Brief history:
I am the original owner of my 2003 Accord EX sedan.
189K miles.

Last week, it was misfiring. Had the engine light on. Had the code pulled. Revealed that #2 was misfiring.
Bought some after market plugs and installed them. Made things FAR worse.

Took it to the dealer out of desperation, they (of course) said I had to put HONDA plugs in (smh), which, after diagnostic and 'labor, ran me over $200 for the 4.

Now back to square 1 with one misfire, but now on #1.
After waiting for 3 hours, I refused to wait any longer for them to run more tests. They did say they checked the coil and injector and both tested good.
They completed a compression test and found low compression on cylinder #1. "Possible ring of valve issue"..
the engine light has not come back on, but upon starting up the einge, you can tell it is missing something... also, sitting at a red light in gear you can feel the slight shake of a misfire. Driving at high speeds, of course, reveals nothing noticeable.

I really dislike the dealer I went to and given their prices for things such as a SPARK PLUG I have a hard time trusting them.

Based on my history (and your experiences) what do you reckon the issue is? I have considered ordering new coils just to eliminate that as a possibility myself.

Thanks to all in advance!

 

Ngk plugs. Autozone has them. Can you swap coils on the car to rule out failure? Clean the egr? The dealor is predatory no joke. On the spark plug topic-engine brain DOT com his plugs kick dealer plugs I have em in mine. Not that you Need em now But for future reference. Have you ever tries this stuff called "seafoam"? Part sectores like advance and autozone Carry it.

 

Clearing the EGR may be out of my abilities. Not handy beyond changing spark plugs and flushing a radiator.

 

Is Check Engine Light on currently? Suggest checking for codes and post them even if light is not on. It may be a random miss w/ a pending code.

What is service history? Regular oil changes? Any history of overheating?

good luck

 

Forgot to mention that. No, check engine light hasn't come on since putting in NGK plugs.

Never over heated.
Kept service up to date up to about 120k then i got lax, only doing oil changes and basic stuff

 

it's not an EGR issue. have the valves ever been adjusted? what were the compression readings? yes you need to use OE spark plugs. have you tried to swap coils around yet? you should pull the plugs and check their condition...just cuz the dealer installed them, doesn't mean they didn't screw the gap up on one or more of them.

 

Engine light not being on doesn't necessarily mean the code isn't there still. I have two codes and my light comes on and goes off every few weeks. As far as OE plugs, I call BS on Honda. I have never used Honda plugs in two Odysseys, a Civic, and my Accord with no issues with the NGKs. They say that about everything. Trans fluid, oil, filters, plugs, etc. With millions of people a year using only their stuff, think what their annual revenue would be like. Sure they are going to tell you that. Actually, on the contrary, I ran NGK IR's, and a full Amsoil swap in my 04 Civic and the best mpg I got on a tank was 512 on 12.5 gallons......Average mpg of 41. And no it wasn't a hybrid model. That was almost a 15% increase over when I bought the car.

 

just an FYI, for the accord, the laser iridium NGKs are OE plugs and go ahead and use trans fluid other than honda...i'm sure there's a mechanic out there just waiting for you car to come in on the hook

 

All;
thank you so much for your replies.
I got the oil changes two days ago.
Today, there is zero resistance when starting the engine and there is no vibration that would indicate a misfire.

Now, I get my oil changed every 3,000 miles. SURELY this didn't fix the problem... but if it DID, what is THAT an indication of?

It should be noted, my Accord burns oil. You can't see the smoke it burns nor does it leak oil, but I have to put about 2 quarts in it by 1,500 miles or else the oil light comes on. PCV valve has been replaces and I now put RESTORE in it every oil change.

So, why would an oil change stop what felt like a misfire?