Hi there,

I recently bought a used 04 coupe Ex, it is a black beauty! I am very happy. It had 45k on it, and I had the filter replaced, and new brakepads put in. Any other ideas of what I should probably do as preventative maintanence? I have a couple very minor questions I was hoping you guys could help me out with. Be forewarned, you might think these slight problems are stupid to even worry about, but this is my new baby, and I care very much about making her perfect!
mod: feel free to move this post if I put this in the wrong forum, thought it would fit here..thx

1. I have recently received my new tags in the mail, but I only have 2 screws (the ones holding the temp tags on). I don't want to go out and by regular ugly screws, know of any good online shops I could buy some nice shiney screws? How about license plate frames? Any recommendations for style?

2. The glasses flip down holder keeps getting stuck when I push it up. I looked inside it and there is a little lever that is supposed to swing down, think I should try to put some grease behind it?

3. The left mirror is slightly vibrating while driving, while the mirror on the right is completely still. Is there an easy way to remove it and inspect it? Do you recommend I take it in to the shop to get it fixed? I hope it is not too expensive to get fixed.

4. The car only came with one key, and it does not have the remote buttons on it. I went to a local honda dealership and they said it would cost me $165 to get a new remote key, because it is one hour of service (they have to program it). This seems a little hefty. Have you gotten this done anywhere else for cheaper?

5. How often do I have to put oil in? Every 3,000 miles? What kind do you recommend? I asked some people if I should get synthetic oil and there was a big argument with no real answer. Sorry I must sound ridiculousy newbiesh but everyone has to start out somewhere.[]

I really appreciate any of your help. Thanks for this great forum

 

Hi New Member..Thanks for joining up with us..your Questions are not stupid..they are just questions to be answered..as for # 2 go to your AutoZone or Advance and they have all kinds of shiney license plate thingys on there hooks...

WheelBrokerAng [sm=americanasmiley.gif]
More answers will be in here by others Im sure

 

1. try auto zone or any auto related stores

2.dont put too much grease, but def try it

3.i dont know where you from, i know a lot of shops in bk that would fix it for a very low price

4.yes that sound right but like i said i dont know where you live, cuz im bk there are a lot of electronical shops who would do it for a much lower price

5.yes 3000 miles, u can also read the accords manual, it has all the info. Dont put synthetic oil if privious oil changes you put regular oil, changing from regular oil to synthetic is not good for the engine.

 

The mirror vibrating may just be a tire slightly out of balance on that side.....checked the air pressure in all four yet?

The key can be had on E-bay for much less.

Changing to synthetic oil is absolutely safe and will be beneficial, the poster above has received some bad information which is just flat wrong.The only way to positively know when to change oil & filter is to do a series of oil analysis'. That said 5000 miles would be safe if you don't plan on doing analysis'. 5W20 or 0W20 (synth) is recommended. The mileage to change oil is highly debated.....some feel 3K is the only way to go, I do not. With today's modern oils 5k is now the norm but if you want to change it sooner then do so. Educate yourself by doing some research on the topic.

Auto or stick? Changed trans fluid yet?

Change cabin air filter if not done previously.

Change engine air filter if not done previously.

 

thanks for the reply guys!
WheelBrokerAng and NoSoup: I will check out a local autozone and see what I can find.
RTexasF: Thanks for the great info, I checked ebay and saw an uncut key for about $35. I'll order one and take it to a Precision Auto Tune shop and see if they can do it for cheap.
Also, the tires definitely seem to be lacking some air pressure, so that is most likely the case.
The car is stick, I will get the air filters and transmission fluid checked out.

 

Honda has two transaxle lubes for the stick shift. The newer of the two is synthetic, insist on it. I changed mine to Red Line syntheticMTF the first week I had the car. The 1st to 2nd shift smoothed out and shifting at all temps is like butter. (At that time the new Honda stuff wasn't out yet.)