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Push in the select knob located to the right of your odometer.
While holding in the select knob turn the key to the II position and hold it for 10 seconds.
The report from the garage is that they think it needs a new distributor system, a new exhaust system from the catalytic converter on back (but not replacing the catalytic converter) and new wires on the spark plugs since I have the original ones from 1992. Total cost parts & labor around $1,300 (I live near DC).
The car is only worth about $2,700. Do these repairs sound worth it to you? Is the garage's reasoning sound? I have very little mechanical knowledge so I don't know if a failing distributor system would cause these types of problems or if just replacing the exhaust system would fix everything.
Any advice you have is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I would call another shop for another estimate.
Since the car has the original wires, I would replace the spark plug wires & the coil wire first before replacing the whole distributor. They are cheap and easy to replace.
High-tension wire set, plugs, DIY = $75
Total = approx. $260
Exhaust system price reference:
http://www2.autopartsauthority.com/parts/autopartsauthority/quote- .jsp?year=1992&product=H5000-50508&application=000614703&- amp;part=Muffler&category=H
Also the compressor works for every 10 second in a cool day (about 70F), is this normal?
Thanks.
The Honda dealer told me that it was a poor design and that Honda had a resdesigned replacement distributor at a reduced price. I would suggest you go to your Honda dealer and get a new distributor for your car. As for the plug wires, mine are original.
My muffler and part of the rear most tail pipe were replaced at about 152,000 miles.
Hope this helps.
Do you guys go to a dealer service department for minor services like oil change? Please tell me why, whether you do or not. I used to own a Toyota and always went to the dealer for any kind of services. I cannot say I was very happy with them, but I thought Toyota people know Toyota the best. On the other hand, my husband always goes to Jiffy Lube and places like that and goes to his dealer service department only for a major service. I know it is certainly my call, but I would like to hear how you guys do it.
Thank you.
Potenzas are one of the best performance tires in the world, and Ferrari have been winning the World Formula 1 championship for the last 5-6 yrs with Bridgestone Potenzas. There is no form of motorsport that competes with F1 on technology, so if Bridgestone are winning, there muct be something that they are doing right.
To discount bridgestone tires on account of a particular firestone failing, is a total no-no.
not that it matters, it bet Firestones are the best and safest tires out there now....have to make up for all the bad press.
Actually, I believe it's the other way around... Bridgestone bought out Firestone a number of years ago (prior to the Explorer debacle, obviously), so Bridgestone is the parent company.
At any rate, according to JD Powers latest survey of customer satisfaction for replacement tires, Bridgestone is just above industry average and Firestone is equal to industry average, ahead of other major manufacturers like UniRoyal, BF Goodrich and General. So obviously the Firestone brand is improving in quality and reputation as compared to the dark days of the Explorer mess.
Bridgestone has some great tires and is a great company, but their image was tarnished in my mind because of the Firestone / Explorer debacle. Bridgestone should have admitted there was a problem up front and recalled all the Wilderness tires instead of Ford having to do it for them. I think if they were wise, I'd retire the Firestone name entirely.
When I replaced the tires on my 92 Accord, I avoided Bridgestone, I purchased Yokohamas instead. Just my two cents.
The dealer takes 90 minutes (even with an appointment) to change the oil. It's true that they also wash the car, but 90 minutes is just too long. I also kind of "enjoy" changing my own oil. It's like bonding time with the car.
It also took the dealership 90 minutes to replace the sunglass holder last month. It seems like too much time for these little things. It's my first new car experience... maybe I'm not patient enough.
My sisters take their cars to Wal-Mart and Jiffy Lube to have their oil changed. A few years ago Jiffy Lube forgot to replace the cap after filling the oil on my younger sister's new car. She drove like 400 miles before cluing in to either the smoke or smell of burning oil on the exhaust manifold. It was all over the inside of the engine compartment. She had the sound dampening material replaced and the engine compartment cleaned. It cost her a lot. Jiffy Lube refunded the oil change.
Wal-Mart misthreaded the oil plug on my older sister's drain plug. She noticed it leaking oil onto her driveway. She took it back and they fixed it. I don't know how much of a fit she threw, but they also gave her $500. She's a pretty intimidating woman.
My plan is to do the little stuff (fluids, oil changes, transmission filter and ATF, rotate tires, tune-ups, brake jobs, etc.) myself. Warranty stuff goes back to Honda. Replacing the transmission when it dies... well, that won't happen because it's a Honda! *grin*
Anyway, the warranty has expired and I was wondering if I could tighten/adjust the sunrof myself? I never got a straight answer from the dealer if they fixed the squeaky sound by lubricating or adjusting? Does anybody know how to cure a squeaky sunroof (I think there may even be a TSB out on this). I recently tried lubricating the rubber gasket around the sunroof w/ silicone spray, however that did not work
Thanks for any help
td
The sunroof starts to get squeaky
My only advice would be not to settle for this answer. Your car should be able to track straight. That's what it's designed to do. If it's pulling right or left consistently, that's a defect your warranty should cover, in my opinion. I really don't know the technical things to suggest -- alignments have always solved these problems for my cars in the past.
I can only offer moral support and sympathy. These things are annoying, especially in a new car. Surely this can be fixed by a competent shop. Good luck.
I've also seen where the caster adjustment will cause a pull. This happened on to a friends car who, like you, had been to the Honda dealer on several occasions complaining about the car pulling to the right. Once again a sharp mechanic suggested sending the car to a frame alignment shop to have the front end geometry checked. The frame was tweaked to set the caster more positive and the pulling was corrected.
Best of uck on your dilema.
Have you gotten a chance to take your vehicle in for service in regards to that whistling noise that happens around 40 - 50 MPH?
Thanks
I brought it to Honda and they performed the subframe shift and alignment under warranty. Just to check, I later told them to perform an alignment again 3k miles later and it was then only slightly out of alignment with just a mnor adjustment.
With normal roads being crowned to the right, it is hard to tell what is normal and what is not. In my opinion, a slight drift to the right over say 10 seconds could be fine but a stronger pull is not.
Good luck.
Test-drive the vehicle at 55 mph on a road with very
little crown. Use a stopwatch to determine how long
the vehicle takes to make a complete lane change.
• If the vehicle takes 6 seconds or more to change
lanes, the drift is normal. Return the vehicle to
the customer, and explain that the drift is normal.
• If the vehicle takes less than 6 seconds to
change lanes, go to REPAIR PROCEDURE.
Nice timing -- I have an appointment for tomorrow for my first service since buying the car in January. I don't drive much -- it's at about 4,100 miles, so I'm going by the six-month limit of the maintenance schedule instead of the 5,000 mile limit.
I described the whirring noise to them when I made the appointment today. Other than that, it's just routine maintenance. My noise started a month or so ago.
I see you're tracking the Honda Accord Sedan thread and the post by 03accordman about his failed transmission and his noise that sounds similar to yours and mine.
I'll post something tomorrow evening after I pick the car up after work, on what they do about my noise.
Also it seems to be normal for the compressor to kick in on and off. Based on your fan settings and outside temp the compressor tries to maintain a set temperature but doesn't need to run all the time (kinda like a fridge).
As per 03accordman, it seems that the noise was on all the gears and especially when accelerating, no matter what the MPH was it made the whistling/whining noise. I agree our noise seems to be different,like I mentioned it only happens at around 40-50 MPH and when I take my foot off the gas. Please let us know how you make out.
Thanks
One important TSB is for the 4 cyl. motor's excessive vibration at idle, which requires free parts (like engine mounts, etc.) replacement in-warranty or off-warranty "goodwill."
Email me for the link, since it's a competing website. You might need to sign up as a member to access the files, not sure.
There's a message from last year that includes the URL to this site:
speedracer03 Jan 24, 2003 11:40am
And you do have to sign up to access the TSBs, but it is free.
Thanks a lot
BTW -- I don't recall any posting by you where you took your car in for service regarding this whirring/whining noise at 45 mph we've been discussing. Are you just waiting for a regular service visit before you have this checked out?
Dropped mine off this morning and will post something when I hear the answer. They may call during the day, or it may be this evening when I pick it up after work. They said because of the nature of this issue, they would have a master technician take the car for a drive.
Yes we only have about 3K miles on our Accord and we will probably have our first service done in the middle of the summer. I am hoping that the noise is something simple. Please let us know how you make out.
Thanks
Do you think this was just a slight "hiccup" in the system that has remedied itself, or maybe something I should take to the dealer to investigate? I am assuming this would fall under warranty work & I would not be charged.
I have a 1995 Accord EX with almost 160,000 miles on it. Recently, the radiator developed a small leak on top, near the cap.
Has anyone tried "Bar's Leaks" (sp?) radiator leak stopper or other brand of fluid poured into the radiator/cooling system to plug small leaks?
If so, did it work or cause problems with the cooling system?
If the option is to replace the radiator, one shop priced it at about $400. Of course, this is the more permanent and supposedly more reliable solution. But given the age and mileage of this vehicle, and the possibly I may try to unload it soon, is the cheaper solution of using radiator leak stopping fulid worth considering?
Also, what are people's experience with STP or other brand of gasoline additives to clean fuel lines / injectors, etc? Do they work, or are there certain brands that should not be used with this car?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks for any help or feedback!
I use Chevron fuel injector for my 89 Accord. The car gets a better gas milage since I started using it this year. It took a few bottles before you notice the difference. Costco sells a 4 bottle pack for $9.98.