New guy - Accord Euro

[brad1.8tsi]

Hi folks.

I've just joined in a shameless attempt to pick your brains about the 2004 Accord Euro my daughter jsut inherited from her grandfather.

The car has 120,000km and Dad was a notorious tightwad when it cane to vehicle servicing. The service book shows nothing but engine oil/filter changes.

Problems include a shuddery automatic, steering that loads / unloads mid-corner and feels heavy at low speeds but light when doing 60+kph, vibrations through the steering wheel at idle (my wife's 2015 Odyssey does this too - normal?) and a brake pedal that has long travel and lacks progression.

It seems a good car when you look beyond the issues but lacks some features when compared to my 2007 mid-spec Skoda Octavia.

I'll ask some specific questions over in the Accord Euro section.

Cheers

[antony]

The Accord Euro is a brilliant car,hope you get some answers to your questions soon.

[aaronng]

Hi folks.

I've just joined in a shameless attempt to pick your brains about the 2004 Accord Euro my daughter jsut inherited from her grandfather.

The car has 120,000km and Dad was a notorious tightwad when it cane to vehicle servicing. The service book shows nothing but engine oil/filter changes.

Problems include a shuddery automatic, steering that loads / unloads mid-corner and feels heavy at low speeds but light when doing 60+kph, vibrations through the steering wheel at idle (my wife's 2015 Odyssey does this too - normal?) and a brake pedal that has long travel and lacks progression.

It seems a good car when you look beyond the issues but lacks some features when compared to my 2007 mid-spec Skoda Octavia.

I'll ask some specific questions over in the Accord Euro section.

Cheers

Welcome! The issues you described are typical of an older car. My 2004 Acord Euro has similar issues. For your shuddery automatic, first thing is to replace the transmission fluid with Honda ATF. The second problem can be resolved by replacing the powersteering fluid, and checking the accessory belt tensioner. If the tensioner shows that the belt is worn (triangle pointing at the smaller square, instead of the tall rectangle), then you need to replace the accessory belt. It is a 7PK1750.

Vibrations through the steering wheel at idle is typical, it means your engine mounts are worn and need replacing. I just did mine, you need the front and rear hydraulic mounts, the left and right mounts, plus the subframe mounts. Not an easy DIY, better to get the parts and pay a mechanic to replace them.

Brakes will need new brake fluid. Not just by bleeding through the calipers, but possibly, pushing the pistons back in while bleeding at the same time. Mine came out black in colour, eventhough I religiously flush brake fluid from the master cylinder reservoir to the brake caliper bleeders every 2 years.

[brad1.8tsi]

Thanks gents

I bought various Penrite transmission & PS fluids on the weekend. They meet/exceed Hondas specification and I've always had a good run with Penrite. Also got some Nulon Brake Dot4 fluid. I just need to find some time to get the job done between work / kids & cleaning out Dad's place.

I thought of engine mounts too. Interesting that Dad's old Accord Seppo V6 also had idle vibrations and I thought it was engine mounts. Of course, he never did anything about them because his mechanic said they were fine (he really had long pockets / short arms).

Are the engine mounts available aftermarket? (ie: significantly cheaper than OEM).

I agree, it's a nice car. The more I drive it, the more it grows on me (I doing the business use log book on my Skoda at the moment, so the Honda is getting used for most of my personal trips)

[aaronng]

I thought of engine mounts too. Interesting that Dad's old Accord Seppo V6 also had idle vibrations and I thought it was engine mounts. Of course, he never did anything about them because his mechanic said they were fine (he really had long pockets / short arms).

Are the engine mounts available aftermarket? (ie: significantly cheaper than OEM).

The Accord (V6 and Euro) have a front hydraulic mount, which is connected to a vacuum line. When that mount wears out, you get 2 effects. Firstly, the vibration dampening which actually matches with the engine's RPM stops working, so you get stronger idle vibration which becomes worse when the aircon is on. This dampening is deactivated at above 2000 to 2500 rpm. So you'll notice the vibrations are gone when driving.

Secondly, because the front mount is worn, there is a vacuum leak resulting from tiny cracks in the mount from old age. Usually the cracks self seal because of the vacuum. But once in a while, the cracks allow vacuum leakage and you get slight idle hunting when the AC is on. It also manifests itself as a significant drop in idle RPM when the AC engages.

I got mine from Febest Australia. Reasonably priced, and they have an eBay store as well (febest_australia).

[brad1.8tsi]

That is such useful info. Thanks for the heads up. The symptoms describe exactly how his V6 was running.

Looks like all 4 mounts for <$400 - bargain.

When i had my Mk3.5 Golf cabrio, one of the reasons I sold it was because it needed 3 of 4 engine mounts changed and the parts alone were $900 (plus the half dozen other things that all broke at around the same time)

[aaronng]

Labour is a pain. If you choose to DIY, note that you will need to disconnect the top radiator hose (some coolant leakage if you don't drain part of it out first) and remove the radiator fans to replace the front mount. The side and rear mounts can be replaced without removing other parts. The rear mount is quick tight and tricky, but possible once you figure out the puzzle. It actually gets stuck between the rocker cover and the plastic trim just in front of the windscreen. After about 15 minutes of trying all sorts of angles, I was able to get the old mount out.