I own a 2001 Honda Accord EX 2.3L 4cylinder.

I had a code stating my 3rd cylinder was misfiring. At the time my vehicle was doing a little shaking while idling. There was also "putting" from the muffler.

Three weeks later,the problem worsened. One morning, I got into the car and when started, it shook quite a bit. I then drove it 37 miles and when stops, the car would drop below 1000 rpms and acted as though it wanted to cut off. Finally,when I arrived to work it cut off. I replaced all 4 spark plugs with NGK R-type plugs (OEM) and wires. As soon as I started the car it kicked to 1500 rpms and held for 2 minutes then dropped under 1000rpm and cut off. I immediately took it to the dealer and they gave me these codes:

P1167, P1259, P0301, P0303, and P0304. I am familiar with the last three. They did a compression test and it came back with very low compression on cylinder #4.
the results from the test are:
Cylinder #1....155
Cylinder #2....150
Cylinder #3....150
Cylinder #4.... 40

They said the head needs to come off to find problem and to see if it can be fixed. Thy said they would take it to a machinist and have him/her clean it, take it apart to check for cracks and to check the level. That would cost me an extra $350 to do the head work. They told me a new headwould be $1800-$2000. They said my cylinder was bad.

I drove the car home having to give gas at the stop light to keep from cutting off. Later (about 4 hours) I started the car and it idled over 1500 rpm again and didnt cut off; however, it shook a little. I started it this mrning and again, it idled over 1500 and didnt cut off.

What's wrong? I also have 253,000 miles on the car. Last year I put in a brand new transmission (3/36,000 warranty) and spent over $5000 on te maintenance. I would like to keep my car.

What should I do? What could it be? Help!

Side note: Radiator leaked splatter coolant all over car months ago. Put in new radiator and filled it up to max in reserves recently (within past two weeks) and it iis at min in reserves. Just thought I would add it. Also, new distributor cap and rotor, wires, spark plugs.


Modified by kopaj612 at 1:32 PM 3/13/2008

 

I don't know for sure but couldn't this be something as simple as a blown head gasket? I have no idea why they are throwing new head prices at you without even knowing the root cause of the problem.

 

Pull the plug for cylinder #4 and squirt a small amount of oil (table spoon or less) and then test the compression on that cylinder. If it comes up considerably, your rings are shot on that cylinder. If ti doesn't, too bad, it's the top end, and you need to re-work the head. This isn't all bad though, the car would need it eventually anyway.

Either way, it's a good idea (and time) to do both the rings and the head.


Oh, btw- you can pickup a compression tester at autozone, and try the oil test yourself, to save quite a few bucks next time.

hmmm- i just noticed the last bit about losing coolant. you need to make sure it's not loosing water through the head gasket. Check your oil frequently for a tan/brown foamy look. If it is, the gasket is gone, or some other water/oil gasket, but I'm betting it's the head gasket.

Ouch, time to spend some money.

 

UPDATE:

My engine specialist said there was nothing wrong with my cylinder and the 4th cylinder up to 125 when testing the compression after slight modification.

He checked the valves and all was ok. He said he is willing to bet all his money on the distributor (coil) being bad because he checked everything else that could possibly be the issue.

He told me to not machine the head or clean/replace valves but to buy a distributor assembley. an awesome website is hondaautomotiveparts.com where it gives illustrations and pricing. They want $262.41 for the distributor whereas my local dealers want $415 and $375. The part is brand new.

Should I go with what my mechanic is saying? He will charge me $40 to replace. He said it is simple and takes less than 30 minutes.


Any thoughts?


Modified by kopaj612 at 5:17 PM 3/20/2008


Modified by kopaj612 at 5:18 PM 3/20/2008

 

one + one does not = three
Lack of spark will have no effect at all on a compression test.
Whereas a tight intake/exhaust valve will.

Compression came up "AFTER A SLIGHT MODIFICATION", never heard a valve adjustment called that before. LOL

P1167 is a fault in the O2 sensor heater circuit
P1259 is a Vtec oil pressure switch code.

Glad things all worked out good for you anyway.


Modified by hondadude at 10:14 PM 3/20/2008

 

So what do you suggest hondadude? I am somewhat skeptical in ordering te distributor as I am not convincedthat is what it is.

A tech recommended a fuel injector balance test to test each fuel injector individually. What are your thoughts?

Are you suggesting I not buy the distributor?

Side note: with the p1259 code (vtec oil pressure) I did put 5 quarts of oil in my engine recently because when I checked the oil it was low. I was told the engine requires 4.3 quarts by a honda dealer. Could that have caused an excess amount of oil to be distributed elsewhere cause a problem. Prior to putting the oil in the car, the car was still shaking when idling but it never cut off. It started a week after I put the oil in the car. I used Penzoil 5w-20.

I just dont know what to do. I was planning on spending the $1000 to have the head work but I was told my car didn't need it done. Arghhh. what do I do?


Modified by kopaj612 at 8:55 AM 3/21/2008

 

Update:

based on what the engine specialist said to me today, her eis a strong chance the distributor could be th culprit as it is constantly misfiring.

It was explained to me my car will run fine when cool and as it heats up it will act up.

He said it would go from 4 cylinders to 3 to 1 (where it cuts off) and then it will repeat itself.

So I ordered the Hitachi distributor, it comes Monday and I will know whether that will fx the problem or not. He is convinced it will, I am .................................................. ...........I don't know.

 

Please do let us know the outcome of this situation; The injector balance test doesn't sound like a very good idea to me.
I've seen maybe 1/2 dozen bad injectors on 98-02 accords, and the problem they caused was flooding on hot start/short hops, because they would leak down pressure/gas into a cylinder and cause a flooded condition.
I applaud you for educating yourself, so that you have a better understanding of the engine systems.

 

Stressful: New Update!

The brand new Hitachi distributor wasn't the culprit. The mechanic is not charging me as he doesn't feel it's right until he can find the culprit. Here is where he is one it:

He believes there is something causing my fuel injectors to run rich. He stated they are staying open for 5 (milli)seconds when in actuality the should be only open for 1.5. I believe that is what he stated. He said the car runs lean when driving but when it comes to a stop it clonks out. He is wondering what is causing the fuel injectors to stay open so long.

Side note: I had my catalytic converter replaced a little while ago, about 5,000 miles, with a non-oem part. I used eastern catalytic and not the honda $1,000 catalytic converter for the Honda Accord ULEV. The converter I got was designed for the ULEV model of my car.

He believes it is something under the hood and is trying to figure it out and he is keeping the possiblity of the o2 sensor and catalytic converter (thinking it might not be big enough) in mind.

Any ideas?

Upon further analysis, my personal thought would be to check the o2 sensor as a faulty one can cause the fuel injectors to remain open too long. he is checking the o2 sensor now so I will keep you posted.


Modified by kopaj612 at 12:07 PM 3/24/2008

 

Any thoughts in the meantime?

 

Update: Took the car to another dealership (the same one where I purchased the car 7 years ago) They did a compression test and all four cylinders read out 175.

They will do a more in depth analysis tomorrow (total $240 @ 80/hour). They were baffled and believe it may be the timing belt has skipped a tooth. Or carbon is on the valves. If its the timing belt they will incorporate the labor for the analysis into the cost for the timing belt. That will help.

 

My n00b vote is against the skipped tooth on the timing belt. I don't think that would cause the 1500rpm idle then drop after 2min.

I think the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor combo is the best bet. I think your car is running on closed loop until it hits operating temp and then switches over to sensor input. That's when it's starting to poop out.

That low compression reading sounds like the tech screwed up.

 

Sounds like you may have an EGR valve sticking open and is common on high mileage accords like yours. An open egr valve that isnt meant to be open lets already burnt air and fuel re-enter the intake and since it wont burn again will cause misfires in multiple cylinders this may not be your problem. Also when was the last time your timing belt was replaced? at that milage you should of replaced it at least 2 times. Also if you had a code set for a Vtec pressure problem then you may have oil consumption issues usally that means you have little oil ie 1 to 2 qts left not good.

 

Update:

Honda Service department just called to inform me that it wasn't my timing belt. They were asking quesitons about the EGR valve, but I had the port cleaned and valve replace less than 12 months ago.

Argh...what in the world when you do when a honda master tech who has over 20 years experience on honda is rubbing his damn head!!!!

 

I would check the EGR again. Residual carbon before the EGR valve could have re messed up the valve. I wouldn't rule it out...

sohc

 

Egr checks out (ports are clean) and the valve is in working condition.

Called the service department and the issue has been narrowed down to 4 possibilities:

1. Primary O-2 sensor
2. engine control system
3. fuel pump
4. pressure regulator for fuel pump

the car is running lean and y fuel injectors are wide open. the o-2 sensor may have shorted due to exposure to raw fuel. the engine control system may be miscommunicating to the o-2 sensor or the fuel pump or its pressure regulator could be bad.

i was told for my 01 accord ex (firepepper red) th engine is mechanically sound and the body looks absolutely great. so i still have a great car (hell is better with the brand new transmission i put in it last year), just needs a little attention.

like always...i will keep you all posted. thank you so much for your help. everytime you mention a solution to the problem, I research it to gain knowledge and present it to the mechanics.

this is an swesome site.

 

I misspoke! LOL, I sound like Hillary Clinton now, lol.

Ok. here is the update.

It was the EGR ports. They were clogged. Interestingly enough, I recently had them cleaned and had the EGR valve replaced by another honda service department less than a year and I am about $350 poorer as a result.

So after multiple test and I mean multiple, I got the car back yesterday. They have 6 hours logged for diagnosing a they checked multiple stuff (at times with two techs) They called the Honda hotline for service techs who have gone through the entire book to locate the problem. I have a two page invoice on everything they tested and did.

My car is running and it cost me $617. However, I have a little smoke coming from my exhaust and if my car sits idle, you can smell it. It smells like something is burning off from the muffler. Any ideas? The smoke is white. Is my car still running rich?