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Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

5868 messages,  Last post on May 07, 2013 at 7:55 PM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Accord, Electrical, Engine, Coupe, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 85 of 588

#834 of 5868 Re: 2003 Accord LX 4cyl Auto...Owner Update [djm2] by tygerleo

Jun 07, 2006 (6:29 pm)

Replying to: djm2 (May 22, 2006 5:49 am)
I agree with your point (1) about the visibility. It is the common problem for today's car design. It needs have aerodymic and crash worthiness, so car makers come with design that has narrow angle and large windshield pillar. as matter of fact, the British car magazine, The Car or EVO ( I forgot which one), also pointed out this problem few months ago. They compared a 2005 Mercedes CLK and 85 BMW 528i. The old BMW has a much better view at the intersection than the modern Mercedes.
 
I have 2003 LX V6 with extended warranty. It is just out the regular warranty few moths ago. In the three years I have it, it has a list of problem2:
(1) Engine knocking: it takes Honda several time to fix the problem, including re programming ECM.
(2) Radio Light: I also have the problem with the radio light, that ended up to replace whole unit.
(3) Front Brake: When the car was in the 30K service, the dealer indicated the both front brake pad, the rotor need to be replaced, after I complained that the brake made some noise when the car is cold. I called Honda complain about the rotor replacement, they in turn call my local Honda dealer, they replace the front brake pads for free, and claimed the rotors were still in good shape. I later checked the rotor myself, they still have 10 to 12 MM thick. Overall, I believe the brake for the Honda is not sufficient.
(4) Dash Light: My dash light sometime behaves strangely, it turns bright and dim without any reason. It often happens when it rains during the date time, I turn on the headlight, it will dim the dashlight a bit by design, but since it is still a date time, so the dash light will turn bright and then dim upon the ambient sunlight. It is annoying. Again the dealer is not able to find the problem, so it is not the problem for them.
 
Other complains for this car are
(1)Wind Noise: I can not drive the car with the front window open on the highway, the noise is just too loud. Again this is the problem for modern car, the aerodymic design creates a large Eddy current around the front widow. And even with widow close, the wind noise is noticeable, it is not as quite as the Camry.
(2) Road Noise: Its suspension is very busy and noise.
(3) Front Seat: it is not very comfortable for long trip. I used to own an 1992 Integra, other Honda product, it had a very comfortable front seat.
(4) Back Seat: It has not slit fold-down. I never understand why Honda does not offer this feature, I am even willing to pay extra for this feature.
(5) Glove Box: It can not close tightly, the light can be seen at night, the dealer has to install a seal on it, the seal is part of the original design.
(6) Dash Board: The once famous one-piece dash board was replaced with a multi-piece one, it looks cheap.
(7) Right Front Wheel: For some reason, my front right wheel keeps hitting curb. I think it is sometime to do with the interior design, it causes the drive mis-judging the curb from the driver seat. I notice a few same model of Accord has the same problem.
 
Overall I will only give this car 7/10 scale.

#835 of 5868 coasting in neutral with 06 ex v6 automatic by danxp

Jun 08, 2006 (9:40 am)

is it harmful to the engine or transmission in any way if i put the transmission into neutral while traveling at 60 mph downhill? sometimes the car seems to slow down when going downhill and i don't even hit the gas or brake... i put it into neutral and it resumes its speed while revving at around 1k or lower...
 
is this recommended?
 
i imagine putting it back into D from N at 60mph can't be too good either, huh?
 
thanks for any insight...

#836 of 5868 Re: coasting in neutral with 06 ex v6 automatic [danxp] by accord6mt

Jun 08, 2006 (10:55 am)

Replying to: danxp (Jun 08, 2006 9:40 am)
The first question in my mind is: Why would you do such a thing? and do you do it often? Is it because you don't like the car slowing down while traveling down a hill when you're in "D?"
 
I believe it's important to say that it can't be all that safe to ride down a hill without the car "in gear" meaning, the transmission is in "D." What if, for some reason, you need to use the gas to accelerate and quickly change lanes?
 
That said, I also believe automatic transmissions are designed to drive in "D" during almost all normal driving. I don't know the exact details, but engaging your transmission from Neutral to "D" while traveling at a decent clip can put certain amounts of stress on parts of the transmission, and doing this repeatedly throughout the life of your car will probably damage your transmission. Perhaps someone else can post a more detailed explanation.
 
In short, I believe:
1) It's unsafe to drive at 60 mph while in Neutral, regardless of going uphill or downhill.
2) You're probably causing damage to parts of your transmission by doing this and chances are, if you're trying to save on gas by coasting down a hill, you really aren't saving much. Oh, and make sure your car is in "D" and not "D3." That might explain the slowing of your car.
 
Best of luck!

#837 of 5868 Re: coasting in neutral with 06 ex v6 automatic [accord6mt] by danxp

Jun 08, 2006 (11:40 am)

Replying to: accord6mt (Jun 08, 2006 10:55 am)
i suspected this was probably not the best thing for the car... it wasn't too smooth when shifting back to D from N... i'm just used to driving a stick and when it came to stretches of road where acceleration was not required, i would let it coast in neutral... or is that a bad idea too?
 
as for the car slowing down, i always check and it's not in D3... it always seems to slow down just a bit annoyingly... could this be a problem with the tranny or something or just a "feature"?

#838 of 5868 Re: coasting in neutral with 06 ex v6 automatic [danxp] by thegraduate

Jun 08, 2006 (2:49 pm)

Replying to: danxp (Jun 08, 2006 11:40 am)
Check your RPMs at that 60MPH...they should be right around 2,000 RPM unless your "grade-logic control" is holding a lower gear. This "feature" is made to hold a lower gear up and down hills to prevent excessive speed build-up down a hill (it will usually hold up to 3k RPM going downhill before going into higher gear when coasting down. Going uphill (a long grade at 35+ MPH or so), your car will likely hold in third gear, until you finish the grade or reach a high-enough speed (something like 55-60MPH) for the car to feel confident that it won't have to "Hunt" gears.time you go down that big hill, and let us know what the RPMs are. PLEASE don't go into "N" at speed anymore, it isn't safe, or good for your transmission.
 
Check the RPM of your car in "D" next time, and get back to us.

#839 of 5868 Windshield chip by ar39

Jun 08, 2006 (7:01 pm)

This evening a rock chipped my car's windshield. There is a star shaped crack & flake on the inside of the glass. The chip is slightly less than a penny's diameter. I've options of replacing the glass for $300+ or repairing the crack with resin for $60. I'm not sure how the finish would be after the repair because this is the first time I'm having glass trouble. What do you guys think about the repair?

#840 of 5868 Re: Windshield chip [ar39] by thegraduate

Jun 08, 2006 (7:06 pm)

Replying to: ar39 (Jun 08, 2006 7:01 pm)
I actually have a "star" from a rock hitting my windshield in my red Accord when it was two weeks old. Now, it's 10 1/2 years old (1996 model, chipped in Dec. 1995), and has not changed at all; no cracks, no splits. Yes, I have several other windshield chips now, but none that have cracked or caused me concern.
 
If money is an issue, maybe wait and see if anything happens with it. My car has been driven 160,000 miles since that "star" happened, and I've not spent a dime on it. No cracks at all!

#841 of 5868 Re: Windshield chip [ar39] by blackexv6

Jun 09, 2006 (4:13 am)

Replying to: ar39 (Jun 08, 2006 7:01 pm)
You probably will not be satisfied with the resign fill. A hazy spot will still be visible after the repair.
 
Also, if you use your insurance to cover the damage, maje sure the glass shop uses an OEM Honda windshield. They will subsitute with a cheaper windshield if you do not specify.

#842 of 5868 06 V6 First Oil Change by jhinsc

Jun 09, 2006 (4:39 am)

I would like to hear other owner's comments on their oil change interval. I called my local dealer to schedule service since my Maintenance Minder indicated 10% at 7,100 miles, with the code B1 indicated. The service tech told me I was way over my miles for the first oil change since it should be done every 3,750 miles. He goes into his speech about how difficult it is to read the manual, so they've prepared an "easy-to-read" maintenance guide for their customers. I responded that the manual was very clear and actually simple to understand - just let the maintenance minder tell you when service is needed. He then stated that the I4 can go 5,000 miles between oil changes, but the recommend interval for the V6 is 3,750 miles and that is what they will put on the sticker applied to the inside windshield. I said "whatever" as I was getting pretty annoyed by his apparent persistent ignorance.
 
How are others handling their maintenance? Please, no lectures about how oil should be changed every 3k miles - it's overkill and I've heard enough of that.

#843 of 5868 Re: 06 V6 First Oil Change [jhinsc] by djm2

Jun 09, 2006 (5:10 am)

Replying to: jhinsc (Jun 09, 2006 4:39 am)
The cost of the average oil and filter change at the Honda dealer is about $23.00 dollars. At this price it is minor issue with regards to the operating cost of the vehicle. At 3,000 mile intervals it is costing 0.0076666 per mile. At 5,000 mile intervals it is costing 0.0046 per mile. At 10,000 mile intervals it is costing 0.0023 per mile. I have it changed by the dealer at 3,000 miles. I have a service appointment every eight weeks reserved at the dealer for this purpose. I am in and out of the dealership in less than 30 minutes, and I get to say "hello" to the Service Manager and the Service Writer. (These are good people to have on your side when issues arise with your vehicle and you need service ASAP!)----- Pick your own service interval and enjoy your new vehicle. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff! ---- Best regards. ---Dwayne

Messages Page 85 of 588

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