jrm

My father bought a new '10 Accord EXL fully loaded last month and i bought his old 01' civic in mint 100% perfectly maintained condition, some questions on the new accord:

1. I plan to change the oil at 3k and not wait the 8k as the manual states in order to be a "green" car company, the Dealer said it had break in oil but im calling BS and as long as i run dyno 5w20 oil on the first change that should be ok right?

2. Road noise, can we get the under side ryno lined or something? does 3m make thick rubber strips that soak up road noise? its much louder than a 1985 chevy corsica on rough pavement.

3. The traction control worked great in the snow- does it also have limited slip differential or did the ECU apply the brakes to the slipping front wheel?

Thanks, Joe

redbull-1

1. The dealer is not BS-ing you. The factory fill engine oil has molybdenum (that’s “moly” for short), a special lubricant applied by the factory to critical engine components during assembly. Generally, Honda recommends the factory fill engine oil remain in the engine until the first scheduled maintenance interval (this part is in the owner's manual).

That being said, I personally still do my first oil change early, as I switch to synthetic motor oil and do very frequent oil changes.

2. Can't really comment on adding anything to help deaden the road noise. I kind of feel the increase road noise is due to the larger wheel and somewhat low profile tires. For me personally, it doesn't bother me, as it is quiet to me compared to my previous Hondas.

3. Based on Honda's description: When a drive wheel loses traction on a slippery road surface and starts to spin, the VSA modulated-control unit applies brake pressure to the the spinning wheel and sends an engine torque control request to the ECM/PCM to slow the spinning wheel and keep traction.

GoLowDrew

1. I don't work for Honda, so I don't know. But I'm on the side of BS about break-in "special oil." A Ford Engineer mentioned this myth (back in 2005). The engine was already tested. Use it and drive it like you normally would. They have to mention the break-in period because some guys will drive like a jackass right off the lot. So maybe Honda is different. No disrespect to the post above. I don't believe the oil indicator will go 8K miles. You should change it at 15% not at 0%, which I'm guessing would be 6K max (from my driving style).

2. Accord is big and heavy, so any more insolation will only add more weight. Plus it also adds cost. Honda counts on ANC to cancel out the noise, which your EX-L does have. I'm familar with undercoating (on Toyotas) that will make a difference in sound/noise. It's thicker than rust proofing spray. Make sure the shop know how to spary (and familar with the Accord) and not plug up any drain holes. Retails about under $300 back in the late 90s.

Papa Joe's

The Factory puts a special oil in that has extra additives in it for the break in period. YES there is a special undercoating that can be applied to reduce road noise. Upon request cars at our dealership can be sent to get an application sprayed under the vehicle reducing road noise. Its clear and does not weigh down the vehicle

jrm

can you PM me with the details of this shop that does that?
Thanks, Joe

KWayRacing

Follow the maintenance minder. It works. THere is a break in oil use it until 15%.
Check the tires air pressure is correct. Yes TCS applies braking force. It is the ABS of accelaration.

1StepConcepts

For your roadnoise problem i would recommend some sound deadening.. try either the sticker kind like ( dynamat) or the painted kind

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=786

or

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...products_id=54

I've used them for years now... all my customers are happy with the quality of product they have.. hope this helps with the road noise reduction

MrFunCRX

3. The traction Control system on the Accord is the VSA. it does NOT have a LSD in it basically what it does is apply small amounts of pressure on the wheel that is spinning and thus put more on the other wheel. i have noticed in my 08 that it works great in the the always fun Iowa winters. No matter how hard you mash on the gas it will not rev up that high if the tires are spinning. you really don't get stuck that much with it. its a nice feature but during the summer month when you want to pass car on the interstate i would suggest turning it off to allow the car to rev a little higher when you get on the gas

ilikehonda

why change at 3k miles? because jiffylube said to? ive got a 1990 accord that had the oil changed all its life at 5k. it has 212k now and runs like a top.

my 06 and 09 get their oil changed when the indicator reaches 15-20%

Mechanic

Joe, the advice given your father regarding the oil (the "factory fill") in his new Honda was correct. In this regard, if you take a look at p. 260 in his owner's manual (entitled "Break-In Period") it instructs (not "advises", instructs) new owners: "Do not change the oil until the scheduled maintenace time."

You can read more about this on Honda's web site (honda.com). Log on, find the link to "Owner's Link" and click on it. Using the Accord's VIN you can sign in and read the portion that discusses engine oil. It will tell you that, contrary to what you may have heard or read elsewhere, new Hondas do indeed have a unique factory fill, and Honda urges it not be changed before the Maintenance Minder (also discussed in the owner's manual) indicates it is necessary.

As others have noted, the factory fill contains a s##tpot of molybdenum disulfide ("moly", MoS2) -- nearly 1150 ppm. It a superb anti-wear lubricant, and it would be mistake to drain it on a whim.

George Knighton

Honda motors are built to surprisingly close tolerances, and you need a different kind of oil to help the motor wear in properly in the beginning before you switch to oils that are designed more to prevent wear.

Just follow the owners manual and the maintenance minder.

If you change the oil more often than the maintenance minder says to change the oil...you are just wasting money.

The maintenance minder decides what it wants you to do based on your driving style. If you are screwing that up by resetting the computer because you are changing oil more frequently than recommended, then you are also screwing with the maintenance of things that you normally do not think about.

With Honda and Acura at this stage of the game you're really best just doing what the car tells you to do. You're not usually going to know better than the designers of the car.

You can do whatever you want, but Honda and Acura owners usually like to stay in touch with the driving, and I don't think you're going to get enough advantage out of anything like that to be worth thinking about.

I am surprised you would have a criticism like this, since the typical Honda drivers enjoy staying in touch and enjoy having a better handling and more roadworthy automobile.

Although there are two different kinds of LSD in the Acura lines, there is currently no LSD in any Accord. The only LSD I can think of that is OEM in a Honda is the Torsen unit in the Civic Si.

The way that the VSA works to control slip in the Accord is a safety control, not a handling control. If they put an LSD in the axle it would be a concession to handling and performance, not safety. Different design philosophy.

The Accord V6 has a lot of power for a front drive car, especially the Coupe. If I had one thing that I would suggest to Honda to change in the G8 Accord, it would be to include a Torsen axle on the 6-6 Coupe. That's just a hell of a lot of power to have over driving wheels without an LSD.

KWayRacing

3K oil changes are a thing of the past. It is wasting money and harder on enviroment. Maintanence minder works. Most vehicles under normal city use get around 5-8k between services. Well say 6k average being very conservative. Cost of owner ship for 100k at $40 an oil change = 1320 or 640. 700 bucks spent on nothing.