are tune-up's worth it?

[quickness]

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.

[xtreme barton]

you can save a large sum doing the simple maintanence yourself..

can you pull a plug out and see how it looks...
check your air filter to see if its dirty..
check your tranny fluid level make sure your not a little low....


maybe call and ask what all they do when they give a tune-up... some places will check your timing an re-adjust it even on the slightest degree of it being off.... they sometimes also include a entire system scan of your vehichle, including a tranny diag.

if they do not perform those certain things than i would ask or call another shop how much they cost to check timing and adjust if need be... if you dont have the tools to do so yourself ( im guessing you dont know how cause if you knew how to set/check timing on your car you would know how to do the rest) ...

another note is that dealers usually boast 110 point inspection and blah blah blah bt most the time they are worthless checks that have nothing to do with what you need..

if you pull your plug yourself check the gap and see if they are set correctly.. also make sure you view your tranny fluid closely for bubbles or brownish color...

not sure what the tranny filter would entail on that specific car but if its a simple one and you at least know how to change your oil than i would reccomend draining and replacing fluid and filter..

when doing this its a good thing to invest if it doesnt already have it is a magnetic tranny drain plug along with engine oil drain plug...


what type of oil are you running ?? and when was the last known tune-up done ?

[AccordCodger]

xtreme barton, are you familair with late-model Accords? Timing adjustment is not on the list.

Now back to the original problem. Doesn't stay in first LONG enough? A tuneup won't change that. If anything (and from your description - true - you might just be being paranoid) it'd be a transmission issue - not included in a shop "tune up."

[xtreme barton]

what are you going to try and tell me that the timing cannot be adjusted what so ever ??

depending on where you go (i dont know if you didnt understand what i was getting at) some places will included timing check/adj , and tranny diag in there deal...

i can honestly say i havent ever got a honda dealership tune-up...


he could be dealing with slight power loss.....

[mpumas]

The timing can be manually adjusted but is only adjusted into a range. On Honda's timing is controlled by the ECU and can be advanced and retarded depending on many factors, including the ping sensor and O2 sensor to name a couple. So routinely, tune-up doesn't involve adjusting the timing unless it is out of the range which the ECU can control/adjust. lTune up almost always includes new plugs and maybe a new distributor cap and new ignition wires. You should also consider valve adjustment. And don't forget tranny fluid replace.

[xtreme barton]

i understand that ecu monitors and adjusts .... but like i said it CAN be adjusted by a service tech.