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Honda Accord (2008-2012) Maintenance and Repair

1608 messages,  Last post on Jun 06, 2013 at 1:46 PM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Accord, Sedan

    

Messages Page 159 of 162

#1575 of 1608 2008-2012 Accords; Are they worth keeping? by jodar96

Dec 13, 2012 (3:59 pm)

I say they are decent cars and are worth keeping.
 
I bought a 2009 Accord EX-L 5 speed with 34K miles in Nov 2011 and I am happy with the car. I think I am OK with the seat comfort. They are not great and that push at your lower back is a crazy design and if it gets to me I know how to fix it by taking the back cover off and messing with plastic back plate and cables. It gets 34-35mpg on hwy driving.
  
It drives and handles better than Camry and Altima. I drove them both. At 50K, it has the original well worn tires and brakes. I have done oil changes, air and cabing filter change and tire rotations myself. I just changed the battery on my own before it has a chance to act up in freezing winter.
 
This car is very trouble free compared to let's say a 2008-2010 BMW 528i that I am been watching for a while. Those cars have battery draining and water pump issues. most carfax report on used ones show multiple trips to dealership for issue.
 
Hondas are STILL very reliable compared to so many cars out there and have umatched high resale value.
 
Joe

#1576 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [rodut] by icyou812

Dec 13, 2012 (7:28 pm)

Replying to: rodut (Dec 12, 2012 11:45 am)
$1000 trade in? Wow, that's an insult! They think a sucker is born every minute. The third gear issue was frustrating. It started at only 5k miles, and only whenever it felt like it. Dealer couldn't reproduce it. It exhibited the same symptoms many Civic Si and Accord coupe's had with their 6 spd. transmissions. Got the runaround from the dealer until I talked to Honda of America customer service. I finally put in BG Products Syncroshift 2 synthetic gear lube and it has shifted smooth as silk since then. I have not been back to that stealership since! I have a local trusted shop take care of it now. Whenever I'm back in the market for another car I will be checking out the Nissan dealer where I bought my Sentra (it was the second one I bought from them). They were no nonsense easy going folks. I didn't try to lowball them and made a fair offer and told them I was willing to buy that day. Salesman only went to the manager once and came back to shake my hand. These were super clean low mile used vehicles. I will give them a shot if I decide to buy a new car in the future.

#1577 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [rodut] by hondalova

Dec 24, 2012 (1:02 pm)

Replying to: rodut (Dec 10, 2012 1:07 pm)
I don't think you can hit reverse when trying to go into 6th - I believe there is a lockout function that prevents this from happening when the car is moving forward at more than a couple of mph (not that I've ever tried it as I want to keep my tranny IN my car and not out on the ground). I know that, when I'm standing still, I can't put it in "6th" - only in reverse and when I'm moving, I can't put it in reverse, only 6th.
 
This is not a problem and, if that's the only reason you're avoiding a six-speed manual, you are worrying about a non-issue.

#1578 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [hondalova] by rodut

Dec 25, 2012 (6:13 pm)

Replying to: hondalova (Dec 24, 2012 1:02 pm)
You are right. I test drove a 2013 6-speed manual transmission. The whole "R" branch of the gears layout disappears when the car is moving forward. You cannot push the lever to the right more than the 5th-6th level. So it's safe.
 
I still don't understand why they build a 6-speed gearbox though (given that the 6th speed of a 6-speed gearbox has the same ratio as the former 5th speed of the older 5-speed gearbox). You have to shift more often, without getting any extra ratio. It may be a stupid marketing thing. Showing off that ... wow ... I have a 6-speed now !!!
 

#1579 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [rodut] by hondalova

Dec 28, 2012 (11:03 am)

Replying to: rodut (Dec 25, 2012 6:13 pm)
You got it brother. What they've done is to simply cram the ratio spread of a 5 spd. with 6 gears instead of keeping the original five ratios and making a 6th "super-overdrive" gear that would solve almost all of the mileage problems this car has without the need for expensive and complicated cylinder deactivation systems. If the gear ratio spread were just a smidge bigger in every gear from 2nd to 6th, this car would easily get 28-30 mpg on the highway, even with the 271 hp. V-6 and no cylinder deactivation.
 
I might add that such systems usually don't do squat to improve mileage if you travel in traffic, even at hwy. speeds, b/c the minute you touch the throttle, all 6 cylinders reactivate. So, if your commute is made in traffic where you are constantly managing the throttle up/down 2-3 mph to avoid a collision with closely packed cars around you, you don't get the mileage advantage. It only works if your commute allows for long stretches of hwy. speed on cruise control - otherwise you are never in cylinder deactivation mode.

#1580 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [hondalova] by rodut

Dec 28, 2012 (7:09 pm)

Replying to: hondalova (Dec 28, 2012 11:03 am)
I agree. All 6 cylinders permently fired, and a gear box keeping the engine at a lower RPM, would be better.
 
The reason I am driving a manual is because when I put the car in a certain gear, I feel the engine rigid coupled with the road. I get absolute constant power. I feel connected to the road. No computer driven power change of any kind. What they did was to add 2 layers of software between my engine and the road. One is the computer driven automatic transmission. The 2nd software layer is the cylinder deactivation software. Why in the world would I want 2 extra computers between me and the road ?!
 
If I want to buy computers, I go to a computer store. I definitely don't go to a car dealership. It's funny they keep adding computers in cars. I think they got it all wrong. They think we want computers, not cars.
 
In the new 2013 Accord they removed money from steering (hydraulic steering replaced by cheaper electric steering), they removed money from suspension (fancy double wishbone front suspension replaced by cheaper MacPherson struts), and they pumped money into electronic gadgets ! Why do they think we want to buy electronic gadgets from a car dealership ?! It beats me.
 
I can type this text, safely from home, on one of my 3 computers. Why would I need more computers in my garage ?!

#1581 of 1608 2008 ACCORD CEL FLASHING, RUNS TERRIBLE by badtranny

Dec 29, 2012 (4:08 pm)

2008 Accord LX-P, four cylinder, Auto trans. 56k miles. Original owner.
 
I was coming home from work when I stopped to fill up the gas tank. I left the head lights on and the battery has reached its useful life. When I went to start the car, it cranked slower, of course the battery is shot, but it did start. As I pulled away from the pump, there was some jerkyness. Then the Check Engine Light came on. I figure the lower voltage of the battery was the cause and I stopped the car, and shut if off to see if the light would go out. It didn't. Then, as I traveled down the road just a bit, the VSA lights came on. A couple of more shut down and restarts didn't help. The car runs rough as though it is only running on a couple of cylinders.
 
My guess as of today is that the emission equip has taken a hit, and/or the computer.. I can't read the codes until I get a new reader. My 2003 Acton will not link up and read the codes. I charged the battery up last night and problems still exist.
 
I am going to try and borrow a reader to see what I can gather for additional information. I posted a similar note last night under Questions, but I can't find it and any possible replies.
 
Any thing that I should be testing first? Thanks. (

#1582 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [rodut] by rodut

Jan 04, 2013 (9:04 am)

Replying to: rodut (Dec 28, 2012 7:09 pm)
I forgot to mention removing the money from the transmission (gear transmission replaced by a cheaper belt transmission (CVT)).
 
Funny stuff: instead of saying: "put the car in gear", owners of the new 2013 Accord should say: "put the car in belt" ! Yeah ... but they have computers ...

#1583 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [rodut] by dpmeersman

Jan 04, 2013 (10:31 am)

Replying to: rodut (Jan 04, 2013 9:04 am)
There are many types of CVT transmissions and not all use belts. Looking at the Toroidal type that Nissan has used it looks as complex as any set ratio auto tranny. Check out the variety in use or developement at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuously_variable_transmission

#1584 of 1608 Re: To keep, or not to keep ... [dpmeersman] by rodut

Jan 04, 2013 (5:59 pm)

Replying to: dpmeersman (Jan 04, 2013 10:31 am)
Interesting article. It doesn't say which kind the 2013 Accord uses though. It may be confidential. People could get scared.
 
What bothers me is the fact that money moves out from what used to be a car (steering, suspension, transmission), into electronic gadgets. While I am typing this, I see at the top of this webpage "The all-new Accord" advertisment. It says: "With a standard rearview camera". Wow !!! How impressive !!! It has a camera, like any cheap cell phone I could buy at the local grocery store ! The fundamentals, like Honda legendary reliability, double wishbone suspension, etc, don't matter anymore. Only the electronic gadgets matter.
 
Did somebody see the "Idiocracy" movie ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy
 
I am afraid we are going in that direction.
 
Peace

Messages Page 159 of 162

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