My mother has a 2003 or 2004 Honda accord. The check engine light came on. She took it to the Honda dealer and the codes show crank angle sensor and a couple of other engine management components.
The dealer claimed that the chain has stretched due to a lack of oil changes and this is causing the codes for the other components. She bought the car used and we have no idea of the maintenance the car had. They want $1100 to fix it. They told her a few months ago that it needs $1200 worth of work to the air conditioner.
Has anyone heard of this problem before.
The car has around 110K miles on it.
Mom needs a second opinion from an independent mechanic. This sounds bogus to me.
Also, if you could give us the actual code numbers it would help.
2nd opinion is in order.
btw, If the AC does not work, $1000-$1500 is a standard bill for fixing it.
What exact year and engine? The 2.4L 4 cylinder does have a timing chain but the V6 engine has a timing belt.
Find a good mechanic you can trust and stay away from the dealer unless you’re getting warranty work done.
The 4-cylinders have chains, the V6s have belts.
dealer claimed that the chain has stretched That sounds like a lot of dealers. I recommend finding a good local INDEPENDENT mechanic.
It’s hard to guess without the actual codes. But any $1100 quote deserves a second opinion.
chains do stretch, but when it is enough to affect the timing, in older cars that often means the chain has jumped. In these newer cars, it could affect the timing by a part of a degree and affect performance. If it has belt there is a maximum interval alowed before it fails, and that is very important to respect. If the chain guides break that will also affect the timing. 1100 seems a tad high for this problem, it should be closer to 700-800. Still, if the job is done right it may be worth it. Dealers typically charge more, have higher overhead, greater profit margins, and factory trained mechanics.
Apparently the dealer was correct. I went to an Autozone and the owner had one of the better scanners and he got the same diagnostic. Now to the local independent garage. One odd thing is the car is running fine.