20th Mar 2006, 22:06

Did you guys ever had any trouble with transmission shifting?

I have 4Dr v6 accord and it shifts harder for the first 10-12 minutes after I start driving, particularly in the morning.

Please reply.

26th Oct 2006, 12:33

The J30a2 motor is awesome! When SOHC VTEC kicks in at just 3,600RPM, you'll get a surge of power all the way to the 6,200 RPM redline. Why the pick up is not so great around the city is because of the low RPM use of VTEC-E, which is used for economy. Compared to a lot of cars I have driven, the Accord V6 has PLENTY of torque in the low end.

The 3.0l engine was actually modified significantly to give it more power, which also uses a 3-stage VTEC system. So it was modified sufficiently.:) But still, I don't see why anyone would want more low end torque seeing that in this FWD V6, you would more than likely just spin tires. It pulls hard enough, and then before you know it, at 3,600RPM, you'll take off. That's the sweet spot!

Even with VTEC-E operation at low RPM, the 3200lb Accord manages to pull some decent 2.5 0-30 times. I have driven a 260hp 02' Acura TL-S before with my girlfriend, and the Accord *feels* lighter on it's feet!! If you want more oomph, spend no more than $150 for an AEM Short Ram Induction system. Your Accord V6 will sound like a formula car, and will gain 15hp throughout the entire rev range!

14th Nov 2006, 18:27

Someone knows his stuff! Except its the J30A1 motor, not the J30A2.

The new one has a 3-Stage VTEC, but I prefer the 2 stage VTEC on my 2000 Accord because it's much more of a kick in the pants feel, even though it comes on 500 RPM shy of true power.

AEM Short Ram Induction System is even cheaper than that! It's $120.. SHIPPED! And dynos have shown 8-10 at the wheels. Flame me if you will, but the sound of a performance intake on the 6th gen Accord sounds BETTER than V8 Mustangs in my opinion!

The motor is worth it for the looks alone! Looks at it from the side, it looks like it was ripped from a supercar!

10th Oct 2007, 08:28

I own a 1998 Accord Coupe LX V6, and I agree with almost all the comments above. I especially agree with the dead stop pick up (before I modified the engine); it was poor, not something you'd expect from a V6, but anywhere above 40mph it's a bullet on the loose.

The MPG's I get are poor to my opinion, I averaged at 18.6 miles per gallon. The rear end is loose, but I never lost control of the car on turns, but on high speeds in the highway changing lanes at a quick pass is where I most feel the rear end going before me.

The interior is very roomy for the front seats. I'm a 6'6ft person and I fit very easily inside compared to a 2004 Monte Carlo SS. I sit closer than I want too and can't go back further.

The sound system is fine with me. The speakers don't give a scratchy noise at high volume, and the BASS kick is just fine.

I've owned the car since new and now have 215,XXX miles on it, mainly highway miles, but the engine is still very smooth and strong like new; that's why I like the Honda engines, they don't lose power over time unlike the American made cars.

The engine/tranny/suspension is now modified to my standards. The transmission gave out twice; once at 98K miles ($2600 repair) for a rebuilt tranny, and then again at 200K miles, but then I decided to get the Dr. Evil tranny; it is made for modified engines. I also purchased it for $4000 and with a 6 year 120,000 miles warranty on it.

I've so far added custom headers, exhaust, intake (shortram), and tweaked some small stuff here n' there. Just recently I installed a Vortech supercharger, which pumped me to 366 Hp/381 ft/lbs at the wheels with 93 Octane at 8psi. I drive the car like I stole it, and up to this day nothing beside the tranny ever gave me a problem.

Just to cut it short, it's a great car, the engine is very strong stock and can be easily modified if you want to.

MPG's are OK for a V6; unless you have the car shift under 3,000 rpm n' stay under 70 on highways you'll have 21 mpg average.

The auto transmission is a pain; it's a very common problem with this car and need to be paid attention too.

Roomy and big front seats, I hardly have anyone ever sit in the back so no word on that.

18th Nov 2007, 19:29

I will start with: I love my 2000 Accord EX V6!!! Now, the rest of the story.

I first test-drove this car back in late 2000, when I was just checking things out. I liked it so much that I decided that I would get one when my lease on my 1998 Chevy Malibu LS was up, in 2001. The trick was to convince my wife, who has a way of disagreeing with me on car selections. So, I told her that it would be a present for her from me (figuring that she would let me drive it on the weekends and trips). It worked better than I thought. We got it certified pre-owned with 11,767 miles on it and a powertrain warranty that lasted to 100K miles.

When I turned in my 1999 Malibu to Chevy (yes I had two of them) after the lease was up in 2002, I had no luck getting another Accord. So, I had to live with a 1995 Buick that just didn't compare to her Accord. Lucky me the alternator and battery gave out near the beginning of my 60 mile commute home from work one evening in mid August 2003. After getting the car towed to the service center and waiting the five hours for my wife to find me, after missing the exit and getting lost, she had a really easy time convincing me that once the Buick had been repaired, she would drive it (her commute was 4.3 miles to work) and I would drive the Accord.

Finally!!! The time had come. My plan worked out. I got to drive it daily. It only had 22,747 miles on it when we switched. That is when I noticed that the speakers were actually okay, if you turned the volume on the stock stereo up towards max. By the way, I replaced the stock stereo with a 180 watt JVC in-dash CD/Cassette deck and the stock speakers really came alive. My little cousin (18 years old) insists that the speaker are not stock, or a have hidden sub somewhere.

I used to occasionally forget that I am not a Formula One driver on a closed circuit and did a couple top speed runs on my way to or from work, but only ever got up to 132mph. It seemed to have power to go faster, but would only increase speed very slowly 130mph, as it took almost a minute to go from 131mph to 132mph. It was very stable and sure-footed. I'm sure it could go faster, but I didn't continue to check, as I spotted a traffic monitor, which I think spotted me. However, I digress. Back to my car.

I noticed that as long at the original Michelin MXV4's had 50% tread or greater, traction in all conditions was fine. Once the tread was worn down to less than 5/32 of an inch (50%), I could peel out from stop. That also meant that I could easily slide the car if I wasn't careful (it happened a couple times - what fun!) So, I replaced the stock V rated 205/65R15 Michelin MXV4's with 205/65VR15 Bridgestone Turanza LS-V tires. Wow! What a difference. That looseness felt in the rear just disappeared! In fact, I could not peel out any more, even with the Tornado. The grip is awesome!! Plus, I got 56K miles on a set. Okay, that was less than the OEM Michelin's (58k miles), but the extra grip (especially in the snow) and added ability to take a 25mph transition ramp at 50mph, without tire squeal was worth it, as the cost was about the same ($155/tire at the time).

I put 155,000 miles on the car (three set of tires) without ever needing an alignment. In fact, I probably would have not ever needed one, except a sharp turn on some sand covered ice, they don't use salt in this portion of southwestern Michigan, landed me in a ditch. Then I learned that the Honda dealership does a better job on alignments than another popular auto store/repair facility. In the process of getting alignments, I got new tires. I decided to save some money and downgrade the speed rating to H rated tires, as I figured that I didn't need to drive over 130mph anymore. I liked the Yokohama Avid H4S tires for the 1500 miles that I had them. I am not completely sure how, but my wife took my car back to the tire shop (to get a problem diagnosed) and walked out with a set of BFGoodrich Traction T/As (V rated) on order. It just so happens that she was paying attention when I was explaining my top choices for tire with price factored in. The Traction T/A's were second to the H4S's. Anyway, I managed to wear them out in 13,293 miles. Now I am back on my Turanza LS-V's and back to having a ball.

During my first 167k miles, I was getting somewhere between 29-32 mpg in the city and on the highway combined. The only time I ever dropped below 27 mpg was on the tanks where I forgot I as not on a racetrack. Well, for the last 7000 miles or so, I have noticed that I am only getting about 21.5 mpg. Until I read some of the prior posts, I thought that was absolutely terrible. Now, I am convinced that something is wrong. I even drive like my grandmother is in the car, most of the time. That is, I set cruise control at 65mph with an occasional speed burst to 75mph to pass people. Also, I do occasionally make sure that my VTEC still works, when taking off from a dead stop and pulling into traffic going about 60 mph. However, I don't do it enough to really matter of multiple tanks of fuel. Since I follow Honda recommended maintenance schedule, I figure that it can't be a maintenance issue. But that's another story.

Even with my (now average) fuel economy, my EX V6 still has all of the power that it did when I first got the Tornado Fuel Management System installed, back in 2003. I got it to increase my fuel economy; it also allowed me to peel out with the Michelin MXV4's and sometimes on wet pavement with the Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's. Hmm, that is something to check on. Another digression.

So, to summarize my point, I still love my 2000 Accord EX V6!! This car is ideal for spirited (Formula One), city (the Tornado helps a lot), highway, and cross country driving.

The only real problem that I have noticed, aside form the average fuel economy that I started getting after 169k miles, would be the fact that the OEM rotors have a tendency to warp. I think that it is finally time to upgrade to some performance rotors. Of course, the modifications that one of the prior reviewers mentioned also sound good.