 and 25.

Mechanic said that he felt the car driving normal and what I experience is just the downshift from 4 --> 3 (at 39) and 3 --> 2 (at 25). According to him this is how Honda feels.

Since this is my first Honda, I have no way to compare. (I have a Mazda MPV.. and had Corolla and few other American cars I don't even remember).

I will try to test drive my friends Hondas for comparison. Will let you know the results. May be this is how Honda is supposed to feel.

I don't think your problem has anything to do with Brake Assist Feature.. since it's supposed to work only when you actually apply the breaks.

Also I think I don't really have the Long Crank problem. I felt like it initially for a few days .. but it doesn't really take any more time that my other vehicle.

haefr · February 2006

"I used to own a 2002 honda accord se and now i upgraded to a 2006 honda accord exl. i find that the heater in the new one is not as powerful as the one in 2002 or may be because i am now using an auto feature , i find it like that versus the 2002 being a manual one."

I suspect in automatic mode your new car is cycling the A/C compressor to prevent condensation forming on the inside glass surfaces. Try operating the heater in the manual mode. If you notice significantly better heat output that way, it confirms my speculation.

haefr · February 2006

"It's that lead based paint is not used anymore because of government regulation. They used water based paint."

The presence or absence of lead is irrelevant regarding the use of water as the paint carrier. Water was mandated by the EPA in high volume industrial use to replace the previously used aromatic solvents that were being spewed into the atmosphere by venting blowers as they evaporated during the bake-curing process. Not only are these solvents photo-reactive smog producers in the presence of sunlight, they're also known carcinogens.

car_crazy1 · February 2006

I can see only one switch for a/c. How do i convert that to manual mode ? Its digital I guess

thegraduate · February 2006

It's on "auto", when fan mode & vent direction are operated by the computer(not selected specifically by you). You can choose each thing (vent airflow direction) manually if you choose to.

jeffbog · February 2006

You can use the auto functions (fan speed and temp setting) without using the compressor. First hit the auto button, then hit the A/C button. You'll notice that the display will say A/C off vs. Auto. You will still notice fan speed changes and even vent changes (from the floor to the panel for example). I generally run this way when condensation is not a problem. Run full auto when raining or snowing to keep the windows clear. Hope this helps.

haefr · February 2006

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003273

thegraduate · February 2006

Yeah, but his original question was why his heat wasn't coming out the top-middle vents. I understand how that works...we did it all the time in our Odyssey.

thegraduate · February 2006

My oil life indicator is reading 50% at 3950 miles (About 7,500 before the 15% shows I guess). I will take it for its mandatory 5,000 miles service before long.

lastwraith · February 2006

Good link. Interesting to see the discussion a fairly simple readout can even start. Doesn't seem like people could agree in the forum about what it all meant. Seems to me that Honda's recommendation is fair, although that is assuming very light, nearly highway-only usage to get 10K out of your non-synthetic oil. Personally, I think just about everyone drives their car harder than that guy does "1 mile to hwy, 68 miles @ 50-55 mph then 1 mile to work" and even he barely gets away with changing his oil at 10K. I'll stick to the 3-5K intervals since I drive my car in a more mixed environment and my engine isn't as "tight" as it used to be.

-Keith

johnnybgood75 · February 2006

I have an 03 EX-L and I would say that about 10k I notice my car pulling to right it was not too bad but it got worst. I took my car for another issue I was having and I told them about my car pulling to the right and they said that it is most likely because the streets are not always perfectly flat. So they brushed me off, I thought no much about it and I guess I dimissed it as well and just got used to tugging my wheel to the left to compensate until my tire wore out uneven and I let them go with out rotation. Soon after it was too late for my tires so I just drove them until tread started to fall off. What cam about is that I went with the Mich. Pilots series MXM4 because I had abuse them and they took it, so I bought them again. This time I got a lifetime alignment with my tires the same they because they are excellent tires but very expensive and since and two alignment later no more pull to right but maybe a very subtle pull to left. I thought I was imagining the pull on my car because come on it's a HONDA quality not GM or Ford Right?,,WRONG they have disapointed me many times. The only reason I have hung on to my car it's because I have not had any problems with my powertrain but everything else has been less than a joy, oh yeah and I am broke because I paid so much dam money for their best accord and I am broke now.

thegraduate · February 2006

oh yeah and I am broke because I paid so much dam money for their best accord and I am broke now

Sounds like you should've bought a lesser LX model. The tires would be cheaper on that one, too.

mamamia2 · February 2006

If you drive your car into potholes and jump on side walks... Of course you'll cause the front end's misalignment. I don't know you, of course, and I'm not claiming that you DO all that stuff...

The fact is, this is not something that you noticed when you drove your new car out of the showroom, but 10,000 miles later....

So Honda has no responsibility to fix your misaligned front end after 10,000 miles. Simple.

Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

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