2000 Honda Accord V6 cylinder misfire

[kathy1]

My 2000 Honda Accord V6 has approx 80,000 miles. The check engine light stays on & blinks whenever I accelerate quickly. It acts like it just doesn't want to get up & go. The local Honda dealership stated to get the valves adjusted, I've also had it tuned up. The light is still on!!! The state inspection place & the Honda dealerhsip hooked it up & their machine states that there are cylinder misfires!!!! Does anyone know what can cause this & how much does it normally cost to have it repaired?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[LittleGSEclipse]

When did the problem start? Did it start all of a sudden? Do you change something and then it happened? I would say check the spark first. Check your plugs and make sure their gapped properly and then check your cables to make sure they arent arc'ing. My girlfriends car had the same problem, it turned out to be a bad plug wire.

[casperGSR]

can't remember off the top of my head, is that engine a distributorless ignition or does it have a distributor?... also is it only misfiring in one cylinder or multiple cylinders?

[tencent]

its distributorless.. I drive one myself and I'm at 84k and thankfully haven't had her problem. Replacing all the plugs sounds like a good idea it doesn't cost much and she probably still has the stock plugs.

[casperGSR]

it's most likely an ignition coil or a fuel injector that's bad... best way to tell is to have the car running and disconnect a coil and see if the rpm's change if it does then it's fine and reconnect it and go on to the next coil and do so until you've checked all the coils... then do the same for each injector until having checked them all... you should also check to make sure each injector is pulsing which can be done with the car running and all injectors connected and a long screwdriver, with the car running take the screwdriver and put it to the side of the injector and put the handle part to your ear and listen to each injector... you should be able to hear a pulsing at each injector if there is one that is clearly slower then the others then you most likely have a lazy injector...

[kathy1]

I've had the plugs replaced when I had the car tuned up; It states that there are mulitple cylinder misfires. I'm beginning to hate my car

[casperGSR]

I've come across more then just a couple of honda d-less engines that have giving out multiple misfire codes (P0300 through PO306) where it looks like all the cylinders are misfiring but it ends up being one bad injector... not to say this is the same for your car but it's a possibilty try listening to each injector and check each coil they way I described above.

[kathy1]

Hey everybody! I just took my car in to a totally different mechanic & it comes to find out the cam shaft was bad, valves needed to be adjusted again, and the timing belt had to be replaced.

I've recently replaced the egr port valve too

[Privatebigandrew]

i highly doubt there was anything wrong with your camshaft, unless you drove the piss out of your car with the vavles tapping like mad. I think you just got screwed. I have never heard of a bad camshaft in a honda. You probably just needed a valve adjustment, maybe it wasn't done right. The timing belt never hurts, especially with your mileage, so it was good that you replaced that. But the camshaft, very unlikely.

[kathy1]

I had the shop give me the old cam shaft & you can tell where the grooves where worn to death. And now my car is like new again

[tim96460]

I have copied and pasted in hopes maybe someone can help me with this.


I am having same problem with a vehicle at work. Cyl 2-6 missfire and multiple. Distributor less ignition. . I am thinking cam sensor hoping #1 cyl is fired by crank and 2-6 the cam. Anyone care to add?
I am the 3rd person working on this vehicle, I have 25 years plus on auto and aircraft . Hate workin for free.

Thanx.
Tim

[Pontyhorse]

Just throwing in my two cents...

Possibly the most common cause of misfire is the EGR valve, whose job it is to squirt dirty, burned, carbon'y exhaust gasses into your nice clean intake. But don't get me started on the EPA and their infinite wisdom. When trying to fix this type of problem, one of the first places to look is the EGR valve. The second place to look is the EGR port in the intake manifold. You have to remove the manifold to do this. If it is clogged, it has to be cleaned. Just replacing the EGR valve may not solve the misfire problem.

[Pontyhorse]

My garage also said my 2000 Honda Accord V6 needed the valves adjusted and plugs changed to fix a random misfire (codes 302, 304, 305, 306, and 1399). I said OK on the plugs, but took it home to look at it.

Many things can cause those misfire codes, in many combinations. Save yourself some time and money and do this easy test.

Remove the coil mounting screws - 6 of them - and one by one while the car is idling, pull each out a few inches. As you pull them out, the plugs no longer have voltage applied and the engine should idle noticeably rougher as each coil is removed from its spark plug, in turn. If one or more has no effect, try replacing that coil and spark plug. A coil is about 45-50 bucks. A plug is about 5-10 bucks. Adjusting valves is about $600.

Another thing that is free and easy to check is whether the fuel injector on each cylinder is working. There should be an audible click when listening to each one as the car is idling. That is the pintle working in the injector. Listen by probing the injector with a mechanic's stethoscope ($10) or by placing a wood rod of some sort, like a dowel rod, on the injector and the other end on your ear, or on the occipital bone around your ear. If one is dead you will have to replace it.

Another bit of information: One cylinder not firing can cause multiple misfires on other cylinders. It confuses the computer. So don't assume just because you have multiple codes there are multiple problem cylinders. Find the one evildoer cylinder and it will probably fix all the misfires. And when a garage tells you they have to adjust the valves - well, garages just LOVE to adjust the valves, don't they? Back in the darkness of the shop it is their substitute for a sock hop and going to park afterwards. If you have plenty of money, just let them adjust the damn things. And give your car a cigarette when it's finished. It probably needed it.

Summary: The valves may indeed have been ready for adjustment, but usually the misfire problem is something cheaper and easier.

[aarons mom]

ok, my '99 accord 4cyl. just started throwing 1399 along w/ some 300's. It also has 1456 that i have been chasing ever since I bought the car. I noticed some water inside my fuel door and around the filler neck. We have had many days of hard rain. I put dry gas in and the shaking and blinking of the check engine stopped...finally. When I scanned it I had 6codes, normal for me is 2. evap. before the tank and knock sensor. This has happened 2 days in a row. After dry gas I run fine. Today I duct taped the fuel door closed in an attempt to eep water out. Could it be as simple as moisture? Thanks in advance.

[Pontyhorse]

On the 4-cylinder 1999 Accord "shaking and blinking of the check engine" problem, with water around the fuel filler tube: I think the blinking of the check engine light means the car should probably not be driven, the reason being it means (at least sometimes) unburned fuel is entering the catalytic converter, and is burning there with possible harm to the catalytic converter.

There should be no path for water trapped around the filler tube inside the flap door to enter the gas tank. I doubt that has anything to do with it, but I do not know everything. (Surprise) Also, gas now usually has 10% ethanol - dry ethanol - which will take water out of the gas tank by its miscibility with water.

And the codes mentioned - 300's and 1399 - may be caused by several things; among them, bad plug, bad coil, bad EGR valve, clogged EGR port, bad injector (less likely), etc.

But the presence of the 1456 code may point to a dirty, damaged, or loose gas cap seal. The easiest thing to try is cleaning carefully and thoroughly the gas cap-to-filler tube seal. Use something like carb cleaner or WD40. Anything like that will do - just get it all good and clean, and make sure it is not damaged. Then, tighten it until it clicks. A leaky gas cap seal (they all once were made that way) is no longer acceptable. The car won't run right if there is communication between the gas tank and atmosphere. The only acceptable path for gas to get to the great outdoors is now through the engine cylinders.

Then, clear the codes and give it a chance to "reset" by driving it for awhile - it has to realize in its reptilian electonic brain all is well again and it can now proceed with re-calibrating for the no-leak-in-the-gas-vapor-system condition.

It is also possible there's a leak somewhere else in the tubing to the carbon canister which collects gas fumes from the gas tank, but that's less likely. Usually, it's the gas cap because it gets dirty or its owner is not clicking it tight enough.

If that doesn't do it, you might go back and consider the coils, plugs, EGR valve, etc.

One other possibility - if it does it only when it's hot, it could be related to the car's computer and fuel pressure regulator being incompatible with the gasoline in the US. Cross that nasty road only if you come to it.