Draken Wolfe

I have a 1998 Accord EX V6 Automatic. I had the same issue that so many people seem to run into with 6th gen Accords. The engine would idle fine, and under heavy acceleration it was fine. But when driving in the city, under normal acceleration, or when cruising along at around 60 kph, the engine would bog. It was like it suddenly stopped getting gas or spark - no bang-bang. If I gave it a little gas or let my foot off the gas entirely it would smooth right out. WTF???

I must have read at least 30 different threads relating to problems with Accords bogging under acceleration. I tried everything that was suggested, except replace the fuel pump and ECU because I couldn't afford either of those. In the end, I did solve the issue, so I wanted to write this post to give people an idea of the various things that *MIGHT* be causing the problem.

I figured it might be the Throttle Position Sensor. So I hooked my multi-meter to it and watched as I slowly pushed the gas pedal down. 0.5 to 4.5 exactly. No stutters in the middle. Ok. Not the TPS.

I had a CEL on: P0401: EGR Valve Insufficient Lift. So I replaced the EGR Valve and cleaned the EGR ports (see how-to elsewhere on this forum).

Still had the bogging.

So I cleaned the IACV, because that sometimes causes this problem.

Still had the bogging.

So I cleaned the throttle body.

Still had the bogging.

I replaced the spark plugs and wires.

Still had the bogging.

I checked the fuel relay under the dash, hoping to find loose solder joints. Nope. All good there.

Then I got a new code: P0171: Bank 1 Too Lean. Aha!! This was the first time I got a code that actually pointed to something. The P0171 is *almost* always an O2 sensor. So I changed it (in this case, the Primary O2 sensor, before the catalytic converter). While disconnecting the wire, I bumped the sensor and it snapped off. It was apparently ready to die anytime. God knows what kind of crazy signals it was sending to the ECU. Unfortunately, whoever put it in didn't put anti-seize on the threads and I ended up having to take the car to a shop to have liberal amounts of heat and muscle applied. But with the new sensor in, the bogging was finally gone. PROBLEM SOLVED!!

The engine was finally running right, and I could drive in the city without the risk of slamming into the car in front of my while trying to get my engine to stop bogging.

What solved it? Possibly the O2 sensor was the only problem, but more than likely it was just one of a number of things that contributed to the issue. Cleaning the EGR ports is a normal thing for Accords. Cleaning the IACV is normal for Hondas. The solder joints on the fuel relay have a bad habit of rattling loose, causing intermittent power to the fuel pump. There are even people who have had to replace the main computer (my sympathies to you). The point is this: There are a lot of systems that have to be working in order for the engine to run properly. If one is buggy, it can cause problems with the engine, and also cause one (or more) of the other systems to fail. So the fix is often not just one thing. In my case, the final piece of the puzzle was the O2 sensor. But after about 30 kms, the CEL came back on. P0401. I've already cleaned the EGR ports. But with a bad O2 sensor sending insane data to the ECU, it's entirely possible that those ports are gummed up again. I'm going to take the top off the engine this weekend and re-clean the ports. Hopefully that will take care of the CEL. I'm really getting tired of seeing it shining back at me.

I hope this helps.

holmesnmanny

Normally you gotta use a scanner to erase a code on an obd2 car. Perhaps it was just still there? They can't get gummed up that fast. See if you put the connector back on all the way. Maybe the vacuum hose has a leak.

Draken Wolfe

I have a scanner. I erased the codes when I did the O2 sensor. But good call on the plug and the vaccuum lines. I'll check those first. Thanks.