I own a 2003 4 cylinder Honda Accord EX. The car is just about to reach 90,000 miles and I have kept up religiously with maintanance since I drove it off the lot 7 years ago. Each time it’s taken in, mechancis tell me the car looks great, see you again for your next oil change. However, I have a problem with my car that no mechanic can seem to figure out. While sitting in my car and mostly at idle and coasting to a ride light etc, my car seems to idle hard to where it caused the interior to vibrate ( steering wheel shakes, vibrating sounds ). It seems to definitely get worse when I use my AC. I have had it checked out by mechanics and actually spent 4 hours at Honda to have them tell me nothing is wrong with my car. They first thought it was my motor mounts, but quickly assured me after looking at my car for this many hours, my motor mounts were in great condition and for a car with under 90K miles, this wouldn’t normally be the case. No one has an answer for me, but there is a problem if I’m sitting in my car and shaking from the inside. I feel like I’m driving an old clunker down the road when my car still looks brand new and hasn’t reached 90k yet. I thought Hondas were supposed to drive and drive until they die 500,000 miles later hahaha. One mechanic told me my car is just running harder because it’s a 4 cyl. Is this true? It’s rather annoying if so and I’ll never buy a 4cyl again if the case. Can you think of a solution to this problem? I’m desperate for answers. Thanks.
4-cylinder Honda engines should idle smoothy, with or without the AC on. Whoever told you the engine is “running harder because it’s a 4-cyliner” doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. There are millions of 4-cylinder Accords, and their owners (I’m one) don’t complain about shaking at idle.
There may be a minor problem in the Idle Air Control circuit. It won’t show any codes, so the dealer says everything is fine.
Do the mechanics you talk to agree that the engine is idling rough, or do they just think you’re imagining it? If they agree it’s rough they should be able to fix it. What, if anything, have they done so far to try to correct it?
The only thing they ever comment on is that I have an o2 sensor that’s faulty, but it has been this way for about 5 years and they said this is not what is causing the problem. They have never done anything to correct the problem because they always tell me there is no problem. Even Honda sat with my car for the whole day and told me this, as their head mechanic checked it out. If I put the car in neutral, it will stop vibrating. If it is the Idle Air Control unit, how much does this normally cost to repair?
If the O2 sensor is faulty the Check Engine Light should be on. Is it?
Yes, it has been on for the past 5 years. Every mechanic I have seen from private to public to Honda has said this is not causing my car any problems and not the cause of the vibrations.
I’m sorry, but I believe that there is a major disparity between two of your own statements, namely, “I have kept up religiously with maintanance”, and “the check engine light has been on for the past 5 years”.
Even if the original trouble code that caused the CEL to light up 5 years ago was related “only” to a bad O2 sensor, by now there could be MANY stored trouble codes, and those codes will likely indicate the reason why your engine “idles hard” and “vibrates”.
Determining exactly what trouble codes are present will be the start of diagnosing this problem accurately. Once you fix the problems that the trouble codes point your mechanic toward, the engine will likely run much better. And, once you have had all of this done, then perhaps you will be able to honestly say that you have “kept up religiously with maintenance”.
Perfectly stated. I agree with VDC’s post entirely.
The reason why I have not fixed the O2 sensor is because they want to charge me $400 to do so and tell me it’s really not necessary, that if anything it will cause my car to get less gas mileage, but that it’s not affecting my car. I did have the codes brought up not long ago and nothing shows, except for the O2 sensor. The check engine light is on strictly for the O2 sensor, as they hook it up to the computer to read any codes and find nothing else wrong. I feel also that if this was truly a problem, the mechanics I have seen and Honda of all places would have notified me as a way to get more money on another service.
The 02 sensor affect fuel consumption but also it affects the life of your catalytic converter. You really ought to get it replaced. One thing that excess fuel consumption can cause if fouling ash on the plugs and that in turn can cause missfire and rough idle such as you describe. Believe it or not, there is a purpose for every part on your engine, and if a part fails to perform properly, eventually you wind up paying more than if you had if fixed when it failed. That said, some engines will run a long time with a lot wrong with them.
Check the filter ( not sure what its called) on the intake. Its real smal and housed inside a metal case you have to remove from the intake. On my 97 it is on the back side of the engine on the intake. It changed my idling completely. I just used a knife to scape off the smut and now it idles like new.
ANY car can make it to 500k miles and beyond, it just depends on if the owner wants to spend money to keep it maintained and fix things as they break.
You are now reaping the benefit of having ignored the $400 repair for 5 years. It might just as well cost a lot more than that to fix it properly now.
edit:
Wow, the thread is over a year old now. 
Hondas Never Need Repairs. Even When They Break At 2 Years Of Age (7 Years Since New - 5 Years Of Check Engine Light On = 2 Years) And It’s $400 For An 02 Sensor And " steering wheel shakes, vibrating sounds " And “mechancis tell me the car looks great,” Just Motor On !
CSA