• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Honda guys - Anything in particular I should ask about on a 97 Accord SE?

vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Going to look at a '97 accord SE today. 4 cyl, auto, power everything, 106,000 miles. On the phone the guy told me he had recently replaced the timing belt and water pump. Any other problem items I should ask/check for at that milage?

 
how many cars do you own? I see something about a jetta and then something about another car. Are you as indecisive as me on your vehicles?

going from 00 taurus > 99 volvo s80 t6

 
how many cars do you own?
Click to expand...

One. A '00 Passat 🙂 Need a second, cheap, reliable, and economic commuter car. Started another thread on a Camry the other day I was looking at.

 
Make sure the AC works and is full if that matters to you. That is one of the few things Honda can't seem to get just right on their cars.
 
I got the PM 🙂

Wow, that's a lot of miles for a 97. That's not necessarily bad though, these are very durable cars. These engines are phenomenal. Just two rules. Change the oil frequently (no Fram oil filters either, if you know what?s best), and never let it overheat.

Ask him about oil changes and transmission fluid changes. We all know about oil changes, but transmission fluid changes are particularly important on these cars because they don't use a filter (at least back in 87). Honda recommends a drain and refill type of fluid change, which gets about half of the fluid out every 15,000 to 30,000 miles, I believe.

Also ask whether the timing belt/water pump service was done at a dealership, or if he specified that they use only genuine Honda parts. Non-Honda replacement parts are a potential source of trouble.

I assume that all the coolant was flushed when the water pump was done, but ask just to be safe.

When I bought my '87 Accord (automatic), it had 208,000 miles on it. I got all the dealership service records on this car and the transmission never had any work (besides fluid changes) done to it. I had never had an automatic before, and I almost didn't buy the car because that. I was pretty paranoid about it, so I talked to the local indy (non-dealership) Honda/Acura only garage, and he said to just change drain and refill at my next two oil changes, and every 15,000 miles after that. He also told me that I should use Honda fluid only, because the quality control and additives might not be quite as good as Honda if I bought other brands. I followed his advice, and all the way up to the day I killed that car by driver error, 39,000 miles later, I never had even a hint of trouble from the transmission.

Check the CV boots, and if they're starting to crack, have the boots replaced with Honda parts. Do not let them replace the driveshafts with rebuilts. If you do, you'll be replacing them every 30,000 miles from then on, because most rebuilts are garbage.

About the brakes, well, I've got nothing really to say except that genuine Honda pads are dead silent and seem to last long enough. Other than that, hey, they wear out. The original master cylinder on my '87 was replaced by the previous owner at something like 180,000 miles, so no worries about that for awhile.

Starting at around 150,000 miles, you'll probably need to start replacing the ball-joints and tie rod ends, and if the car seems a bit bouncy, the shocks.

The alternator might crap out sometime after 150,000 miles. I've had good luck with Napa rebuilt alternators, and they're lifetime-guaranteed.

The fuel filter should probably be replaced ASAP to forestall fuel system problems. As usual, if in doubt about the quality of the replacement (and I would be), I recommend using a Genuine Honda part.

You?ll probably want get a used car inspection at a dealership or a garage that works on Honda/Acura and maybe one or two other makes exclusively (and has a good reputation!) just to be certain about where this particular car is at.

Good luck. As you can see, I have great faith in Accords, and Honda cars and parts in general. Take care of it, and it?ll take great care of you.

EDIT: Oh, and the AC. Hmmm, well that does have a rough reputation. That's the one thing that didn't work on my 87. It really sucked in the rain when I needed to defog the windows. I recommend giving the AC frequent exercise, even just a few minutes a week. I haven't had any problem with my 92 Civic's AC yet, it does get regular use, but I don't expect it to be trouble-free in the future.
 
Oh, what sort of tab would I be looking at if the CV boots need to be replaced? Oh, and is the fuel filter simple to replace on your own?
 
I don't know the tab on boot replacement, sorry, but it's probably cheaper than an entire rebuilt driveshaft. Some mechanics (I think some chains are particularly guilty of this) like to replace the driveshaft as a unit because it's quicker and easier for them, and getting a "new" part sounds good to most customers.

The fuel filter is like, duh-easy to replace, unless it happens to have two of them 🙁. The easy one is under the hood, clamped near the top of the firewall. The difficult one, if it has one, (I don't know, check with a Honda mechanic), is under the car by the fuel tank, near the left wheel well.
 
Here's another one: The exhaust system. When the original craps out (I'm guessing that it's original based on the age, but ask), get the Honda one. It's stainless steel and will last 4-5 times longer on our salty northern roads than that Midas crap. The junky muffler my sister had put on her car (now my car, the 92 Civic) 2 years ago now has a hole that's getting bigger by the day. It started making a little noise a few weeks ago, and last night, it started becoming almost ricer loud, which isn't cool in my book. I like it quiet, stealth mode, if you will.

Now I've got to replace it because she went cheap, against my advice. Oh well, I'm in the same position as she was, having to shell out for a muffler, and not wanting to. It worked out for her, because she didn't keep the car.
 
2 things I would check, 1. the air-conditioning, make sure it is cold 2. check the maintenance book, check for regularly scheduled oil changes and big checks like the 60,000 and such. that's 'bout all I can think of that I would really check, asside from the usuals that you check for on any used car.
 
Guys,

I just finished rebuilding the engine on my 92 Accord and I am very impressed with the way Honda designed this car. One point of fact is that every wiring harness and connection is supported just like a racecar. There are over 75 electrical connections in the engine compartment alone and each one is secured. No wonder this thing has lasted me over 10 years 170K miles and still looks great.

BTW,

Garfang knows his stuff.
 
Originally posted by: FlashG
Guys,

I just finished rebuilding the engine on my 92 Accord and I am very impressed with the way Honda designed this car. One point of fact is that every wiring harness and connection is supported just like a racecar. There are over 75 electrical connections in the engine compartment alone and each one is secured. No wonder this thing has lasted me over 10 years 170K miles and still looks great.

BTW,

Garfang knows his stuff.
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I, too, am very impressed with the way Honda designs cars. Every time I do any work on one, I notice something impressive to my engineering type mind, and I say "that's a great idea," or "wow, that comes apart and goes back together easily."

That little bit about the electrical connections is another good point that I hadn't even thought about.
 
Honda's need a new timing belt and water pump every 90-100k miles. Since he changed that already, you are good to go for at least another 100k. My dad works at the Honda plant where all Accords are made. They are the BEST car in their class in my opinion (even though my opinion is obviously biased) They have the BEST resell value, great gas mileage, nice power (for their class), they never die (my 92 Civic has 250k on it and it runs like a beauty). Change the oil every 3-5k miles, and that is all you need to worry about. They are perfect everyday cars and it will last you forever. Anyone that says Honda's suck has obviously never owned one. If they have owned one, and still think they suck,they are just plain retarded.

You will be extremely happy with it, I guarentee it.
 
Actually, it's 98+, and I'd say probably. The interior and shifter don't feel as nice as a '97, and they seem to have dropped the variable assist power steering (all to keep the cost/price competitive), but I'd still not give the least bit of hesitation to buy one for the right price.
 
Originally posted by: edro13
Honda's need a new timing belt and water pump every 90-100k miles. Since he changed that already, you are good to go for at least another 100k. My dad works at the Honda plant where all Accords are made. They are the BEST car in their class in my opinion (even though my opinion is obviously biased) They have the BEST resell value, great gas mileage, nice power (for their class), they never die (my 92 Civic has 250k on it and it runs like a beauty). Change the oil every 3-5k miles, and that is all you need to worry about. They are perfect everyday cars and it will last you forever. Anyone that says Honda's suck has obviously never owned one. If they have owned one, and still think they suck,they are just plain retarded.

You will be extremely happy with it, I guarentee it.
Click to expand...

They are too retarded to take care of any car, so screw them. Retardation is their problem, not mine.

I'd probably love to work in that Accord plant (for a little while), except that it's in Ohio. 😛
 
Back in my younger days when I was delivering the daily newspaper at 3:30 AM every single freakin' day (even Christmas!). My boss had the most beautiful 1988 Honda Accord LXi I was in love with that car. Unfortunately he treated it like sh!t and drove the crap out of it but it was black, the door closed with a certain thunk, oh man it was beautiful.

Hopefully I'll be buying a 2003 Honda Accord later this year, is the added cost of an EX worth it over the popular LX? It will be the 4 banger (not V6 - fuel economy is important to me).
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Are the newer (2000+) Accord's just as good as the older models?
Click to expand...


My parents just bought a 2002 Accord EX V6. It has a ton more power than their old 1996 4 cylinder EX. (2 more cylinders, duh.) You can never look into the future and tell if a car will last as long as their previous cars, but if ALL their previous ones are any indication, the newer models will also.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Back in my younger days when I was delivering the daily newspaper at 3:30 AM every single freakin' day (even Christmas!). My boss had the most beautiful 1988 Honda Accord LXi I was in love with that car. Unfortunately he treated it like sh!t and drove the crap out of it but it was black, the door closed with a certain thunk, oh man it was beautiful.

Hopefully I'll be buying a 2003 Honda Accord later this year, is the added cost of an EX worth it over the popular LX? It will be the 4 banger (not V6 - fuel economy is important to me).
Click to expand...

But it's cool to see how many of those cars are still driving around, many still in wonderful condition. How many 86-89 Grand Ams are still out there? How many of them have over 175,000 miles? Not so many.
 
My parents have that car (4-door 97' Accord SE). Its a nice car, i think it has 80k miles on it and has had no problems. I would just make sure that its been maintained. btw how much does he want for it?
 
RossMAN

My son's 5 speed 95 Accord Coupe was built the same way as mine. It weighs a little more and leans into turns a little greater because of that. Otherwise it still is a great car.

I can't help you about the newer ones. But look at the engine compartment the next time you go into a dealer.
 
Originally posted by: Garfang
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Back in my younger days when I was delivering the daily newspaper at 3:30 AM every single freakin' day (even Christmas!). My boss had the most beautiful 1988 Honda Accord LXi I was in love with that car. Unfortunately he treated it like sh!t and drove the crap out of it but it was black, the door closed with a certain thunk, oh man it was beautiful.

Hopefully I'll be buying a 2003 Honda Accord later this year, is the added cost of an EX worth it over the popular LX? It will be the 4 banger (not V6 - fuel economy is important to me).
Click to expand...

But it's cool to see how many of those cars are still driving around, many still in wonderful condition. How many 86-89 Grand Ams are still out there? How many of them have over 175,000 miles? Not so many.
Click to expand...

Everytime I see a 3G accord that is the same blue as my old one, I feel a small, sharp stab in my heart because I used to have one and then I wrecked it.

my accord

It was exactly in that condition before I rolled it a couple of times in a ditch. :| I swear that car would have easily run another 100K miles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top