Bought an 08 Accord brand new after driving a 98 Acura CL for 10 years. Needed a 4 door car and really couldn’t afford to go with a new Acura and I was thinking gas mileage at the time. So, I went with the 4 cylinder. The car has every option I could imagine except the HomeLink. It seems Honda feels you don’t need that option unless you jump up to the 6 cylinder. Absolutely none of the 4 cylinder vehicles I looked at all over the city had this option. Enough about that. Let’s get to it. I probably should have bought the 6 cylinder and eaten the 2 miles per gallon difference that you get between the two. My biggest complaint is the way the transimssion shifts. It comes with a 5 speed auto and it will not shift into 5th gear unless you are absolutely, positively, going 42 mph. I asked the Honda service rep before the warranty ran out and he said that the car has a gyro in it and knows when you’re going uphill or down. Personnaly I think he was “blowing smoke”. We have a hill close by and every time I go down this hill, which is probably at a 30 degree downhill angle, I’ll let off the brake and just coast down. Never even thinks about shifting until I reach the magical 42 mph. And when I slip below it, it downshifts back to 4th. Anymore I have just been shifting the car into neutral and coasting all the way to the bottom of the hill. Is this a complaint of anyone else or should I just trade the car? It’s really a beautiful vehicle. I little noisier than my 10 year old Acura, but it rides pretty good. Are there any computer settings on this vehicle that would change the way the transmission shifts?
I’d just get used to it. Not a problem to me.
Why are you coasting down the hill? That can be dangerous and it wastes gas.
Your 98 Acura had a feature called grade logic. I personally don’t like this feature but you may have gotten used to it. I think the grade logic caused the car to shift funny. I don’t think Honda uses it anymore. I agree that the Honda rep was “blowing smoke”.
If you’re so picky about what gear a what speed you should have got a stick shift.
I’ve owned two accords ('81 and '88) with 4 cylinders, 5 forward gears and 3 pedals, and they were excellent.
It seems like the transmission computer adjusts to your driving style and comes up with the shift points in addition to all other programming done. I am not sure if resetting the computer (letting the battery be disconnected overnight) could help. Other experts chime in please. I know with my Galant I had to do that.
as of 08 they still used grade logic. Not sure after that. The 04-08 TL’s had it.
Why do you insist on having it in fifth gear below 42mph? A 4banger with relatively econ-gearing would probably waste fuel lugging around in 5th at that speed.
I traded my 08 accord last fall it had the 6 cylinder. I found that the transmission shifted hard. The road noise drove me crazy and my leg would fall asleep those fronts seats were so uncomfortable. I thought the gas mileage was amazing for a six cylinder.
“It’s really a beautiful vehicle” means you keep it. If my wife can live with me with all my flaws, you can certainly live with the Accord with one. Unless, you would really rather have the Acura and you’re looking for a reason. Then you may never be happy with it.
"I traded my 08 accord last fall it had the 6 cylinder. I found that the transmission shifted hard. The road noise drove me crazy and my leg would fall asleep those fronts seats were so uncomfortable. I thought the gas mileage was amazing for a six cylinder. "
It sounds like the 4 cylinder version is the lesser of two evils, but if it’s driving you crazy I would consider getting rid of it as Stevng did. I’m surprised the noise (“I little noisier than my 10 year old Acura, but it rides pretty good.”) hasn’t bothered you as much or more than the transmission. It would bother me nad it bothered Steveng, too.
Before having any money change hands, take your next new car choice on an extended test drive or try and find a similar make/model/year to rent for a week and see if you two are compatible.
There are lots of beautiful cars available and not all have such quirks. Many are very quiet and shift more to your liking. I would try a different make.
CSA
Trade it in for another Accord with a 5 speed manual. Then you can pick whichever gear you want going down that hill, or anywhere for that matter. Do it before Honda forsake those of us, including you, who would like to choose the gear that we’d like our cars to be in at anytime.
sgmartin18, I am curious. Does this happen regardless of the throttle position, or do you always seem to have the throttle at the same position at 42 MPH?
Maybe you should try an experiment. As you approach 40 MPH, instead of accelerating normally, goose the throttle a little more than usual. Don’t be too gentle. I am hoping this will delay the shift to 5th gear. If it doesn’t, there might be something wrong.
Long before this car was produced, automatic transmissions were made smart enough to adjust shift points according to the position of the throttle, so maybe you are such a conscientious driver you are being too gentle on the throttle, and the computer, thinking you are trying to save fuel, shifts into the highest gear as soon as possible.
OK…What is the RPM at, say, 40 MPH in 4th? I test drove an '09 Accord and I thought it was a hell of a nice car, but a lot of cars really don’t like to run in top gear at speeds below 40 or 45. When I’m driving my Versa, I usually don’t shift to 6th until I’m going at least 45 MPH, and if I’m merging onto an interstate, I’ll go into 6th at well over 50 MPH.
“…a lot of cars really don’t like to run in top gear at speeds below 40 or 45.”
That’s not surprising since the 2009 Accord has a 5-speed transmission. I just get to 2000 RPM in 5th gear at 65 MPH when I’m cruising.
That is my point…The '09 is more or less a carryover from the '08, the '08 being the first year of that generation (I think). If it runs 2000 RPM at 65 MPH, there ain’t much reason to be in 5th at 40 MPH.
“…a lot of cars really don’t like to run in top gear at speeds below 40 or 45.”
I always thought that the reason a transmission had multiple gear ratios is so that the engine rpm would match the load put on the engine. Over-revving an engine is not good and wasteful of fuel, but lugging an engine is also wasteful of fuel and not good for the engine either.
From the mid 1930s through the 1960s, some cars offered the Borg Warner automatic overdrive. The overdrive couldn’t be engaged until the car was going over 28 mph. I think the automatic overdrive was used instead of a higher gear so that motorists wouldn’t lug the engine.
The automatic transmission presumably selects the right gear for the condition. My guess is that 5th gear on your Accord wasn’t meant to engage below 40 mph.
“My guess is that 5th gear on your Accord wasn’t meant to engage below 40 mph.”
I agree.
On my car, 5th gear does not engage until I hit 42 mph.
I’ve played with my manumatic and can get in 6th between 35 and 40mph