2004 Honda Accord

[Ifixyawata]

Hi all,

Due to a recent illness my mother is not currently allowed to drive and is not particularly fond of the idea of doing so going forward considering the nature of her illness. I have taken partial/pre-emptive ownership of her '04 Honda Accord at her request. It's an LX model 2.4L automatic and has about 169k miles.

I found, first and foremost that the Takata airbag recall has not been completed, so that will be the first order of business. Other things I've noticed while driving it are that the transmission sometimes shudders at lower speeds 'trying' to go into 4th or 5th. This can be resolved by keeping the car in D3 while in town. I suspect a fluid change is in order. The front rotors and pads will need replaced, they seem warped when slowing down from highway speed. And I have a p0171 code that I'm hoping it just a dirty MAF sensor.

What other caveats or things to watch for on this car? At the very least I'd like to get it/keep it in decent shape for her should she decide that she wants to drive again. If not and I end up taking full ownership of this car, it may end up replacing my Focus.

 

[HangFire]

That code may indicate one or more sticky/clogged fuel injectors. I would investigate that carefully, or you run the risk of burnt valves.

Looks like a timing chain engine, so no belt change service worries.

Honda transmissions of that era often have shift solenoid issues later in life. I see RockAuto has a huge selection of them. That may be the shift issue. Generally these are not too hard to replace, being externally mounted. There may be HDS (not OBD-II) codes hidden in there that will point to the real problems. Get them read before doing battery work and resetting the codes.

It looks like their may be a spin-on, or cartridge in-line ATF filter in the ATF coolant line. If so, replace it and check it out, see how bad it looks.

 

[Market525]

On the trans .... Is it possible that the fluid has never been changed? It's a simple drain & fill procedure ... not a bad place to start. Someone above mentioned a filter ... yes, these Accord have a "sandwich" type filter that is located on "top" of the transmission case ... you can see it if you look straight down while standing in front of the car. Rubber hose in, and rubber hose out. If I recall, you'll need to remove the air cleaner box to easily access the filter. And do not panic if you local Honda dealer says "They don't have a transmission filter" They do ...trust me. And fluid ... if you do this yourself, use genuine Honda fluid only ... pick up 4 quarts and you'll be fine, with a little left over. Some will point out that there are several generic trans fluid that could be used ... but since you don't know history, or if it's ever been changed ... I just don't think I'd mess with a different chemistry fluid in that trans ... my opinion only of course.

P0171 .. fuel system too lean, bank 1. I'd put my money on the front heated oxygen sensor ... or air fuel ratio sensor as Honda might call it. Could well be the original sensor in there.

Good luck with you maintenance / repair efforts.

 

[Ifixyawata]

I'm hoping it's not the oxygen sensor, even on Rock Auto they start out at $120, I found some cheaper on Amazon but am not sure if they're the correct parts, they look to be the wide-band variety. My mom had taken the car to a local Goodyear service place for a few other things and they had told her there was a bad oxygen sensor but didn't have the neccesary tools to replace the oxygen sensor. The whole lot of it seemed suspicious to me so I had hoped maybe they were going to just attempt to throw an O2 sensor at it. The car seems to be getting pretty awful fuel economy but I haven't calculated it yet.

I've already read the bit about using only the Honda fluid and that's what I intend to do if I change this fluid. There are very little maintenance records from the original owner, they stop at around 20k in the maintenance log book sort of thing that came with the car.

 

[gregk24]

The 2003 and 2004 autos had problems. I don't think you can do anything about it other than keep the fluid fresh with the proper spec fluid. I personally do a drain and refill every year / 15K miles or so. Super easy to do on these.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

P0171 sounds like an oxygen sensor. The MAF code is P0100. That being said, you can still clean the MAF if you want. CRC has a good MAF cleaner.

An oxygen sensor socket is about $5 at any auto parts store, or even less at Walmart or Harbor Freight.

The most expensive oxygen sensor on Rock Auto listed for a 2004 Accord 2.4 is $110, and they even have one under $100. In addition, don't forget the 5% promo codes they always have. If that is still too much, there are plenty of upstream oxygen sensors on eBay for much less

 

[2010Civic]

I would suggest a few drain/fills of the ATF using Honda fluid. Maybe once a weekend for a few weeks?

I have a 2005 Accord LX but with a 5 speed manual transmission. Very solid car.

 

[SatinSilver]

I'd also recommend replacing the pcv valve with an oem one even if the old one still rattles. Since these engines can turn into oil guzzlers, so good preventative maintenance.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
P0171 sounds like an oxygen sensor. The MAF code is P0100. That being said, you can still clean the MAF if you want. CRC has a good MAF cleaner.

An oxygen sensor socket is about $5 at any auto parts store, or even less at Walmart or Harbor Freight.

The most expensive oxygen sensor on Rock Auto listed for a 2004 Accord 2.4 is $110, and they even have one under $100. In addition, don't forget the 5% promo codes they always have. If that is still too much, there are plenty of upstream oxygen sensors on eBay for much less

There are so many things that can cause a P0171. Need to confirm the issue before getting out the parts cannon. For starters, you need to figure out whether it is lean at idle or while it is under load...

 

[Ifixyawata]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog

The most expensive oxygen sensor on Rock Auto listed for a 2004 Accord 2.4 is $110, and they even have one under $100. In addition, don't forget the 5% promo codes they always have. If that is still too much, there are plenty of upstream oxygen sensors on eBay for much less

I was looking only at upstream o2 sensors I guess

 

[Market525]

If you're going to move forward with the oxygen sensor, I suggest staying with DENSO brand. Amazon carries these as well ... this is who manufacturers the OEM Honda sensors. You'll save a ton buying it on Amazon vs. a Honda dealer. From my experience, use Denso only.... stay away from Bosch, etc. Again, just my experience.

 

[Market525]

Just looked on Amazon ... I am fairly certain that your car takes a Denso 234-9040 Air Fuel Ratio Sensor (upstream oxygen sensor) Price is $99.99.
Again, Denso is the only way to go on oxygen sensors ... steer clear of generic brands.

 

[Trav]

Correct any engine performance issues before worrying about the transmission, many times what appears to be the transmission acting up is engine related and only a symptom not the cause. Service the transmission after everything else is corrected, don't get too many pans in the fire at once.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

I had an 03 accord bought with 100k got it up to 280k or so before it needed a motor. Had a horrible oil consumption issue but I am a mechanic and kept it topped off.

Only issues I had were brake calipers, ac compressor, hand brake cables, catalytic converter, and eventually timing chain stretch.

No complaints for not knowing it's first 100k history.

I did have extreme cold trans shift flare ups from the 1-2 shift. Honda dw 1 fluid didn't take care of it. No fault codes. It was typically only the first shift or two of the morning then never again. I flushed it when I first got it due to fluid being so clean but weird shift qualities, figured it was the wrong fluid. Since then I'd just drain and fill it with Honda fluid quite often just being precautious. And being a mechanic I typically had replaced a Honda trans once a month or so and hand leftover fluid around.

I did find it frustrating that it's the same k24 motor they recalled in the newer models and re-ringed them for free. That really rubbed me the wrong way. But what can you do.

 

[WagonWheel]

Use 5w30 if you have consumption issues. Even then, get into the habit of checking the oil after every fuel up like Honda states in the owners manual. Engine at operating temp and engine off for 10 min.

 

[Ifixyawata]

I have an update regarding this Honda. I had to stop driving it for a while until I had a chance to put some new front rotors and pads on it as the right side inner pad was completely gone. With that done I changed out the upstream O2 sensor and also happened to notice as I was cleaning the MAF sensor (it didn't look too dirty) that there was an extra/side hose unplugged from the main air cleaner-to-TB hose; it was more of a large and small hose/block thing that teed into the side of the hose. I hooked this back up and cleared the P0171 code and am waiting to see what happens.

I'm guessing that maybe this massive 'leak' in the intake of unmetered air could cause the too lean condition that was throwing the code. Does this also answer the question of what's causing the poor fuel economy (18mpg)?

 

[Ifixyawata]

Also, what's everyone like in terms of Oil Filters on this K24A? I picked up a super tech ST6607 but it looks quite a bit shorter than what's on the car.

 

[HangFire]

Honda has very few car oil filter sizes, basically 2 cover most applications, short and long. Most call for the short, no problem swapping them up. Your Honda service manual probably recommends leaving it on there every other oil change.

Like a true BITOG'er, I used the long, and changed it every OCI.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by Ifixyawata
Also, what's everyone like in terms of Oil Filters on this K24A? I picked up a super tech ST6607 but it looks quite a bit shorter than what's on the car.


The PH7317 is basically the same as the OEM Honda A02 from the dealer. The TG7317 is much better than the A02 for about the same price.

 

[ctechbob]

3593A Sized is what I prefer across the board on mine. Not sure if there is enough room around a K-Series mount for it though.