Ask the Car People.SM


Honda Accord (2008-2012) Maintenance and Repair

1605 messages,  Last post on Mar 07, 2013 at 7:46 AM

You are in the Honda Accord Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Accord, Sedan

    

Messages Page 161 of 161

#1596 of 1605 Re: ??? [rodut] by kirstie_h HOST

Feb 06, 2013 (12:25 pm)

Replying to: rodut (Feb 05, 2013 8:15 am)
Well, I'm very sorry to hear of your past automotive trauma... we had a 2003 Pacifica (or around that year), so I feel... or felt... your pain.

#1597 of 1605 Re: ??? [kirstie_h] by rodut

Feb 06, 2013 (4:51 pm)

Replying to: kirstie_h (Feb 06, 2013 12:25 pm)
Wow ! You may remember that Chrysler's logo during those times was: "Inspiration comes standard".
 
As a joke, I modified that into: "Clunking comes standard" (while chatting on Edmunds about the low speed suspension clunking many Pacifica owners experienced). Later I saw my joke quoted all over internet. No dealership was ever able to fix that clunking. It was there since day one, and it also was there the day I traded it (for a 2008 Honda Pilot).

#1598 of 1605 Break-in period / Special engine oil ?? by rodut

Feb 07, 2013 (9:08 am)

Does somebody know why the 2012 Honda Accord user guide says:
"Break-in Period: Do not change the oil until the scheduled maintenance time" ?
 
For highway driving I heard that may be 12,000 Kms (7,500 miles). So a lot. Is there something special about the oil they initially put in the engine, at the factory ?

#1599 of 1605 Re: Break-in period / Special engine oil ?? [rodut] by catmike

Feb 07, 2013 (4:33 pm)

Replying to: rodut (Feb 07, 2013 9:08 am)
Rodut
 
  Honda makes 14 million internal combustion engines each and every year. Yes 14 million. I am not much a car man although I own a 2008 Honda Accord, a 1997 F250 and two Model A Ford Sedans. My wife and I figured that Honda knows more about their engines than we do. She helped fight that urge to change oil immediately; and yes I waited, waited and waited for the dash oil change indicator to roll around to a change oil status. When that happened we went to Mobil1 and have stayed with it. Today, my Honda drives new and I still love it. There have been a couple threads on this very subject by people much better informed than I but not better informed than Honda. I'd did check my oil often and after a couple of months when the oil stick showed oil was needed, I added dino. This process was really hard for me. Waiting, Waiting. Honda's "break in oil" looked sick; but, since the date of my car's build, Honda has made 70 million more engines and the world loves them.

#1600 of 1605 Re: Break-in period / Special engine oil ?? [catmike] by rodut

Feb 08, 2013 (6:56 am)

Replying to: catmike (Feb 07, 2013 4:33 pm)
Catmike,
 
I asked the question because there are two opposite recommendations, both coming from the very smart guys at Honda:
 
1) the 1st one says to not change the initial break-in oil till the change indicator tells you to do it. Given the distance I drive per year, this is likely to happen one year from now, when the car will have 1 year (future) + 1 year (since the car was manufactured, because I bought a new 2012 leftover) = 2 years.
 
2) The 2nd direction coming from the Honda too says to change the oil after one year maximum, doesn't matter the mileage (it seems that the oil shouldn't stay for more than one year inside any engine).
 
As you can see one Honda recommendation tells me to replace the oil now (because the oil stayed there for one year already), the other recommendation tells me to wait for approximately another year (till the break-in oil, if such a thing really exists, is used).
 
You don't really have to answer questions, if you only know that the Honda guys are very smart. We all know that. Also we all know they make lots of engines.

#1601 of 1605 Re: Break-in period / Special engine oil ?? [rodut] by catmike

Feb 08, 2013 (11:08 am)

Replying to: rodut (Feb 08, 2013 6:56 am)
Rodut
 
    Prior to WWII the U.S. Army, Navy stockpiled hundreds and hundreds of trucks, cars, vehicles and machines of all sorts. The Amry found that oil/lubricants did not degrade by just being parked for months or years.
 
   If Honda thought that oil wore out because a car sat on a dealer's lot they'd tell you. Oil does not degraded in a year's time just sitting in a crakcase. The one year BS refers to cars "driven" by an owner for one year but with mileage so low that the oil indicatior doesn't do it's thing. Yet, no one ever sends the oil for a test. May I repeat, 14 million internal combustion engines are built by Honda each year. To me and probably only to me that means Honda is way smarter about their products than I. However, my Honda dealer's svc dept. lies, steals and works extra hard to seperate me from my money. Once an oil pump for the valves failed making a heck of a racket. The svc writer and supervisor told me that was normal for Honda's with 30,000 miles. I came home, opened Google and typed in a description. Bang on, the various sites told me what the story was. With the facts the svc dept were forced to fix the car (they were ignoring a Honda Svc Bulletin). My engine wont make that kind of noise until it passes the 3 million mile mark. But, I digress. Know what? change your oil ! You'll be happier; but, do it because you want to not based on svc dept BS.

#1602 of 1605 Re: Break-in period / Special engine oil ?? [catmike] by rodut

Feb 08, 2013 (11:46 am)

Replying to: catmike (Feb 08, 2013 11:08 am)
No, Honda's service department didn't give me any BS. I didn't even talk to them at all. I was just reading the owner's manual, like any new car owner should, and I found those two incompatible recommendations. I sent an email to Honda, with the same question. I guess they will say the same thing you said. Probably that oil, as you say, is OK after just sitting in the engine for one year.
 
Peace !

#1603 of 1605 Re: Break-in period / Special engine oil ?? [rodut] by rodut

Feb 19, 2013 (3:26 pm)

Replying to: rodut (Feb 08, 2013 11:46 am)
Correct. Honda confirmed that the oil sitting in a brand new vehicle stays OK. So we count one year since the car was put on the road, not since the manufacturing date.
 
Also they said the initial 0W20 engine oil contains some special break-in aditives. So it should stay there till the maintenance minder tells you to replace it. Replacing it early would be bad for the engine.

#1604 of 1605 Cheaper SE by rodut

Feb 24, 2013 (3:22 pm)

I remember looking under the hood of an EX-L (at the dealership). It had a black pipe connecting the top of those things where the suspension is. I think that bar is called a "strut tower bar". My SE doesn't have it. I saw in some pictures on the web that other Accords also don't have it. To be honest I thought that the trim level affects only the luxury items, not steel pipes !
 
I can't see where the spark plugs are. Either they are hidden, or as a cost cutting measure the SE doesn't have them ... LOL.

#1605 of 1605 Headlights adjustment by rodut

Mar 07, 2013 (7:46 am)

Does somebody have any idea about how to adjust the headlights ? The screws are hidden behind those sheets of metal, and the left headlight has a black plastic box behind it. I don't know what that plastic box is, and how to remove it.
 
On my previous 2001 Accord it was piece of cake (the screws were very accessible).
 
Do I have to remove the whole headlight to turn those adjustment screws ?! It would make no sense. Anything becomes more and more complicated.

Messages Page 161 of 161

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement