I was told by the dealer today that the back ones typically need replacing between 30K-45K miles and that the front ones need replacing between 45K-60K. Front ones are thicker.
Just got my homelink, electrochromatic mirror, and floor mats from Partznet.com. Excellent customer service. and the parts were exactly as ordered. the homelink and the chromatic mirror were installed in less than 30 minutes for both. Highly recommend......
Went to http://www.collegehillshonda.com/ found the part number (they didnt have what i wanted in stock) then searched for the part number. i have used partznet in the past so i searched them...
Keep in mind that the V6 tranny will fail at some point in time. Some are reporting failure at 50k miles for '03 and newer models. You may get 80k if you are lucky.
My '03EXV6 is slipping in 2nd gear occasionally. Just a matter of time.
We have an 03 EX 4dr automatic. The car is fine around town but on the highway when passing or climbing hills the car feel noticeably sluggish with two people and very little luggage. My 04 Ody van feels faster in passing situations. With 4 passengers the 4 banger is a real dog.
It could be around 5,000 miles before you get any meaningful fuel usage figures. Track it with each tankful, but don't expect miracles for awhile. This isn't an Accord issue; it's a new engine issue. My '03 Hyundai Sonata's 2.7L V-6 returned a dismal 15 mpg city and 22 mpg highway initially. (It was EPA rated as 19/27) This week I logged 23.2 mpg, mostly city, and a day later, on a 400 mile "cannonball run" to Arizona from California, 32.3 highway at 70 mph with a hand calculator. The car currently has a total of 17,000 miles registering on the odometer. These fuel mileage figures have been consistent for the past 5,000 miles, so I suspect my engine is pretty much broken-in now.
Hi All. I have a 2005 Accord LX AT that I absolutely love! In fact I love it so much that I got its oil changed at my Honda dealership exactly when it hit the first 5000 miles. But now as I read the manual more closely, I realized,that was too soon, since I was driving under "normal" conditions and not under "severe" conditions. The manual talks abt giving time for the natural wear patterns to develop etc.. I want to know how this oil change at the 5000 mile mark is going to affect my car, if at all. Is there something I should do to rectify??? Any advice / suggestion / experience?
Don't worry about changing your oil at 5,000 miles. I purchased a used Accord from an estate sale with very low mileage, and I have been changing my oil every 3,000 miles with no problems. I also own a Ford Mustang which was purchased new, and I have been changing the oil and filter every 3,000 miles. Both the Honda dealer and the Ford dealer recommend that the oil and filter be changed between 3,000 and 4,000 miles. Since money is not an issue with me, I choose to have this service done every 3,000 miles. Enjoy your vehicle!--------------Best regards Dwayne
Well, I've had my 06 LX V6 sedan for a little over 2 months and went over the 3000 mile mark. Here are my latest good & bad points about the car. Bad points, blind spots are pretty bad on this car. I really have to turn my head to make sure that no one is the corner of my left or right rear area. Another bad point is the turning radius when parking. It isn't as bad as the current model Maximas or Altimas, but you do have to plan your distance before making your turn, otherwise, you'll be backing up because you didn't give enough slack in the room area. Third point is the braking with this Grade Logic feature. Many times I lightly hit the brake pedal, and the car brakes way too forcefully. This is ridiculous, and Honda should really work on fixing this Break-My-Neck braking system. My final knock against this car is that lately, my girlfriend has been taking the car from me. She enjoys the car so much that I'm stuck with her Toyota Corolla. Don't get me wrong, I love the gas mileage on the Corolla, but I do miss the ride & comfort of my Accord. Now to the good points. I recently took a 4+ hour trip in the Accord and found the seats to be quite comfortable. I never felt any back pain and the ride was smooth as silk. Passing power & acceleration was A+ good as there were many cars & trucks driving too slow on my trip. The car handled nicely in turns with a very balanced and controlled demeanor. Not performance oriented in turns, but very secured handling. Also, the ability to adjust the brightness on the odometer comes in very handy, and the clarity of the odometer during the nighttime is very good. There are many more good points, but I just thought I give a little review on how the 06 Accord Sedan was running.
Please do not spread false information. There is no TSB issued by Honda that supports your unsubstantiated claim. There are some auto neophytes on this board that may put some truth in what you are saying. Please cite your Honda or ANY authority on your claim. Let's see...driving any auto like a maniac, especially the high horsepower types will jepordize the transmission...it was true in 1950 and it is true here in 2005. i do not see any reports of any abnormal transmission failure on any Honda...there were failures on the 1999 to 2002 Odyssey due to manufacturing quality problems in Canada, but Honda transmissions have not been a problem since the recall of the minivans. Since Honda redesigned their transmissions in 2003, I would expect that their new extremely-smooth-shifting transmissions will take normal and even abnormal drivers very well. Transmission failures are the FIRST indication of incompetent drivers...it's about the only thing they can break when abusing an auto.
The dealer must have been out for a liquid lunch. No dealer TSB supports that. Just drive normally and enjoy the auto. Sometimes the Honda dealers are like the Maytag repairman...no failures equals no money coming in the door. Part of the Honda quality defeats fat dealer profits....!
We are looking to purchase a 2006 Accord EX-L with Navigation. The sticker price at the dealer is $28,877 and we plan to negotiate further. What is a realistic final price for this car?
I took my new 2005 Accord I4 on a 1,500 mile trip to Mount Rushmore when I got it in June...mileage ranged between 30 and 33 MPG at 60-75 MPH. All superhighway flat land and mostly cruise control. I get 25-27 MPG in city driving here in Esatern Iowa....with 15% corn squeezins in the gasoline.
Honda sent out recall notices to owners of the 2003 and 2004 Accord V6s equipped with automatic transmissions in the U.S. If second gear showed signs of overheating (discoloration) the trannies were summarily replaced. I'm unaware of trouble with the 2005s.
I see you have a 02 accord. I just gave up my beautiful Endeavor because of gas prices and bought a used 02 Accord. I noticed the clock doesn't lite up, should it? I also just checked my mpg and after going 140 miles on the highway I only got 20mpg and was very disappointed. It was for that reason and the price of gas I gave up my Endeavor. Shouldn't I be getting more mpg than that on a 4cylVtec engine? I also find the seats are pretty hard. I'm going to put in a K and N air filter and hope that helps with mileage but other than that I don't know what else can help. I don't think I'll keep it over a year but in the meantime I would like to know if this is normal?
oldjoe, you'll need to reconsider quite a few of your statements on this one.
Honda of America issued TSB 04-037 and a consumer recall notice to have retrofit work (oil jet kit or transmission replacement) done. My 03 fell into this recall, with the retrofit sufficing.
For a carmaker to issue a TSB and a recall, we know that human safety has to be a factor, and it is with this defect. Cases of 2nd gear seizure at speed have had the drivers frantically fighting for control of their suddenly swerving vehicles.
Driver competence or incompetence has little or nothing to do with this problem, although it's not hard to imagine the consumer initially being blamed by dealer and HOA. In fact, a defect analysis suggests that driving faster or harder could - in forcing better oil circulation - prevent gear failure.
Newcomers to the forum particularly stand to benefit from this thread because, when buying a pre-owned 03 or 04 - for example - they know to ask if the recall work has been done or not. It could save a life, considering the aforementioned cases of high-speed transmission failure.
Reference (source just started requiring a paid subscription to read entire TSB, but there's a TSB description):
Well perhaps so but I'm still disappointed over the mileage. I was doing about 80 most of the time so maybe that had something to do with it. My neighbor told me he gets 38 mpg on his Accord going to california and thats with the cruise set at 85. Im not sure I really believe that. Hopefully I will get better as I slow down. I do have a lead foot and I'm used to the SUV's I've had with the power. The Honda did good on power though, I turned on the a/c just to see if I noticed the motor lug down but it didn't seem to change at all. thanks
Last year at CES - Alpine was showing off their new navigation system with voice activation by Street address - e.g. go to 1402 wilshire blvd. You didn't have to have it as a personal address you could give it a totally new street address and it would recognize the address so virtually no typing - much safer for driving.
I believe Honda uses the Alpine navigation systems. I was tempted to get a new hybrid this year but I haven't read about them putting the new navigation systems in yet. Does anyone have any new info about new navigation systems for the Honda? This and the hybrid are the only reasons I want to upgrade/replace my Acura but I'll wait until I can have both. Rumor is that the acura tl hybrid isn't going to get better mileage just more speed. Frankly I can only drive so fast before I get a ticket and my TL goes MUCH faster than that so I have no idea why they are concerned about that. It has excellent acceleration so but crappy gas mileage - I'm not sure what they are thinking about.
Were you rompin' 80 mph against a headwind? Going uphill? Without the transmission in 4th gear overdrive? If "no" to all of the above, over relatively flat terrain the 4-cyl ought to be good for at least 27 or 28 mpg at 80 mph, if not more. Before you invest in one of those K&N air filters be aware that they require great care in their oiling - and yes it is somewhat messy. Unlike paper air filters, K&Ns depend on a viscous oil to trap dirt, not the relatively coarse filter media - which in a K&N is really just a "support" for the oil film. If they're over-oiled, air starvation will reduce your engine's performance and fuel economy. If they're under-oiled, they'll pass dirt into the intake which will cause accelerated engine wear. If you haven't checked, or had someone check for you, you need to find out the condition of the current air filter. If it's at the end of its useful life, that might be the problem - if there's even one present. (Pray the previous owner wasn't one of those morons who doesn't believe in filtration and removed the air filter as soon as he got the car home after purchase in the misguided belief that minimal air restriction would maximize performance and fuel economy. An engine that's been ingesting dirt unimpeded for four years is apt to have a lot of piston ring and cylinder wear.) A new paper FRAM air filter might get your ride back on track.
The clock has a tiny bulb in its assembly. Pop the clock out of the dash with a plastic putty knife (so it won't scratch/gouge) and you will see the bulb to replace.
20 mpg? Do your test again. I get 30 on the hwy, 25 all around. And a firm seat? Better than the other way around. Use a seat cushion.
No, I wasn't going up hill or against a headwind but I did forget about the overdrive. My Endeavor had automatic overdrive so I never thought about it but I wouldn't think it would make that much difference. The car had a new filter when I bought it and all fluids had been checked. I'll check the mileage again next tank full. The K & N filter sounds like its more trouble than its worth but my grandson and all his car club friends use them on their old classic cars and he'll take care of it for me so I'm not concerned about that part. The Honda I bought was a lease car so hopefully it was taken care of. I don't think I'll keep it over a year and then its back to a SUV for me. Thanks for your help
Thanks for the info on the bulb. I'm taking it in for a little problem I have and I'll have them fix it for me. It didn't work when I bought the car and I've only had it 6 days so they can do it. At least now if they try to tell me it isn't supposed to light I'll have the information I need. They tried to tell me the light on the vanity mirrors were'nt lites but I knew better than that, Honda woudn't survice the wrath of women if they put a vanity mirror in with no light. Anyway thanks for the info on the bulb.
My 2006 EX-L w/ Navi came in last week. I can confirm that the '06 Accord Navi (also the '06 Acura TSX Navi) accepts spoken addresses. And yes, it is an Alpine system. But you don't exactly say "1402 Wilshire Boulevard". It takes the information in smaller chunks like so:
1. (Only if needed) Change the destination state if driving out of the state you are presently in (the system detects the current state via the car's GPS position, a nice trick) 2. Choose "City" or "Street" next. The Navi manual recommends that if using the voice control, pick the city first. The system will again detect the current city via your GPS position and set it as the default. Otherwise, you can speak the destination city name, or spell it verbally a letter at a time, or enter it on the touchscreen via the keyboard, or use the joystick to move the cursor to type on the keyboard. If you speak the city name, the system will display its best guess list of city names for you to choose from, and you speak "1" or "2" to pick off this numbered list (hopefully, it guesses right and the correct choice appears at the top of the list). 3. Next enter the street. But this is not exactly what you'd expect. At this point, you only provide the main "stem" of the address. Ex: for the address "201 Northwest 32nd Street" you just say "thirty second". You leave off prefixes (like NW, SW, SE, NE, etc.) and suffixes (street, avenue, blvd, circle, court, etc.). As before, you can use the other methods of entry if you can't get the system to understand you. 4. Then speak/enter the house number (ex: 201) 5. The system will then show on another pick list all remaining addresses that fit. For example:
1 201 NW 32ND ST 2 201 SW 32ND ST
This updated Navi system can also speak street names in preparation for turns onto them (note: you have to change the system from "normal" voice guidance mode to "max" to make it do this).
Hope this helps. I really like this Navi system, it has to be the most advanced one so far, considering it can also control the radio, CD changer, XM radio, and climate control as well (even the dual zone mode, for example: "driver temperature 67 degrees passenger temperature 73 degrees")
Dear Bobst This saying is very well known in Europe as well. If I did like most people do in France, I would then drop my Automatic V8 BMW 740i and get a 4 cyl diesel manual small Renault or Peugeot car. But I simply won't do this. I am looking for power, refinement and good manners. Honda 2.4 are plenty in China, and because of this, I am pushed towards a 6 Cyl model. You are right that most (South) European strongly prefer a manual stick. I just don't appreciate changing speeds myself, whereas I know automatisms will do much better and smoother than I do. Previous owned/driven cars were MB 280SE, MB 190 2.6, Nissan sunny 1.6, Nissan Primera Estate 2.0 , Peugeot 406 V6 Estate, MB C240 Estate, all automatic, all very rare cars in France. Those cars are much more common in Germany or UK. As I lived in UK for some time and that I also speak German, Those 2 countries influenced my driving and my tastes a lot.
waht you says makes sense and complements what Benny/Atlanta also said. I suppose the V6 model, although assembled in China, must have more imported components than the 4-Cyl models. You are also right, V6 has Side airbags but not 4-Cyl here. This is a point, considering the sky-high traffic accident rate. I will also inquire about the transmission and timing belt issues here. I really don't know to which extent US and China models are similar.
Everyone tells me not to buy second hand in the PROC. As I just have about 20K USD on hand, I have no choice than to thoroughly check this way. I also could buy a Honda Jazz/Fit as new, but 1500 cc is really a small engine for me. anyway, seems 2.4 is the reasonable choice, whereas 3.0 means more passion (and money )involved
Does the NAVI control the fan speed? I didn't see a fan control knob anywhere and was confused on how to get the fan blowing hard without lowering the temp big time.
I live in Arizona where temps get brutal in the summer and am looking to buy a new Honda. My present car takes nearly 30 minutes to get passenger compartment cool enough to stop sweating. Any similar problems with the Honda?
I will be buying the 4 or V6. Can anyone tell me if they have the same A/C system or if different, which is colder?
I have never seen anything saying that the 4 cyl and 6 cyl A/C is different. Would be odd for them to spec different A/C systems for basically the same car.
I hope you didnt get the Dodge with the bad 2.7 litre engine.
I can claim here that I never had an A/C issue with my good old '95 V6 Accord, which is a dark color, and sits out all day in my office parking lot.
Our new '05, which was purchased in early August, has been doing a fine job cooling the inside on hot and humid days, and noticeably better than our previous car, the Volvo 850, used to.
And in general, I think Japanese cars have good A/C system, better than those European ones, 'cause Japan has a hot, humid weather, much worse than Europe's.
Yes it does. You are correct in that some of the climate controls don't have knobs / buttons, but there is a button - third down to the right of the Navi screen - labeled "A/C". You can press this button and you will get the controls for fan speed (1 thru 5), as well as airflow (from the front vents only, floor only, bi-level, or windshield vents + floor) on the Navi screen. You can then select the buttons via the touchscreen, or use the joystick to make your selection. Or, you can bypass using this screen altogether simply by pressing the "talk" button on the steering wheel and saying "fan speed five" (a number 1 thru 5) or "fan speed up".
But a word of caution: the Navi manual advises that you keep the fan on setting 1 or 2 for the system to "hear" you over the blowing air, and also recommends that you direct airflow from the center vents away from the microphone, right above the rear view mirror (i.e., don't point the center vents upward, but more toward the rear).
Of course, you can also use the "auto" mode, and it will blow hard at first to rapidly get to the target temperature, and as it reaches the target temperature, the fan will step down to lower fan speeds. There are also 2 nice voice commands you can't execute via buttons: "temperature max cold" and "temperature max hot". These will set the temp to the system min (57) or max (85) temperature.
I would actually be curious about this comparo as well. It sounds as if the 2006 V6 is quite speedy but I've always liked how the I4 is basically as bulletproof as they come. The cost difference doesn't matter to me so much as if the 4 has more than enough oompf with a full load of people.
I've got a '98 EX 4cyl. and the '03 V6. Both are very good Road cars. I have a stick in the 4 cyl. It seems to be a lot of fun compared to the V6 which is Auto. At highway speeds, both cars are like riding rails. The V6 has quicker pickup when you press it. The 4 is louder until you get up to speed and it feels lighter. I love them both, but my parents appreciate the V6 more. My spouse mainly drives the 4 cyl now and it's very economical, like a Civic upgrade. The EX-L seats are much better than the cloth seats in the 4cyl and I feel a bit more confident on the highway.
I did some research regarding US Accord vs China Accord. They are almost identical except the side airbags for 2.4 models in China (same engine, transmission, dimension, weight, equipments etc.). Hope the side airbags will become standard on the new 2006 2.4 models which should be available very soon.
If you have to buy a 2nd hand Accord, make sure the car is from a trustworthy source and do an independent inspection. Good luck!
Someone mentioned that Japanese built cars have good A/C systems. Mazda made in Japan but if you go to the Mazda 3 forum, "owners problems and solutions" you will see that there are numerous A/C issues. Some say it is ok some say what A/C. Google Mazda 3 A/C problems or something like that, you can do the same for the Accord and see what pops up.
I checked the specs : I can't believe the 2.4 Accord has rear Drum brakes! I feel like going back to the 80s! How dare they put such low-end brake technique on a 160 HP 1460Kg modern car! even my 1990 190E 2.6 had rear disk brakes. This choice would have been clearly slammed in Europe. Maybe the relax American driving style makes this option less an issue, but I am still speechless.
Despite this shortcomings, My purse is dictating me to lean towards a 2.4. There is a 2.0 Model in China that I don't even dare to consider.
checking some local adds, I found a white 2001 Accord 2.3 with dealer demanding a mighty 20k USD. Mileage not mentioned (means not low). I Can't believe a 4-year old model (nearly 5) is sold at such an outrageous price!
Seems I will have to mortgage my house to offer myself a decent car, which is against my principles.
Other alternative, a mazda 6 2.3 (3.0 6 cyl not available in China) they seem a little cheaper.
I found a web site in China advertising second hand cars for incredibly cheap prices, but I have been told it may be a scam or a trick. http://auto.sina.com.cn/z/tohand/index.shtml
Comments
Trip computer seems very handy!
Enjoy the EX.
Best, Tunku.
The 4 cyl Accord has the same air bag setup as the 6 cyl, at least it does in my '04
Mrbill
Mrbill
My '03EXV6 is slipping in 2nd gear occasionally. Just a matter of time.
I want to know how this oil change at the 5000 mile mark is going to affect my car, if at all. Is there something I should do to rectify??? Any advice / suggestion / experience?
Well, I've had my 06 LX V6 sedan for a little over 2 months and went over the 3000 mile mark. Here are my latest good & bad points about the car. Bad points, blind spots are pretty bad on this car. I really have to turn my head to make sure that no one is the corner of my left or right rear area. Another bad point is the turning radius when parking. It isn't as bad as the current model Maximas or Altimas, but you do have to plan your distance before making your turn, otherwise, you'll be backing up because you didn't give enough slack in the room area. Third point is the braking with this Grade Logic feature. Many times I lightly hit the brake pedal, and the car brakes way too forcefully. This is ridiculous, and Honda should really work on fixing this Break-My-Neck braking system. My final knock against this car is that lately, my girlfriend has been taking the car from me. She enjoys the car so much that I'm stuck with her Toyota Corolla. Don't get me wrong, I love the gas mileage on the Corolla, but I do miss the ride & comfort of my Accord.
Now to the good points. I recently took a 4+ hour trip in the Accord and found the seats to be quite comfortable. I never felt any back pain and the ride was smooth as silk. Passing power & acceleration was A+ good as there were many cars & trucks driving too slow on my trip. The car handled nicely in turns with a very balanced and controlled demeanor. Not performance oriented in turns, but very secured handling. Also, the ability to adjust the brightness on the odometer comes in very handy, and the clarity of the odometer during the nighttime is very good. There are many more good points, but I just thought I give a little review on how the 06 Accord Sedan was running.
Honda of America issued TSB 04-037 and a consumer recall notice to have retrofit work (oil jet kit or transmission replacement) done. My 03 fell into this recall, with the retrofit sufficing.
For a carmaker to issue a TSB and a recall, we know that human safety has to be a factor, and it is with this defect. Cases of 2nd gear seizure at speed have had the drivers frantically fighting for control of their suddenly swerving vehicles.
Driver competence or incompetence has little or nothing to do with this problem, although it's not hard to imagine the consumer initially being blamed by dealer and HOA. In fact, a defect analysis suggests that driving faster or harder could - in forcing better oil circulation - prevent gear failure.
Newcomers to the forum particularly stand to benefit from this thread because, when buying a pre-owned 03 or 04 - for example - they know to ask if the recall work has been done or not. It could save a life, considering the aforementioned cases of high-speed transmission failure.
Reference (source just started requiring a paid subscription to read entire TSB, but there's a TSB description):
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/24/032401ax.html
Sounds like something isn’t right.
Mrbill
Go online to www.crutchfield.com and enter your auto to determine what peripherals you want.
Last year at CES - Alpine was showing off their new navigation system with voice activation by Street address - e.g. go to 1402 wilshire blvd. You didn't have to have it as a personal address you could give it a totally new street address and it would recognize the address so virtually no typing - much safer for driving.
I believe Honda uses the Alpine navigation systems. I was tempted to get a new hybrid this year but I haven't read about them putting the new navigation systems in yet. Does anyone have any new info about new navigation systems for the Honda? This and the hybrid are the only reasons I want to upgrade/replace my Acura but I'll wait until I can have both. Rumor is that the acura tl hybrid isn't going to get better mileage just more speed. Frankly I can only drive so fast before I get a ticket and my TL goes MUCH faster than that so I have no idea why they are concerned about that. It has excellent acceleration so but crappy gas mileage - I'm not sure what they are thinking about.
20 mpg? Do your test again. I get 30 on the hwy, 25 all around. And a firm seat? Better than the other way around. Use a seat cushion.
Thanks for your help
My 2006 EX-L w/ Navi came in last week. I can confirm that the '06 Accord Navi (also the '06 Acura TSX Navi) accepts spoken addresses. And yes, it is an Alpine system. But you don't exactly say "1402 Wilshire Boulevard". It takes the information in smaller chunks like so:
1. (Only if needed) Change the destination state if driving out of the state you are presently in (the system detects the current state via the car's GPS position, a nice trick)
2. Choose "City" or "Street" next. The Navi manual recommends that if using the voice control, pick the city first. The system will again detect the current city via your GPS position and set it as the default. Otherwise, you can speak the destination city name, or spell it verbally a letter at a time, or enter it on the touchscreen via the keyboard, or use the joystick to move the cursor to type on the keyboard. If you speak the city name, the system will display its best guess list of city names for you to choose from, and you speak "1" or "2" to pick off this numbered list (hopefully, it guesses right and the correct choice appears at the top of the list).
3. Next enter the street. But this is not exactly what you'd expect. At this point, you only provide the main "stem" of the address. Ex: for the address "201 Northwest 32nd Street" you just say "thirty second". You leave off prefixes (like NW, SW, SE, NE, etc.) and suffixes (street, avenue, blvd, circle, court, etc.). As before, you can use the other methods of entry if you can't get the system to understand you.
4. Then speak/enter the house number (ex: 201)
5. The system will then show on another pick list all remaining addresses that fit. For example:
1 201 NW 32ND ST
2 201 SW 32ND ST
This updated Navi system can also speak street names in preparation for turns onto them (note: you have to change the system from "normal" voice guidance mode to "max" to make it do this).
Hope this helps. I really like this Navi system, it has to be the most advanced one so far, considering it can also control the radio, CD changer, XM radio, and climate control as well (even the dual zone mode, for example: "driver temperature 67 degrees passenger temperature 73 degrees")
This saying is very well known in Europe as well. If I did like most people do in France, I would then drop my Automatic V8 BMW 740i and get a 4 cyl diesel manual small Renault or Peugeot car. But I simply won't do this. I am looking for power, refinement and good manners. Honda 2.4 are plenty in China, and because of this, I am pushed towards a 6 Cyl model.
You are right that most (South) European strongly prefer a manual stick. I just don't appreciate changing speeds myself, whereas I know automatisms will do much better and smoother than I do.
Previous owned/driven cars were MB 280SE, MB 190 2.6, Nissan sunny 1.6, Nissan Primera Estate 2.0 , Peugeot 406 V6 Estate, MB C240 Estate, all automatic, all very rare cars in France. Those cars are much more common in Germany or UK. As I lived in UK for some time and that I also speak German, Those 2 countries influenced my driving and my tastes a lot.
waht you says makes sense and complements what Benny/Atlanta also said. I suppose the V6 model, although assembled in China, must have more imported components than the 4-Cyl models. You are also right, V6 has Side airbags but not 4-Cyl here. This is a point, considering the sky-high traffic accident rate. I will also inquire about the transmission and timing belt issues here. I really don't know to which extent US and China models are similar.
Everyone tells me not to buy second hand in the PROC. As I just have about 20K USD on hand, I have no choice than to thoroughly check this way. I also could buy a Honda Jazz/Fit as new, but 1500 cc is really a small engine for me.
anyway, seems 2.4 is the reasonable choice, whereas 3.0 means more passion (and money )involved
I will be buying the 4 or V6. Can anyone tell me if they have the same A/C system or if different, which is colder?
I hope you didnt get the Dodge with the bad 2.7 litre engine.
Mrbill
Our new '05, which was purchased in early August, has been doing a fine job cooling the inside on hot and humid days, and noticeably better than our previous car, the Volvo 850, used to.
And in general, I think Japanese cars have good A/C system, better than those European ones, 'cause Japan has a hot, humid weather, much worse than Europe's.
Yes it does. You are correct in that some of the climate controls don't have knobs / buttons, but there is a button - third down to the right of the Navi screen - labeled "A/C". You can press this button and you will get the controls for fan speed (1 thru 5), as well as airflow (from the front vents only, floor only, bi-level, or windshield vents + floor) on the Navi screen. You can then select the buttons via the touchscreen, or use the joystick to make your selection. Or, you can bypass using this screen altogether simply by pressing the "talk" button on the steering wheel and saying "fan speed five" (a number 1 thru 5) or "fan speed up".
But a word of caution: the Navi manual advises that you keep the fan on setting 1 or 2 for the system to "hear" you over the blowing air, and also recommends that you direct airflow from the center vents away from the microphone, right above the rear view mirror (i.e., don't point the center vents upward, but more toward the rear).
Of course, you can also use the "auto" mode, and it will blow hard at first to rapidly get to the target temperature, and as it reaches the target temperature, the fan will step down to lower fan speeds. There are also 2 nice voice commands you can't execute via buttons: "temperature max cold" and "temperature max hot". These will set the temp to the system min (57) or max (85) temperature.
The V6 has quicker pickup when you press it. The 4 is louder until you get up to speed and it feels lighter. I love them both, but my parents appreciate the V6 more. My spouse mainly drives the 4 cyl now and it's very economical, like a Civic upgrade. The EX-L seats are much better than the cloth seats in the 4cyl and I feel a bit more confident on the highway.
I did some research regarding US Accord vs China Accord. They are almost identical except the side airbags for 2.4 models in China (same engine, transmission, dimension, weight, equipments etc.). Hope the side airbags will become standard on the new 2006 2.4 models which should be available very soon.
If you have to buy a 2nd hand Accord, make sure the car is from a trustworthy source and do an independent inspection. Good luck!
Andy
Thanks in advance.
Mazda made in Japan but if you go to the Mazda 3 forum, "owners problems and solutions" you will see that there are numerous A/C issues. Some say it is ok some say what A/C. Google Mazda 3 A/C problems or something like that, you can do the same for the Accord and see what pops up.
I checked the specs : I can't believe the 2.4 Accord has rear Drum brakes! I feel like going back to the 80s! How dare they put such low-end brake technique on a 160 HP 1460Kg modern car! even my 1990 190E 2.6 had rear disk brakes. This choice would have been clearly slammed in Europe. Maybe the relax American driving style makes this option less an issue, but I am still speechless.
Despite this shortcomings, My purse is dictating me to lean towards a 2.4. There is a 2.0 Model in China that I don't even dare to consider.
checking some local adds, I found a white 2001 Accord 2.3
with dealer demanding a mighty 20k USD. Mileage not mentioned (means not low). I Can't believe a 4-year old model (nearly 5) is sold at such an outrageous price!
Seems I will have to mortgage my house to offer myself a decent car, which is against my principles.
Other alternative, a mazda 6 2.3 (3.0 6 cyl not available in China) they seem a little cheaper.
I found a web site in China advertising second hand cars for incredibly cheap prices, but I have been told it may be a scam or a trick.
http://auto.sina.com.cn/z/tohand/index.shtml
This ad offers a Honda Accord 2.0 for 7000 USD
http://post.sina.com.cn/show.php?uid=4400-6-20546&major=6&sub=189
But my chinese reading is limited so I just wonder where the catch is