Hello All,

I have a 2000 Honda Accord EX V6 (~164k miles). I am having the following problem and any help/advice a member could offer would be greatly appreciated:

Every once in a while when trying to start the car (cold start) the motor will turn over but will not continue to run. If you wait about 15 minutes it will start up and run rough for about 10 minutes and then it is fine. I have inquired at the dealership and they say they do not know what is wrong with the car and if they can not recreate the problem when at the dealer it can be fixed. If you give the car some gas it will stay going but you have to keep it going for 5 minutes and its a rough ride before it will stay cranked. If you let off the gas the car will die.

Thanks in advance,

 

If this only happens twice a year, it will be tough to diagnose. You will have to troubleshoot when it is acting up.

I would start by having the error codes read at a parts store. They start with the letter P and have 4 numbers, like P1234. Post any codes you find on here.

 

The car isn't showing a check engine light. Can the car be throwing codes if the CEL is not light? Thanks,

 

Does the CEL come on for 2 seconds when you first turn on the key? (bulb check)

 

I am not currently with the car. Would anyone happen to have a possible diagnosis assuming the CEL is not on and is not coming on when I first turn the key? Thanks,

 

When you have the key turned all the way to start the car, does the engine feel like it is firing up? Then it stalls when you release the key?

Will the engine stay running if you bring back the key slower than usual?

You may want to call the dealership and find out if your car had the ignition switch recall done on it.

You really should avoid throwing parts at the car. Especially since this happens two times a year.

 

If it doesn't come on when you first turn the key, then the bulb is burned out. In that case you don't really know whether the CEL is "on" or not until you put a good bulb in.