Two things amaze me about the 2000 Honda Accord:
- Popularity
A disproportionately large number of '00 Accords remain on the road than any other year Accord. There has got to be a statistic somewhere on the Internet to back up my observation.
- "Heat Soak"
This seemingly stalwart vehicle is vexed by a stubborn gremlin: the so-called "
heat soak" issue, that as of the date of this post, has no definitive resolution.
These two things seem contradictory. Why is this troublesome vehicle so tenacious among its more reliable incarnations? Yet you never see as many, say, '04 Accords on the road. I ask myself every time I see another '00 Accord: "Is that person suffering from the 'heat soak' issue?"
<plaintive sigh>
Anyway...
My 2000 Accord V6 (125k) suffers the
EXACT problem with symptoms
PRECISELY as described in the
Honda TSB 00-024 "Heat Soak" advisory:
- engine won't start or hold idle after the car is driven to operating temp and then parked w/engine off for ~15mins;
- runs rough if gas pedal is held or after transmission is quickly shifted into gear; and,
- MIL will light with resultant misfire codes.
- Let the car cool down for ~10mins and it'll start and run fine.
- This problem recurs consistently and is easily induced.
Note: In most cases, the engine will perform without any symptoms for years. Another more subtle characteristic of the "heat soak" issue is that it tends to begin somewhat out of the blue, then recur intermittently; but once the problem begins, the car will always have it.
Seemingly plausible anecdotes on the Internet about suggested causes of this issue run the gamut:
- ethanol fuel vaporization;
- generally bad quality fuel;
- faulty fuel pressure regulator;
- fuel pressure regulator too small;
- returnless fuel rails;
- problem with main fuel relay solder joints;
- air trapped in coolant;
- overly tight I/E valves;
- EGR issue;
- leaky valve and/or head gaskets;
- bad plugs and/or ignition coils;
- bad coolant temperature sensor;
- blown fan fuse leading to overly hot engine compartment;
...and on and on and on.
(I've deliberately left the less plausible causes off the list.)
Given the anecdotal evidence of multiple, plausible causes and solutions, I have a hunch some part has simply gone bad, but I simply cannot identify the culprit. I'm suspicious that the entire issue may legitimately have more than one specific cause; and, that that cause is due to a specific part failure.. and not exclusively due to "boiling" ethanol-laden fuel.
It's been over
16 years and there is
still no vetted recommended fix or fixes to this very common problem that affects this very popular car.
