New Accord

Hello,

Son is considering a 2013 Accord.

I see that they have gone to a CVT transmission. First time, I think.

Haven't been out for long, but anything to be concerned about re reliability, etc ? Something new is always a bit apprehensive.

Do they come with different brand of tires depending upon part of the country, or just randomness, or do they use only one brand ?

Supposedly "All-Weather"

Decent all-weather for New England driving, or must one switch to something else as soon as possible ?

Any general thoughts on options, trim level, etc. worth considering, would be much appreciated.

Happy Holidays,

B.

Reply to
Bob
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I've got one!

Yes, but on the other hand Honda has experience swapping out thousands of transmissions, even beyond the warranty period, when they mess up.

I'm happy with the CVT so far. It's not perfect, but it's far better than the auto trannies they've been making for the past ten, fifteen years.

Dunno. Of course the dealer can always accomodate you.

I went crazy and got the EXL, four cylinder. Part of the reason is I wanted to try out the new gimcracks, the Forward Collision Warning and the Lane Departure Warning robots (I guess all the models now have backup camera?). I've posted about these, they are Not Ready For Prime Time, they give a LOT of false warnings - but they are not obtrusive, and I find them entertaining in a geek way. Maybe it's worth the false warnings as long as they also warn when *really* needed.

One note: on the mileage, overall it really is improved from last year, at least 10% better. The BIG improvement seems to be at freeway speeds. However, in stop and go traffic the mileage is WORSE, the car can have trouble getting even 20mpg.

Still, overall, I'm enjoying the car more than the last several Hondas I've owned. I like the new front suspension! I like the keyless entry and push-button start. I like the exterior appearance, especially the 2012 was getting pretty mucked up, and 2013 is the best the car has looked in several models.

I recommend the blue or red colors!

I'm still curious about the price, the only advertised specials they've run so far are on the LX - which is much more feature-rich than in the past, it has almost everything you'd want anyway. I had to dicker with the dealer to get a reasonable price and I *think* I did OK, but I'm still waiting to see the first advertised special on the EXL to confirm it.

J.

Reply to
JRStern

"JRStern" wrote

I read the manual online and saw that you can adjust the distance? settings for the FCW. Have you tried that?

Reply to
Howard Lester

Interesting, I didn't know that, haven't tried it, thanks.

... but I'm not sure what to do with it, actually, I think it really needs to be a two-phase with an earlier warning and a later panic mode. As it is, if I make it longer I'll get really too many false positives, and if I make it shorter I can't react fast enough when I hear it. So I'm strongly tempted to leave it alone.

Also just this last week, was finding that long shadows crossing the road seem to confuse it, cause false positives as you drive across the shadow of a bare tree or telephone pole.

J.

Reply to
JRStern

Actually, I think it needs further "smarts", if my foot is already off the gas it might want to hold off another fraction, I think it *does* notice if my foot is already on the brake. Frankly I wish they'd publish the whole algorithm. If something jumps in front of me, and I mash the brake and the antilock is firing and I am just about to slide into something at 30mph anyway, does it still give me a warning?

I hope not - and I think not, and I hope I never find out, except by looking at the algorithm.

Reply to
JRStern

I don't know if this matters but I had a '91 Accord 4cyl auto (bought new) and with only 90,000+ miles the transmission was slipping. I hated to trade it in but the cost to fix was greater than the value of the car (approx 12+ yrs old) so I traded it in. It was a good car till the trans was slipping. In fairness tho, this car did a lot of stop and go driving which I believe is harder on the trans but it was well cared for.

Reply to
Observer

what gear was it slipping in? too late now of course, but there's a common issue with torque converter lock-up. if the engine computer doesn't get a good connection on the gear selector switch, it doesn't activate lock-up and that can feel like slipping. the solution is to remove, clean and re-grease the selector switch contacts - the transmission works as good as new after that.

Reply to
jim beam

yeah, right up to when the economy collapsed, at which point they disavowed any responsibility for their clearly defined fuckup.

And yet, people kept coming to the showrooms and buying cars.

Honda has learned their lesson: they could slap the Honda logo on a Yugo and make money, so the days of Honda taking responsibility for their shitty actions and junk cars are long gone.

Buy that brand-new CVT at your own risk. 36 months and one day or

36,001 miles later, it's ALL yours to pay for--no matter how badly Honda screwed up.
Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

most of their current advertising is resting on the laurels of the good cars they used to produce back in the day - late 80's, early 90's. but people that got burned by the post 2001 civics don't buy honda. nor do the people who got burned by the accord/acura tl/odyssey transmission fiasco.

the guy running honda usa is "ex" frod. i say "ex" because based on honda's game plan in recent years, they're doing pretty much everything they can to undermine what used to be honda's core values. if i were frod and i had the chance to sabotage my competition, i'd absolutely LOVE to get one of my guys appointed to their leadership and set about their demise. slowly. so it doesn't look too obvious. just like boiling a frog.

if designed to fail. the cvt isn't inherently flawed - it's been used by all the major manufacturers in the rest of the world for ages - there's no reason it shouldn't be just as successful here, if not designed to fail.

Reply to
jim beam

it wasn't just the v6, the i4 civics with a completely different transmission, had problems too.

personally, from what i've been able to gather on their failure mode and change in manufacturing technique, and from the above, i believe it was deliberate. but i also think they miscalculated on mileage. it's a deliberate decision to change from known reliable case-hardened [carburized] gears to cheaper flame hardened [precipitation hardening] gears. they knew the life of the former was many times that of the latter. but they screwed up and didn't calculate that the swarf build-up from the surface spalling of the flame hardened gears would block up the oil cooler and cook the transmission.

and i think they severely miscalculated on customer reaction. or japan did. or if you buy my trojan horse theory on honda usa's "ex" frod management [because it's a usa problem, not global], it's no miscalculation at all.

Reply to
jim beam

even if just designed badly, like all those V6 trannies.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" wrote

Honda now has a separate powertrain warranty, and it is 5 years, 60,000 miles.

Reply to
Howard Lester

Jim, I appreciate this info. I honestly don't remember now but I'm guessing in 3rd or 4th gear ??? The car never really let me down even in this condition but my wife was scared to drive it so I knew I had to do something at the time. I really liked the car because it was so nimble. As I said, I really didn't want to part with it.

Reply to
Observer

I'm no mechanic but that does NOT sound generous to me. I admit I'm a Honda guy but upon my next new purchase, I'll have to look at the Sonota. If I recall their warrantees are good. My only concern is getting parts for it. I remember about 3 years ago, my mechanic said to stay away from Kia and Hyundai. I don't recall why but I think it had to do with parts. Guess I should ask him again and why. My brother in law bought a new Sonota about 4 or 5 months ago and the last time I talked to him about it, he liked it and he owned one or two Hondas before it.

Reply to
Observer

forced into it, eh?

Too little, too late.

the ONLY way I'd buy a new Honda--or a certified used one, for that matter--is if the price I'm comfortable with *included* the full boat, full length HondaCare.

let's face it: I'm not likely to buy a new Honda under any circumstances. MAYBE if American Honda wrote me a check for the $2500 they stole from me. But they'd have to do that FIRST, as a sign of goodwill.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Some habits die hard, and the early days of Hyundai were rough. No doubt. And I'm sure that's what your mechanic is thinking about.

Over the last 10 years, Honda has been running scared of Hyundai/Kia. Hence the new Honda powertrain warranty, is my guess.

Honda apparently has done everything they can to compete, *except* produce a quality car--that rivals what they built in the 90s--and stand up proudly and tell the market, this is what we build and why, and it's worth it.

Instead, they're busy cheapening the cars so they can play the stupid price game with Hyundai, and now the longer powertrain warranty. Huh. Funny that Toyota isn't playing that game.

Dear American Honda: if you let the other guy define the rules of the game, you will lose every time.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Just my two cents here and no disrespect intended.....I know $2500 is nice but if the car is crappy, why would you want a crappy car? Is it worth the hassle bringing it often to the mechanic to fix while being down a car?

Reply to
Observer

You're right.

But I know it's a moot point, because I'll never see that $2500 that American Honda stole from me.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

The reason I brought it up was I had a Chevy that looked like new but was in the shop almost every month from the time it was new. I dumped it after just 4 years. It was the worst car I ever owned even compared to a Pinto I owned many years earlier.

Reply to
Observer

That's an old fart old wive's tale right there.

Times have change, and Hyundai/Kia have volumes that make Honda green with envy.

For many years now, as a matter of fact.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

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