Advice for a new Accord Euro owner

[aaronng]

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

Yup, re-hone the bores. Did you give it a good 1/2-3/4 throttle in the first 100km? If you did a few times, then your bores shouldn't be glazed.

[phobolism]

acceleration was on 1/4 to 1/2 throttle but i didnt drive much so id start car engine durin week when i dont drive it n just let the oil circulate a bit so when i did, the cylinders wouldnt be bone dry. ah well guess i wont lose a significant amount of power

[aaronng]

acceleration was on 1/4 to 1/2 throttle but i didnt drive much so id start car engine durin week when i dont drive it n just let the oil circulate a bit so when i did, the cylinders wouldnt be bone dry. ah well guess i wont lose a significant amount of power

You started the car once a week or every day in that week that you didn't drive? The cylinders are lubed by oil when you start. It's a small fraction of time where the oil is circulated but as long as you let it idle for 30 seconds or so before driving off, you don't need to keep starting your car if you are not driving it. Before you bought your car, it was sitting on a ship for at least a few weeks without being ever started. If it got through that, it will get through your week without problems.

[2008 Accord Euro]

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

This may sound silly but I am actually learning a great deal from you guys sharing your knowledge....just goes to show how little I know about cars..

I'm keen to learn though as I really want to take care of my new car.

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.

Wow, the factory coolant should last 200,000 km? Thats heaps, I only travel about 10,000 km per year so I probably wont have to worry about it!

Going forward in the long run, I suppose it would be a very cost effective option in putting in the oil myself, but if I don't get the dealer's stamp in my book, would that mean I wont qualify for the 3 year factory warranty?

[2008 Accord Euro]

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.

When you say good quality products, do you mean the more pricier items? Also, where do you normally go for your car care products? Do you mainly go to Supercheap Auto and Autobarn or are there other stores out there?

[2008 Accord Euro]

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

Yeah, the touch screen function and interface is awesome!

I haven't nocied any weird noises or burning smells yet...

When you said Vtec, what do you mean by this?

[2008 Accord Euro]

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.

Thanks for the pointers Aaronng!

What do you mean when you say "lugging the engine"? And by throttle, you mean how fast you hit the accelerator right?
You mention that the Euro's paint being very fragile and thin, I wont have to worry about getting protectors as I don't go on long trips, however, what would you recommend for washing the exterior of the car? Is it best to DIY at Carlovers or better to purchase higher quality products and using it at home....though water restriction is an issue.

If for the first three years I do get the car serviced at a Honda dealer and considering I drive 10,000 kms per year, is there a need for me to also purchase the Honda oil to have it handy at home, in case I need it?

[2008 Accord Euro]

Can't explain any better than that

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?).

I'll give it a try but I always thought that by revving your car (especially new car) too much and too frequent will hurt the engine in the long run....but I see your point about not baby-ing the engine.

By giving it a VTEC, do you mean revving it past 7000 rpm?

[euro77]

I'll give it a try but I always thought that by revving your car (especially new car) too much and too frequent will hurt the engine in the long run....but I see your point about not baby-ing the engine.

By giving it a VTEC, do you mean revving it past 7000 rpm?

I think the vtec kicks in at 6300 or 6500 (been away from euro too long I forgot), rev it past that, but try not to hit the rev limiter (it's limited around 7100 or 7300 something like that).

I'm not saying do it often, just once a while. I always did mine at least once during the day when I drive it (I didn't drive it everyday).

It is true though that it shortens your engine life if you often put it in high rev, but for street, this is unlikely, only on track you'll be able to do this to your engine.

[aaronng]

Going forward in the long run, I suppose it would be a very cost effective option in putting in the oil myself, but if I don't get the dealer's stamp in my book, would that mean I wont qualify for the 3 year factory warranty?

If you don't do the proper checks and that part fails because it was neglected, then your warranty can be void. If you are new to cars, then service your car at the dealer.

[aaronng]

When you say good quality products, do you mean the more pricier items? Also, where do you normally go for your car care products? Do you mainly go to Supercheap Auto and Autobarn or are there other stores out there?

www.waxit.com.au.

[aaronng]

Thanks for the pointers Aaronng!

What do you mean when you say "lugging the engine"? And by throttle, you mean how fast you hit the accelerator right?
You mention that the Euro's paint being very fragile and thin, I wont have to worry about getting protectors as I don't go on long trips, however, what would you recommend for washing the exterior of the car? Is it best to DIY at Carlovers or better to purchase higher quality products and using it at home....though water restriction is an issue.

If for the first three years I do get the car serviced at a Honda dealer and considering I drive 10,000 kms per year, is there a need for me to also purchase the Honda oil to have it handy at home, in case I need it?

Lugging the engine is being in a gear too high, rpm too low and too much load on the engine. You'll feel the engine shaking and vibrating, and it's not good at all for the engine. With an auto, the transmission will downshift on its own to prevent lugging, so you should be alright.

Throttle is how much you press the accelerator, not how fast or slow you press the pedal.

I prefer to wash the car my own. Which state are you in? If you are in vic or qld, then tough luck. At least you can still use a bucket and watering can in metro NSW.

What you can do is buy 1 bottle of Honda oil, tell the dealer that you are bringing your own oil for servicing. They should reduce your servicing cost for the price of the oil and ask for the remaining oil back so that you can top up. Just keep that oil at home. People say that oil can go "stale" if you keep it for long, but I prefer stale oil than running the engine on low oil.

With each service, I'm sure you'll be able to accumulate quite a bit of leftover oil. I just serviced both cars and I got 1L of oil left over, just enough for topping up.