2005 Honda Accord EX 4cyl or Acura TSX?? Help please.

I went with the Accord, mostly because it was $120/month cheaper to lease. The Accord is a wonderful car, but it is a tad large for me and I keep looking back at the TSX, with a few more horses, and sighing.

OTOH I would imagine the TSX has a somewhat firmer, harsher ride, and the Accord is already rather harsher on the freeway than one would hope. Maybe I should have test-driven a Camry.

J.

If you're leaning towards the Accord, go for the Hybrid.

I suggest you play with the navigation system before you decide that you don't want it.

Advantages of each:

Honda Accord

-larger

-uses regular gas

-less expensive

Acura TSX

-a little more powerful engine

-stability control

-less frequent oil changes

Aside from the above, you have to test drive them both. They are different cars and drive differently.

out of curiosity how frequent are the oil changes on the Acura?

Change the oil every 3 months or 3000 mi on any car. Oil is cheap. Neal

It may be but Honda is going 10k between changes....actually they are going

20k, alternating between the filter and oil change every 10 k....very weird.

As the proud owner of an 04 TSX (and former owner of an Accord), I would ask you a question before answering..

What is more important to you- precise handling (read as sports sedan), or a comfortable ride?

If you responded with precise Handling- Go for the TSX. It is a firmer ride than you will get with the Accord. Handling is much better also. Stronger engine, better equipment level. The TSX is also slightly smaller- not really noticable though. Built in Japan too- unlike the American built Accord. With just under 10,000 miles on my TSX, I still love getting into it and driving it like I stole it (of course, I only do this on sanctioned tracks )!!! The largest drawback to the TSX is the requirement for Super Unleaded gasoline.

I am not putting the Accord down, it is an extremely well built vehicle. I was cross shopping a V6 when I bought the TSX.

Keep this in mind as well, The TSX is actually the known as the Accord in Europe and Asia (the US Accord is known as the Legend) This is because the US and Canada are the only countries where you can purchase an Acura branded vehicle.

I fyou want to find out more about the TSX, please visit the following website.. you will find a lot of info by TSX owners about their cars..

Whatever vehicle you end up with.. Enjoy it!!

When car shopping last month, I was told by the Acura saleman, that you had to change the oil for the TSX, every 10,000 miles. (!)

I own a 94 Honda Accord I-4 (4 cyl) , and if I recall, Honda said I only have to change the oil (on my VTEC engine) every 6,000 miles (but I usually do it more frequently).

(I'm simplifying of course, leaving out the # of months)

I agree it seems every 3,000 miles is the general rule for cars in general.

(Trying to avoid the undying "oil change frequency" thread) Go for it - to each their own. This has become a very controversial issue, with recommendations from reputable sources running the gamut of 3K to 15K miles. I follow the owner's manual for each vehicle, myself, figuring they know better than I do.

Mike

Ah, but changing the oil is simply cheap insurance.

If the manual says 6000 miles, and you do it at 3000 miles, you're not harming the car.

What's more worrisome is when they specify an oil change interval based on the marketing department's desire to show a car that's cheaper to maintain, rather than an engineering recommendation.

5k difference? I priced an 05 Accord EX with Leather at our local dealer -- 26k firm. Made my 01 Prelude look good for a long time.

Actually, Hondas are the only make I know of where oil changes take their toll on the engine... or more specifically, the oil drain pan threads. The ones I've worked on seem to gradually consume the threads with each change, eventually requiring a new pan or oversized drain bolt.

Mike

A little better, maybe, due to lower profile tires and suspension tuning, but the Accord is pretty good too y'know, and they are still pretty much clones of each other.

My four-banger Accord has a J* VIN, which means made in Japan.

J.

That's only true if you don't change the oil drain plug washer. My Acura has close to 200,000 kms and not a leak from drain plug.

or if you really really overtighten the bolt, which some places like Jiffy Lube might do because of liablity issues with having the bolt come off and seize the engine when all the oil runs out.

I have had the displeasure of having a drain bolt strip out on my daughter's '93 Accord at about the 180K mile mark. I had done the last several oil changes, and before that the previous owners took it to Midas. But each time I removed the bolt I noticed a few shavings in the threads (I used a new genuine Honda washer and filter every time - this is not the place to be cheap). Eventually the wear was too great and the threads just didn't hold.

I've done my own oil changes for 30 years, and Hondas are the only ones I've seen do that (two out of about a dozen cars). Our 20 year old Volvo has 234K miles now and is on the original drain plug. Our local NAPA has single and double oversize drain plugs for Hondas, so the problem must be fairly common. But Googling "stripped oil drain plug" with various makes turns up no big spike in hits for Honda over other brands, so my experience may be a fluke.

BTW, I haven't found an official torque for the Accord drain plug. Haynes is no help ("tight enough but not too tight" or something like that) so I do it by feel - when the plateau in the resistance changes to a sharp increase, I figure the crush is done.

Mike

33 lb-ft.

Thanks!

Mike

I have an '04 TL that I traded up from an '04 Accord V6 LX. For the price and performance, I would go for the Accord V6 EX. It has a bigger engine, V6-240 hp vs. I4-200hp. I prefer the outside looks of the Accord better than the TSX. The back end of the TSX looks too boxy like a Civic. Around Chicago, you can find new '05 Accord EX V6's w/ NAVI for around or under invoice. That would put the price around the same as a TSX w/o NAVI. I would never buy a car again w/o NAVI. The TL's NAVI, which the Accord's is very similar too, is one of the best I have seen.