Hello forum and thanks for your advise!
Honda accord 2002 ex 2.3L 4cyclinder
105,060 miles.
(1) I just replaced the pcv valve in my car. I shook the old pcv valve and did not hear the ball so I figured it was good to replace. I did see a little oil on the old valve. (Oil was liquid and not gooey or dried up in appearance.) Is this ok or sign of problem? Also, should I replace the breather tube?
(2) What does it mean when drivers say “rough or high idle?” Sometimes, at a stoplight, I feel the car takes a bit longer to accelerate when pushing on the gas pedal. Also, there are times that I feel i must press a little harder on the gas pedal while driving. My boyfriend thinks that this might be normal on a car this old with that many miles. What do you think?
again thank you!
Just wanted to add that I have recently changed plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filters, and drained/filled ATF once. (Planning to drain and fill ATF again since I’m not sure if this was done before I received the car at 90,000 miles. Thought I would wait for another 1,000 miles before doing this.)
thank you for your advise!
You might clean the throttle and MAF sensor. And certainly clean the breather tube if you don’t replace it.
Your PVC sounds normal. Replacing it at that mileage was a good idea. Replace the breather tube only if it is visibly degraded (soft or hard).
Rough idle means that the engine is not hitting uniformly on all cylinders so the engine shakes at idle. High idle means that the engine idles faster than it should. Both problems are typically caused by air leaks.
In your case, I would buy a can of Mass Airflow Sensor cleaner at the auto parts store, then take a screwdriver and dismantle the air path from your air filter to your throttle body at the engine. Spray cleaner through the mass airflow sensor and into the throttle body. Check all tubes for cracks and collapsed tubes that will allow air to leak into the system. Look around for any vacuum hoses that are cracked or disconnected. Replace the air filter if it has not been replaced in a while.
If this car has a flexible silver hot air tube that brings air from around the exhaust manifold to the air filter box (I doubt that it does, but I am not familiar with Hondas), make sure the valve in the air filter box is closing completely, shutting off the hot air, when it is warm outside. It should open only when it it cold.
BTW, regular carburetor cleaner is cheaper than mass airflow sensor cleaner and I have used it many times over the past 25 years with no apparent damage, but I hesitate to recommend that others use it for fear that it might damage their mass airflow sensor.
Is there any CEL’s (Check Engine Lights) showing up?
thank you for your replies!!!
Regarding Mr. Meehan’s question, no CEL’s are on. More of something that I feel but not sure if it’s because of higher miles now?
To add to my prior comment, I’m also not getting as much mpg as I used to. I have looked at other posts regarding “lower mpg or slower acceleration” and in the replies, Ive seen a few suggestions for replacing fuel filter. I have not done this. Is this something that should be changed regularly? also, where is the fuel filter on a 2002 honda accord EX 2.3L 4 cyc?
It’s time to change the thermostat.
The O2 sensor might be “tired”, but not enough to trigger the engine light. That can lower MPG.
Mr. Circuitsmith, you suggested changing thermostat. Do they go bad around 100,000 miles? What other parts should be changed if changing thermostat?
thanks for the replies!! I found a mechanic off this site and just made an appointment for next week to check for lower MPG. I’ll ask about the O2 sensor and thermostat.
I recommend changing the thermostat every 4-5 years or 50k miles, generally the same time the coolant and radiator cap are changed.
When ever you replace your pcv valve you should always start the car and make sure you have suction,if not clean it with a coat hanger,as far as the car being sluggish check the basics.
1.fuel,air filters,oil in the spark holes,broke spark plug wires,cracked dist caps,coils per cylinder if its d.i.s fuel pump pressure.
Hondas have a habit of transmissions going into limp mode (S light in the dash)
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