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2000 Accord: clicking noise from the engine

Hello,

For about three or four months now I've been hearing a clicking noise from the engine of my 2000 Accord (4 cyl; EX) whenever I accelerate the vehicle. The noise is not loud, but I can reproduce pretty reliably every time the car is under high load, e.g. AC on, hot weather, accelerating up a hill. It happens around 3000 rpm or higher, and as soon as the car shifts up, the noise is gone, only to happen again when I reach 3000 rpm again.

I took it to the dealer who replaced the spark plugs, telling me that they needed to be platinum and the ones in there were not. The transmission also seems ok. One other honda dealer I talked to in town said that I might need a valve adjustment. He said these cars needed one at every 30k miles. I have about 66k on my car, and I don't think I got a valve adjustment at the 60k service (I did not have it done at a dealer), if ever I needed one.

I have searched through this forum, and I have seen both answers, i.e. that this model does not need a valve adjustment until 105k+, and that it needs valve adjustment every 30k.

Can anyone tell me if its necessary? Or if the problem is something else? The dealer said it would cost me $100. The other dealer told me to bring the car back when the noise is louder (he couldn't hear it on the road or reproduce it in the shop).

Thanks, Hasan.

Reply to
hasan.mahm
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The 2000 Accord 4 cylinder that you describe does in fact specify a valve adjustment every 30K miles.

If you're hearing clicking that's valve related, it may be too late.

However, you should try using a higher octane fuel to see if that makes the noise go away. I suspect it will.

If that's the case, you have carbon buildup in your combustion chambers. Either keep using the higher octane fuel, or get the carbon cleaned out. You can start slow and inexpensive, by using Techron or similar fuel additive.

To test, go back to a couple tanks full of lower octane fuel.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

I have a 2000 Accord and it said adjust vales if noisy, have 66k and the dealer said maybe adjust at 100k

Gary

Reply to
Gary

4 cylinder or 6?
Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

I have tried higher octane fuel, and it does make the noise a little less frequent, but it does not go away.

I have also tried fuel additives also with no success.

Reply to
hasan.mahm

I strongly suspect that the clicking is pre-ignition, or knocking, commonly known as pinging. I'm not positive about the 4 cyl but the 6 cyl definitely has a knock sensor and should retard the timing slightly to stop this.

I've been having a similar issue with a brand new 2005 v6. I get pinging in the 2,200 - 2,700 RPM range under moderate acceleration, AC on, slight grade. When the transmission shifts it goes away. I've tried a variety of different grades of fuel. I seem get the least pinging with Chevron premium.

When I took the car in for service I told them about it but could not reproduce it (flat as a pancake for 5 miles around the shop and the car had Chevron premium in it). They were kind enough to not think (or at least not tell me) I was an idiot and even had one of the senior technicians take a ride with me. Since I could not reproduce the problem he was clearly slightly skeptical ... until I mentioned that it happens on a slight grade. They said they would research it and get back to me but it's been several weeks ...

I suspect that in my case the knock sensor is not fully sensing the slight pinging or perhaps the control circuit is not retarding the ignition enough.

At the present I'm not sure what to do about this yet (okay, there are now a couple of streets I go out of my way not to drive on).

Reply to
Brian Stell

I too have a 2000 accord 4cyl but I've got to tell ya that in my manual (not Haynes but the actual Honda owners manual) it specifies to "inspect valve clearances" at 168,000KM (105,000 miles) or "adjust only if noisy". I had always interpreted that litterally but knowing little about cars I have no clue if mechanics have found it should be done sooner based on their experiences with those cars?

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

Reply to
radar

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