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http://automobiles.honda.com/models/specifications_descriptions.asp?ModelName=Accord+Sedan- - - - &Category=LX+V%2D6
Does anyone else have this problem?
Agree. While generally assumed to be longer lasting than belts, chains can and do break, too. And if that happens, the flailing pieces show no mercy to nearby parts they contact. Chain tensioners on overhead cam engines seem to require periodic service just about as often as belt tensioners, so there's often service of some sort required between 80,000 to 100,000 miles, regardless, even if the chain is still intact and healthy. Belts are really not that poor a compromise.
Actually it is turning over. It just never quite "catches" and runs until whatever's wet dries out. I must confess I no longer drive an Accord, but your problem is a car problem, not an Accord problem. The usual suspects are ignition system components - distributor cap (if present on '98 Accords)*, spark plug cables and boots, and ignition coil(s). Your dealer or mechanic shouldn't have much trouble tracking the problem down. My late wife had a VW "bug" when we first met - the stupid car did exactly the same thing you described until I replaced the cracked distributor cap. (probably the main reason she married me)
*A cracked distributor cap can be a very effective engine disabler when moisture is present. Just a few drops of water in the wrong place, and you walk.
What year would you recommend I look at in terms of bang for the buck? I'm looking to find something with less than 80,000 miles that's been well cared for. Because of budget, I'm limiting my search to years 1997 thru 2002. I'd like an 03', but don't think I can swing the bucks.
Thanks!
bradesp
Either make would generally be a good bet, though some mid-nineties Camrys had a reputation as "sludge monsters". Take a penlight and small dental mirror along if you look at any Camrys. Remove the oil filler cap on the valve cover and peer in with the help of the mirror - if you see lotsa black goo inside, keep walking. (While Hondas aren't particularly prone to sludging, given the model years you're contemplating, don't hesitate to look inside the valve covers of Accords, too.) The newer the better, finances permitting. Concentrate on mature owners - less liklihood the car's been thrashed, and more liklihood the car's been maintained - unless owned by some little old lady who only drove it half a block to the corner grocer and back once a week. (I'd sooner consider a car that'd been freeway driven fifty miles a day than an urban crawler that rarely got properly warmed up.)
Happy Hondaring!
Dan
"...any slower, you will get run over and flipped off.." -hermann
I guess the middle finger salute is the coup de grace after some moron with an attitude runs you off the road, eh?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
just a thought, i know it would be inconvenient to have to stop just to get first in town
Anyone know?
It says that use of other non-Honda brand products may result in damage to the car. Is this true, or just a Honda ploy to get me to buy high-priced fluids from the dealer? Would using non-Honda brand fluids void the warranty?
Any thoughts? Thanks.
Also, I saw mention of a 7 yr/100K extention on the tranny warranty by Honda, but I can't find anything officical from Honda at their website. Can someone clear this up for me?
Thanks!
bradesp
Other than the block of the engine, there's little in common between the US Accord and your Accord.
Paint issues seem to be more common these days - regardless of maker.
If you use EQUIVALENT that met SAE specs no problem and no worry. almost all brands meet the requred specs.
You should be okay.
BE HAPPY, DON'T WORRY,
MidCow
carbuyer25's concerns are justified. You're correct - I haven't seen any oil derricks with "Honda" plastered on 'em, either. As far as motor oil is concerned, any brand 5W-20 API "SM" motor oil with the "starburst" seal on the front label will be fine in current Accord motors. Honda brand motor oil at the dealers is blended and bottled for the company by ExxonMobil and is virtually identical to Exxon "SuperFlow" and Mobil "Drive 5000" - except priced higher at the dealers. (While all Honda dealers necessarily stock and sell Honda brand motor oil in their parts department, few if any, use it in their service bays. They typically buy bulk barrels and pump it into customer cars like a forced colonic at oil change time.) With coolants and transmission fluids the situation is different though. Like most manufacturers now, Honda has developed a specific ATF for their own trannies in cooperation with one of the major blenders. Use of other than Honda Z-1 ATF will virtually assure early failure in these trannies. Shift quality will also probably suffer if a substitute fluid is used. Honda and its fluid co-developer settled on a specific type of friction modifier to control "juddering" - a cyclical pulsation when shifts or torque converter lockup occur. At its worst, "juddering" may be accompanied by an audible squealing. Universally available GM spec. "Dexron III" fluid is definitely NO LONGER the recommended fluid in these boxes, though Honda allows for its temporary use in an availability emergency. So-called "All Makes" ATFs that purport to be compatible with OEM fluids are only their respective blenders' best guess at compatible friction modifier characteristics - "one size" does NOT ever fit all. These premium "All Makes" ATFs are rarely less expensive than the genuine article at Honda dealers, either. (Unlike many other auto manufacturers, Honda doesn't price their proprietary ATF outrageously.) Honda's is a semi-synthetic, too. The issue of coolant is less dire, but still requires some consideration. All three of the Japanese "big three" automakers have settled on a generally compatible coolant technology in their extended life coolants. None of these fluids use silicates as their primary corrosion inhibitors any longer. Instead, they use a hydrated organic salt, sodium benzoate, which forms a mild acid in solution, Sodium benzoate is often used as a preservative in packaged foods, too. When sodium benzoate in solution contacts bare metal in the cooling system, it forms a protective layer against corrosion. But, it can take up to 3,000 miles of driving to do so. So, the Japanese manufactures also include a stiff dose of a phosphate salt in their mix. The phosphate, A> gives virtually immediate protection until the organic acid can displace it, and B> coincidentally protects water pump impellers against erosion pitting damage ("cavitation") should there be a compromising break in the organic acid coating from circulating hard debris. Any Japanese extended life antifreeze/coolant concentrate can be safely used in any current Honda, Nissan, or Toyota. Honda's and Nissan's use a green marker dye, and Toyota's uses a pink marker dye. None of these green extended-life syrups are the same as conventional high-silicate content Prestone (which is no longer in production). There's no directly equivalent U.S. aftermarket extended life product advised by those three manufacturers, but Zerex "G-05" comes closest in protection philosophy. Like the Japanese developed coolants (actually blended and bottled in the U.S. for distribution here in the States) G-05 uses sodium benzoate. But instead of phosphate content for co-protection, G-05 uses reduced levels of silicates. The G-05 technology was developed in Germany by BASF over two decades ago and has been factory fill in Mercedes-Benz, SAAB, Peugeot, some VW, and some BMW cars, among others, ever since. It does have an established track record in iron, soldered brass, and aluminum applications. G-05 is also now factory fill under the respective auto manufacturer's names in most domestic Ford and virtually all Chrysler products. The retail pricing for the Japanese coolant concentrates varies from around $13.00 to $20.00 per gallon per individual dealer policy. G-05, which is NOT specifically authorized by the Japanese "big-three", can be had at retail for about $10.00 gallon. NOTE: NONE of the "big-three" Japanese auto manufacturers recommend or even nominally accept the use of GM DEX-COOL antifreeze at all.* DEX-COOL's organic acid corrosion inhibitor is not at issue, but DEX-RON uses no silicate or phosphate content as co-corrosion protection and the Japanese are concerned that may be the basis for future problems with time. While I'm not personally convinced their concerns are justified, it might be an issue for a car still under warranty, so make your antifreeze choice accordingly. Neither the dealer nor a manufacturer's zone rep can argue with fixing a cooling system related problem under warranty if the car owner can show receipts and a log for timely coolant changeouts with his car make's own brand antifreeze/coolant. The same goes for the proprietary ATFs. Some of you may have noted the availability of store brand extended life antifreezes in the last year - notably at Wal-Mart and Advance Auto stores. These are virtual unlicensed "clones" of the DEX-COOL technology. I'll confess that I personally used Havoline DEX-COOL (who also blends and bottles "Mr Goodwrench" DEX-COOL in my '96 Honda for over three years without any issues whatsoever. But, I'm not making a blanket recommendation that other Honda owners follow my example. I'm now using Wal-Mart's "SuperTech" extended life antifreeze in my current ride - an '03 Hyundai Sonata aluminum V-6. At one year to the day, yesterday, it's still bright, clear green in the radiator - something that could not be said of Hyundai's factory-fill that turned cloudy in less than two years. I've laid out what I've learned about the various fluids so y'all would have a summary. But, make your own determinations according to your own esperience.
*which is somewhat weird since the Saturn VUE uses a Honda V-6 and GM pours DEX-COOL right in despite Honda's dire warnings . . .
:P
Wow, you seem to know a lot about Honda's engines.
Did anyone else notice this too ?
I wonder, why should I pay the dealer $300, when I could as well visit my good old Shell station mechanic, pay $25 for the oil change, rotate the tires (why is that needed, I don't know...) for another $25 -- and save money and aggravation?
Does this first oil change need to be done by my dealership?
Paragraphs PLEASE. Your posts 17774 and 17781 are worth reading, but it is very difficult to do so.
Hope you enjoy your Hondaring!
OK, so here is the FULL story, after I actually called the guy (last night I was relying more on my wife's interpretation of the story...):
His dashboard "Service Required" yellow light came on at about 3,750 miles. He took the car to the dealer for the first oil change which cost him around $30.
The ripoff happened on his SECOND visit, at around 7,000 miles, when the Service light came on again. It was THEN that the dealer charged him over $300, claiming they also rotated the tires, cleaned the brakes and a bunch of other check-ups...
Now, the V6 manual says that only under "Severe Driving Conditions" you're supposed to change the oil every 3,750 miles (or 6 months)... For non-severe condition you can do that every 10,000 miles or every 12 months...
SO, my question is now: Why does the Service light on my friend's car (and probably on mine too, soon) goes on according to the Severe Driving Condition?
BUT more important, if you go to your own mechanic (or do it yourself) HOW DO YOU SHUT OFF THAT YELLOW DASHBOARD SERVICE LIGHT? On my old '95 Accord I can shut the yellow Service signal off easilly. How do you do that on the new Accord?
Hee, hee, hee - that's the pertinent question that hybrid drivers arrogantly dismiss as impertinent.
Short answer? I don't know either. (I had a '96 Accord - stick the ignition key into a slot in the instrument cluster and, Prest-o Change-o ! - the yellow [or red if you really went too long] service warning changed magically into soothing green before your startled eyes. It was a great idea.)
OKAY OKAY i am reading the Honda manual for you, here is the answer:
Page 62 in the Accord Coupe manual:
(1) Turn off the engine
(2) Press nad hold the Select/Reset knob on the instrument control panel, then turn the ignition switch to ON (II).
(3) Hold the knob fro about 10 seconds until the indicator goes off.
Also on page 62, the maintenace light is based on mileage only and has nothing to due with severety of the conditions:
4cyl:
since last reset.
8,000 miles comes on fro 2 seconds when you turn ignition sw on
8,000-10,000 same as above then falshes for 10 seconds
greater than 10,000 constant light on.
6 cyl:
since last reset.
6,000 miles comes on fro 2 seconds when you turn ignition sw on
6,000-7,500 same as above then falshes for 10 seconds
greater than 7,500 constant light on.
Realize I could have given you the typical curt answer, RTM, but I instead cose to look up the answer for you. All of 2 minute after looking in the index.
Cheers,
MidCow
P.S. _ Next time you take the car to the delaership do two things. First lookup the recommneded service items, decide which you want. Or (2) as the dealer what thay plan to do and which are absolutely must ( like changing the oil and filter) then bypass the optional ones.
If Honda uses Fram for American filters...
I read for years here about filter comparisons. I finally tried Purolator on my cars and the oil stays clearer longer. I change at 3000-4000 miles based on how much cold weather useage. But I can tell a difference. I have some Fram filters to use up on the older car or with more frequent oil change periods.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Being that I have a 4-cylinder, what might be the top end of this car? Thanks.
...Yes, the manual DOES give you the instructions (page 67 on my sedan's manual)... And I DO usually read manuals....
SO, the conclusion is:
For the FIRST oil change, at 3,750 (or 6 months), I guess going to the dealership makes sense, as long as you check with the service manager in advance, exactly what they do and how much it would cost.
Then you go back to your good old mechanic for your next oil change and whatever needs to be done, according to the service manual.
I think I got it this time.
Realistically? On flat ground at sea level (ideal conditions), maybe around 117 mph to 120 mph, perhaps a tad faster.
so many jerks in a dealership since i moved to shopping for a honda,
I am travelling 100 miles to a dealer .
The test ride was good on the dx[i think so ...it had a sunroof and was good]
As far as oil changes go i will do 1 at 600 , 3000 and then reset,.I have followed on many engines and do find metal piece at 600 and some in 3000 in the pask vehicles.so any way once that is done mobil 1 all the way ,.
I believe the Accord with 4cyl. and man. 5 spd. had a tested top speed of 125mph.Splashing in the Mainstreamlink title>
banditboy, that regimen qualifies you as One Really Smart Guy in my book. Too bad more people don't realize that all new engines "make metal" to a greater degree during the first several hundred miles of run-in. The larger pieces aren't a concern because they're trapped by the oil filter. It's the smaller, sub-20 micron particles that can slip through the filter medium and bang around within bearing clearances that will unnecessarily chew up an engine's precision bearing surfaces during the remainder of the break-in process. The first oil change in any engine's life is aruably its most important one. 3,000 mile oil and filter changes for predominently urban driving thereafter is good preventive maintenance against future oil-related problems. If the car is usually driven at freeway speeds (50 mph - 75 mph) commuting to work, 5,000 miles is adequate because those sustained speeds are the easiest miles an engine can see.