Faults:

Last year, I was having issues with the rotor and coil; finally replaced both, and have had no issues.

Replaced manual transmission slave cylinder.

CV joints/axles need to be replaced.

Currently, the car sits really low. Don't know if it's because of the CV joint issue, or if the car needs shocks/struts or what, but it sits almost as low as a sports car.

Need tires.

General Comments:

Honda makes exceptional cars, and this one is no exception. I've had this Honda for about four years, and besides a few maintenance issues, I've had absolutely no problems. I love Honda Accords; before this one I had a 92 Accord, which I loved just as well, and would buy either one again.

The car handles well, accelerates quickly, stops on a dime, and is pretty comfortable in the meantime. The interior is nice and comfy, the A/C still works fabulously. I would buy this car again in a heartbeat.

Faults:

Ignition switch replaced 256k.

New battery in 2005 and 2009.

Speedometer quit working 299k.

General Comments:

Problems? I think NOT! I bought this "old beater car" over 7 years ago, for $500 when times were tough for me and I couldn't afford anything more.

After driving it for three years with no problems whatsoever, I was back on my feet and getting a new car never crossed my mind.

Routine maintenance was all I did to this wonderful car, from 205k when I bought it until 256k, when I went out in the morning to start it, and click, click.

I had heard that these cars had a few problems with the ignition. First replacement part I had to buy for this, $75 off ebay, installed myself, and back on the road I was.

This has been the most reliable car I have ever owned. Definitely will keep driving it until the day it dies, which I'm pretty sure will be NEVER!!!

Faults:

At 125,000 miles I wrecked into a curb and decided it was time to replace the front end components. The only thing that was actually bad were the tie rod ends, but I went ahead and did the ball joints at this time to get it out of the way. If you don't replace these parts around this mileage, *ON ANY CAR*, they will fail eventually.

Front upper ball joints (and control arms)

Front lower ball joints.

Tie rod ends.

2 wheel bearings.

New brake rotors all the way around.

Starting around 130,000 miles, trying to start the car, occasionally it would not start and it would flash the D4 light. After pulling the codes, it would tell me that solenoid valve A or B malfunctioned. Not a big problem because it would start back up and be fine in few seconds.

Around 140,000, it started having fuel delivery problems; my fuel pump would not run and would not hot start. Both of these problems ended up being as simple as the PGM-FI relay. The transmission control unit and the fuel pump both get power from this relay. They are notorious for going bad in these cars, getting cracked solder joints from the heat over time. The board on mine was burnt brown a bit and had a few cracked solder joints. Literally all I had to do was apply some new solder over the joints on the relay, and both my transmission problems and no start problems were fixed 100% from then on.

At 150,000 the fuel pump became weak. If the gasoline is below a quarter of tank, when approaching a stop it will sometimes lose fuel pressure and either sputter or stall. Neither my girlfriend's Accord (identical to mine with close mileage) or my 2 of friend's Accords have ever had this problem. I replaced the fuel filter with no luck. It's still kicking though, and I just keep enough gas in it to where it doesn't lose fuel pressure.

It has always leaked a little oil since I've owned it. I make sure to check it every couple of weeks, and put a little in between oil changes. I don't know of any of these cars that don't leak oil like this though. Personally I think that's part of the reason these engines can last for 300,000 miles with no rebuild; they're always getting fresh oil.

Either I'm on the original timing belt and water pump at 170,000 miles, or the previous owner changed it 90,000 like you're supposed to. I bought it off a dealer, it was a trade in vehicle so I don't know. I was really worried about it when I got the car, but I forgot about it after a Honda certified mechanic told me he has his own Accord sitting in his driveway at 150,000 on the original timing belt. It will probably break after writing this review with my luck. That's OK; most of the time it won't even do any damage to the engine. If anything, you'll just need to straighten out a valve or two. :)

General Comments:

It really bothers me going through this site and seeing some of the negative reviews on this car. If you seriously think you can buy any 15 year old high mileage car, get in it and drive it another 100,000 miles with complete disregard for worn out components, and then complain about it when they fail, that is your problem.

Ball joints wear out, tie rod ends wear out, they will fail on any vehicle, and you will lose control of the vehicle. Those are some of the most important safety components you need to check on a used vehicle. The Honda factory components have always been higher quality than American auto makers. I can't even count on one hand how many American cars I've seen bust a ball joint or tie rod end on the side of the road. Pure neglect.

This is a fine automobile. If you give it the regular maintenance it needs, it will be good to you. The engines are immortal. My automatic transmission has given me no problems itself. I have changed the fluid in it, which I'm sure it appreciates.

The car drives 100x better than any sedans American car manufacturers were putting out at the time and years afterwards. I would take this car over any Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, Buick made before 2006, since they're almost getting things together now.