Older Honda Accords

alpha01 · October 2003

I completely agree with all your points. Seaf, the Accord does have a strong structure, but I would almost guarantee that occupants WILL NOT fare better in an Accord without any type of side airbag protection than in the Camry,6, or Altima With their side airbags in the same type of accident.

Also of note- the Camry's seat mounted side impact thoracic bag has been significantly increased in size for the 2004 model year.

~alpha

rodut · October 2003

Did somebody ever measured the oil consumption of the Accord ? I always thought that my 2001 Accord at 33,000 KMs would have zero oil consumption. Still it seems that it ate about 0.625 liters in 5,000 KMs (about 3,000 miles). Is this a lot or what ?!

Underneath the engine is clean, so there is no oil leak.

ssiu · October 2003

Also of note- the Camry's seat mounted side impact thoracic bag has been significantly increased in size for the 2004 model year.

Interesting! Where did you read that?

(Still waiting to see if Accords will get curtain airbags in Canada ...)

ken972 · October 2003

That reminds me. Its weird how Canada doesnt get curtain airbags. And down here in the U.S. we cant get heated side view mirrors or a windshield fluid low light. Whats up with that? It would be great to see the mirrors as at least an available accessory.

bamacar · October 2003

So what you guys are saying is the NHTSA star system is hokie. 5 stars is worse than 3 or 4 with side airbags. So the objective percentages for star ratings mean nothing? I tend to believe that the NHTSA would call your theories misinterpretations of their ratings. Using the same theory would an old Chevette with curtain bags also best the Accord for percentage chance of serious injuries? How far could you take this theory?

chucko3 · October 2003

$280 for a new front axle?
It's pretty cheap to me.
I had my CV shaft replaced on the right side of my 89 Accord at a local shop. The cost was
$210. Added another 59 bucks for the alignment.
So the total cost was $269. And the part is not even Honda.

ssiu · October 2003

From the NHTSA website: Side-collision star ratings indicate the chance of a life threatening chest injury for the driver, front seat passenger, and the rear seat passenger. Head injury is not measured in these tests.

So the NHTSA side crash star rating alone (5 stars versus 3/4 stars) tells nothing about which is safer for the head.

The theory that some held is that (1) all other factors being equal, the head injury in a side crash will be significantly lower in a car with side curtains than one without. This leads to (2) "3/4 stars with curtain" will have higher body injury but lower head injury in a side crash than "5 stars without curtain", and may be the safer choice overall.

snakehair · October 2003

Thanks for the info. the cost at the dealer for accessories is ridiculous, but I didn't want to dive into anything beyond my ability (limited).

anonymousposts · October 2003

snakehair: Are they charging you an arm and a leg for the parts or installation? If it's parts then try taking the www.handa-accessories.com price to them or buy them off of that site and take them to the dealer for installation. I had both accessories but they were included at the time of purchase so I'm not sure how much I paid but I ended up at $21,900 for an EX-L coupe with fog lights, spoiler, mud guards, day-night mirror, body-side moldings, and rear exhaust finisher. So about $1100 above invoice.

alpha01 · October 2003

Wow- you've really done your research. Because of the reason you state (Head Injury NOT measured by NHTSA) I feel their side impact test is pretty bogus, and am looking forward to the next round of IIHS side impact testing. Also- why has the Accord sedan not been crash tested for side impact? Why have the 6, Camry, and Altima not been tested with side airbags/side curtains, yet NHTSA has tested practically every combination of Civics? They are very inconsistent in their testing.

Re: the size of the Camry's side thoracic bag- it was announced for the ES330 in its 2004 MY press release, and a silent inclusion in the Camry. If you compare the photos in the vehicle brochures for the 2002 MY Camry and the 2004 MY Camry, you can see the difference in the size of the airbag. (The photos I am discussing are the "look at all the airbags/our car is safe" type that manufacturers frequently include.)

~alpha

thel · October 2003

Thanks for the reply. If that's the case, I guess I just need to find $280 somewhere. Maybe the local blood bank needs some plasma...

bburton3 · October 2003

IF you find a decent independent and find a good machine shop to rebuild your short shaft-that would be ok but those types of places are rare indeed. If during the removal process the tie rod boots are screwed up or the bearing holders are mangled-you will end up having to replace the front wheel bearings-been there. The independent probably won't have the shop manuals telling them how many foot pounds of torque to put on the front wheel bearing.

Keep an eye on those boots-when they go the short shaft is not long for this world.

bamacar · October 2003

So I guess the NHTSA ratings are bogus and hokie. Looks like they need to revise their star ratings for side impact as I think the "head" just might be an important part of the human anatomy.

alpha01 · October 2003

PRECISELY!

~alpha

berbel · October 2003

Aggie:

I thought this forum existed for the benefit of its
posters, the free exchange of ideas and the dis-
cussion of thoughts and opinions of those who visit
here. There's no reason for you to get so testy
because someone posts comments about an issue that
has been commented on before, even at some length.

If you don't want to read a post because of its
content, SCROLL PAST IT but don't suggest to some-
one that they shouldn't be posting AGAIN about
something previously discussed. Thank you.

berbel

aqpham · October 2003

I don't know if this topic has been discussed before. Anyway, I want to buy the 2004 accord I4 EX/L. First, I think the I4 is good enough, unless you are hauling 500+ lbs every time you are in the car. However, like many have said, Honda could have done a better job with the exterior. So the question is, does anyone know if Honda will freshen up the exterior (front, back, lights...) in 2005 or 2006 model year?

justin · October 2003

they usually do a really hard-to-notice refreshing of lights three years in on the Accord.

seaf · October 2003

I put the Mazda6 and Accord ahead of Camry because in tests without side airbags, the camry doesn't hold up as well. These may be minor differences. But based on the better results from offset collisions, which indicate a better safety cage for the Mazda6 and Accord. I rate them higher than Camry. The latest camry may just be adding a bigger side airbag, I doubt Toyota will make a huge change to its underlying structure in mid-generation. I'd like to see re-tests of the latest Camry to see what they've done.

Also I think the crash test results are not averaged, so sometimes certain tests can be slightly skewed. So I like to look at multiple sources and get the general picture. Also keep in mind that the NHTSA's side crash tests do not account for head injuries as some have mentioned.

The bottom line is, the dsafety ifferences between these three cars may be very small relative to others in this class. So you're already starting from a good selection (except maybe the Altima)

atlantabenny · October 2003

Honda and the industry by and large appear to leave stamped metal alone and just revise the polyurethane "end caps" like front bumper / grille and rear bumper / tail lights for facelifting.

The 6 gen Accord, for example, changed from single- to twin-bar front grille and yellow to white rear signal/back up light cluster. Rims are updated too, with the "why didn't they start with those" rims installed on the last 2 years' issues.

Bottom-line crystal ball: new lights and grill for 2005, new rims for 2006 and one or 2 new colors thrown in up to model change. Inside, XM could be on LXs eventually. And, possibly on last year of the model life, standard NAVI on the EX-v6.

justin · October 2003

Honda messed up with one thing for sure. i HATE that i can't see the outside temp AND the total odo miles at the same time.

see the Edmunds long term update on the Accord. outside of some rattles they have, they seem to really dig the car.

aggie1995 · October 2003

Thank you for so politely correcting me. I shouldn't have been so testy. Your insight has enlightended me.

All I was saying was that he might find what he is looking for by searching previous posts. The is Honda bad, worse, worst topic has no real conclusion. All we have is antecdotal eveidence which may or may not be true given that this is the Internet.

But from now on I will be more open to the opinions and concerns of others.

pat · October 2003

Lots of folks have missed the fact that a very handy "Search This Discussion" feature has been added to the page bar. Keyword searches give you a few lines of a post with the matching keyword as well as a link to the post itself.

I think it's okay to "rehash" previous conversations at times, but I hope folks don't overlook the fact that previous comments are well worth looking up in addition to having more discussion on some issue or another.

And everyone should feel free to bypass a message that rubs the wrong way, by the way. A message that asks for something not to be rehashed can be bypassed just as easily as a message that asks for a rehash.

alpha01 · October 2003

I respectfully disagree and would like to further examine the crash test results against your argument---

"I put the Mazda6 and Accord ahead of Camry because in tests without side airbags, the camry doesn't hold up as well."

What?

The 6 scores 3stars/4stars for the NTSHA side impact, and the Camry 3stars/5stars- so how is the 6 better? The Accord hasnt been tested yet, so how can you assume? (This of course is exterior to the fact that NHTSA doesnt offer consumers full information due to the lack of Head Injury Criterion reporting as part of the "Star" Rating).

The IIHS rates the Camry above the 6 in overall Offset Crashworthiness, second to the Accord, and if you look at the Passenger Compartment Intrusion measures, the Camry outperforms the Accord.

Don't take my word for it- the IIHS site allows you to choose two vehicles in any class and compare, using a neat graph, intrusion measures. Though all measures are in the "Good" classification, the Camry allows less intrusion in practically ALL of the categories- A-Pillar movement, instrument panel movement, toepan, brake pedal, and footrest intrusion.

Your argument against the Camry's structural integrity isnt very sound, and I would certainly put it on equal footing with the 6 and Accord.

~alpha

pat · October 2003

Before we get too sidetracked here, let me invite both of you to the Mazda6 vs. Toyota Camry vs. Honda Accord discussion to continue this.

You will help me out two ways - this discussion won't go off track and we could reeeeally use some new conversation over there!

berbel · October 2003

Aggie:

I sincerely appreciate your change of posture and
apology. It is humbly accepted.

My comments were not intended to have a conclusion.
I was simply making observations, i.e., food for
thought. Maybe, I naively believed that the poster
on that other board would have no reason to fabri-
ctae a story concerning the need for a new trans-
mission in a brand new Accord. This is especially
true in light of the documentation (independent)
that I've read in trade magazines about Honda re-
placing trannies in TL's. 'Nuff said..........

berbel

justin · October 2003

is that, even is my transmission is always perfect, i will always be aware of the transmission now. sometimes, the internet isn't so great, gives you way too much to obsess over.

maxpower02 · October 2003

these boards and the people on them, I wouldn't have known about the popping (early models) noise coming from my 03'EXV6 Sedan. After getting info from here about this, sure enough, I started to here the noise about a month ago. My car was made 11/02. Took it in for service, tech said this is normal, it's the brake pads, they are loose inside the brake housing and they make noise. I told him It couldn't be the brakes and had the service manager ride with me. He hears the noise says it needs to be researched on Techline for this problem. I already knew that the car will need to have a spot weld done in order to fix this problem. Brought the car back yesterday to see if they could fix it without the weld, they tried tightening the undercarriage(?) Didn't work, so they will make an appointment for me next week to have it done.
The point I'm trying to make is that we do get valuable info here. The tech was trying to blow me off, I might have believed him if I didn't know about this design problem.

justin · October 2003

my car isn't popping yet. when the radio is off, and you hit the brakes, you can hear the little "click" of the automatic transmission gear selector lock mechanism working, that is about it.

my car was built in 8/03, so hopefully i won't need to take a blowtorch to it

serendip · October 2003

I agree with Justin...I keep wondering if my '03 EX V6 (08/03) will start doing what the others are doing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and remind myself that people without problems tend not to research and post, so of course it seems that "everyone" here has problems with the Accord, some severe. And I still keep checking back - I'd rather know than not know, and it's terrific to have such a helpful group of people to turn to.

chucko3 · October 2003

I could not find the post saying about the brake popping problem and need a blowtorch to fix it.
Can you tell me where it is?
Thanks in advance.

justin · October 2003

max's post was the first i had seen about a dealer needing to fix the brakes noise with a blowtorch. sounds like those cars were pre-production models or something.

chucko3 · October 2003

I am interested to know because my 03'EXV6 Sedane was also bought last November.

snakerbill · October 2003

I can tell you all that the popping and creaking noise in my 03 EX V6 coupe, was not from the brakes. The body welds were not done right and a tech worked for days on trying to find and fix these noises. The more he worked the worse it got, and when the service manager said that they would have to remove all the glass in the car to try to spot weld the joints in the structure, I traded this junk pile for an RSX made in Japan. I have driven the crap out of this car and after 43000 miles, it still drives like new and the only rattle I have had was the center plastic counsel. I have never had any mechanical or body structure problems with the RSX. Again, I say that cars made in Japan are just done better than the ones made here. Sad but true. Also the RSX handles better, and gets way better gas mileage. My car is a 5 speed auto and it gets over 36 mpg on the hiway and about 29-30 in town. Yes Honda does make good cars, but they are all made in Japan. Ohio workers, wake up, your jobs are on the line if more people have these problems they will start buying other cars. I hope so.

gbriank · October 2003

For those of you that have it, what are your impressions of the Navigational system? Any problems?

jebinc1 · October 2003

No problems. My only complaint is a 2001 map (DVD disk) in an 03 purchased in August.

anonymousposts · October 2003

The LS430 is made in Japan yet it also had some welding problems. Wanna talk about some mad people. Pay $65,000 for your Japanese car and then have the same problem that you had with a $23,000 American-built car.

There was a study that showed that Japanese built Accords were slightly better than American built Accords but America built Civics were slightly better than their Japanese counterparts. I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

With that said, we did intentionally buy a Japanese built 04 Accord sedan. But our American built 03 Accord was flawless in 16,000 miles.

veasnalong · October 2003

When did you hear popping slow or fast speed.
one thing I can tell you that on my car 03 exl wit navi when i go below 5mph i heard noise on the rear suspension i took it in for five times try to get it fix
1)they said loose bolt on strut so they tight it
  never fix problem the same.
2)week later bring it in again they said DVD unit
  mount for navi system is loose they check and
  tight them problem the same.
3)week later they went ahead replace new spring
  for both side and use the same old struts.
  Problem the same.
4)week later said mufler may hit car's body
  they adjust it. problem the same.
5)here we go anyone like to know i have to
  troubleshoot it myself by using doctor's toy
  thing that they use to listen to your heart
  beat removed rear seat and have my wife drive
  slow and prope the device on the strut's bolt
  inside the car here we go i located the noise
  from the strut. take to dealer and tell them
  about the noise believe it or not they listen
  to me service advisor talk to his manager to
  order a complet strut assebly three days later
  part arrived bring the car in replaced new
strut THERE ARE NO MORE POPPING NOISE.
may be some of you did not know about the noise to check drive 5mph or below on a quiet day or night. good luck to any of you.

jebinc1 · October 2003

While this is a great board, I was wondering if anyone can recommend other "active" boards for the 03/04 Accord?

pat · October 2003

You might want to google that or something, but please be aware that no one can respond to that question since linking and/or promoting other message boards is against the terms of the Membership Agreement.

Thanks!

snakerbill · October 2003

My 03 Accord Coupe made these noises at any speed, turning left or right, going over small bumps in the road, and the tech could not fix the noises, so I got rid of the car. It was not worth the stress to continue to fool around with a defective car, so I took the loss and went on.

dindak · October 2003

What did you replace it with?

I think you could have given the service center another shot at it, I'm sure it was fixable.

sir_col · October 2003

I just purchased a new 2004 EX-v6, with navi, and it is an awesome vehicle. No complaints thusfar, and compared to some recent new car purchases from GM the Accord is a way better choice. Love the Navi, power, and the ride quality.
However I have a question, where can the best prices be found for purchasing accessories such as mud flaps, trunk mats etc? Any help would be appriciated, Thanks Sir_col

jebinc1 · October 2003

Try HandA-accessories.com

according2me · October 2003

http://www.hparts.com/part.html

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/

http://www.hondacuraworld.com/

somepair · October 2003

I've seen some posts about accords being made in japan.I thought they are all made in Ohio

Thanks
AL

anonymousposts · October 2003

All coupes and V6 Accords are made in Ohio. A certain number of 4 cylinder sedans, automatic or manual, are imported from Japan. You can differentiate them by the first digit of the VIN.

J=Japan
1=Ohio
2=Canada

somepair · October 2003

Much thanks for the reply.
I'm interested in a EXV6 so i guess i'll have to settle on Ohio

AL

according2me · October 2003

"settle" for a US made model. I believe Honda (USA) had better take this to heart.

anonymousposts · October 2003

Automakers can only import a certain number of cars. That's why the highest-selling models (Accord, Camry, Civic, etc) are now built in the US. Accords have been made in the us for 15 years now, long enough for any serious quality issues related to US production to become obvious.

jayant12 · October 2003

The rubber lining on the door was meddled with as someone tried to break into it and there is big gap between the door and whats remaining of the lining right next to the head of the driver. how much does it typically take to replace the lining and is that something one could take care off at home?

also, i've been having problems with my automatic window. just the front driver side one. i can roll it down fine without any problems. but when i try to roll it up....sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

any suggestions on what could be wrong?

Older Honda Accords

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