Honda Accord Problems 2000-2005

joon · June 2005

You should not cover your front seats with seat covers, as this will likely cause the side air bags not to deploy properly when needed. Specially if the covers are the ones that go around the entire seat (as opposed to covering only the areas where your bottom and back touch the seat, like a towel).

silverd · June 2005

I have a 1996 LX 4cyl. coupe auto. My car began to overheat going up above the red line and the car started smoking. I stopped to check the fluid and my radiator was empty and the reserve tank too. I bought some fluid and filled it up and the car ran fine for about five minutes and it started overheating again. Luckily I lived around the corner and was able to drive home, but the oil light started blinking too. I had just had the car fixed for a cylinder misfire. The ignition wires, distributor cap, and valve cover gasket were replaced. There were no leaks under the car when i replaced the radiator fluid. I had also had the oil changed a couple days ago so the oil is fine. If anyone could help or identify the problem and how to fix it, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

chucko3 · June 2005

Do you see any smoke came out from the tail pipe after you refilled the radiator?
I wonder where all the coolant went before the car overheated.

david54 · June 2005

I have a1990 honda accord with auto transmission, high mileage car, i just done a tune up new plugs air filter fuel filter pvc value, gets about 34 miles to gallon on long trip, the problem i have is when i pull up to red light are stop sign, i get lot of rough idle an shaking, if i shift into netural are park its not as bad but worse with AC on, were do i start? this dont make since getting this kind gas mileage.

dales95 · June 2005

The car has 4000 highway miles and it has developed a slight clunking sound on acceleration. It's not the ABS. Also, yesterday I had a rear seat passenger and noticed that the rear deck now has a major rattle. I suspect the seat belt retractor. It's coming from directly behind the rear head rest in the rear deck.

This is very disappointing. Anyone else had either of these problems?

Dale

srobak · June 2005

The mid 80s through early 90s accords are known for this (automatics). No big deal, really... if it bugs you, jack up the idle speed a tad, or shift it into neutral at stops. It is just the load on the engine/trans and the rpm it idles at under that load is a resonant frequency of sorts for the rest of the car.

lastwraith · June 2005

You might also want to have the motor mounts checked. Especially on high mileage or older accords, the rear motor mount is usually shot. This will cause more vibration to be transmitted to the cabin as well as harsher shifts.

Good luck.

varfy · June 2005

I have a 2002 Honda Accord with 35,000 miles on it. Lately a high pitched screeching sound originating from the right front tire has been occuring persistently. It stops when I press on the brake, but not when I let up on the gas. We live in Southern California, so I don't think it is due to cold weather. Any suggestions? Thanks.

lastwraith · June 2005

Have someone check the brake pad life and brakes in general. Even if not the culprit, it's a good idea. Wheel bearings will screech too sometimes, but that doesn't sound like what you describe, nevermind the mileage.

good luck

atlantabenny · June 2005

The clunk may be due to a broken motor mount, something supposedly addressed by a Honda TSB. I had a similar problem with my 03 coupe, which the dealer fixed under warranty.

chucko3 · June 2005

Check your tranny mount. I replaced my 89 tranny mount a few months ago.
The mount was shot and I had the part for it.
Since then, the same vibration seems to go away.
I should have replaced it a couple years ago when the vibration started getting worse.

chucko3 · June 2005

Did your car go through this safety recall?
http://www.northcoasttuners.com/TSB/04-037.pdf

silverd · June 2005

No smoke didn't come out the tail pipe. The fluid evaporated from the heat of the engine. Only a small portion, below the min fill line was left in the reserve tank.

biker4 · June 2005

Start out with the obvious - a stuck thermostat. The car is old enough that even if they don't show any wear it might be time to replace all the cooling hoses.

blane · June 2005

dales95:

Your sounds may be due to something loose and rattling around in your trunk or under a seat upon acceleration. Also, check your rear seatbacks to make sure that they are fully latched in the upright position.

coupeman · June 2005

Thanks, I will inquire about thiswhen I hear what they come up with, but my car is an '03 and this refers to '04.

coupeman · June 2005

Thanks for the reply. Yes it was checked out last year and they said it was OK. I am hoping it is some kind of sensor, but am braced for the worst.

silverd · June 2005

i just did a check on th cooling system and there is a leak somewhere, the thermostat could still be damaged but i think it is something else. The radiator looks fine and the hoses are not leaking. Any ideas?

coupeman · June 2005

Well, my worst fears were realized and the Trans. is shot. The good news is that Honda is covering the replacement at no charge.

mrbill1957 · June 2005

If you can't see any visible signs of coolent leaking, it may be leaking into one of the cylinders (head gasket), and going out the exhaust. If it's small enough, it won't effect the way the car runs.
Also, are your electric fans kicking in? Another thing to check.

Mrbill

chucko3 · June 2005

Coolant evaporated? Unlikely. Seems like your car has a leak somewhere.
The good news is your head gasket is still OK after a massive overheat.
Otherwise, you would have seen white smoke coming out of the tail pipe.

You already refilled the radiator (to the neck) & reserved tank. Correct?
Here is how I would do to check for leaks and a stuck closed thermostat.
Start the car & turn on the heat. Rev the engine up & pay attention to the temp gauge. If the car starts overheating, you have a stuck closed thermostat.
While waiting for the engine heating up, look around/under the engine for any leak.

BTW, how is your water pump? When was the last time it got replaced? Check for any leak there, too.

chucko3 · June 2005

How many miles does your car have, coupeman?

lorryfan · June 2005

Am not sure if someone has already posted a similar problem lately - but anyways I have a 3-month old 2005 Accord LX I4 Auto, and recently am noticing the AC has a foul smell when the car is started and the AC is turned on......to stop the smell I had to turn on the button that circulate the air throughout the car, but isn't that having a negative effect on my MPG?
Is anyone experiencing the same foul smell from their AC? How do I get this resolved?

Many thanks.

isellhondas · June 2005

A leaking head gasket won't always produce a bunch of white smoke. It has to REALLY be leaking before this will happen.

You are correct. Coolant doesn't evaporate. It's leaking somewhere.

coupeman · June 2005

Just over 55,000. never had an inkling of a problem and the car had been super until this. It's going to take some time before I have confidence in it now. :confuse:

lastwraith · June 2005

Getting a bad smell from the a/c is pretty normal after a long winter of non-use (though your car is pretty young). Some people like to spray some Lysol in the vents to try and counteract the mold/mildew in there which is causing the bad odor. On a tip from someone else on another board, I usually turn the recirculate button on, set the vents on max and run the heat full blast for about 15 mins (with the A/C button on as well). Obviously, you are not going to want to be in the car for this if it's a hot summer day. The heat usually kills whatever is residing in there since the a/c is keeping the hot air very dry. (I don't particularly like the smell of Lysol and don't desire to smell it for the next week or so.)

The other option is to take it in and see what the dealer can do for you since it is so new, but honestly, you probably aren't going to hear anything different from them.

If you are talking about the "recirculate" button, has a picture of a car on it with a U-shaped arrow...then that will not affect MPG. Having your A/C on will lower your MPG in general but it can be more fuel efficient to have your A/C on instead of having the windows open at highway speeds.

hope that helped

isellhondas · June 2005

Some rodent hasn't gotten in there somewhere. This happens and it's NOT a pleasant thing!

lastwraith · June 2005

Haha, good point. Didn't even think of that.

djm2 · June 2005

Does a 2003 --- 4 cylinder Honda Accord have a Timing Belt or a Timing Chain?

srobak · June 2005

Not sure on the smell, but with regards to recirculating - if anything, it will improve your mpg vs. not using recirc with ac. recirc does just that - uses the air already in the car instead of pulling it from outside. As it is easier to cool already chilled air than the fresh, hot air from outside - your ac will not have to work as hard when you have it set to a temperature.

Note - you do NOT want to use recirc in the winter time. Your windows fog up because of humid air in the car - recirculating that air is only going to make the situation worse. Take fresh air in the winter, and recirced in the summer (for ac).

richards38 · June 2005

The current generation (2003, '04, and '05) Accord 4 cylinder engine has a timing chain. The previous generations of Accords (2002 and earlier) had timing belts.

The V6 Accord still uses a timing belt............Richard

todd7 · June 2005

richards38

I thought 03 and 04 had belts with 105k intervals, while 05 has a chain. I'm not positive, but that is what my dealer says. We have an 03 LX and a 05 EX.

lorryfan · June 2005

lastwraith & srobak -

Thanks for your feedback. I will try your suggestions.

isellhondas · June 2005

The 4 cyls went to a chain in 2003. The V-6's use a belt.

chucko3 · June 2005

I had a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird. The car overheated on highway. The temp gauge lit up. The problem was a failing water pump. Replaced the pump. The next day, white smoke came out from tail pipe. Cost over $2K to replace the head gasket and a few other things in 1989.
A needle temp gauge would have saved me the gasket.

lexie · June 2005

Thanks. I did not think about that. Would tainting help or should I save my $300? The seats look very nice I would like to protect them. We get over 300 days of sunshine and it definitely help being outside 24/7

temj12 · June 2005

I have an '05 Accord EX-L coupe. What is the amber light above the mirror? It is mounted on the same plastic as the glasses holder.

imidazol97 · June 2005

I'll bet you would not have noticed the temperature gauge go up. The car would have run longer with no water before you noticed it.

whitecloud1 · June 2005

That light comes in handy at night. It illuminates the shift console. Just put your finger over it sometime and see how much light it gives off.

midnightcowboy · June 2005

It gives ambient light at night so you can kind-of sort-of see things in the dark without ruining your eyes being adjusted to the darkness outside. It is pretty neat. There is a mod on 7th gen on how to change the yellow LED to a blue one. The project is more than it's worth; at least to me

spaman · June 2005

My wife's car had the same problem with intermitant stalling. We finally changed the electronic board that controls the spark plug firing ($200) and it solved the problem.

spaman · June 2005

Everyone is correct so far. Re-circulate air is easier to cool down during the summer than taking air from the outside and cooling down.

This problem with a bad smell is common with all air conditioners in all cars and is because when you shutdown your automobile after running the air conditioner, the condensate or moisture forms on the condenser in the automobile. It does not evaporate readily and thus sits there in a cool and dark place and thus becomes a musty and moldy smelling product.

Two ways to aleviate it is to use your recirculate mode. Other techniques are as your approach downtime in your automobile is turn keep the air conditioner on, turn up the heat and switch to outside air to burn off the condensate on the condenser coil in the automobile. However, depending on the time of day and outside temperature this may or may not work.

You are sort of stuck between a rock and hard place. This is a common problem with all automobiles, not just Hondas.

temj12 · June 2005

Thanks for the information on the light. How cool! I would never have figured out that that little light would illuminate anything. Thanks again.

altair4 · June 2005

What I do is simply shut off the A/C compressor but leave the fan (at one of the middle speeds) running for the last couple of minutes of my trip. This seems to keep the problem at bay by drying our the evaporator, at least in our '97 Accord and '03 Passat.

prince2100 · June 2005

Hi,

I just bought a new 2005 LX Accord and the steering wheel doesn't seem perfectly centered like I'm used to in other cars. It doesn't seem to affect the alignment of the car (I think). it seems the steering wheel is slightly to the right and not dead center. Is this normal or should I get it adjusted from the dealer or will they just ignore it? if i bring it in, will they screw with something else. I dont want any new headaches.

thanks in advance.

bdyment · June 2005

Totally Agree! I have done exactly what you do for the last 23 years with various air conditioned cars and suv' s. Never had a problem with the stale air smell. This method seems to dry out the duct system.

veasnalong · June 2005

Hi midnightcowboy,
Since you state that you can change LED from yellow to blue how do you do this ?? does it say in manual with the instruction how to ?? can you tell me how to do it if it doesn't in the manual?? Thank You,

techman41973 · June 2005

I have a 97 accord EX. When sitting in the car with the engine idling,
the whole car starts to shake and vibrate when the AC compressor kicks
in. The engine normally idles at about 7500rpm. When the AC compressor
kicks on, the RPM drops which causes the shaking. Is it simple to have
a mechanic raise the idle speed of the engine a bit? Anyone else
experience this problem with 94-97 accords? Thanks

techman41973 · June 2005

My 97 accord has about 140K miles. I recently replaced and upgraded my headlight bulbs. The lighting patterns still seems subpar. Several people have recommended that I also re-tweak the aim of the headlights which can make a significant difference, especially since I keep some heavy stuff in my trunk. The service manual shows a horizontal and vertical screw adjust for each headlamp. However, there are no specific instructions to aim them,nor is there a bubble guide for the vertical aim adjust. Does anyone know the best procedure for re-tweaking the aim of headlamps?

midnightcowboy · June 2005

Do a search on Google for "7thGenAccord" web site. They have modification projects and changing to a blue LED is one of their projects. Having said that, it is a pretty involved project just to change from yellow to blue.

cruise on,

MidCow

Honda Accord Problems 2000-2005

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