I'm having two separate issues with my 2008 Accord sedan (EX-L V6) and I'd appreciate your help figuring this out.

Problem #1: Lurching from a cold start.

Around 60,000 miles - about a year ago - my Accord started having this issue. When I would start the car after leaving it outside overnight, it would lurch violently after shifting into drive. I would describe the feeling like letting out the clutch too fast in a manual car, to the point where you would probably stall. This problem would go away after a few minutes of driving, and all other shifts through the gears after 1st would work smoothly. Only the action of shifting from park or reverse into drive would cause the problem, and it only occurs after a cold start.

When this first started happening, the lurch wasn't too bad. It was clear that something was wrong, but it didn't scream imminent failure. I asked my local shop to check it out during routine maintenance and they couldn't figure out a specific issue. They flushed the transmission fluid and told me to come back if it gets worse. Fast forward to this winter and now the lurch is violent enough to slip the front tires on dry pavement. I haven't had time to bring the car in for a diagnostic yet but I wanted to know if anyone here is familiar with the problem. Motorcycles are more my area of expertise but if there's something I can do about this problem myself I'd much rather do that than get raped by a dealer.

Problem 2: Screeching brakes.

My brakes have given me quite a bit of grief the past year. I let my mom drive my car while I was away at school and she neglected to take the car in for new pads. Low and behold, the car needed new pads, calipers, and rotors all the way around by the time I came home. I took the car to a local shop, they replaced it all, and everything was fine. Three months later, the screeching started again, this time only in the rear.

Knowing something was clearly wrong if brand new parts were failing after 3 months, I decided not to use the same shop again. I called up my buddy near school, who's a fleet mechanic, and he drove up to help me out. We dropped in new pads/rotors/calipers and everything was fine again. A few months later, the front started screeching. I was out of state so my friend couldn't help me out this time. I took it to a shop my family has used for years and they told me the front needed pads, rotors, and calipers.

At this point I was pretty upset, because this shouldn't be happening so often for any reason. They did the work and the car was fine... for a week. The front started screeching. I called up the shop, they asked me to bring it in, and they put in fresh pads again for free. The screeching went away... for another week. Then it started again. If I press down on the brake pedal lightly, the brakes screech. If I press down harder, the screeching stops. I haven't noticed any losses in stopping power - only a screeching noise. Here's the weird part: sometimes the screeching occurs during natural deceleration without the brakes. Meaning, if I'm simply coasting down without the brakes, it will screech. At this point I'm at a loss as to what would cause this behavior. Any help would be appreciated. I can't afford to keep replacing pads, calipers, and rotors like this, and obviously there's something else going on here.

 

Problem #1 - Is car simply idling too fast (what rpm?) when you drop into gear or lurches from reasonable idle after gear engagement?

Problem #2 - Screeching usually occurs when brake pad base (steel) contacts rotor or when dust shield is somehow bent and contacts rotor. Is same wheel always squealing? Remove and inspect for contact point to ID problem.

good luck

 

You need to figure out why the brakes keep screeching. Put the car on jackstands and see if the brake pads is getting stuck in the caliper. Clean all grease off the caliper slide pins, then use silicone paste to lubricate them.

 

Thank you for the advice. I'll check it out when I get back from the holiday weekend.
Will do.