98 EX-V6 one of Honda's mess ups?

[Griffeycom]

Let me start off saying I come from a Honda Family. My dad loves Honda's and has since he purchased his 86 Accord over 20 years ago. We have had Honda vehicles almost ever since, including an Odyssey, Passport (Actually an Isuzu though ), 3 Civics (1 hybrid and 2 that were totaled due to others faults) and now we've got a fleet consisting of a Pilot, a CRV and finally my 1998 Honda Accord EX-V6. We also have tons of Honda memorabilia, a Honda riding mower and a Honda Push mower and even one of those old old OLD kick scooters that I've yet to see another of. We are very loyal to the Honda brand.

Now that I've got my background out of the way, let me tell you how displeased I am with my 98 Accord. My Accord was purchased from the 2nd owner back in March, with a whopping 88,000 miles on the clock. Since that time, my ignition switch has gone out (this was already "fixed" once by the recall back in the day), leaving me stranded on the side of the road, my fuel sending unit was broken from the start, my alternator was on it's way out yesterday and was replaced. The EGR Valve recall has been performed on it. And I'm just waiting for this infamous V6 transmission to die on me.

On top of all of this, my gas mileage has broken 20mpg ONCE and that was pure high way mileage. My 1998 Toyota 4Runner V6 4x4 got equal and/or BETTER gas mileage than this gas guzzling car! And let me tell you, as much as I like my car (besides these defects) I absolutely LOVED my 4Runner.


So far since owning this car I've put 1.5 cans of Seafoam through the gas tank, .5 in the crankcase right before I switched my oil over to Mobil1 Fully Synthetic oil + OEM oil filter. I switched my OEM Air filter over to a K&N drop-in replacement filter as well as made sure my tires are at or above recommended PSI. I've yet to see any real improvement in gas mileage. I do not FLOOR the pedal when I drive, I drive conservatively (you learn to do that when driving an SUV and are strapped for cash). And I refrain from using AC unless I'm going 50mph+ or absolutely necessarily.

Now that I've written my book and got this off my chest, does anyone have any suggestions for me to improve my MPG? Or any explanations why I've had so much trouble with this car? Basically I'm just really disappointed that Honda hasn't lived up to it's name when it comes to this car, especially with the problems faced with these V6's.

Thanks

 

[itzcharlie]

spark plugs and wires?
i get about 300-330 to a tank

 

[fastflyinaccord]

I get around 27 as a 4 cyl. I remember many 6 cyl people saying they were right around 20, some under.

Sounds like most of your problems were from the recalls, which were fixed for free. Could it be that maybe you just bought a car from someone who did not perform regular maintenance or cherish their honda as much as we do?

 

[Griffeycom]

spark plugs and wires?
i get about 300-330 to a tank

Plugs are coming soon. The maintenance interval says plugs go at 105k I believe, but with the age of the car and since I'm approaching 91k I think I'll go ahead and replace them.

I get around 27 as a 4 cyl. I remember many 6 cyl people saying they were right around 20, some under.

Sounds like most of your problems were from the recalls, which were fixed for free. Could it be that maybe you just bought a car from someone who did not perform regular maintenance or cherish their honda as much as we do?

I've had to pay for all of the problems I've had so far. The ignition switch was fixed by the recall around when it first went out, but it went out again when i got the car, now when will it do it next! . And yeah, I don't think the previous owner kept it up as well as I will but at the same time the problems I have seem to be common for my year, again I'm just disappointed that Honda let this even happen to begin with!

 

[ryan s]

sell it?

why'd you get a v6 in the first place? a quick google will show that the vehicles with v6 engines (hell the 4 cylinders have recalls too), that honda built in america, from ~1998-2002 have faulty transmissions. CL/TL/6GA/Odyssey/MDX/Rodeo/Passport/etc. only v6s not affected were the cars built in japan.

its a 12 year old, used car.

as for the mileage issue, are we talkin city driving or mixed city/highway? cause i get around 20-22 city with my 4 cylinder...i usually hit 300 miles on 15 gallons just in the city. youre saying the car can't break 20 on the highway...at all? and the car wont hate you for doing a tune up a few miles early plugs, wires, cap, rotor (i think the older v6s have distributors...), PCV valve, clean throttle body, check EGR ports, etc. and use good gas.

oh, and the only isuzu suv/truck made by them was the axiom (maybe the vehicross too). everything else was built by another company then got isuzu badges.

 

[BigAnt]

I get about 24-25 mph on my F23A4 Ulev with a 5spd manual. To improve your fuel economy just to do the basic tune-up like ryan_s said. Also you should change your timing belt, water pump, and seals.

Once your automatic transmission gives out, you should do a 6spd manual swap.

 

[Griffeycom]

We bought it because we got a good deal on it and the low mileage. Plus, we needed a car FAST. My Civic was totaled a week before and I attend a commuter college and NEEDED a car and since we really like our Honda's, found this one that someone we know had and such low mileage it seemed to make sense to buy it!

Previous owner had the timing belt, water pump, etc done at ~60k, so that's fairly fresh, need to do plugs soon and hope that helps me out.

As far as what I drive, it's mostly city, maybe 10-20% is Highway. I also realize this is a 12 year old used car, but it's also a Honda. In the past we've not had these issues with our Honda's, especially at such low mileage! I'm not sure we did anything out of regular maintenance on the 86 Accord we had!

 

[ryan s]

ignition switch is a problem these cars have...it just is. v6s get clogged EGRs...it just happens. my car has had both lower ball joints replaced TWICE in the less than 5 years ive owned it (well, the one is going to be done soon). might need a $300 distributor at 153k miles. rust everywhere. broken almost every plastic interior piece and at least 50% of the clips used around the car. its just the issues with the car. broke a chunk of a fuse panel the other day how does that even happen?

in the same vein, we never have to worry about clogged fuel filters, fuel pumps going bad, head gasket failures are rare, broken timing belts/tensioners are very rare, etc. its the give-and-takes. i'm looking for a 1G RL. clogged EGRs and differential seals are their main issues. the seal is a $5 part that requires like 6 hours of labor. tradeoff is the transmissions are bulletproof. c'est la vie. i HATE my 6th gen but would buy another...its just this particular car thats all ****ed up.

 

[Griffeycom]

ignition switch is a problem these cars have...it just is. v6s get clogged EGRs...it just happens. my car has had both lower ball joints replaced TWICE in the less than 5 years ive owned it (well, the one is going to be done soon). might need a $300 distributor at 153k miles. rust everywhere. broken almost every plastic interior piece and at least 50% of the clips used around the car. its just the issues with the car. broke a chunk of a fuse panel the other day how does that even happen?

in the same vein, we never have to worry about clogged fuel filters, fuel pumps going bad, head gasket failures are rare, broken timing belts/tensioners are very rare, etc. its the give-and-takes. i'm looking for a 1G RL. clogged EGRs and differential seals are their main issues. the seal is a $5 part that requires like 6 hours of labor. tradeoff is the transmissions are bulletproof. c'est la vie. i HATE my 6th gen but would buy another...its just this particular car thats all ****ed up.

Exactly! All the problems that the 6th gen has, is not what I've come to expect out of the Honda name! I'm definitely happy we don't have some of the problems other makes have, but the ones we do have are just disappointing coming from a Honda. Either way, for now I've got 2 of the big issues the V6 has out of the way, hopefully the transmission sticks around long enough till I get my TSX (buying it off of my uncle when he gets rid of it @ 100k).

What I really LOVE about my car is that it looks so good! It took me a few days to get hooked but now that I am I LOVE the way it looks.

 

[ryan s]

my point was that each car (even the same model/year) can have different issues. some people have done 200k on the original v6 transmission...others are on their 3rd transmission in 100k.

i am highly disappointed with the plastics honda used for these cars...others probably don't care since they never take them on and off. i had a bad catalytic converter at 126k with a bad O2 sensor CEL...replaced the cat, never touched either O2 sensor while others have gone through a few of them having had the same CELs.

my entire family also owns hondas/acuras. my dad has an 08 TSX and if you think it doesn't have issues...think again...