Hello everybody I am new to the forum, but definitely not my first Honda. I currently own a 2004 Honda Accord EX 4 cyl 2.4. I have about 108,000 miles on it and has been very well maintained all of its life. These past few months off and on I have been experiencing a rough start. The car does start but just sounds rough. Sometimes not always rarely it doesn't start and I have to try to start it a second time to start. I had a check engine light and a mechanic informed me it was my ECM. But after he cleared the check engine light which was 2 months ago, it has not come back on. I have replaced the battery with a Honda Genuine battery and also I have replaced the spark plugs, at 90,000 miles with the serpentine belt replaced as well (both done at Honda dealer). If anybody has a rough idea what it could be please help me, I would like to get to the bottom of fixing this issue. Thank you

 

Any overheating history? Rough start that clears and runs OK can be a leaking head gasket.

Also possible to be a leaking fuel injector allowing fuel to drain into intake manifold and cause a slow start w/ roughness.

What code (Pnnnn) was found by mechanic? If Check Engine Light comes on again, have codes read by AZ, ORielly, etc and post the code number.

Does car run/idle smoothly after warming?

good luck

 

car doesn't run rough once it is started it runs and drives great. I took it to a mechanic and now they are informing me that my starter is going out, and that it is getting weaker and eventually just die out. I just want to make sure before I replace it and spend money, just to make sure if it will be a waste or not.

 

Is the starter weak, slow, or inconsistent spinning the engine (before the engine fires)?

If it's rough & sputtering for a few seconds after the engine fires up, that's not the starter at all. At that point the starter has already done its job & turned off.

Of course, I can't hear it from here, so that's why I have to ask the silly questions to clarify exactly what it's doing.