hitesthonda

Hi TSX-ers:
I am taking my 2004 TSX Automatic with 48,000 easy miles to my trusty mechanic next week.
Are there any belts that I should think about replacing? They are all original.

The transmission fluid has never been changed. I dripped some into a jar while I was checking the level and it has a nice clear pink color, no burnt smell. Should I change it? The manual says 72 months or 120k miles, whichever come first. I have asked my mechanic to change it but he never wants to (weird, huh) saying that he goes by mileage, not age.

Any suggestions as to any other parts I should pro-actively replace so as to avoid any break-downs while on the road.

Thanks...

BROlando

A trans drain and fill (not a flush. don't do a flush on this car) is fine at your mileage. I have a 30-40K interval set for mine.

If your drive belt is cracked or worn...replace that.

nothing else, really.

Has the car been driven city miles (short trips) all its life? Or is it low mileage because it just sits around?

hitesthonda

Thanks Roland.
RE: Trans Fluid - The TSX manual says to drain and fill three times. I talked to two transmission places and they say they just do it once and that's OK if you do it right. Is that what you are saying? Do you agree? And are you saying to do it again in another 30-40k miles?
And have them inspect the drive belt?
I think the '04 does not have a timing belt/chain. Is that right?
I have low mileage because I live in New York City and it rarely leaves the garage. I do about 3,500 miles per year. I rarely drive in the city so most trips are not short ones. 50 miles up to hundreds most often.

Howard

BROlando

I am jealous that you live in NYC.

The 3X3 method isn't a bad idea. I don't know how necessary it is, however. Hopefully someone ca. chime in. On my 2nd gen, I did the first drain/fill at 65K miles. I just did a one time drain/fill. I plan to keep that schedule at 30K mile increments. My 1st gen, however, is a manual trans.

A 3X3 won't hurt. If anything it will be beneficial. I just don't know if the extra expense is worth it.

The drive belt is what drives the accesories. It *may* be cracked from age - its made of rubber, afterall.

The car has a timing chain for the engine's cam/crank timing. This shouldn't need any maintenance for at least 100K miles unless the car was starved of oil at some point. Mine has 160K on the original chain with no malfunction light related to timing issues from a stretched chain.

mrgold35

I have an 06 with around 140,000 miles. Mileage isn't your issue compared to time after 13-14 years on original parts/fluids (depending on when the TSX was built). I would think about replacing fluids and some parts if you are planning to keep the TSX for another +13 years that are +7 years old like:
- power steering fluid (can collect moisture and damage parts)
- brakes fluids (every 3 years or during a brake job usual interval)
- serpentine belt and idler pulley
- cabin air filter
- engine air filter
- 5AT fluid (I do a 1X drain refill at dealership every 30K, 3X drain and refill if the fluid is +7 years old)
- battery
- tires if they are getting close to 10 years, even if the have good tread
- antifreeze after +12 years

I would also think about using syn oil since your car sits for long periods. The syn oil will coat engine parts better, get into the micro cracks to provide better lubrication, and syn oil won't breakdown or have the same level of acid that will damage engine parts.

hitesthonda

Thanks MrGold35:
I did replace the tires at 8 years, 31k miles (5 years ago) with Hankook Ventus V2 Concept that I like a lot.
The manual says to change coolant at 120,000 miles/10 Years, then every 60,000 miles/5 Years so I am going to do that.
My mechanic says it's bad to change to synthetic oil unless you've always been using it. Your opinion?

Howard

hitesthonda

Is the Drive Belt and the Serpentine belt the same thing?

hitesthonda

FYI-
I've been using an $11 bluetooth KitBest OBD2 scanner from Amazon.
The Amazon ASIN is KBOBD01.
This one works with Android phones only.
I use it with the free Torque (Lite) app.
This also lets you set up a dashboard on your phone with all kinds of cool gauges that operate off the car's OBD like: Speed, Trip Speed, Acceleration, Coolant Temp, etc.

BROlando

You can switch to/from synthetic whenever you want.

yep.

mrgold35

I've been on syn oil on my TSX since my first oil change back in 2006. Syn oil has a smaller molecule and that helps to get into engine parts better to lubricate and cause less wear during start up. Syn oil does a better job with temp extremes and flows better at any temp since you might experience all 4 seasons between oil changes. Syn oil also does a good job with reducing engine wear because the oil doesn't break down as fast or produce the same levels of acid like regular oil can.

The issue the mechanic might be thinking of is an engine designed for regular oil might start to burn more syn oil if you switch because the smaller molecules can slip easier between the cylinder rings. Old engines with a little wear might have more sludge build-up and that might help with limiting oil burning. Switching to syn oil might clear out the sludge and cause the engine to burn a bit more oil. The benefits of syn oil for your type of driving far out weights any minor downside of burning a little extra oil. I would switch to syn oil and check my oil often to get a feel for and consumption between changes. The Acura 2.4L i-Vtec engine might just be the best I-4 on the road then and now. I would be surprised if there is any change in oil consumption switching to syn oil.

I use zero syn oil between my 5,000 miles oil changes in my TSX and RDX (RDX has the 2.3L Turbo version of the 2.4L engine). Both vehicles have +140,000 miles on them.

hitesthonda

Great - Thanks again!
Here's a good article I found on Synthetic Oil.

A few more questions if you don't mind:
Should the water pump be changed proactively. I heard this was a problem area on 2004 TSX's.
Is the Idler Pulley mentioned the same thing as the tensioner?

Howard

hitesthonda

I think the tires are still pretty good.
They are 5 years old and have 17,000 miles.
The car is always garaged and seldom out in winter weather.
I don't see any rot.

.

BROlando

I haven't heard of water pump problems. On my 06, I changed it at 100k...and will do so again at 200K. I use Honda Genuine coolant.

I wouldn't worry about the water pump yet.

If you're doing a drive belt, the idler pulley for the drive belt is a good idea. At 100K, my drive belt tensioner was rattling...even with a new belt. So I changed that also.


Again...at ~50K, you don't need much.

mrgold35

I would probably change the anti-freeze instead of the water pump since the fluid is over 10 years old. If the tires were getting closer to the 10 year mark or over, I would think about new ones. Keep in mind the donut spare is no different and your are already +13 year on that (new dount down the road or goto a full size spare).

I've heard NYC has some of worst pot holes. I would check the alignment and they can make sure the suspension is A-OK. A lot of times I don't notice suspension issue until I hit hwy speeds if your car is 100% city. I would also make sure there are not any rust related issues you can't see yet under there. I know it is harder to stay rust free on the East coast winter road salts compared to the southwest sunny, low humidity, and +50 degree winter days.

hitesthonda

Hi Guys:
Thanks for all your help.
RE: BROlando; "I am jealous that you live in NYC." - Hey, come visit! It's not all it's cracked up to be (dirty, expensive, congested)

mrgold35; The roads here ARE awful. Yes - full of potholes. My building has a pretty reasonable cost garage. I hardly ever use my car in the city. I am not far from the Queens Midtown Tunnel so I mostly just get in the car and leave Manhattan. The traffic can be awful - sometimes on a weekday afternoon it can take 2 hours to go 15 miles! They currently are doing repairs from Hurricane Sandy damage in the tunnel on weekends so only have one lane each direction open causing horrific traffic delays to get back into NYC on Sunday nights. I don't see any unusual tire wear but I need a rotation soon so I will have them take a look. The TSX seems to hold the alignment pretty well, I have rarely needed it.

mrgold35; As to rust, I rarely go out in the car and bad weather and try to avoid it after a snow as they do use a lot of salt. I am jealous of the sunny Southwest, have had enough Northeast winters. Good advice on the donut - I should get that replaced.

And if anyone can tell me - Is the Idler Pulley the same thing as a tensioner?

Have a great weekend and a Happy Father's Day, get out and drive those TSX's!

BROlando

I visit NYC all the time! At least 3-5 times a year. Hence my jealousy.

The idler pulley is located on the tensioner. If the whole tensioner is being replaced...so is the pulley.