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Honda Accord High Mileage Success Stories
I know it is a bit early to tell if the latest generation of Accords keeps the reputation of a Honda “which will never die”. But I would appreciate some feedback from owners who put a lot of miles on a car. I’m buying 03 LX sedan with 89K miles and so far I have hard times finding positive comments from owners who had new accord for 2-3 years. Thanks a lot.
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Period.
Longetivity, unfortunately, it's the only thing they're known for but they used to be known for their great fit n finish and great designs. They stopped innovating in these areas and Honda stopped doing all the little things that made them so great like body integrity(too many squeaks and rattles), fit n finish(atrocious compared to 10 years ago or even 5 years ago) and efficient dsigns(ever seen a 1990 Honda Accord coupe or sedan (lean and lightweight) and now you have seen, I'm sure, how big and bloated(heavy) they are now? High mileage is *yawn* Honda's one-trick pony.
Unfortunately for the fans of "light" cars, the rest of the world wants lots more noise insulation (my 1996 is loud compared with a new Honda Fit), lots more room, lots more safety features (a 1990 Accord didn't have one Airbag; now they come with 8 standard), ABS. It shouldn't be a problem, Accords now are more powerful (by about 40 hp) than those 1990 models, and get much better economy. I fail to see where I feel like I should be missing. Frankly, on my Tahoe/Expedition/Sequoia-filled commute, I'll take a heavier car anyday when there's no mileage penalty. Also, to the "larger" part, its nice that I can sit behind my dad in my 2006 Accord (he's 6'3", I'm 6'4"). That's something that would be impossible in my 1996 LX 4-door, or especially the 1990 Accord. I have no rattles in my current Accord (2006), no door dings, no rock chips, and no misaligned body panels. Maybe yours was an anomoly, maybe mine is. Either way, I have no problem with mine.
It's not how long a Honda will last that is important and key because that's what they're known for and still are but they stopped innovating
They've stopped innovating how? By producing and bringing to market awesome technology such as SH-AWD? Getting 120 horsepower per liter from a car engine? Setting trends with things like introducing a 5-speed Automatic in the $20k mainstream family sedan field (only VW Passat had one otherwise, I think), using electo-luminescent gauges for maximum readability (a trend that took off once Honda did it...Nissan's were too hard to see to count, IMO).
By the way, that one-trick pony gets me to the beach and back (250 miles or so each way) on one tank of gas (about 15 gallons because I don't run it to empty)...38 MPG on one trip, 40MPG on another...That's one impressive pony considering it offers much more zip, is much safer, and holds people MUCH more comfortably than my 10.5 year old Honda (130 hp) that gets 31MPG going on the same trip.
I hope there was no implication that the word, "only", in relationship to the oil change didn't coincide with the 100,000 mile tuneup...
Actually, 143K on a Honda engine isn't that rare at all. A local Honda master tech told me that he routinely sees older Accords with 300K+ on them. They tend to rust out (in WI) before they wear out.
Mrbill
($300)Brake Master Cylinder - 160,000 miles
($320)Main Cooling Fan Motor- 132,000 miles
(Don't know the cost)Odometer/Speedometer - 111,000 miles
It now needs a rear-passenger side power door lock actuator, but for $200, I'll lock and unlock it manually, thank you very much.
I love this car!
I prefer a 5 speed but the vehicle belongs to the company I work for and they made the decision to go with auto. If no problems occur, I'll probably keep this one until spring '08 which means I'll be pushing 200k.
So I just bought my daughter a 1996 Accord with 130k, checked to make sure timing belt had been changed..took to trusted import mechanic and it checked out with engine and tranny like new....power door locks need motor, axle boots to be replaced so what? I feel like she has 100k to go with it. What a deal!
I now have 2007 EX. In some ways my '88 was better. I wonder if Honda stopped being so perfect with the Accord when Acura was born? But its still a car I trust.
BTW I have friend with close to 400k on her 91.
Congrats. In 2002, my grandmother gave me her '96 model that had 123k or so on it. I now have 174k on it and I drive it nearly every day. I've put about $350 a year into it. Brake master cylinder, main cooling fan motor, oxygen sensor (this year was more - a radiator at $560; that hurt). The timing belt is coming up in 5k miles.
But, the car looks great, revs to 6,000 RPM without burning oil (not that I do it regularly, but it does see 4,000 RPM on a daily basis due to one bad on-ramp near my office building).
Is the 1996 an LX or an EX? 4-cyl? Auto?
Still, it's a terriffic car that has zero rattles.
My daughters 96 is a LX Auto 4cyl. I have to put in rear brakes pads, axle boots and the electric motor for the door locks.
I am sorry to hear about the radiator for you....although I do beleive mine might have been replaced in the 88 at one time.....I can't remember now.....but still a 96 Accord is almost 12 years old so I don't consider things wearing out an abnormal thing.
I think Hondas are made to rev high and I suspect its good for 'em!
Yeah, my daughter loves her car. I mean loves....she is 17 so lets see if it'll get her thru college or maybe she can pass it down to her little brother and get something newer if she saves up her money! I consider an older Honda to be one of the very best cars to get a teenager.
Chris
My parents had promised me a NEW car when I graduated high school if and ONLY if I got a full ride to college. Well, I came through with my end of the deal, and in November 2005, they did too. Instead of selling the car though, I've kept my 1996 along with my 2006. I put about 10,000 miles a year on each of them!
And yes, I like to rev them both, fairly regularly, but I don't just drive the #3LL out of them though.
http://www.carspace.com/thegraduate/Albums/My%20Two%20Accords/DSCF1406_edited.JP- - G/page/photo.html#pic
Heres a link to the pic of the two cars, from last year.
Both of our Accords are white, mine has the rear spoiler and her windows are tinted darker.
I really noticed the 96 is smaller than either my 88 or my 07 though, I was surprised.
BTW I might give my daughter my new 07 if she gets a scholarship too! She is gunning for a volleyball scholarship so we will see. She graduates highschool in 2 years.
Congratulations on your full ride scholarship and your beautiful rides!
Chris
The 96 is smaller than the 88? You sure we're not talking about a 98, instead of 88?
07 is bigger than 88. Most noticeably in the huge trunk (love it) and width of vehicle and more leg room in rear seats. Also, distance from front seats to where windshield meets dash is longer lots of room for those nice air bags!
I read somewhere that Honda gambled with a smaller Accord in 96? I guess they took a hit with that one and went bigger.....something like that.
My 88 was/is a great version of the Accord. The only thing it lacked was airbags and horsepower with the manual tranny. The seats were very comfy, the ride most enjoyable..quite cutting edge at the time. I loved it. Daughter was too afraid to learn stick so sold it, but someday I am going back to a manual tranny....maybe with a new deisel Accord?
Chris
The only thing i am having problems with is the drivers door lock does not open all the time with the remote and the windshield wiper motor is bad, and keeps stopping randomly.
Good luck to all with their accords.
You wrote "Engine oil is replaced every month, thus every 4 to 5 weeks. Checking the oil stick at least 3 times each week, when fueling up, if it looks like it's getting darker quicker, then the oil and filter is replaced by the 4th week."
Using that homegrown logic, why don't you change your oil once a day and your filter weekly?
Any oil or engine authority (the engineers who design and test them) will tell you that it is totally natural for oil to get gradually darker as it is used. That's called oxydation, and it's no reason to throw away perfectly useable oil thousands of miles earlier than recommended by the engine manufacturer.
Sorry, but I have to consider such usage an irresponsible waste of a dwindling natural resource. Also, the less oil that we have to import from the Middle East the better.
I always try to clean the car every week, for which at least helps to maintain the good looks, particularly important as the miles add up, so that you feel good about still driving it.
Unlike most people, when i first start my car up in the morning, i let it warm up, passed that C line. Most people, i observe, just start their cars up and go. In my youth, my first vehicle was a motorcycle, that you "had" to warm up, thus i just got into the habit of always warming up car engines before moving. Some have told me that with these newer engines, it's not necessary, yet it's a habit that i continue to do.
The best way to warm up an engine is moderate driving (say - under 3,000 RPM). You don't waste gas idling, and you aren't going to hurt a thing.
Per oil oxidation. The filter doesn't remove the affect of oxidation, thus possible sludge formation, additive depletion, base oil breakdown, filter plugging, acid number increase, corrosion, thermal oil cracking, all of which can increase fuel consumption. To me, changing the oil isn't difficult, nor takes a lot of time, nor is it expensive, thus well worth doing regularly. Each time that i fuel up, i log the miles per gallon and note what type most of the driving was, thus helping to decide how soon to do an oil change, if miles per gallon is less than other comparable drives. In sales, for tax reasons, it's necessary to keep a log of one's driving, thus it's become a habit.
Blane, we get more oil from friendly Canada than we get from the Middle East. And the problems that the U.S. is having with the Middle East is the result of our political leadership, thus once we get a new president who doesn't confront every major oil producing nation in the world with hostility, that situation could improve. Have a nice day.
And that means he changes his conventional oil at 4 - 5k ... very reasonable, so he is not wasting oil.
I too drive a lot and change my Mobil One every 3 - 5K depending on usage.
So I dont think he is wasting any oil.
I would think an engine in the junkyard would be more of a waste than to use extra oil/ gas from the middle east.
Well, my schoarship was based on my ACT Score (28) combined with High School GPA, which was 4.25. I go to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, an excellent medical and nursing school. Our University Hospital is the only Level I Trauma Center in the state of Alabama!
That's the end of my UAB commercial.
On longevity, I own two vehicles...a 99 Jeep Wrangler and a 96 Grand Caravan. I am heading out with cash in hand to hopefully buy an 07 EX-L 4cyl AT tomorrow. Wish me luck as it has been a long time coming. Anyway, in the van's 3.3 V6 I have run Castrol 5W30 with changes at 3500 miles (fram filters) and have 142K miles with no leaks, noises or internal engine issues. On the Jeep 4.0 in-line 6, I run 10W30 Mobile 1 synthetic and change it at 3500 miles (Fram filters). At 95K miles no internal engine issues and runs like a top.
Why not run the synthetic longer? I really do drive off-road where the engin can run for 12 hours, only travel 25 miles and eats dirt. Also, I have seen the inside of a Jeep in-line 6 (which turns a fraction of the RPMs of most other engines) run on conventional oil and the sludge blocked oil passages caused gasket failures, etc. I do not expect I will have the same issues with the Accord 2.4 I4 and plan to run Mobile 1 for 5K between fill ups. I don't think Mobile 1 synthetic is imported from the Middle-East so that should passify those who believe...sorry, wrong forum.
On my Jeep I also run synthetic in the axles and transmission. Anyone running synthetic in the Accord tranny/transaxle (maybe it is required...don't know)?
Another item I keep regular tabs on is intake cleaning. I had a mechanic friend of mine take the time to remove my intake prior to and after running a B&G intake and injector cleaning on it. Before, it looked like black mold growing in it. After, there were a few black spots in the corners is all. Sold me.
Hope to report back in a few days that I am a Honda owner. :shades:
I think you'll LOVE the Accord - I really love mine the more I own it.
I have a local ASE certified mechanic do all the work. The only things he can't do in his shop (tranny flush and valve adjustment) I get done at the dealership. My mechanic is amazed with this car, no fluid leaks of any kind and it hasn't started burning any oil yet.
This is an Alaskan commuter car, with a daily round trip of just over 100 miles. With 4 Nokian Hakka studded tires this car will handle everything an Alaskan winter throws at it.
I keep looking at new ones (Acura TL and 08 Accord EX-L V6) but can't bring myself to get rid of this car.
I have a 1996 4-cyl Accord that has never needed an adjustment (not that it hasn't had a few repairs!). It has been a terriffic car, and I can't get rid of it either.
I would think an engine in the junkyard would be more of a waste than to use extra oil/ gas from the middle east.
As part of the diagnostics to clear the check engine light they also found that I was getting misfire codes on all 6 cylinders, and when they checked the valves they were "tight".