I have a 2000 Honda Accord with 157,949 miles on it. My check engine light came on a year or so ago and turned off until yesterday. I took it to AutoZone this morning and they gave me the following codes

P1259
P1165
P0420

I know very, very little about cars but I love my Honda and want to keep it for a long, long time. My ex mother in law treated it very poorly and whenever it made a noise or I was worried about it, my ex husband would tell me to turn the radio up and ignore it. Help a broad!

Meghan

 

Is this a 4 or 6 cylinder?

P1259 is VTEC system malfunction. First check the oil level, low oil pressure can cause this code. If the oil was not changed recently, get it changed to see if it resolves the problem. -- If not, then report back.

P1165 is related to the Air/Fuel ratio sensor. This is the upstream sensor and may need replacement. Do not get a regular oxygen sensor as a replacement, it needs an Air/Fuel ratio sensor, a wide band type of oxygen sensor that is usually a little more expensive.

P0420 is Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1). You car has the upstream Air/Fuel ratio sensor and a secondary heated oxygen sensor (HO2S). The ECM/PCM (car's computer) compares the HO2S output with the upstream Air/Fuel ratio sensor to determine catalyst efficiency. The ECM/PCM has detected efficiency levels below a set threshold and is setting your trouble code(s). -- Hopefully, replacement of the Air/Fuel ratio sensor resolve the P0420 code too, as catalytic converters are kind of expensive.

Most OBD-II reader/scanner cannot read the Honda SRS trouble codes; so, that is why Autozone's reader didn't show any SRS trouble codes. There was a warranty extension of 10 years or 157,500 miles for SRS trouble codes related to the OPDS (Occupant Positiion Detection System). See link. The SRS light on may be due to this. You can always call Honda to see if they will still cover this for you.

Honda TSB 06-009

 

It's a 4 cylinder and I had the oil changed yesterday.

 

Drive it for a couple of drive cycles, then get the trouble codes read again to see if the P1259 is gone. You may even want to pull the No. 13 fuse in the passenger side fuse box to reset the ECM first. -- You may need your radio code though if it is the stock radio.

 

It is the stock radio. I went through inspection today and not an hour later after going into the bank, my car wouldn't turn over. I gave it a couple of tries and it started right up. I have corossion on the battery that my pop cleaned up. I'm embarrassed that I don't know enough about my car to take care of it but I'm learning now at least.

 

And thank you so much for the helpful tips.

 

No problem, let us know how things progress.