Hi there,

I have a 96 Accord EX, just bought it and am already having problems! I had a mechanic take a look at my rough idle problem. While the engine was on, he pulled off the plug from each cylinder. When he did that, each time the engine noticebly shook hard, but the 2nd one, there was barely a difference. He said that I'm probably running on 3 or 3.5 cylinders right now and it could be the fuel injector, spark plugs, vacuum leak, tight valves, or piston problem.

My "check engine" light is not on and I haven't had the car long enough to notice if the gas mileage is worse than it should be. I'm worried that this is a major engine problem. Does anyone have any opinions on how likely I'd have to do something expensive like rebuilding the engine (!!!) ? I'll have it checked out tomorrow anyway, but I was wondering from anyone's experience with 1996 Honda Accords if this is likely to be a big problem.


Thanks in advance.

 

i belive i read somewhere Clogged EGR Ports could do this to your idle. Belive there are steps on how to clean them in the FAQ's If not click the red search and type in "rough idle" and click the Archived content button and pick accord there are a few links about it and info on it all

 

Sorry, I must have did somethng wrong with the search the first time -- I see a bunch of "rough idle" posts now. Thanks for your reply.

 

no problem, i wasnt getting on to you about search lol, i acually had to go search to make sure i wanst giving false info or anything good luck man

 

ERG

 

ERG?

its EGR.. Atleast thats how the mods spelt it in the faq's and then the writer for the write up on how to clean them did it too..

 

I'm taking my car to a mechanic today, so I'll post again when I find out what was actually wrong, if it helps anyone else.

At least I can go in having at least an idea what needs to be fixed. Thanks!

 

Ok, I took it to the mechanic yesterday, and he said there was nothing wrong with my car. I asked him if he checked the cylinders, compression, fuel injector.. He said it's just natural for a 10 year old car to be a little rough. Is this true? Does everyone with a 96 accord have this rough idle problem? My car doesn't shake that much at idle, but I feel it when I hold the steering wheel and in my legs too.

My brother checked the air filter yesterday to make sure there was no major oil leak going in there.

Not sure what I should do from here. Should I check the valves if they need adjustment? Or vacuum leak? Sorry for the questions, I don't know much about cars and don't have much money, so I'm trying to learn.

Thanks.

 

A mild shake could be considered normal. A more pronounced shake could be motor mounts going bad. Just something you might want to check out. Good luck.

 

hmm i haev a 97 and dont have any type of rough idle , its smooth as a baby's bottom. (i have 160k miles on mine)

 

Thanks for your reply, guys. The car did get a major tuneup at 90,000 miles (4K ago), so maybe the mechs did a sloppy job of mounting the engine back in.

I have one more bit of detail also -- When I turn on the AC, the car shakes a lot more in idle.

I'm going to take it to the dealer where the tuneup was done and ask them to check their work. I've been reading on here that incorrect timing can cause the car to shake, or a timing belt off "by a tooth." Would this cause the car to shake more with the AC turned on?

I hope the dealer agrees to check the job although it's been awhile (the previous owner got the tuneup, not me).

I'll keep you updated on what happens!

 

Ok, so I got some updates. I went to the dealer where the car had the major tune-up. They took the car in today, cleaned the throttle body, adjusted the idle screws, and adjusted the front mount.

I noticed that the car is smoother while the AC is turned on now, but the general problem is still there.

It looks like it'll be tough to convince them to try relaxing the mounts or checking the rear mount for me.

Does anyone have any advice for me regarding dealerships?

The tune-up was done about 6 months ago, so although it's still under warranty, it has been awhile.

I appreciate any input. Thanks.

 

My 94 Accord idles a little rough and always has since I bought it at 113,000 miles. I would have to hear it to really know if it's bad or not but if you have a cylinder down you should get it fixed immediately. There are many many different things that could make your car idle rough. I would recommend you get a haynes manual and run through some of the tests they have on there as you read stuff on the internet to check for a rough idle. Like I said my honda has always had a rough idle but 100,000 miles later the engine still runs with no burning oil or anything. good luck

 

i have a '97 accord LX with 180,000 and it idles a little rough, but it always had for the last 50,000 miles i've had it. at around 170,000 I did two treaments of fuel system cleaner and it dramatically reduced my idle. I usually do it evey 2,000 miles or so now. I just recently used an engine restore treatment, but it says i have 500 miles before i may feel the full/any effect. I'm on mile 10. Go to you're local parts store and pick up a couple of these maintenece fluids; Fuel System Cleaner, Engine Treatment, TransMedic, coolant additive, etc. Even if it doesn't reduce the rough idle, adding such products will prolong the life of said components and restore lost power. at $7 a product, the price of a little easy maintenece is well worth it.

Just some advice.

 

You might want to check to see what brand of spark plug wires and plugs you have in your car, this could be the culprit.

 

Hey there, thanks for all your advice. I'm going to try out the manual and the cleaners, and check out the spark plugs that they've replaced.

They said they did a mount operation check, whatever that means, but I figured I'm better off trying your tips than going back there.

Thanks again, I'll be sure to post anything useful up here.

Happy Halloween!

 

How much does it idle on exactly? Mines is about 500-800 (it keeps jumping back and forth like the car is about to stall) and its shaking rough on idle as well.

 

My car idles around 700 rpm, but it doesn't jump back and forth. I read somewhere that if your idle is fluctuating, it could be because your timing is off or your EGR is sticking.

Good luck.

 

Hey Guys,

After the dealer cleaned the throttle body and adjusted the front motor mount and idle screw, I noticed that my car idles more roughly when I turn the steering wheel left or right at a certain angle while parked in D.

Does anyone know why this may be? The problem may have been there before, but maybe I just noticed it now...


Thanks in advance.

 

my 94 accord does the same thing you guys mentionned,i'm in the process of fixing my timing and changing my plug wires hopefully things will smooth out. Other thing ya'll should consider changing is your pcv valve really cheap item

good luck

 

I do not know about the motor mounts being adjusted, but it sounds like you may need to clean (first) or replace the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV). Replace is last resort about a $200.00 part. I read a thread here about cleaning it.

 

I have a 94, and have had the same problem. Try cleaning out the throttle-body. First, remove the intake snorkle from the TB and use a rag with TB cleaner to get as much of the deposits out of the TB as you can reach.

Next, if the car will run without the snorkle conncted (mine will/depends on MAP location) have someone slightly run up the idle while spraying the TB cleaner (use the straw) into the TB throat. Each time you spray some in, after a few seconds the idle will try to stall out-when this happens, stop spraying and allow the idle to come back up and smooth out.

Once a year, when I tune the car, I clean out the TB abd spray an entire can or cleaner into the TB. The difference after cleaning the TB out can be incredible. If this works, run a good bottle of FI cleaner through the tank, filling the tank only 1/2 way up so it is concentrated.

If the MAP is situated so the car cannot be idled without the snorkle connected (my Totota is like this), you will have to go to a shop and have the TB "drip-inject cleaned". You can tell if it is time by pulling the snorkle off at the TB and seeing how much deposits are in the TB throat.

If the O2 sensor has not been checked, get it checked. With a simple ohm-meter you can check the resistance to see if it is good. A bad O2 sensor will almost always cause a rough idle.

I saw the other answers- all possible culprits.

 

Ok, sounds like I need to some cleaning on this car. They said they did a throttle body cleaning, but I should check to see if it's still dirty.

I'll get some work done this week, will keep you guys updated with the results.

Thanks!

 

Did the cleaning of the throttle body help your problem at all? I have the same problem with my 2002 Accord, and have cleaned the IAC valve, fuel injectors and EGR valve with no positive results.

 

Do you get rougher idle with the AC turned on? Whatever they did, it helped my idle with the AC on. But I still feel a vibration through my chair (like a massage chair), and the throttle body cleaning didn't seem to help that any.

Also, I read somewhere that there was atechnical service bulletin for 2003(?) accords with rough idles. Something about incorrectly installed mounts. Maybe you can try to find that post on google.

Maybe because of the colder weather, but I noticed my car shudders a little when I accelerate or brake up or down to 1000RPM. Has anyone had htis problem? I wonder if it has anything to do with them adjusting the front motor mounts.

Thanks in advance.