Comments: 1-15, 16-27
It took me all of one week to begin hating this car. It started when I bought a small chair when I was home for the holidays. I could not fit it in my trunk, in the back, or in the front seat. I was disgusted to have to give it away. Living on the coast, I tried to evacuate before a hurricane, only to find my canary's cage would not fit anywhere in the car, either. This is not a manufacturer's defect, but it is a waste of space and makes me miss my hatchback.
Within the first month, I noticed suspension problems in the front of the car.
Gradually, my key would not quite work in the ignition. You have to turn the wheel and hold it to get the key to turn.
Then, after having it for almost 2 months, I replaced the starter. $350.
Summer came and I wondered why the air wasn't working. There was no compressor in the car. Not a good thing when you live in the South. $800.
After 6 months, I replaced the clutch. $550.
A few days short of a year, I replaced the transmission. $1,500.
The power locks are broken, to where you can only lock them if you hold the handle from the inside while pushing the button. Now, the doors lock, but you cannot unlock the passenger door unless you do so from inside the car.
The power windows get stuck most days, so I am sure both motors are about to go out (2 door car).
Passenger seatbelt strangles anyone who sits in the seat.
Glove compartment light is on the entire time the lights are on.
The back break light in the window is impossible to replace, even for the 4 mechanics I have taken it to. Even then, it is an odd bulb that is too big for the hole it is to be inserted in.
The stereo has to be reset by a Honda mechanic every time the battery is disconnected. This cannot be done by just anyone.
The engine light has been on for a year now. I have had 4 diagnostic tests ($50-85 each) and still it is on, yet no one can tell me why. I would think this rather odd, if my sister's 2001 Accord did not have the same exact problem.
What frustrates me most is that though the salesman sold me on the idea that 120,000 miles was "nothing" for a Honda, the dealership flat out refused to even look at my car when I was stranded 200 miles from home because at that point, it was near 150,000. Apparently, the salesmen and mechanics do not agree on what is too high of mileage for this car.
I was ripped off on this car. I would chalk it up to a really bad experience with a run-down car, but as I said earlier, my sister has had some of the same problems I have had, and she has put a great deal less mileage on hers since getting it.
The car is decent inside and because of this car, I have fallen in love with sunroofs, but that is probably as much as I can say positive about this car. The stereo controls are a little more than arm's length away, so you cannot change channels comfortably if you have long legs. Not only that, but the speedometer needle blocks your mileage gage. You cannot watch that so well once you hit 50-60mph.
I have been stranded with this car more times than I can count. I have taken good care of it, babied it, even, because I was putting so much mileage on it, but all-in-all, it is a piece of junk.
The locks on accords are supposed to jam while the door is open. That's why you have to hold the door handle and press the lock button. There's nothing wrong with the locks, they just made it that way so that you couldn't lock your keys in the car. You either have to be inside the car with the doors shut to lock it, or outside with the key to lock it! Not only that, but half the things you complained about were little minor things, like the back center brake lamp (which goes out on just about any car) and the storage space. If a hatchback is better for hauling things, then get a hatchback! 120,000 miles is pretty soon for the transmission to go out though, but you bought it used! How do you know the previous owner (s) didn't haul or pull hundreds or thousands of pounds with it or spin tires in it and rag it out the first 120,000 miles causing quicker wear on the gears? How do you know that it wasn't just neglected and treated like dirt the first 120,000 miles? For all you know, the car might have been actually really good to have made it 120,000 miles not to mention 200,000 when you got rid of it. That's the mystery about buying a used car, unless you know that past owners; you never know what you're going to wind up with! Not only that, the starter may have been the original one. A starter that lasts 120,000 miles isn't that bad! With the clutch, how do you know (much like the transmission) the past owners didn't peel out in it a lot or haul lots of weight, wearing the clutch out, too? How could your seat belt be strangling passengers, it's angled just like the driver's side seat belt. The belts are set up the same in any car, not only that, if it's that bad, they can flip it over their shoulders! Your radio has an anti-theft device in it whenever the battery's power is disconnected. This is so vandals won't be able to sell the radio if they break in and steal it! There supposed to be a deactivation code you can enter into the radio before disconnected the battery. Just about any car on this earth will have its engine light to come on after about 100,000 miles, that's just wear and tear on the sensors! Most of all, 120,000 miles is nothing to just about any car now days, UNLESS you don't take car of it! Honda's do typically last well over 200,000 miles, but you have to take care of it just like any other car on earth and to whine about how the speedometer is set up and how difficult it is to read at 50-60 mph and how the radio is hard to reach - for goodness sakes! Now you're just making up excuses to gripe about. You may have babied the car from 120,000 miles to 200,000 miles, but did the previous owner(s) baby it or did they treat it like a corvette or F-150? Believe me, I know how frustrating it is to have to repair a car when it gets old, but half the problems mentioned are minor or nothing at all! I have a '96 accord and I certainly can say different about my car than what you have to say about yours.
I think you really got gypped... whoever you’re getting these Hondas from you need to report them... everything screams American made except the window relay and maybe the trunk space.
I own a 1996 Honda Accord EX, and it has been (by far) the most reliable and trouble free car I have ever owned. I bought the car three years ago with just 45,000 miles. It now sits with just over 150,000! I have driven the car across country several times, and my daily commute is over 100 miles per day! I have NEVER been left stranded in this car, nor do I fear it will ever stop on me when going down the highway. I will not say this car is perfect (This generation of Accords were not without their little problems) but no car is... and the Accord's are especially minor when compared too many other makes/models. My rear door locks don't work, my driver's side window is slow and often gets stuck and my original radiator (plastic) developed a leak at around 120,000 miles. Other than that, however, it's been nothing, but routine maintenance! After 9 years and 150k miles, the car still looks and runs like a much newer car... and has yet to ever break down on me or have any major problems. I credit Denso quality components, Honda's dedicated factory workers (In Ohio) and their proven, time tested four cylinder engines. I also own and drive a 1981 Honda Civic 1500 station wagon, that is still running strong to this day with the original engine and transmission.
1996 Honda accord ex would I have to take anything off or unstall to replace a cigarett lighter?
To access and repair the cigarette lighter, follow the instructions in the provided link for stereo replacement.
Disassembly of the center console is needed.
http://installdr.com/InstallDocs/Honda/PDF/466037.pdf.
$350 for a starter, haha I'm SORRY.
I'm sure if you had bought a new or nearly new Accord you would've been thrilled with it. Your car did have 120,000 miles on it when you bought it. It could have been poorly maintained. Don't blame Honda, next to the Toyota group, Scion, Lexus, Toyota, they build very good vehicles.
The ignition is designed in most Hondas so that you have to turn the steering wheel in order to start the car.
Ummmm... no. You don't have to turn the wheel to get the ignition to turn on. Or shouldn't have to. However, if you swing in to a parking space without straightening your wheels first you may create a tension in the steering column that will cause the ignition cylinder to stick. This is a theft deterrent: if someone tries to take your car without having a key, the wheel will not turn, but lock. Now, if you have the wheel locked, and try to simply turn the key the lock mechanism engages because 'thinks' you are trying to steal the car. You therefore must apply dome pressure to the wheel to straighten it, to disengage the ignition lock.
My cousin has a 1996 Accord also and her mileage is 150,000 probably going on 160,000 and the head gasket blown once and I think that was the only problem.
I don't know why everyone likes to defend these cars so much, I have owned 5 Honda Accords, thinking the next would be better than the last. All of them with V6's the transmission has failed and on the 4 cylinders piston rings have failed causing complete engine failure. I now own a Chrysler product, everyone said to me why a Chrysler product ther are junk go buy a Honda or Toyota. I have a 1997 Concorde with the 3.3L and have never had a problem, my parents own a 1995 with a 3.3L and it has over 300,000 miles on it and still runs like new they never have had to replace the transmission or engine the only think with the engine was the timing chain. Honda's use a rubber belt for timing what a joke never buy a Honda product.
Honda are not the only manufacturer using timing belts instead of chains.
Ha, it looks like Iaccoca has made it into the Honda section again with his Concorde. Honda cars are very reliable and it does not take rocket science to prove it. Sure you can get a lot of miles out of your Saturn or Ford, but the car was a piece of crap out of the factory to start with, and a big waste of time maintaining it. Honda cars are built to last and are built of higher quality materials; a Civic may even be as well built as a Cadillac or Lincoln. Go figure!
Pathetic, I never liked the Accord or the Civic, but I'm now an owner of a 96 Honda Accord LX, 5-speed Manual...165,000+ miles on it, and I've had it for 2 solid years now, no major problems whatsover. All these transmission problems, and starter problems, it's related to:
A. Either the way it's treated.
B. Your source of replacement parts.
I can tell you, as a younger adult I don't know how bad your honda can be, all I do know is you can do a whole lot worse. Your car is a reflection of you. If you take good care of it, it will take good care of you. Enough said.
I have a 93 Honda Prelude that I've owned since 96, bought at 43K. This car was problem free till about 2002 with 90k+. I've had the common problems since then. Plastic rad cracked and leaked & replaced with better quality Aluminum unit. The most major thing was a slow head gasket leak caused the main bearings to corrode and lose oil pressure at 119K. Honda recommended a new engine! I just replaced all the bottom end bearings and the head gasket all for under $200 in parts and it fixed the problem. More recent was a common dizzy bearing disintegrating, but the new part is only $20 to replace if a little tricky to actually swap out. Shortly after bearing replaced, the ignitor failed with 127K on it and I'm guessing the bad bearing may have cooked the igniter prematurely. Oh and the ABS pump went at 119K too, but I never bothered to replace the costly pump and just pulled the ABS fuse and warning light to kill the ABS circuit. My experience shows that Hondas from early 90's have a bad dizzy bearing design which a common problem. However, this is cheap to fix now as the part is commonly stocked. Also the new MLS head gaskets have a tendency to weep coolant into the oil... deadly for the main bearings... I would highly recommend adding BAR Leak to coolant to fix this high risk costly failure. MLS head gaskets are all metal unlike the old cardboard type gaskets from 80's or earlier. MLS is much tougher and less prone to a major failure. However, by nature of the thin layered sheet construction, they can weep or seep coolant very slowly. Even 1% of enthanol glycol in engine oil is deadly for your bearings as I learned later, to my dismay! I still think Hondas are great cars and low cost if you can repair yourself. They are just not perfect like some people think, but please show me any car over 12 years old with 100K+ that is fault free.