2006 Honda Accord LX Four cylinder from North America

Summary:

Not the quality we'd hoped for

Faults:

Center console slider is too loose. You can't lay your arm on it without it becoming unclipped and sliding forward. Had it replaced once with no change. I have driven other Accords from this same series with a tighter detent on the console, which kept it from sliding. Could not get any traction complaining about it to the dealer, so we've just had to live with it.

The fabric on the center console arm rest began coming unglued within a couple of weeks after purchase. It was replaced at the time of the detent complaint and replacement, and has been okay since.

General Comments:

We were all set to buy a Camry, but then Toyota changed the body style in 2006, which looked a$$-end-of-the-moon ugly to us, so we bought the Accord instead. It's an attractive car, but we wish now we'd have bought the Camry.

Mechanically, the car is fine, except for the brakes. We've had zero reliability issues so far. The engine is smooth, runs excellent and has plenty of power. Can't detect any suspension squeaks or rattles, and it handles great. We like the numerous fan speeds on the heat/air. Radio sounds pretty good for a factory stock setup. Have had zero unscheduled repairs. All I've done is change the oil and flush the fluids a couple of times.

On to the dislikes--

Brakes: The rotors hard spotted within about 30k miles, which causes a pretty severe front end shake upon braking occasionally. Doesn't do it all the time, probably only when the front wheels get phased just right. I haven't replaced the brakes yet, because I'm cheap and there's still some meat left on the pads (at 70,000 miles). It stops fine; the shake is a nuisance though.

Doors: The doors will. not. stay. open. while you're getting out. You actually have to be on a slight downslope for them to stand open without crashing shut on you during egress. Very annoying.

Trunk lid: It won't stay up either. Can't tell you how many times we've been bonked on the head by the trunk lid while digging something out.

General cabin comfort: Once you get all strapped in, it's a wonderful road car, however it's kind of like sitting in a bucket. Moderately uncomfortable to get in and out of, which makes it the less-than-ideal errand car. And the doors flop shut on you while you're getting in and out.

Center console slider: Comes unclipped too easily. Lightly laying your arm on it causes it to pop loose and slid forward. It's annoying. A few months after purchase, we happened to rent a nearly identical car while on vacation. It's console detent was much tighter, and worked fine. After we got home, we had ours replaced under warranty, but it's just as loose as the first one. Further complaints to the dealer were simply met by blank, stupid looks, so we've had to live with it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 5th January, 2010

6th Jan 2010, 22:03

You made a good choice with Accord over Camry; the 2006 Camry is troublesome. BTW, now it's more difficult to choose one, as the Accord tail is too ugly and old fashioned too :(

I guess in a few months the Sonata would be the best one. Shame on Japanese cars going down in quality and style.

7th Jan 2010, 19:49

I have also been somewhat surprised to discover that the Hyundai Sonata and Accent, as well as the Kia Forte were all more quiet and smoother than the Honda Civic or Fit. I've driven them all, and this does not agree with what I had always been led to believe about Honda being the best. The Koreans seem to be on the rise.

2006 Honda Accord EX-L 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

Good car overall but Honda quality is slipping fast

Faults:

Noticed the tires were flat spotted the day after delivery. The dealer was very reluctant to replace them, however, after speaking to the GM they were replaced.

The intermediate shaft heat-shield started making a horrible squeaking/rattling noise after 4000 kilometers. Dealer was unable to find the problem for a few weeks until they tightened the heat-shield (common issue)

Right side A-pillar trim piece was loose from factory and trim was fraying off.

I had to replace all brake pads out of my own pocket. After the factory pads heated up, they left residue on the rotors. This caused a nasty pulsation of the steering wheel when driving above 70 km/h and the car would not stop quickly. (This feeling was not the ABS, which felt quite different) The dealer refinished the rotors once but the issue arose again after a thousand km or so. (common issue)

The weatherstripping on the doors started to make a rattle/popping sound when driving on any type of pavement. The dealer applied some Honda shin-etsu grease under the moldings which has helped to quiet it down (common issue)

Honda Factory Performance lip kit repeatedly came loose, held on with double sided tape. Luckily my dealer sent the car to a body shop and permanently adhered the lips, after calling Honda Canada (common issue)

Head light bulbs are known to be defective in all Accords (2003-2007) and dealers should replace. The problem is they do not emit enough light at night. My dealer adjusted the lights higher but neither my dealer or Honda Canada will acknowledge the issue.

General Comments:

My biggest gripe with the car has been the brakes.

However, other that the car is great. Has good power (244HP), fuel mileage is quite good for V6 engine.

Interior build quality is alright, but not as good as older Honda's. Materials and attention to detail is not as good as our older 1994 Accord which felt more solid and better built.

Seats are comfortable over long trips and have better bolstering than the sedan.

It's a little too early to comment on long term reliability but it should be alright. A known problem is the motor mounts breaking on all recent Honda/Acura V6 engines.

Handling is alright for a large coupe.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 16th May, 2008

18th May 2008, 03:53

When I wrote this; the manufacture year is 2005 but the car is actually a 2006 Accord.

12th Nov 2009, 09:24

I also share the same opinion. Current Accords cannot hold a candle to Hondas of the 1990's where build quality is concerned. Best Accords overall in my mind were the 1986-1989 and 1990-1993 model years, that's when I fell in love with the make.