Just wondering...love Honda Accords. daughter has a 96..just bought another 96 with a problem....it idles from 1000 to 2000 rpm when it heats up. First crank it in the morning, no problem...15 minutes down the road, put it in park or neutral and it races between 1 and 2 k rpm non stop...is this the high idle sensor? CoOuld it be something simple or more serious?.what kind of repair bill am I looking at?

 

Does '96 have a FITV? I know they eliminated it by '98, but which years??

If it does have one, check whether the plunger inside has become loose. Screw it back in & make sure there's no air pockets. Check for air pockets in the cooling system anyway, because they'll confuse the IACV also.

Set your base idle, maybe it's up too high?

Check for vacuum leaks.

 

If the fluctuating idle goes on after it warms up to operating temp, it is most likely the IACV.

If it fluctuates when you start the car, it is the FITV.

 

would the iacv make the car overheat?

 

it shouldn't.

If your car is overheating with the fluctuating idle, you probably have an air pocket in your cooling system. Bleeding the cooling system should solve that problem.

 

nope. I had the FITV replaced on my 2000.

 

Thanks for the reply guys...one more quick question. I did have it put on the computer and diagnosed. I don't know much about this mechanic though. He told me that the codes showed there to be a bad MAP sensor, a bad Speed Sensor and he says the INTAKE GASKET is what is causing it to idle like this. From what I know about intake gasket symptoms, I find it hard to believe that is what is causing the idling fluctuation. It has no other symptoms of intake gasket (i.e. running hot, boiling over, white smoke from the tailpipe, etc.) Is he trying to gyp me or is it possible an intake gasket would cause idle fluctuation? He did check for vacuum leaks (or said he did) and didn't find any..... thanks again

 

i dont even know what an intake gasket is, lol

 

great contribution to the thread!!


A leaking intake manifold gasket will show the same symtoms as any other vacuum leak. I wouldnt be surprised if that were the case.

As fas as the map and vss goes. . . a bad map sensor will cause the car to drive like shit. As soon as you put a load on the engine it will start to run extremely rough and may even stall out. A bad vacuum leak will cause the Map sensor to do weird things. And a vss, besides showing how fast you are going is used by the ecu for a number of different functions. If the car isnt in limp mode, I doubt the vss is bad either.

Fix the gasket and reset the ecu. Drive around and see what codes come back.

 

Thanks DriftKing. Actually, I just went ahead and took it to the Honda Dealer (about 75 miles away) and told them what the guy said. They diagnosed it and didn't see either of those sensors as being faulty. They cleaned the throttle body and the IAC valve and repaired a leaking radiator hose. The mechanic told me other than that and the fact that I need rear brake pads the car should be in perfect condition. When I picked it up it ran like a new one! I should have saved the $100 I spent on the kook who wanted to put a new intake gasket and valve!! Live and learn huh??