2000 Honda Accord SE Executive from UK and Ireland - Comments

Drivers door - nasty rattle, took 2 visits to the dealer to fix, but it's solid and quiet now. First time the dealer was looking at the wrong panel.

Wipers - passenger wiper freezes badly in temperatures below 0C. Dealer is going to replace.

SatNav CD was way out of date, 1998 version in the 2000 car! Honda UK were going to charge £132 for a replacement, but the dealer wangled it for free :)

Heavy on petrol. Full 65 litre tank of super unleaded, with gentle driving and air-con off gets about 280 miles before the petrol warning light comes on. My older, bigger, heavier, 2.0 Omega used to do 350 on 70 litres of unleaded.

Super-unleaded gives more power though, great fun exists between 4000rpm & the redline.

SSS auto box is way better than other auto's - quick and smooth to shift.

Overall the car sticks to the road very well (to the detriment of my tyres) and is either a hoot playing down the back lanes, or perfect for munching motorway miles.

Fuel consumption on the Accord can appear worse than it is, until you get used to the unhelpful fuel gauge - on my 2000 model the low fuel light comes on with over 4 gallons still left in the tank, and shows half empty with only a third of the tank used. I'm planning to get this checked by the dealer.

With regard to the high fuel consumption, I find that if the car is driven carefully with gentle throttle use I can get 32mpg in "around town" driving. However any boy racer starts, if only only to listen to the glorious engine note, see's the consumption increase dramatically. Towing a lightish caravan with four occupants and the air-con on sees only 22mpg touring consumtion.

Hi, I'm commenting on this review as I posted it originally!

The fuel consumption is still not much better, but I think that's largely down to the fuel gauge.

(for the record, I drive mostly up & down the motorway to work, a little town driving, run the air-con switched off and all windows & sunroof closed)

A full tank, with careful driving or better still, motorway cruising, will yield around 300 miles before the warning light comes on. As the light (according to owners manual) comes on with approx 2 gallons left in the tank, it works out to 26mpg.

I've pushed it on a run, with the warning light on, to 335 miles (closer to 30mpg). But then when I fill up, I can get only 55 litres into the tank (65 litre tank), meaning that I still had 10 litres (more or less 2 gallons) in the tank.

Confusing!

So, to resolve this once and for all, I'm going to carry some petrol in a filler can, and run the damn thing dry from a full tank.

I'm post results here, as and when I get the "test" done.

Lee.

Lee here.

I kind of did the test as promised. I decided not to run the tank dry completely as I don't want to risk clogging up the fuel pump and/or injectors with any crap in the tank.

But, I did run the tank as low as I dared. I've managed to get 50 miles out of the tank when the light came on. Again, when I refilled the tank, I could barely get 60 litres in there, meaning that there was still 5 litres lying around!

Overall, on a run of mostly motorway driving, air-con off, the motor returned 380 miles (including part of the reserve). I'm pretty sure that if it was run dry, the car would probably manage 420-430. 380 is still better, but not fantastic.

Oh well. I'm fed up with driving like a sunday driver now, back to my heavy right foor antics ;->

Oh, at just over 11,000 miles the front tyres are starting to look a bit knackered. Few more thousand miles and they'll need to be replaced.

One other thing, I swear that Honda make their brake pads out of coal or something similar. Actual braking performance is superb, but the amount of dust on the wheels, only a day after having the car valeted was, er, lots.

Lee.

Just to confirm the other comments. I have a 2000 model Accord (1.8) and my fuel gauge suffers exactly the same problem I.e. a good 4 gallons left when the low fuel light comes on. Despite what it says in the handbook, the Honda and the dealers must be aware of this, as I've had this irritation confirmed by others. I'm also going to mention it on my next service - it would be great to hear from anyone that has had it fixed!

I am considering a 2.0 Executive Auto for my next car and I am concerned about the MPG. I have always found the following to be the best method : Fill the tank up to the 'click'. After about 200-250 miles do the same - you now know how many miles you have covered and exactly how much fuel is has taken - voila!

I took delivery of my 2.0 VTEC SE Executive (Auto) in December 2001 and with the year anniversary fast approaching, this is probably a good time to issue a review.

I've covered 19,000 miles so far and have experienced very few 'niggles' at all. I did, however, experience the rattly door problem, it actually came from the electric window actuator switch. The dealer resolved this on two visits, the first was wasted as they needed a part they hadn't got in stock.

I was relieved to see the other comments about the fuel gauge as I was fast beginning to believe mine had a 55 litre tank, not 65 litre! When mine is 'off the gauge' I find I can only get 55 litres or so in the tank, so like others, I will raise this issue at the next service. It's obviously a common problem.

The engine is reasonably lively, but it seems to struggle badly uphill and I have frequently been overtaken by 1.4 and 1.6 engined Fords and Peugeots in this situation, despite me having my foot full to the floor. I do admit, however, that I am foolish enough to run round with the air con on all the time, perhaps this is affecting performance a lot more than I had envisaged?

My previous car was a Vauxhall Omega 2.5CDX and prior to that a BMW 323SE, so perhaps I've become too accustomed to the 2.5 litre refinement and expect too much from my 2.0 Accord.

I can also concur with the comments about excessive brake dust, I am forever cleaning my alloys, sometimes only 48 hours after they have been cleaned and I've only been on a light short run. I've never seen this before, they grime up very quickly.

Other than these minor issues, I have to say the car has so far proved reliable, comfortable and a joy to drive. A definite 9/10, especially as it is gadget-packed and so much cheaper than most others in it's class. I won't begin to compare it to the significantly worse list of problems I had with my Omega though, we would be here all day.

One final point. The sat-nav system is excellent and has not yet let me down once. I haven't looked at a map since the car was delivered and I travel all over the UK.

I have heard that Japanese marques deliberately set a very conservative minimum fuel level at which the low fuel light is illuminated. This may be an apocryphal story, but the reason is to avoid the shame which would accrue to the manufacturers if ever the driver actually ran out of petrol!

I tested the fuel warning light last night and I had 15 liters left when it came on.

I have a 2.0 SE exec sport with the SSS auto and I have the same problem as Lee had with the rattling door, the dealer can't find the fault, do you know what the problem was in the end? I also have a grinding noise between 40-60, the dealer has replaced 2 wheel bearings, but it's still a problem.

I just ordered a new CD for the sat nav. I ordered if directly from tele atlas as it was cheaper than going to the main dealer. I'm not sure if I can run DX CDs anyone know?

Also, what do you all think about the Bose stereo? I seem to need it on about 18 just to hear it on the motor way!

My LX Honda Accord 2003 2 door coupe is great, my only complaint is the amount of brake dust. I have to wash the wheels twice weekly. My dealer says nothing can be done. I am also noticing some pitting on the wheels caused by the dust.

I changed my civic marlin for a 2000 Accord SE Exec. I miss the civics handling on country roads, but love the general ride and handling of the Accord.

Petrol consumption came as a bit of a shock and I find that the VTEC runs smother on Shell Optimax though it took three fill ups till I noticed the difference, probably due to 10 litres sloshing about and unaccounted for.

Has anyone replaced the standard exhaust and air intake and has it improved performance? Is it worth a chip to get 10 hp?

Finally, were can I get a Honda sat navigation system?

OK well as if anyone else need confirmation about the fuel gauge - yes it does seem to run a long while when the light is on - though I have never actually run out of fuel - it has worried me till I fill up! So reassuring to know that I need not panic.

I have a 1.8 SE Exec "X" reg, but I see mentions of Sat Nav - what Sat Nav - have I been sold short or are these in later models only?

Branden,Pinner

To answer several of your comments above (I am a new post-er) ;

Sorry to say to the gent who had been overtaken by Focus's and such, but this is maybe partly down to the fact you have the SSS gearbox - this knocks the acceleration compared to the manual 'box. I have a 2.0 SE Exec and I have found the performance impressive (and this is the least powerful car I have had for a while). There is no way you should get overtaken by any of those if you don't want to and you use the car to it's potential. The air-con will make a bit of a difference, but not that much!

To the guy asking about the BOSE stereo; I am surprised. I have found mine to be great for a factory-fit system, no problems with volume - are you sure you've got the balance/fade/bass/treble adjusted correctly?

To the guy asking about Honda sat-nav. This was NOT standard fit on the SE Exec, it was an option only, so some have it, some don't. I think it was possibly standard fit on the Type-V, but I'm not sure.

Lastly, to add my own report on fuel consumption. I have a 2.0 and typically get 370 miles from a tank (and I am quite heavy footed!). If I drive more steadily for a few days, I get about 400 from the tank, but I agree, the fuel warning light is very pessimistic! I have driven more than 80 miles with it on and still the most I've ever got in the tank was 62 litres. Maybe those of you who aren't getting much from a tankful are believing that deceitful fuel light!!

To answer several of your comments above (I am a new post-er) ;

Sorry to say to the gent who had been overtaken by Focus's and such, but this is maybe partly down to the fact you have the SSS gearbox - this knocks the acceleration compared to the manual 'box. I have a 2.0 SE Exec and I have found the performance impressive (and this is the least powerful car I have had for a while). There is no way you should get overtaken by any of those if you don't want to and you use the car to it's potential. The air-con will make a bit of a difference, but not that much!

To the guy asking about the BOSE stereo; I am surprised. I have found mine to be great for a factory-fit system, no problems with volume - are you sure you've got the balance/fade/bass/treble adjusted correctly?

To the guy asking about Honda sat-nav. This was NOT standard fit on the SE Exec, it was an option only, so some have it, some don't. I think it was possibly standard fit on the Type-V, but I'm not sure.

Lastly, to add my own report on fuel consumption. I have a 2.0 and typically get 370 miles from a tank (and I am quite heavy footed!). If I drive more steadily for a few days, I get about 400 from the tank, but I agree, the fuel warning light is very pessimistic! I have driven more than 80 miles with it on and still the most I've ever got in the tank was 62 litres. Maybe those of you who aren't getting much from a tankful are believing that deceitful fuel light!!

I currently have a 1.4 2001 corolla, with basic features (s). For my next car I was looking at getting the se exec, because it comes fully loaded in 2.0 litre edition, but I have been warned that I won't get much out of the petrol. Although it's a big jump from a 1.4 to a 2.0, the main reasons I wanted to get the SE is because it only comes fully loaded with a navigation system in a 2.0. Dos anyone know if it comes in a smaller engine or alternative fully loaded cars in a smaller engine size? Also in the accord SE exec, is it better to get the hatchback or the saloon? Which would be better for ladies (since I'm going to be sharing the car with a lady)