Will be taking delivery of a 2017 Accord Hybrid very soon. Browsing a bit, it seems the 2.0 Earth Dreams engine in this vehicle requires periodic checking of the intake valve adjustment. (1) I am surprised it does not incorporate hydraulic lifters, (2) Is this typical of Honda vehicles (this is our first Honda automobile), and (3) Easy to do one's self?

 

Pretty typical of Honda - for many years.

I don't find parts drawings very quickly, so I don't know whether Honda suddenly began using a shim&bucket system - but...

If you've adjusted valves on other car engines, it's no more difficult. Not a task for someone who struggles to change oil, but very much the same as any valve adjustment that uses screw adjusters with locking nuts.

 

Welcome to the club jemanner. I have a 2015 Accord Hybrid, and find it frustrating how little technical information Honda is letting out about it's cars these days. This is the first car I have ever had where I didn't have a "Factory Service Manual" to go along with it. Have been able to glean some information from reviewing parts diagrams, and found one link (below) for rental of service info.

https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...t=Y&ValidUser=

Tell me, what have you come across indicating a need for frequent intake valve adjustments on the Earth Dreams 2.0.
Thanks

 

This very disappointing. Like you, I always purchase the factory service manuals. Probably not going to happen with our vehicles, as just checked Mitchell On Demand which I have access, and nothing, 2015, or 2017. So, I wonder how the rental site works, i.e. could one print it, or better yet, print to a PDF and save? I may risk $10 and give it a shot.

As far as the intake valve adjustment, don't think it is a big concern. The info on the Honda owners website seems to indicate it is something that one needs to check if they become noisy. I've adjusted plenty of valves over the years, so unless it is a shim/bucket arrangement, should not be a big deal.

I have a question. Can you verify the 2.0 Earth Dreams engine in the hybrid is port injection? (versus direct injection) I really desire port injection, as the industry is having grief with intake valve deposits on direct injection engines. A looming monster in my opinion.

 

I wouldn't call it "verification" but I used google to find pictures of the valves. I DID see that it's a screw/locknut adjustment.

It looks like the injector sprays into a pre-chamber. But there's also several other pictures in that google search that are clearly the "normal" K-series engine, so I'm not sure whether to trust what google finds.

Previous Hondas I have owned call for valve adjustments at fairly high mileage, like 100k "if they get noisy".

But going back a little farther I had a 95 Integra and it called for valve adjustment every 30k or so. And there was usually 1 or 2 that actually needed a small adjustment. But that engine had an 8k redline & I used it...

IIRC, the shop manuals (back when you get the printed book from Helm) were not available until the cars were a year old or so.

 

Thanks for the reply.
My ASSUMPTION is that our 2.0 Earth Dreams engine IS port injection because it is an Atkinson Cycle Engine; i.e. it returns part of the intake charge back into the intake before closing the intake valve. If direct injection, some of the fuel would likely be forced into the intake where it didn't come from. Again, this is conjecture, but based on my understanding of how the Atkinson Cycle works. Also, based on this assumption, I do use an occasional bottle of Chevron Techron in the fuel; which is ~useless in a direct injection engine, and it clearly likes the cleaner.

My question about the valves was a concern that there was some "characteristic" of the engine for the valves to settle into the seats, and thereby tighten the clearance. Sounds like all you are seeing is Honda's standard boilerplate used for multiple generations of the Accord about adjusting when/if they are noisy. Agree, adjusting with screw/lock nut type is not difficult; I find the feeler gages with a bend in them makes it much easier. Shim & bucket on the other hand are a real pain because of the typical downtime waiting on shims of the needed thickness. Have only seen this type of adjustment in motorcycles (very high RPM) and not in a Honda automobile (never saw the inside of a high revving exotic like an NSX).

 

I had shim/bucket in a couple VW cars back in the 80s & before that in a Fiat. Not very high-revving compared to my Integra GSR. I also think even the NSX uses screw adjusters.

I also agree about the "if it gets noisy" statement. Valves settling & getting tighter wouldn't necessarily get noisy, so I would suggest checking the clearances even if they aren't making noise.

Direct injection seems MORE likely for an Atkinson cycle because the injection timing can happen after the intake valve has closed. What you describe (pushing the fuel/air charge back into the manifold) would happen in port-injection not in direct injection.