Hey Everyone,

My wife and I are preparing to buy a newish car, our first. I've driven clunkers all my life, so that one day I could buy something respectable.

My research has drawn me to the Honda Accord. I like the price, the brand, and the safety ratings.

The only thing I want to know is: what's it like to work on a 2013-2016 Honda Accord?

I don't do lots of car work, but whenever possible I do what I can. Mostly to save money, rather than for passion. Starters, water pumps, oil, brakes, minor front end-steering fixes are all things that I've taken on in the past. But this was usually on my Saturn, which is pretty straightforward.

So just hoping for an overview on whether an accord is something that a person who doesn't do much car work needs to bring to the shop when it has a problem.

Or does an Accord never fail....

Thanks!

 

If you can work on a Saturn, then an Accord will not be difficult for the basics like brakes, oil, and front end suspension.

I know Hondas do not require special tools for most fixes. I can only think of the harmonic balancer holding tool when doing a timing belt change, and 4-cylinder Accords from 2003 to the present use a timing chain. I think the V6 accords still require a timing belt change around every 100K miles or 7 years.

Take a look in the engine bay to see how much room is available for fixes. You can have the wheel removed to take a look at the suspension.

The starter on my 2.4L engine was a bit of a pain, because I had to take off the upper intake manifold with the throttle body. It probably took me 1.5 hours. The original starter lasted for 160K miles, so I don't anticipate doing that type of repair often.

 

The few things that non-Honda people have to learn are not so much that the job is different from a Saturn or Chevy. It's just the tips & tricks that every type of car has. There's special tools all over the shop manuals (just like Saturn), but mostly you (or we) can figure out home-made DIY alternatives.

Use Honda fluids for ATF and power steering. They really are different.
Other stuff should be OK.

 

I have a '14 Accord. You will never find out what it is like to work one one as they never break or wear out!

Seriously, there is a lot of room under the hood compared to a lot of cars. Also they made a lot of them, so there are lots of Youtube videos out there when (if) you need to fix something. One plus is the four (six?) has a timing chain, so no belt to change. The only things that were new to me is the crush washer on the oil drain plug and the brake rotors have a screw holding them in place. When I rotated the tires the first time I removed the screws and put antiseize on them.

The number one reason I bought the Accord was it had a great reliability record.

 

Welcome to the forum, MNguy
Newer Accords require very little maintenance... keeping the fluids properly, changing brake pads, etc... no more difficult than on any other car, and compared to some.. much easier

Have fun, enjoy your Honda for many many miles

 

Thanks everybody, exactly the kinds of detailed responses I was hoping to hear!

Looking forward to buying one.