One Month Review - 2014 Accord EX-L

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I rented a 2014 Accord LX and I thought it was a great car. CVT was actually quite a surprise how smooth it was from 40 MPH to 100.

But I really don't trust a Honda CVT for longevity. 6 speed manual for me.





Fixed it. If I had to choose a CVT, it would be a Honda. Nissan has been in the game for a long time but they still have issues.


Honda or Toyota are going to be the ones to make it work. Subaru's are manufactured by JATCO and that worries me.

 

[NJC]

Originally Posted By: BTLew81
Well, it's been a month and 2,500 miles in the Accord. First time Honda buyer, long time admirer. For the past ten years, I've had VW products. A mix of Jetta's and Passat's in both the gas and diesel versions. I was pretty die hard, but the thought of owning one long term with some upcoming life changes really made me a bit uneasy. So, after some shopping, I bought the Accord. EX-L, 2.4, CVT.

Thanks for review. I've owned 3 Accords, with the newest being a 1993 - so it's interesting to hear about the progress in 21 yrs.

 

[k24a4]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: gregk24

Fixed it. If I had to choose a CVT, it would be a Honda. Nissan has been in the game for a long time but they still have issues.


Really? Honda automatics have not been all that reliable as of late too.... Probably a tossup no matter how you go.


Issues with the automatics more often than not involved V6 models of more than 10 years ago. The I4 autos of the last 10 plus years have been stout.

I enjoyed reading the review. Keep us updated.

I bought a new Accord EX 10 years ago, and was also new to the brand. My '04 has aged remarkably well, and has given me 140,000 trouble free miles. It has been reliable, economical, easy to work on, and a seamless drive, for long and short trips alike.

This generation Accord was known for having a pretty good factory stereo. A few years ago I applied Stinger Roadkill, a sound insulator like Dynamat, to the doors. I was expecting an improvement, but I did not know how much. It exceeded even my highest expectations-the bass pops, and less volume is needed for a louder, fuller, sound. I don't know if your EX-L comes with insulation between the skin of the door and the plastic door molding, but mine did not, so adding the Stinger made a huge difference. It does add some weight, the doors close with an even more substantial, "thud". Stinger pics

Thanks for the review! Keep enjoying the ride.

 

[stephen9666]

I was helping my mother shop for a car recently and we test drove a 2014 Accord. I was impressed with the fit/finish and standard equipment.

But, a 2013 Jetta isn't really a fair comparison. The MK6 Jetta is a cheapened, dumbed-down car that's sold in the U.S., China and some parts of south America. Its interior is especially lame and is big step below the normal VW interiors found in the Golf and other models sold in other parts of the world.

I know you said the Honda is better than "all" the VWs you've owned, but my 2010 Jetta has a really nice interior and I didn't notice the interior on the 2014 Accord being better when it comes to things like materials.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: Miller88


Honda or Toyota are going to be the ones to make it work. Subaru's are manufactured by JATCO and that worries me.


Except Subaru has been using their CVT for longer than almost any other manufacturer and they have almost NO issues. That may have something to do with the specific specs that Subaru gives JATCO of course.

 

[BowNisPar]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I rented a 2014 Accord LX and I thought it was a great car. CVT was actually quite a surprise how smooth it was from 40 MPH to 100.

But I really don't trust a Honda CVT for longevity. 6 speed manual for me.





Fixed it. If I had to choose a CVT, it would be a Honda. Nissan has been in the game for a long time but they still have issues.


Honda or Toyota are going to be the ones to make it work. Subaru's are manufactured by JATCO and that worries me.


Why does JATCO manufacturing their transmissions concern you?

 

[refaller]

People have been worrying about CVTs for years. At this point, Nissan has been using them almost exclusively for 10yrs. The vast majority of Nissan owners I know have over 100,000 miles with no issues- of course they don't know they have a CVT or what that means anyway. My son-in-law is at 130,000 miles on his. I only have 30,000 miles and will be disappointed if it fails before 200,000 (assuming I have the car that long).

ref

 

[SumpChump]

This is MY experience but it may become yours... Beware Nissan buyers...
I got a new 2010 Sentra I drive short distances the CVT ran great for a year then it began "not shifting" when cold (20F). I know that this is supposedly common due to it being programmed to warm up by keeping RPMs higher. Well, first off it DIDNT do that the whole first year so the story don't hold water. Then it started not "shifting" at even warmer (60F) ambient temps... Aka... It got worse. The car would do 3500-4500 rpm just to do 25 mph. Unacceptable. They monkeyed with it to no avail. The car was just gonna be junk it was clear to see. I drove the exact same cars for comparison on the lot and they did not do this behavior.

The car is now sold, a corolla sits in my driveway and it shifts. Problem gone , problem solved. Cars need transmissions that shift. And that's what I'll drive till I croak. Call me old fashioned at 40yrs old but some things can't be beat.

As an aside. I drove the 14 corolla (aka bug splat catcher black front end) versus the new 13 . Just to give cvt another chance....the 14 was so bleh.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: SumpChump
This is MY experience but it may become yours... Beware Nissan buyers...
I got a new 2010 Sentra I drive short distances the CVT ran great for a year then it began "not shifting" when cold (20F). I know that this is supposedly common due to it being programmed to warm up by keeping RPMs higher. Well, first off it DIDNT do that the whole first year so the story don't hold water. Then it started not "shifting" at even warmer (60F) ambient temps... Aka... It got worse. The car would do 3500-4500 rpm just to do 25 mph. Unacceptable. They monkeyed with it to no avail. The car was just gonna be junk it was clear to see. I drove the exact same cars for comparison on the lot and they did not do this behavior.

The car is now sold, a corolla sits in my driveway and it shifts. Problem gone , problem solved. Cars need transmissions that shift. And that's what I'll drive till I croak. Call me old fashioned at 40yrs old but some things can't be beat.

As an aside. I drove the 14 corolla (aka bug splat catcher black front end) versus the new 13 . Just to give cvt another chance....the 14 was so bleh.




A cvt is a great idea in theory and I wish they were made for performance applications.
My moms caliber had a cvt and not one issue. Had 100000 miles on it when she totalled it a month ago n
So I disagree that a car should shift gears. I think a cvt is a far better idea,just not in practice yet.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I rented a 2014 Accord LX and I thought it was a great car. CVT was actually quite a surprise how smooth it was from 40 MPH to 100.

But I really don't trust a Honda CVT for longevity. 6 speed manual for me.





Fixed it. If I had to choose a CVT, it would be a Honda. Nissan has been in the game for a long time but they still have issues.


Honda or Toyota are going to be the ones to make it work. Subaru's are manufactured by JATCO and that worries me.


Why does JATCO manufacturing their transmissions concern you?


Nissan CVTS made by JATCO are so awful that Nissan had to extend the warranty to 120K miles. They are extremely unreliable and most need replacement before 100K miles.

 

[BTLew81]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
I was helping my mother shop for a car recently and we test drove a 2014 Accord. I was impressed with the fit/finish and standard equipment.

But, a 2013 Jetta isn't really a fair comparison. The MK6 Jetta is a cheapened, dumbed-down car that's sold in the U.S., China and some parts of south America. Its interior is especially lame and is big step below the normal VW interiors found in the Golf and other models sold in other parts of the world.

I know you said the Honda is better than "all" the VWs you've owned, but my 2010 Jetta has a really nice interior and I didn't notice the interior on the 2014 Accord being better when it comes to things like materials.


I agree. My mkV jettas were much nicer than the mk6. I compared because that's what I traded on the accord. VW just lost me with what they did in terms of dumbing things down. The 15 promised to be better, but it doesn't look much better on the surface. Love the accord and it ranks up there with one of my other favorite cars I owned, a 2009 jetta tdi.

 

[BTLew81]

Update: about 10 months of ownership and 22k miles.


Still loving it. Been following the MM to 20%, which is about 10k miles, as I do mostly highway. Mileage has been impressive. I do about 400 miles a week of highway, amd 40mpg is fairly standard, running about 72 mph. Very happy.

CVT has been pretty solid. Still some quirks here and there. Changing fluid at 25k, and many report some nice improvement after the change. Miss a traditional automatic, but I'm certainly not hating the CVT.

Car continues to be solid, and I don't drive it gently. No rattles, quiet over bumps, no weird noises. Materials look like day one.

AC is fantastic as well. Infotainment has grown on me. It works well.

One issue...pulsating brakes. With my schedule I have not had time to take it in. Will probably live with it and just do front brakes at some point. Braking performance is still very good, just an annoyance.

Only other thing...stock tires. Goodyear assurance fuel max. Kinda loud and just ok. Gonna wear em out and go with some premiers or P7''s.

Loving the car. Anxious to see how many miles I can pile on it. They should come fast and furious with my work travels.

 

[JHZR2]

Thanks for the review and updates.

We are new Honda buyers too. My wife did own an Integra until 2008, but Id say that doesnt really count since it was a 94, its a far different car than is on the market today, etc.

So my wife went from a 2008 Rabbit to a new Odyssey. We still have the Rabbit.

Ill agree that the fit and finish on the Odyssey is excellent, but so is the fit and finish (and materials) on our Rabbit. Perhaps ours is better since it was made in Germany? I know my brother who has a 2011(ish) golf TDI has had issues with seat materals, but nothing else, and his is also solid.

If I had to rank them (all cloth seats), Id say the ranking is 08 Rabbit>Odyssey>2011 TDI, just from a material quality perspective.

I have no issues with the rabbit or odyssey in terms of dash or other interior materials. I will say that the carpet in our rabbit isnt as nice nap-wise as my 04 Saab or 11 BMW, but time will tell how the Odyssey carpet works out from a nap, dirt holding and dirt release perspective.

The accord is a flagship sedan, and the odyssey is the top minivan on the market supposedly. If you were comparing the accord to a passat, Id give a little more concurrence to the comparison, but youre comparing down market (as am I).

I will say that the odyssey is seemingly slightly quieter than our Rabbit, so Id agree from that angle, but Ill also say that it isnt as quiet as my Saab or BMW on smooth roads (another cross-market comparison). Close though. But Ive not driven, say a passat vs accord to say which would win then... A recent edmunds test seems to show that they have the same noise characteristics, within a fraction of a decibel, on the road and at WOT.

The Accord is Honda's flagship sedan, one of the best selling cars in the country, and something which though I may get flamed over, is probably a better car than any acura product that is (likely) based upon it. So I have no doubt that you have a spectacular car that is a good driving, economical and well-made vehicle. Ive had my digs against Honda from experiences with our and others' integras and a few older accords and civics, but at the end of the day, their vehicles seem to be able to be set up in a way that I (personally) like, and they seem to do a decent job of selecting stuff that all works together.

I share your findings on bluetooth, we have experienced a few flaky moments...

Ill leave by saying that highway miles are the easiest on a car, and if you put 22k miles in 10 months, there are probably a lot fewer thermal cycles on the car than one that puts 10k miles a year in mixed driving. So Id expect everything to stay perfect. Id expect the AC to blow cold after 10 months and 22k in the lousiest of cars. The telling points are yet to come, but youll be approaching them fast, for better or worse. It will be exciting to see.

Nice review, good luck with the car!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Good to hear. I've been impressed with how our Hondas have worn over time. They get flack for their material quality compared to Hondas of the '90s, and I get that to some degree -- that said, the interiors of both of our cars show very little visible wear. The MDX has 125,000 miles and the CR-V has 102,000 miles. They've been extremely easy to drive and own, and extremely easy to maintain. They're not the most invigorating vehicles out there, and they're not the most mind-numbing either. Just very agreeable to us, especially in how they drive for the money.

 

[BTLew81]

Highway miles are definitely easiest...agree. The car gets a decent amount of in town driving as well, and also a lot of bumper to bumper.

As far as AC, I just meant that it's fantastic. possibly the best of any car I've owned. Auto function is great.

I agree with Hokie that Hondas are not the most invigorating to drive. The car doesnt have as much character as my VW's, in both good and bad ways!

I'm definitely not scared piling on the miles. I'm confident this car will give me many happy miles.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Accord and Civic are bread and butter for Honda, at least in North America market, they spent good R&D money right here in America to keep these 2 in the top ten selling vehicles.

Same for Camry and Corolla for Toyota, they try very hard to keep their market shares.

 

[mclasser]

Glad to see you're still enjoying your ride

My 02 Accord has held up very well for almost 200K miles and still rides tight on the original steering/suspension. Only major repair was the grenading transmission Honda's are infamous for.

Your comment about the great A/C is interesting. I've always felt the A/C systems have been a weakpoint with Hondas. My Pilot has a bunch of heavy duty components for cooling, etc but the A/C still doesn't freeze you out like many GM cars and Toyotas I've rode in.