Hello to all forum members.

I just joined and this is my first post.

We just bought a 2004 Accord EX, 6 cyl., Manual 6 Speed for my wife (lucky her!). She is having a great time burning $4.00 per gallon gas all over town.

I do have a couple of questions to ask everyone and would appreciate any help you could provide. I appologize in advance for duplicating a question that has already been answered but I have tried the "Search" option about 10 times and it NEVER finds any matches (and no, I'm not entering "skadsdjfdjssdhjtrhwjwjsfkjsfsf" for the search term). I have tried various "duplicate key", "key", etc. searches with no success. I even tried "the" with no luck. So maybe that's my first question: How do you use the Search option?

Second question: We got 3 keys with the car - 2 "Keyfob" remotes and a Valet key. We would like to have some duplicates made but I understand they have a "chip" in them and Honda wants $35 for the key and $95 to reprogram ALL the keys (this is for a plain, non-remote key). Are there any other options? Any online options? What about just getting the key "cut" without the programming? I understand that it will open the doors and locks but not start the car. All thoughts/ideas are appreciated.

Third question: The mechanic that checked the car for us prior to buying showed us some "seepage" (my understanding is that this technical term is used to differentiate between a "leak" where there is no dripping) at the joint between the engine and the manual transmission. He said it was the rear main seal and would be $$$ (read "expensive") to fix but may go many thousands of miles before getting worse or a few miles before getting worse. Does anyone have any info or thoughts on this situation or any suggestions for reducing the likelyhood of it getting worse (driving style, oil, etc.)?

Fourth (and final) question: Get ready now. What do you think about running synthetic oil in this car (according to the service records, it has been serviced by Honda so I'm assuming it has had changes with regular Hond oil)? I am a great fan of synthetic oil but I've heard before that you shouldn't run synthetic after regular to prevent leaks forming (also heard the opposite) which would be particularly applicable to us because of the rear main seal leakage. I know that the synthetic vs. regular oil debate is probably the most discussed yet unresolved topic on any car forum but I would like to know what experience any of you have had.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

 

First, welcome to HAF. The key thing has to be done through the dealer if you want it to start the car .... when I had my Honda, I got a few cheapies cut to keep one in my wallet in case I locked the keys in the car. Also, if you have an autostarter, the cheepie can work if you autostart and use it .... a little trick that I found. The seepage isn't a good thing, but if it's not really leaking, it might not be so bad .... just pay special attention to puddles where you park and tranny fluid levels. As for synthetic oil ..... I think you are leaking tranny fluid, so I wouldn't expect any problem there.

 

I am not sure where your mechanic saw oil. Another possibility could be the oil pan gasket. I don't know if the oil buildup is a common problem on 7th gen accords, so you might want another opinion about the cause.

If the rear main seal is leaking, then the leak would be an oil leak. That seal is for the crankshaft on the opposite side of the engine. The expensive part of the job is taking off the transmission to access it.

I would suspect that when the clutch needs to be replaced, that the rear main seal would be easily accessible and not cost you much more money to replace.

 

^^^ thanks .... I didn't know that .... I figured it was tranny fluid because of the location.

 

The keys can be bought,cut and programmed at a good locksmith for a fraction of the dealers price. Synthetic can be used if your not high in mileage like 100k because then you would risk the chance of blowing out dried up gaskets if they were dried out. More then likely you are good to go. The rear main seal like stated above, if it needs to be changed the tranny needs to come out. Good luck with the car.BTW Welcome. There are some very noligable people here.

 

^^^^ well, synthetic typically will leak easier than dino, so I'd say to wait.

I never knew that locksmiths can program a chipped car key.

 

We have Suffolk Locksmith (we live in Suffolk county) that does it. They have the stock key fob`s also. I had my truck keys done for me for $35 each the dealer wanted $150.

 

On my truck if you have both stock keysyou can programadditional keys, its pretty easy but you only can program a certin amount (I think 6). It walks you through it in the owners manual. And you can get the keys off of ebay.