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I have already registered about 300 miles on it b/c the first 175 were from the ride home from the dealer! I imagine I'll have it close to 500 miles by the time I leave next week...and the first 150 miles or so are on a small back road.
Also, is it reasonable that I'm keeping the engine under about 4,000 RPM's so far?...should I be racing it up to the 6,000 RPM range every now and then to help break the engine in, or would that just cause potential problems?
...Up until now, I've always bought used, so pardon my lack of knowledge in this area!...a new car was recently uncharted territory for me.
Finally, does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with the 3M clear film bras for the front of the car? I'm not a fan of the typical black bra, and am looking for an alternative.
I would not say you have to go full throttle (6,000 rpm), but I would get it up to 5,000 rpm, at least a couple times briefly.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I have no idea to whom you spoke at Honda, but I suspect he/she doesn't hold a degree in mechanical engineering. (I don't either - but I've rebuilt several engines during restoration projects, myself, over the past 44 years.) You're, of course, free to drive your car in any manner you choose short of recklessly that may cause harm to others. But the simple fact is that brand new piston rings take time to "square" into proper alignment with their cylinder bores. New rings are intentionaly ground and lapped with a very slight convex ("bowed" outward) surface to allow this process to happen - and happen from the center of the ring's bore contact surface for best alignment and longest life. Regardless what you were told, the smart money is on varying engine speed frequently over the first 600 miles to aid precise and quickest ring seating. Ask any mechanic who makes his living rebuilding engines instead of some call center person who may or may not be ten thousand miles away in Karachi, Pakistan or Calcutta, India. (They don't all speak with noticeable accents - the ones who've mastered neutral American dialect command premium compensation for some inexplicable reason...)
YES, Sir! (You're your engine's newest best friend.
What Ray said certainly makes alot of sense to me, but again you'd think Honda knows what they're talking about when they warn NOT to change the oil untill 5000 miles :confuse:
Exactly right. Keep the factory oil in for a minimum 5,000 miles. I did it with my 06 Accord (to 4,983mi to be precise!) and I'm getting better gas mileage than I would expect to have gotten from this car (30 MPG is normal in mixed, 36-39.2MPG on trips).
OK, When your engine is turning at let's say 2,000 rpm the pistons will be exerting more force on one side of the cylinder wall than the other (the piston is never being pushed perfectly straight up). At 4,000 rpm more force could be applied to the opposite side of the cylinder wall. By varying your speeds, at a wide range of rpms, you are making sure the piston rings and bearings wear as evenly as possible.
BullsH*f
If they said this, then they have to provide the oil filter for free. Federal law dictates that if an auto manufactor requires only their maintenance item be used, they must provide it for free.
This law was passed just to stop the kind of nonsense you were told.
Go back and tell them about this. See how fast they will back-peddle about only Honda filters working.
With some many 'light-fingered' people browsing thru new cars, most dealers leave no manuals in any cars for sale on their lot. But one was probably stolen out of some car and the one in you car was switched to some other car sold previously. Or maybe the one in your car was stolen.
Exactly right on all counts. The federal law involved is the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Act which stopped abuses by all automakers (Particularly Ford and GM) in which the automakers voided buyers' new car warranties unless the buyers used automaker brand replacement parts*, fluids, and dealership servicing for all routine servicing. If a given fluid, say Dexron III automatic transmission fluid, is required for an automatic transmission, it can be purchased anywhere by do-it-yourselfers without endangering the owner's warranty claim rights. (M-M also specifically allows owners to do their own routine maintenance without endangering warranty provisions. Save receipts and keep a handwritten log of what was done and when - it'll hold up in court if the automaker challenges you - and it's always the automaker's legal obligation to prove you screwed up, not yours to prove you didn't.) However there is a serious caveat: Most current cars no longer use the once nearly universal Dexron AT fluid. Honda specifies a proprietary fluid - "Z-1" which the company has not licensed for aftermarket production. Honda, though, allows in writing, the use of Dexron temporarily in their gear-type automatic transmissions with the admonition to change it out as soon as possible. (Only Z-1 is to be used in Honda's CVT transmission, though.) Others, such as Hyundai, will void transmission warranty coverage outright if anything other than a Mitsubishi spec. AT fluid - "SP III" is used. Like Honda's, SP III is not available through the aftermarket channels. There're other examples, but I merely wanted to give an easy to digest example of possible gotchas. Motor oil is another matter. All that's required is that the proper viscosity and API certification (5W-20 and probably "SL" or "SM" for current Hondas) be followed. (The next API certification will be "SN", but isn't due until late 2009. The latest API certifications are always backward compatible with previous certifications, but the inverse isn't true. Don't use "SF" in a new Accord, but it's fine to use "SM" in a '96 Accord.) Brand is irrelevant for warranty coverage. Same goes for brake fluid - DOT 3 or DOT 4 is good to go regardless of brand.
*Honda does not make oil filters. Most filters mounted to U.S. production Accords are made by Honeywell's Fram division in Canada and labled as Honda. (These are not exactly the same as run-of-the-mill Frams, but do employ the same basic construction techniques.) However, the Honda brand filters employ a "P" profile mounting gasket and a silicone antidrainback valve identifiable by its orange color through the inlet holes. A number of other automakers have adopted the "P" profile mounting gasket, too, but to my knowledge none of the aftermarket brand oil filters use this configuration. Still, even the conventional press-on mounting gaskets have never leaked for me. (Just 'cause a mousetrap's better doesn't mean it kills a mouse deader.
I've wondered how Honda can get by with not licensing their transmission fluid and antifreeze? I would think the govnmint would get into this and force them to provide the specification for other producers to market this stuff.
I bought Honda antifreeze, premixed to 50/50, for $10 a gallon. This comes to $20 a gallon for 100% antifreeze. Pretty steep, when other major brand long-life antifreeze is at the most about $8/$10 gallon around here.
I've never bought tranny fluid, no idea what it costs, never ran enough miles yet to do that service.
I, too, wish the latter were true. But, Honda spent considerable time and money researching what combination of base oils, additives, and clutch facing materials would provide smoothest operation and protect their transmissions over the longest possible operational life. (and Honda automatics are a whole 'notha matter compared to everybody else's automatics...) They applied for (and received) international patents to protect their right to recoup their development costs and earn profits on their specialized ATF. The gub'mnt's powerless to force Honda to divulge their secrets while the patents remain in effect. Expect Honda Z-1 ATF to run $4.00-$6.00 per quart at retail - maybe less by the 12 qt. case.
You know the Honda stuff might be more expensive, but the change intervals for anti-freeze and transmission fluid are so long that it doesn't seem worth not doing it.
I think it is important to change the brake fluid every two - three years.
As for the dash, I've had a small rattle on the storage compartment door... only shows up on some roads. Next time you hear it, try opening the door and see if it goes away.
I'm not sure about the compartment door, but the part above the arm rest right below the window glass definitely rattles because it goes away if I press on it.
Sitting in traffic would kill any brand's MPG.
Should you really post this in the Honda Accord forum anyway?
I called the dealer, and was told that this usually destroy the CD player -- replacement would cost 1000 dollars !!!
thanks.
A CD Changer will cost considerably more, but since you are replacing it on an aging car (not old, but not new), maybe you could step down to a single-disc unit with FANTASTIC sound quality for $200 or so and be ok?
I liked the power, standard safety features, the lease offer on a brand new model year, and the quietness. The only things I'd like to have that it doesn't have standard are heated mirrors and auto-dimming mirror. The auto-dimming mirror however can be dealer installed.