Honda Car Forum

I have a 2002 Accord SE (automatic) w/ 31000 kms on it. I am having 2
issues:

1. The car seems to "hesitate" for a second on acceleration from
stopped.... very noticible when cold but still there when warmed up.

2. The tracking on the vehicle is dead on at hwy speeds however around town
its a constant struggle to keep it aimed straight. It is constantly pulling
right. Most common on dead starts.. it will pull to the right but, as I
said, I fight with it all over town at non-hwy speeds. Is it just a wheel
alignment thing or something else?

Thanks in advance.

Greg

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 04:43:13 GMT, "alberta_girl" <hay_caroline@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>I have a 2002 Accord SE (automatic) w/ 31000 kms on it. I am having 2
>issues:
>
>1. The car seems to "hesitate" for a second on acceleration from
>stopped.... very noticible when cold but still there when warmed up.

Does it "flare" on upchanges?... i.e. allow engine rpm to jump a bit. Have
you checked the fluid level and checked for leaks? No other symptoms like
whining or clunking noises? Check the TSBs at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr.../tsbsearch.cfm.

>2. The tracking on the vehicle is dead on at hwy speeds however around town
>its a constant struggle to keep it aimed straight. It is constantly pulling
>right. Most common on dead starts.. it will pull to the right but, as I
>said, I fight with it all over town at non-hwy speeds. Is it just a wheel
>alignment thing or something else?

Do you have factory standard sized tires on it? Are those roads relatively
smooth? You should try an acceleration test from stopped on the flatest,
smoothest road you can find to see if the problem still happens there. It
could be a tire problem: bad tire, uneven wear - check them and see if a
rotation has any effect. There isn't much to adjust in the way of
alignment, apart from toe but if the tires all look OK then it 'd be worth
getting the alignment checked.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

I found this, but I dont know how to view it.... do you?

Make : HONDA Model : ACCORD Year : 2002
Service Bulletin Num : 010402 Date of Bulletin: APR 01, 2002
NHTSA Item Number: 636738
Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
Summary:
SUBJECT REGARDING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS THAT THE ENGINE HESITATES
BRIEFLY WHEN ACCELERATING. *TT





"George Macdonald" <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in message
news:esbf7057f6not6h82dilmeqi58jr4ff0v7@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 04:43:13 GMT, "alberta_girl"
<hay_caroline@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >I have a 2002 Accord SE (automatic) w/ 31000 kms on it. I am having 2
> >issues:
> >
> >1. The car seems to "hesitate" for a second on acceleration from
> >stopped.... very noticible when cold but still there when warmed up.
>
> Does it "flare" on upchanges?... i.e. allow engine rpm to jump a bit.
Have
> you checked the fluid level and checked for leaks? No other symptoms like
> whining or clunking noises? Check the TSBs at
> http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr.../tsbsearch.cfm.
>
> >2. The tracking on the vehicle is dead on at hwy speeds however around
town
> >its a constant struggle to keep it aimed straight. It is constantly
pulling
> >right. Most common on dead starts.. it will pull to the right but, as I
> >said, I fight with it all over town at non-hwy speeds. Is it just a
wheel
> >alignment thing or something else?
>
> Do you have factory standard sized tires on it? Are those roads
relatively
> smooth? You should try an acceleration test from stopped on the flatest,
> smoothest road you can find to see if the problem still happens there. It
> could be a tire problem: bad tire, uneven wear - check them and see if a
> rotation has any effect. There isn't much to adjust in the way of
> alignment, apart from toe but if the tires all look OK then it 'd be worth
> getting the alignment checked.
>
> Rgds, George Macdonald
>
> "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who,
me??

And this,

Make : HONDA Model : ACCORD Year : 2002
Service Bulletin Num : 010402 Date of Bulletin: APR 01, 2002
NHTSA Item Number: 636738
Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
Summary:
SUBJECT REGARDING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS THAT THE ENGINE HESITATES
BRIEFLY WHEN ACCELERATING. *TT




"George Macdonald" <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in message
news:esbf7057f6not6h82dilmeqi58jr4ff0v7@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 04:43:13 GMT, "alberta_girl"
<hay_caroline@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >I have a 2002 Accord SE (automatic) w/ 31000 kms on it. I am having 2
> >issues:
> >
> >1. The car seems to "hesitate" for a second on acceleration from
> >stopped.... very noticible when cold but still there when warmed up.
>
> Does it "flare" on upchanges?... i.e. allow engine rpm to jump a bit.
Have
> you checked the fluid level and checked for leaks? No other symptoms like
> whining or clunking noises? Check the TSBs at
> http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr.../tsbsearch.cfm.
>
> >2. The tracking on the vehicle is dead on at hwy speeds however around
town
> >its a constant struggle to keep it aimed straight. It is constantly
pulling
> >right. Most common on dead starts.. it will pull to the right but, as I
> >said, I fight with it all over town at non-hwy speeds. Is it just a
wheel
> >alignment thing or something else?
>
> Do you have factory standard sized tires on it? Are those roads
relatively
> smooth? You should try an acceleration test from stopped on the flatest,
> smoothest road you can find to see if the problem still happens there. It
> could be a tire problem: bad tire, uneven wear - check them and see if a
> rotation has any effect. There isn't much to adjust in the way of
> alignment, apart from toe but if the tires all look OK then it 'd be worth
> getting the alignment checked.
>
> Rgds, George Macdonald
>
> "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who,
me??

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 16:22:51 GMT, "alberta_girl" <hay_caroline@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>I found this, but I dont know how to view it.... do you?
>
> Make : HONDA Model : ACCORD Year : 2002
> Service Bulletin Num : 010402 Date of Bulletin: APR 01, 2002
> NHTSA Item Number: 636738
> Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
> Summary:
> SUBJECT REGARDING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS THAT THE ENGINE HESITATES
>BRIEFLY WHEN ACCELERATING. *TT

I'd assumed you were talking about an auto-trans issue but if it's an
engine related hesitation, then that might be it - check with your dealer
to see if your VIN falls in the range for the TSB. That TSB seems to be
unavailable - a couple of years ago, Honda prevented the publication of
their TSBs at NHTSA or Alldata. The current situation seems to be that if
it's safety or emissions related, their "ban" has been overriden by NHTSA
and the TSB *is* in fact available. E.g. the EGR issues with V6 engines is
here http://www.nhtsa.com/TSBScans/sb627312.pdf. If you have an emissions
issue and are looking for the full TSB substitute the NHTSA Item Number for
the 627312 in the above URL - if the TSB is available you can download it.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??