Advice for a new Accord Euro owner

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and this is effectively my first post. A lot of you guys have a wealth of knowledge and are willing to help so I thought I'd ask for some advive.

I have been reading a lot of the current and older threads before and after I purchased my Accord Euro. It is LE Tourer model, Black and 5spd Auto.

So far, I've only driven it sparingly (200 kms) but was wondering if some of you more experienced Euro owners could give me some basic advice tips on the Euro.

I have read in some threads on the following and have stuck to the advice, such as:

- Not to shift to 'N' gear at the traffic lights
- Slow throttle/acceleration at each traffic light so as not to rev up the engine so much
- Not to shift to 'M' gear as I'll let the engine mature a bit first
- Always letting the engine warm up before driving it
- Slowly shifting gears and waiting for the car to stop before shifting gears

Are there other basic care tips I should follow to keep the Euro in tip top condition? I have read the owner manual but it doesn't tell me everything.

Do you all change your oil yourselves? If so, do you use Honda oil? Also, I wasn't sure if there were anything I needed to do on a weekly basis in terms of maintenance, such as putting in water for the radiator coolent or putting oil etc

Sorry for the long post, but any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated!!

Ummm...

Coolant - Look at the bottle, if it gets low then its got a leak. The factory coolant should last 200,000 km and not need topping up in that time. If you must top it up then use distilled water, if you need to put a lot in then get Honda pre-mix, and get it fixed so its not leaking.

Oil- Do it yoruself if you like, but you wont get stamps in your book, if you care. I seriously doubt that many dealers do the checks listed at each service in the book.

above all else... READ THE MANUAL.

Don't forget the appearance of the car, make sure you use good quality products. Use incorrect or poor quality product can degrade the appearance of you car alot.

Clean it inside and out on a regular basis and your car will always look good. Remember to wax your car to protect the paint from the sun and so forth.

Bloody new car owners.. sigh

LOL jk I picked up my Tourer in September, lovin the satnav/touch screen functions yeh?

Check your oil level and just pay attention to the car in general (listen to abnormal noises, creaking in the interior etc). My SatNav isn't working correctly (Doesn't dim when set in Automode so i'm left blinded or I have to manually override the setting to Night mode) so pay special attention to that.

Also within the first few hundred kms after a decent drive you'll come across a burning like smell.. I called Honda and they said it's Just fine it's just the new brakes etc getting worn in so don't worry.

I dunno man, personally I wen picked up my car, within the first week I vtec'ed it 3 times and every other week 4-5 times up until now. I like it my way :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Not to shift to 'N' gear at the traffic lights

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It's a safety thing in case you need to accelerate in an emergency

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Slow throttle/acceleration at each traffic light so as not to rev up the engine so much

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This is for better fuel consumption

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Not to shift to 'M' gear as I'll let the engine mature a bit first

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You can use "M" as long as you don't rev the engine up high if it is cold. After it has warmed up, whether you want to rev it while the engine is still new is up to you. I hit 7000rpm in the 1st week of ownership.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Always letting the engine warm up before driving it

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Let it warm up for about 30 seconds to let the oil circulate and then drive off gently using light throttle and don't exceed 3000rpm if you can without lugging the engine. After it has warmed up during driving, you can use more throttle and higher revs. It's not good to let the engine idle away for a long time to warm up because it wastes fuel, warms up slower and also glazes the bores of a new engine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

- Slowly shifting gears and waiting for the car to stop before shifting gears

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You can't really slowly shift gears if your car is an auto.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

Are there other basic care tips I should follow to keep the Euro in tip top condition? I have read the owner manual but it doesn't tell me everything.

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As soon as you see bird shit on your paint, spray water on it from a spray bottle to get ALL the shit off. The Euro's paint is very fragile and thin. If you plan to drive on long trips on the highway or interstate, I recommend you get those protective films for your headlights, bumper and bonnet. The paint is very soft and thin. My car is full of paint chips from my interstate trips.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2008 Accord Euro

Do you all change your oil yourselves? If so, do you use Honda oil? Also, I wasn't sure if there were anything I needed to do on a weekly basis in terms of maintenance, such as putting in water for the radiator coolent or putting oil etc

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If you haven't done servicing yourself before and you are not ready for the largish initial cash outlay for a jack, jackstands, tools and the time to learn, then just service your car at the dealer. I don't use Honda oil, I use either Castrol Edge 5w-30, 0w-40 or Motul 8100 5w-40. I recommend you stick to Honda oil or an equivalent mineral oil for the first 10,000km though.

Just look at the coolant overflow bottle when your engine is warm and it should be near the max level. When the engine is cold, it should be about 1-2 cm below max. You don't add water for your coolant, you need the proper Honda coolant. You won't have to add any unless you have a problem with your engine though. Check your oil every 1000km that you drive. You can check it when it is cold or after driving by waiting about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down. You level should be at the max dot or up to 1cm above max. If it is below max, I recommend you add a little bit of oil. Between the min to max dots, it is about 1 litre of oil, so you don't have to add too much. You can run the car down to the min dot and it should be fine if you are not the kind to rev your engine up to 7300rpm all the time. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aaronng

It's a safety thing in case you need to accelerate in an emergency

This is for better fuel consumption

You can use "M" as long as you don't rev the engine up high if it is cold. After it has warmed up, whether you want to rev it while the engine is still new is up to you. I hit 7000rpm in the 1st week of ownership.

Let it warm up for about 30 seconds to let the oil circulate and then drive off gently using light throttle and don't exceed 3000rpm if you can without lugging the engine. After it has warmed up during driving, you can use more throttle and higher revs. It's not good to let the engine idle away for a long time to warm up because it wastes fuel, warms up slower and also glazes the bores of a new engine.

You can't really slowly shift gears if your car is an auto.

As soon as you see bird shit on your paint, spray water on it from a spray bottle to get ALL the shit off. The Euro's paint is very fragile and thin. If you plan to drive on long trips on the highway or interstate, I recommend you get those protective films for your headlights, bumper and bonnet. The paint is very soft and thin. My car is full of paint chips from my interstate trips.

If you haven't done servicing yourself before and you are not ready for the largish initial cash outlay for a jack, jackstands, tools and the time to learn, then just service your car at the dealer. I don't use Honda oil, I use either Castrol Edge 5w-30, 0w-40 or Motul 8100 5w-40. I recommend you stick to Honda oil or an equivalent mineral oil for the first 10,000km though.

Just look at the coolant overflow bottle when your engine is warm and it should be near the max level. When the engine is cold, it should be about 1-2 cm below max. You don't add water for your coolant, you need the proper Honda coolant. You won't have to add any unless you have a problem with your engine though. Check your oil every 1000km that you drive. You can check it when it is cold or after driving by waiting about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down. You level should be at the max dot or up to 1cm above max. If it is below max, I recommend you add a little bit of oil. Between the min to max dots, it is about 1 litre of oil, so you don't have to add too much. You can run the car down to the min dot and it should be fine if you are not the kind to rev your engine up to 7300rpm all the time. :)

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Can't explain any better than that :p

On a side note, it is not advisable to baby your engine, as it will be basically "under developed" in terms of power. Give it a VTEC every now and then, but make sure you only do that when your engine is properly warmed up (i.e., your engine has reached its optimum temp for at least 5 minutes). This will also help prevent damage (or blockage?) of the sollenoid (spelling?).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by neborama

Bloody new car owners.. sigh

LOL jk I picked up my Tourer in September, lovin the satnav/touch screen functions yeh?

Check your oil level and just pay attention to the car in general (listen to abnormal noises, creaking in the interior etc). My SatNav isn't working correctly (Doesn't dim when set in Automode so i'm left blinded or I have to manually override the setting to Night mode) so pay special attention to that.

Also within the first few hundred kms after a decent drive you'll come across a burning like smell.. I called Honda and they said it's Just fine it's just the new brakes etc getting worn in so don't worry.

I dunno man, personally I wen picked up my car, within the first week I vtec'ed it 3 times and every other week 4-5 times up until now. I like it my way :)

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Try to reduce the brightness of the odometer lights -1, it will fix the probs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geekmonkey

Try to reduce the brightness of the odometer lights -1, it will fix the probs.

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What probs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euro77

Can't explain any better than that :p

On a side note, it is not advisable to baby your engine, as it will be basically "under developed" in terms of power. Give it a VTEC every now and then, but make sure you only do that when your engine is properly warmed up (i.e., your engine has reached its optimum temp for at least 5 minutes). This will also help prevent damage (or blockage?) of the sollenoid (spelling?).

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Thanks for the re-assurance. I was getting a little paranoid about destroying my engine.

On another note, my 1st gear feels really weak, even up to 5000rpm. Is this the case for everyone else too? I can rev it up to 5000 on first and still have the slowest launch at the lights. Am i suppose to quickly up-shift to 2nd to get the power? (It's not that i wanna race, but the person behind me always gives me death stares and signs of impatience/frustration. They'll overtake at any given opportunity at warp speed and stare)

hey aaronng, u mention glazin the bore if u just let it idle wen new and stuff, its irreversible isnt it, hafta re-machine the cylinders right? how much efficiency and power would i lose as a result of glazing

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cupnoodle

Thanks for the re-assurance. I was getting a little paranoid about destroying my engine.

On another note, my 1st gear feels really weak, even up to 5000rpm. Is this the case for everyone else too? I can rev it up to 5000 on first and still have the slowest launch at the lights. Am i suppose to quickly up-shift to 2nd to get the power? (It's not that i wanna race, but the person behind me always gives me death stares and signs of impatience/frustration. They'll overtake at any given opportunity at warp speed and stare)

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nope on my 2003 euro (its auto too) i havent noticed the 1st gear to be too bad.. i'll pay more attention next time i go for a drive

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cupnoodle

Thanks for the re-assurance. I was getting a little paranoid about destroying my engine.

On another note, my 1st gear feels really weak, even up to 5000rpm. Is this the case for everyone else too? I can rev it up to 5000 on first and still have the slowest launch at the lights. Am i suppose to quickly up-shift to 2nd to get the power? (It's not that i wanna race, but the person behind me always gives me death stares and signs of impatience/frustration. They'll overtake at any given opportunity at warp speed and stare)

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Are you using full or part throttle in 1st gear? Acceleration is not linear with accelerator position because it is a DBW car. You'll have to press the pedal about 3/4 to fully to the floor to get the acceleration. When taking off from stop, pressing the equivalent of say 30% on a cabled throttle would probably be only 10-20% on the Euro's DBW. It's programmed like that so that you can accelerate smoothly from a stop.