Jessica Smith

Hi everyone,

I'm going to do my best to describe my issue. Thanks for your time.

Here are my symptoms first

• Can't accelerate quickly or car will lose power. Once I allow my car to get through its fit, I can accelerate slowly.
• Car runs perfect at or under 2,500 (as long as I'm easy with her)
• Sometimes it won't start, or it'll idle really rough and I have to let it work itself out
• CEL and Maintenance Light on
• I'm assuming I'm just in Limp Mode
• Edit* Forgot I can't go over 80 mph or it will lose power until it drops down to 60, in which I can start accelerating again. Its literally at 81+ that it will do this. Same feeling as the first bullet.

Here are the codes:

1. P0135: O2 Sensor Heater Bank 1 Sensor 1
2. P0141: O2 Sensor Heater Circut Bank 1, SEnsor 2
3. P2279: Intake Air System Leak
4. P0497: Evapoprative Emission System High Purge Flow
5. P2646 A Rocker Arm Actuator Control System Performance Stuck Off (Bank 1)
6. P1157: Wide Range Oxygen Sensor Signal Line A or B (AFV1 Line or AFC1 Line) Open
7. P0302: Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected
8. P0301: Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
9. P0300: Random - Multiple Misfire Detected
10. P0303: Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
11. P0304: Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected

EDIT: SORRY! Forgot 2003 Honda Accord EX 4cyl vtec

poorman212

Wow, not really sure where to start.

Some of the codes could be related but I'm thinking there is more than one issue.

Did this all start at once or was the CEL on and then the "drive issues" got worse?

I'm almost to the point of saying clear the codes and see which one(s) come back first.

Last tune up - spark plugs and type used?

There are two screens for the vtec system that you might want to pull and inspect/clean.

Jessica Smith

Haha, I know right.

I personally believe the o2 sensor codes are separate from everything else. The others showed up about the same time (same day). I even did a reset and ran them again and got the same codes.

Last tune up was May and I used NGKs. I noticed the last time it was hard to start, it flooded. I pulled them out and noticed the gap was weird on 3 of them. I fixed that and the car seemed to run a tad better, but none of the symptoms went away.

I'm honestly thinking its vtec related. Since its the end of the work week I can park it for the weekend and start looking through it. I wanted to check the wiring and the solenoid, I'll check the screens too.

Jessica Smith

Also - yes it has progressively gotten worse. Sometimes the symptoms would go away for several weeks. It first started in March.

lazlong

How many miles on the car? When was the last time you did the valve lash adjustment? Are the cylinder heads clicking louder than normal?

In the same vein, how long are your oil change intervals? Long intervals came cause sludge, which can have symptoms like this.

P0497 is actually low purge flow, which would go hand in hand with P2279 (intake air leak).

Like mentioned, look at the VTEC. If that's good then check the purge valve hose leading to the manifold. If that's good then I'd look under the valve cover.

94vtecmn

Could be as simple as a clogged oil filter, or the VTEC screen clogged. I'll be willing to bet if you put an oil pressure gauge on the sending unit, its probably low.

Start with the easiest, oil filter change, then the VTEC pressure switch.

Jessica Smith

Hi everyone - thanks for the additional comments.

I have 362,000 miles on the car. Oil changes done religiously every 3 months. I don't think I get more than 3,000-4,000 miles on an oil change if that. This is just my to work beater.

I put in new valves and seals and gaskets and such (around $650 in parts - came in a big kit) in December - January.

August is my oil change month, so I'm doing that this weekend. However, I don't think its the oil filter as its been changed once or twice since the symptoms have popped up.

I'll probably have to pull the head back off, but that means dealing with timing, so I'd like to do that as a last resort :/

Let me know if anything else pops into your mind. I appreciate all the comments so far!

Jessica Smith

I'm really hoping its just the Vtec somewhere is messed up!!!

94vtecmn

Take the advice you have been given, if you did valves and seals and gaskets and such, the VTEC pressure switch/screen cleaning should be a piece of cake for you. This does not require removing the head. That's most likely where there is something blocking causing a drop in oil pressure causing your issues.

Jessica Smith

For sure!

I didn't have time to the oil change - but the screens have been cleaned and no change. I'm hoping to do the oil change this evening . I'll let everyone know when I've ran through all the current ideas.

Jessica Smith

Okay - so I did an oil change last night. I used 30 instead of 20 and a new filter of course. Funny thing was, it was still acting up after. So I went and reset my codes in case it was a forced limp mode from previous codes (not sure if that's possible). However, it still showed the issue at ~2500 RPMs. Probably drove it a total of 30 miles to the farm and back. This morning on the way to work, I was able to accelerate past 3000 RPMS and actually pass cars. Once I realized I did it getting onto the interstate, I kept trying to get it to break, however, she stayed pretty smooth. Its possible its just a blip, but I'll report back.

Jessica Smith

I've been dukes of hazarding where ever I go. I honesty can't remember what vtec feels like kicking in, but I believe its kicking in now. Haven't had any symptoms, when it was a permanent symptom (could replicate whenever I wanted)