are tune-up's worth it?
 

Hello, I am noticing a little difference in my 99 accord v6 when i accelerate. it almost feels like im not staying in first gear long enough. its barely noticeable and i thought i was just being paranoid at first. i know it would be hard to diagnose something like this but it was be nice if someone had heard of something like this. i was thinking about getting a tune-up but is it worth it? i called the honda dealership and they said it would cost $250. what exactly do they do and should i do it? could it possibly fix my problem?
thanks.

so it shifts way too fast? can you tell us what rpm it is shifting at?

first gear is a take off gear so i wouldn't think it'd be that long in the first place.

when is it shifting?... how are you driving?

1st gear on my v6 shifts from 2250 to 6000rpm.

Are tune-ups worth it??? Uhhh.. yeah. Depends though on what you're trying to accomplish with it. Is it going to fix all your problems? Can't say. Depends on what exactly is covered in the tune-up you've been quoted. Most of the tune-up just include the main things that you can do yourself, unless of course you can't do tune-ups and that's why you're turning to the dealer to begin with.

I can't speak specifically to your problem; but if your car has enough miles on it and/or you've never had it done before, you can at least have the tranny fluid changed (NOT "flushed"). Sometimes just getting some fresh fluid in there will smooth things right out. But I can't diagnose your problem specifically. That would be what the dealer could do for you...

well im just driving normally and compared to how it shifted a few weeks ago, it feels different. it seems like it shifts right above 2k but if i gas it a little harder it will go up to 3-4k. i dunno its not a really big difference but something has changed. it has 80k miles on it. whats the difference between flushing and changing tranny fluid? how much does that usually cost and should i have it done at dealership?

it sounds fine to me, as long as you dont feel a loss of power.

always just drain and fill, never flush the system..waste of money.

Tuneups are essential to maintaining your vehicles relaibility and longevity. :slap:

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't tune ups mainly: changing sparkplugs, rotor, distributor cap, checking all fluids and changing what's neccessary, a test drive to see if any problems are present and check wheel and brake wear? I use to have the dealer do their tune-ups and that's mainly what they tell me they do; costs about $150; any thing else is extra. Most of this stuff you can do on your own. I did the last tune up myself and only cost me $50 in parts.

On modern cars it's a little different. For starters, cars don't have distributors, they all have electronic ignition & timing.

Otherwise, in most cases they will replace the plugs, check the timing, look for errors in the ECU. Clean the throttle body, add some premium fuel injector cleaner to the gas, check for vacuum leaks, and otherwise do a complete inspection of all other systems on that car.

On newer cars, this only need to be done every 100,000 miles (sooner if you drive lots of short trips or stop & go). On cars before about 2000, it's typcially every 60,000 miles.

On a 1999, it's probably about time if it's never been done before if you planning on keeeping the car for more tha 1 year or 20,000 miles miles. Otherwise, don't bother and trade the car in in a year on a new one.