madow

I have a 2005 Honda Accord (2.4) with 6500 miles on it. The engine idles rough with the A/C on. I brought it into the dealership and was told this is normal. Not that I don't trust the dealer but, is this correct ?

Seems that this would be an issue that Honda would have worked out prior to production.

e3NiNe

This is very normal. The AC is huge strain on the car.

lk21joker

my car has the same issue, if you have a v6, you will hardly notice it.

Since we own an i4, the engine struggles a bit with the AC on

MixMaster

oh dear,

i have a 93 EXi and it idles rough too mainly when the aircon is on....so this is unfixable? it is kind of annoying. I have also noticed it can happen when the main cooling fans turn on but mainly with the aircon.

A mate told me to get thetiming belt changed. Could this have any effect or am i wasting my money?

Thanks all.

(new user)

Michael.

e3NiNe

:wavey: welcome to the boards.

Timing belts need to be changed every 90K or "X" amount of years. If you haven't done that, and you have a 93, I'd do it asap. When the timing belt snaps, you're screwed and stranded.

Like mentioned before, the AC is a huge strain on the car. When you turn on the AC, the compressor starts ... which is a huge electrical item ... that forces the alternator into overdrive ... which strains the engine.


If you need the AC, run it when moving. At dead stops, turn it off. When hitting a decent speed or out of 2nd gear, turn it back on.

Also, 5 minutes before arriving to your destination, turn off the AC, but blast the fan. (no need for heat) Condenstaion builds up in the compressor and needs to be aired out. If you run your AC and not do this ... the water sits ... and smells like rotten eggs after a while.

MixMaster

Hi e3nine!

Thanks for your response, first i am impressed as i do have that rotten egg smell in the car often. I deodourised the system once with a can of something but in a few weeks te smell was back. Thanks very much for the tip!

Regarding the engine idle...yes i was thinking the same thing, the car has done 180000 so it is probably due for a timing belt change regardless. If it improves my idle at all that would be great but i am not expecting much. I have taken the car to both a honda service and an ultra-tune trying to solve the problem but i didn't have any luck....i did wind up with really good fuel efficieny though 10.5 L/100km. Is it worth considering some better sparkplugs?

What is on the must do list for a new owner?

Thanks a million,
Michael

e3NiNe

The timing belt will control your engine's idle. If the belt is old and worn, or if the timing has slipped over the years, you'll feel it in your idle. Your car will tremble hard at dead stops.

Spark plugs should be only changed with Honda recommended plugs. If you go with some expensive "platinum" or "twin coil" sparkplug, you might not like the results. It's been proven that these "upgraded" plugs tend to misfire more causing engine problems (no spark to bad gas milage)


If you're a new owner of the car at 180K, here's what you have to do.

1. Timing belt and water pump
2. fluids (transmission drain and fill, radiator, power steering, brakes, etc)
3. new battery (this never hurts)
4. Spark plugs, wires, and cap

and remember, if it's not broken, don't fix it ... but it doesn't hurt to inspect
5. brake pads
6. tire tread
7. exhaust system for leaks
8. the "Honda rust spot"

MixMaster

Hi E3Nine, thankyou very much for your help.

What is "the honda rust spot"?

I went looking around hondas today and i found that my car idles rougher then all the others by far, this gives me alot of hope because it means that now i have a problem i can fix!

A salesman of questionable repute said "ah, thats easy the 93 EXIs had a different aircon idle control to the 94-97 EXIs". Bear in mind i live in Australia so our EXI equates to the lowest model...your LX? Do you know anything about this different control?

Again thankyou so much for you help.

Cheers,
Michael.

wedley2

rust spot would be rear quarter panels...

MixMaster

Been doin some research and i think he was talking about the IAC. I have had my serviced by both a Honda dealer and another mechanic at ultratune....i took it back to both of them cause they had not fixed the problem. They said it was just a rough idling model, does anybody know of any IAC upgrades?

Gaaa! my car is sooo rough!

cheers,
Michael

PS thanks Wedley2!