Hi Fellow Accord Owners,

I originally posted a response to TexasHonda's thread, but he advised starting a new thread, so I am repeating my prior posting in this new thread.

I have a 1998 LX (4-cyl.) with about 135,000 miles. It was cutting out while driving one night at the end of May, and our dealer replaced the ignition switch. Total cost: $52.55.

Last month, I could not start the car (no response at all when turning the key), though it turned over and started routinely after the tow truck driver tapped on the starter motor (hard) a few times. The dealer nevertheless recommended replacement of the starter motor, which we authorized. Total cost: $692.84.

Yesterday, as I pulled into my parking space at work, the engine started shaking. I turned the engine off. When I restarted the engine (with no difficulty), it started shaking again. I left the car in the lot until the end of the day. When I started up then (again with no difficulty), things seemed fine until I put the car in gear to back out. The engine started to shake again. I had the car towed to the dealer.

This morning, the dealer called to report that the car started easily and the shaking could not be reproduced.

However, the dealer recommends replacing all the spark plugs and wires ("because they're old"), the distributor cap and rotor ("because it's leaking") and the ignition coil and igniter ("because they're old"). Total estimated cost: $1,400.00 ("discounted" for owners of 10-year old Hondas to $1,100.00), plus tax. When I questioned whether all of the items actually need to be replaced, the dealer only said that any one of them could cause the shaking (to recur).

(The dealer also recommends a variety of other work, from replacing a ball joint [ca. $340.00] to two front tires [suffering "dry rot"; ca. $480.00] to oil pan glue and other oil leaks [ca. $1,100.00].)

Is all that starter system work necessary, or is our dealer trying to rip us off ?

(We are NOT leaking oil -- at most, if at all, adding one quart between oil changes at 5,000+ mile intervals -- so I do not believe there is any problem with cylinder rings.)

Appreciate any insights or guidance ASAP.

Jay

 

Well I had that problem with the rough starts I have a 2.3l I4 and I checked the spark plugs and they were gunked up and started throwing 2 misfire engine codes. so I got out my compression tester and was reading 220 at cylinder 1 and 155 at cylinder 4. Have you checked the coolant to see if you lose more than just what evaporates, or look at the oil to see if there is any froth or coffee colored oil like it's mixing. Another sign of a problem could be if there are two cylinders next to each other throwing misfire engine codes could be a sign popped head gasket. And for such cheap parts it seems as though you're dealer is gouging you pretty hard forsuch miniscule task. But start with the cheap easy stuff like cap and rotor and plugs and wires and find a new dealer or mechanic.