New To Modding, New To Honda, New To Forums

[Elsinius]

Hello, please feel free to skip the first paragraph if you're not interested in my life story.

To explain, I've never had anyone in my life to teach me about vehicles or how to work on them. Any and all of my knowledge regarding vehicles have been self-taught and learned from YouTube videos. However, I haven't found much in the way of what I was looking for, and hoped this forum could help. I know I'm very new to this kind of stuff, but I was hoping I could learn a lot and have some fun with it.

I recently purchased a 2000 Accord EX. It has 270,000 miles but it still runs surprisingly well. There's a little belt squeal whenever the car starts that replacing the belts didn't fix (does anyone know what that could be?). I replaced a few small things aside from the belts just because, well, who knows when the last time was that they were replaced? I haven't replaced much, just spark plugs, belts, spark plug wires, and battery. I also installed modern speakers throughout the entire interior.

What I'm most interested to know is if there are any parts, whether small or large, that I should take a look at and see if they need replaced? Mostly looking for common issues with this specific car that can be cheaper to repair if caught early, but any issue that should be investigated and potentially repaired is more than welcome. I know that this car is pretty high in mileage, so I'm not looking for any crazy build or modifications. I just want it to be as reliable as can be, while modernizing a few small things like maybe installing an aftermarket radio with apple car play. Any advice on anything to do with this car is appreciated and welcome.

Thanks for any and all help in advance. It is very appreciated.

 

[BlkCurrantKord]

You probably need to adjust the tension on the belt more.

 

[RedRyder]

If it has an automatic then that is the main thing with these cars I would say to look out for. Though if yours has made it this far then you might have gotten one of the good ones. I would change all your fluids if you don't know when they were last done. Do not flush the transmission, just drain and fill 3 times depending on what the fluid looks like.

Make sure the Takata air bag recall was done. This is a safety issue. Also make sure your tires are sound.

Then I would just go through things like PCV valve, idle air control valve, vtec solenoid, air filter, cabin air filter, etc over time as you are able. These are not common failure points, just with that mileage and not knowing the history it may be a good idea. Some things can just be cleaned or get a new gasket, not necessarily need replacing.

You didn't mention any dash lights are on, so that's good.

 

[Elsinius]

If it has an automatic then that is the main thing with these cars I would say to look out for. Though if yours has made it this far then you might have gotten one of the good ones. I would change all your fluids if you don't know when they were last done. Do not flush the transmission, just drain and fill 3 times depending on what the fluid looks like.

Make sure the Takata air bag recall was done. This is a safety issue. Also make sure your tires are sound.

Then I would just go through things like PCV valve, idle air control valve, vtec solenoid, air filter, cabin air filter, etc over time as you are able. These are not common failure points, just with that mileage and not knowing the history it may be a good idea. Some things can just be cleaned or get a new gasket, not necessarily need replacing.

You didn't mention any dash lights are on, so that's good.

Allow me to go a little more into depth as to what all I have discovered, since I realized I have a lot more info to provide in hindsight.

I had a buddy with a code reader check and see if anything was wrong. I got a few codes for things, but I unfortunately lost the code list and will have to have them checked again. They needed to be checked regardless though, as some of the parts that I have replaced were speculated to have potentially fixed one of the codes.

I got a code for the vtec system failure, cooling system failure, cyl 1 misfire, cyl 2 misfire, cyl 3 misfire, cyl 4 misfire (misfires were speculated to have been fixed with spark plug and spark plug wire replacement). I don’t recall there being any others, but I’ll update when I can make a list again. The ABS light is on when the car starts, turns off occasionally, and turns right back on. The maintenance required light is on, though Im hoping changing the oil will help with that before I worry about bigger issues. As for the airbag, I’ll definitely look into that. I had no idea the airbags were even recalled.

Speaking of the transmission though, I have been somewhat worried about it. Or maybe I’m paranoid. It feels like it takes it a second to change gears from drive to reverse. Going from 1st to 2nd gear in drive feels like it’s hesitating or getting stuck between gears for a second before changing. It’s a hard thing to explain with words, I know. I planned on getting a second opinion in person, but if this explanation seems like it could be something, I’d appreciate the help.

Last thing I promise. When the car is warmed up, it idles at about 750-1000rpm. If you give it even a small throttle blip, it drops all the way down to as low as 100-250rpm before returning to idle. Is that normal?

 

[Elsinius]

Also I appreciate your help and advice, much appreciated

 

[RedRyder]

Maintenance Required light is just a service interval light that comes on at certain mileages according to the vehicle's designated schedule. It has to be turned off manually, there are instructions on this in your owners manual. If you don't have one, easily found online.

It wasn't just these cars, airbags in tons of cars across different makes and models had a recall for this safety issue. Basically nearly any car equipped with an airbag made by Takata. The actual fault lies with the inflator mechanism, not the airbag. And if you get in an accident, or even if the car got too hot inside the cabin, it was possible the inflator could basically explode and shoot out metal shards into the cabin. So very serious, I would check on this immediately.

The auto trans is clunky be default. The one in my car used to have delays between shifts and it would lurch/jerk a little when going from P to R. Try draining and refilling with Honda Genuine DW1 auto trans fluid and see if that helps. Some people d&f, then drive a bit, then d&r again, then drive again, then do it one more time. I didn't do the 3x method, just a fluid exchange like doing engine oil, but I did trans fluid maybe every 6k miles. If this doesn't help you could try changing shift solenoids or really dig in & change clutch packs. But none of that may help either.

For idle issues start by checking IACV first. Clean your throttle body too.

 

[Elsinius]

Maintenance Required light is just a service interval light that comes on at certain mileages according to the vehicle's designated schedule. It has to be turned off manually, there are instructions on this in your owners manual. If you don't have one, easily found online.

It wasn't just these cars, airbags in tons of cars across different makes and models had a recall for this safety issue. Basically nearly any car equipped with an airbag made by Takata. The actual fault lies with the inflator mechanism, not the airbag. And if you get in an accident, or even if the car got too hot inside the cabin, it was possible the inflator could basically explode and shoot out metal shards into the cabin. So very serious, I would check on this immediately.

The auto trans is clunky be default. The one in my car used to have delays between shifts and it would lurch/jerk a little when going from P to R. Try draining and refilling with Honda Genuine DW1 auto trans fluid and see if that helps. Some people d&f, then drive a bit, then d&r again, then drive again, then do it one more time. I didn't do the 3x method, just a fluid exchange like doing engine oil, but I did trans fluid maybe every 6k miles. If this doesn't help you could try changing shift solenoids or really dig in & change clutch packs. But none of that may help either.

For idle issues start by checking IACV first. Clean your throttle body too.

I’ll definitely check on all of this and see if it fixes any issues. I appreciate all the information. I’ll post an update when I get a few things replaced and get a chance to drive it again