I had put some gas, an 87, stupid me. But later that day the car almost died at a traffic light, and once died, cranked it and it ran but the engine light came in. Autozone scanned it ans said codes P0141 and -0685. I took it to a friend and when I got there the light went off. He checked it and only found that the positive terminal was very corroded. He used baking soda and water, cleaned it up. We drove it no issues. He also said it may be that the cheap gas you put has caused that, Also a loose gas cap could have resulted in the same thing. Now I have no issues, is it possible that a corrosion can cause that. Also, when the light came on i told him it was a 141 code, O2 sensor. He told me drive it on 40mph and then down shift it and drive for about a mile, hard, sometimes the light will go off. That didn't work then, but now everything is fine, for now.

 

the gas did not do anything. It also would help if we knew what year and trim accord you have. If you have a 03 and below I don't know why you are wasting money of anything other than 87octan. You have low compression so the higher octane is useless and a waste of money. You only need higher octane when you have high compression ratio like the h22 engine have. From the factory your suposta run 93.

For the CEL light you o2 sensor is probably on its way out and it's only popping your CEL here and there. What you need to do is reset your ecu so you have no codes stored in it. As a CEL for o2 sensor will put you in limp mode and cause you to have crap gas mileage

 

Sorry, forgot about the type of car. Am a lady, and hardly know a lot about cars, just enough to keep me going. It is an 05 accord EX 4 cylinder with 175000 miles. One owner. Never needed anything, never had issues with it.

 

it's all good. SOmetimes it's hard to give a answer when you have no idea what accord we are talking about.

You have a k24a4 engine that has a 9:7:1 compression ratio that is fairly low. So there is no need to use anything over 87octane. It would be a waste of money.

It is easy to reset you ecu since I know you said you don't know much about cars.
Unplug the ECU fuse from under the hood then take the battery power and ground cables off the battery and touch them together for 30 sec or so. Let the car sit with the battery unplugged for about a hr.

I’m not 100% sure on your gen accord where your ECU fuse is located. But if Honda didn’t change the locations over the years then it will be in the same spot. Here is a pic to show you where.

 

If both codes coincide together, it could have just been the corrosion on the battery terminal. P0685 is related to the ECM/PCM power control circuit, which is related to the car's computer circuit. P0171 is the rear oxygen sensor; but, since the code coincide with the P0685 and now the check engine light is gone, I recommend just drive it normally.

You have what Honda terms an "intermittent failure" which means a system may have had a failure, but checks OK now. If the check engine light was on but then went out, the original problem may have been intermittent.

On many cars, depending on the type of failure/problem detected, the computer will store a pending trouble code the first time it is detected and no check engine light will be on. If the same failure is detected on 2 consecutive drive cycles, then check engine light comes on. The check engine light may turn off after several other drive cycles if the same failure is no longer detected.

What this means is that on your car it is was an intermittent failure. Does that mean it will come back? Possibly, yes or no. So, just drive as normal and if the check engine light comes on again, read/scan for the code(s) to see if they are the same or one or more different one.

The 87 octane gas is okay for your car, save yourself some money by not going to premium gas.

 

Is your car a coupe (2-door)? If yes, depending on your VIN (vehicle id number), it may be covered under a recall due to a stalling or no-start problem. Your VIN is on your car registration, on the driver side dash, and a lot of other places. See this Honda technical service bulletin. Copy and paste without quotation marks to view.

"http://dvpatel.homelinux.com/forumfiles/SB/A05-014.PDF"

You can also enter your VIN here:
"http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/SEO/HondaRecall.asp?recallStatus=NO%20VIN&recallId1=NO %20RECALL%20IDS"

 

Lots of good replies!I really appreciate it. Actually, it's a 4-cyl 4-door, again forgot to add details. Will keep you guys posted in case something shows up.

 

Using 87 octane is fine for your car as others have explained...this is not a high compression motor. Using 93 octane is not only wasting your money, it could actually do damage to the top end of the motor. Incomplete combustion of the higher octane fuel can lead to carbon build up in the EGR ports, as well as build up on the exhaust valves. Motors using 93 octane will be 10.5 : 1 and up in compression. Porsche, Ferrari and other Euro performance cars demand it, so do Harley Davidson engines.

 

Good post with lots of good information from our many members who know their stuff..Thank You Men...and Ladies

 

with fuel octane being mentioned as well as a H22 engine being mentioned, i'm curious what would happen if you used a low octane fuel in a H22 engine. i was thinking about doing a H22 swap but if it recomends high octane fuel from the factory i think i'll have to stick with a F22 engine.