I recently purchased a 97 Accord EX V6 2.7 liter automatic with 114K miles for my 18 year old's first car. My son lives in Mississippi and I live in AZ. After replacing the power steering pump, rear struts, rear brakes, rear rotors, putting new tires on, and having it aligned, I took the car to the car wash to clean the engine. Stupid me, I didn't think about covering the distributor cap and had a problem getting it started afterwards, but finally did. I noted that the cruise control would not work. The light on the button would come on, but the light on the dash would not and it wouldn't engage. The rear defrost wasn't working. The light on one side of the instrument panel would go off and on as would the light behind one side of the AC panel. I guess they weren't working when I bought the car and I just didn't notice. The kid I got the car from said they were working and I believe him. I thought maybe they were all related and could be taken care of once the car got to it's destination in MS. I drove the car from Phoenix to Dallas a couple of days ago and along the way, I noticed something "rough" about the ride, but thought it was the tires on the rough pavement. I stopped at a gas station for a drink when I decided I would pull the cruise control fuse to see if possibly it was blown. It was not, so I replaced the fuse. When I started the car, the check engine light came on. I figured I must have hit something when I was pulling the fuse that caused this "false" engine light. I hadn't refuled or anything. The gas cap was on tight. No real reason for it to just all the sudden show up. I disconnected the battery cable to reset the check engine light. It was New Year's eve and no help in sight for miles around, nor would there be any the following day and I needed to get to my destination. I figured it would come back on if there truly was a problem. No more check engine light, but 200 miles from Dallas, I felt the problem with the engine running rough or some type of vibration in the engine. It didn't seem to be caused by acceleration or deceleration. Appeared to be happening most noticeably at 65-80 mpg and around 4000-4100 rpm. Perhaps the fuel injectors had an issue?? Maybe the fuel wasn't burning correctly? I was getting horrible gas mileage the whole way......19-20 mpg on the highway and I believe the car is rated for 26 mpg on the highway. The sound is hard to describe, almost like the low tone of a train and the vibration seemed to be felt most in the gas pedal. I accelerated and decelerated several times. Yes, it was definitely coming from the engine. It wasn't the tires or the road. I pulled over and checked under the hood. The engine sounded fine. It was only when driving it. Maybe it is an issue with the fuel injectors?? Maybe it needs a tune up or valve issue?? The plug wires appear to be newer, so I don't believe I've got a bad wire. Any ideas anyone??? Could the electrical issues, the check engine light and the noise/vibration from the engine all be related??? My son said he also felt the problem once he got the car and continued on to Mississippi. Looking for any suggestions....... Thanks, Sandy

 

I would do a tuneup. Distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs, and air filter.

Maybe clean the EGR ports. See DIY answers section for a writeup by hondadude.

When the CEL returns, have the codes scanned at a parts store. Your connector is behind the ashtray. That will help identify the problem.

 

It's in the shop now. Mechanic says the plugs, dist cap, rotor button and plug wires look good. The kid I got the car from said he had that done recently and the mechanic confirmed it. Haven't had the EGR ports cleaned yet. The mechanic is suggesting to drive the car some until the CEL comes back on so we can read the code. Mechanic test drove and said transmission shifting a little differently than other models, but that it wasn't very bad and that we shouldn't mess with that right now. Guess I'll just wait on the CEL and see where that takes us. Will update my thread when I get more information. Thanks for your suggestions!