[mtts60]

So I picked up a copy of the local newspaper, the Sunday edition and found out that they no longer have a Sunday edition. It is a Saturday and Sunday edition. Anyway, I looked in the classified section. Well I should say the classified page. Page C3 and C4 (two sides of the same page) was the classified ad section. Not one vehicle was mentioned.

There are one or two local classified ad papers that are free and one of them deals exclusively in vehicles. It didn't have anything that I was looking for. It had a grand total of about 20 vehicles. I believe it covers most of the western part of this state.

It looks like online sources such as Craigslist and Autotrader are the only places now.

Such are the joys of living in an area where the population is around 50,000, ~30,000 of that is the city I live in, the rest is the 'suburbs', such as they are in Montana... The nearest 'big city' (of ~35,000) is 70 miles away.

 

[mtts60]

Well, I went ahead and bought that ’15 Sport! They came down in price so it’s in my garage now.

Getting it from there to here was interesting. “There” is 120 miles west of “here”. I had no way to get myself there without also driving a vehicle, so using a U-Haul tow dolly was required. A co-worker let me use his ’15 Chevy Silverado 2500 4x4 crew cab diesel with the 8-foot bed. That thing was huge! Wider and longer than my ’22 Ford Transit I drive at work. I didn’t think that was possible.

I decided to head west the night before and spend the night at a hotel. Maybe 20 minutes after getting his truck, it starts to snow. I’m in an unfamiliar vehicle and it’s snowing harder. It never got to the “what am I doing out here?” stage but it was enough to make me put the truck in 4 high (4WD high range).

Closer to my destination, the snow started to let up. The following morning, it was 20 degrees outside and not snowing, but with 1-2” of new snow on the ground it was going to be a slippery day.

First stop was the bank. We both use the same one so I just transferred a truck load of cash to her account. Then it was off to the U-Haul lot.

The tow dolly was not only covered in snow, but the thing was frozen to the pavement. A crowbar freed it from it’s frozen spot. The owner of the car drove it in to town, in all the snow and slush. So the tires were full of snow, as was the parking lot.

I wiped off as much snow as possible from the dolly, and I lined up both the tow vehicle and the Honda. It took 5 attempts to get the Honda on the dolly! Each time I’d reach the top of the ramps and start sliding left. Not quite enough power and not quite enough traction to get over the top and into the ‘cradle’. Great, I’m thinking, I’m going to damage the car before I even get off the U-Haul lot.

Finally I had enough speed to get the tires where they needed to be on the dolly. It was strapped down and I drove the owner back to her house, about 15 miles away, towing the car behind me.

The trip east is about 70 miles of interstate followed by 60 miles of 2-lane. The interstate was covered in hard-packed snow, which is the last stop on the way to glare ice. 50-55 mph was the rule, and even then I fishtailed twice within about 20 seconds. Nothing real big, but it definitely got my attention.

Farther east the road got better, and about 40 miles from my house the now 2-lane road started to become wet instead of snow-covered. But with temps around 35, ice was still a possibility.

I finally made it home, car and pickup undamaged.

After I dropped the previous owner off, before I started the long drive home:

The snow and slush had melted by the time I got home:

I couldn’t drive it to the car wash (or anywhere) because the insurance wouldn't take effect until tomorrow.

 

[14v6]

What a little adventure that was. Best of luck with your Accord and continuation of your thread.

 

[DARKART]

Your insurance will cover any vehicle you are legally allowed to drive.

 

[mtts60]

Here it is, all cleaned up. Modern Steel Metallic.

 

[mtts60]

Since I couldn’t drive it yesterday due to the insurance not being active until today, I took some time to just look things over, and find out more about my new car.

It came with an aftermarket satellite radio receiver stuck to the shelf in front of the display. Since I don’t pay for radio, little time was wasted in exorcising that from the car. The pawn shop gave me $10 (beer money) for it.

All 5 tires needed air. The spare wasn’t bolted down, but fortunately the large bolt thing was there. The Masonite cover for it is warped. I wonder if it’s possible to un-warp it?

No block heater? It’s unbelievable that a car initially sold in MT does not have one. That’s on the to-do list, but since it’s normally parked in the garage, it’s not a high priority.

I have the startup rattle. I didn’t hear it when I looked at it two weeks ago. Looks like a cam chain tensioner job is in my future.

The car has a Honda remote starter system. If it was any other, I’d consider removing it, but since it’s a Honda system, it stays even though it won’t get much use. It works too.

Oil is at the top hole and the MM is at 80%.

I like how I can set the trip odometers to reset automatically on each fill up. I know, the car can calculate miles-to-walking, but I’ve done it this way forever.

Do these cars have the metal cover under the engine? If so, it’s missing. The plastic covers are there.

It has a strut tower brace. I’ve never had a car with one.

 

[WiiMaster]

Congratulations on the purchase. Looks like you got a pretty nice one. Certainly cleans up well.

It has a strut tower brace. I’ve never had a car with one.

Me neither, until I got my 2012. Can't say I can feel any difference with it being there, but there's also a ton of other variables at play.

 

[mtts60]

Did the first maintenance item on it this weekend: aligned the driver's wiper. When wiping, it wasn't parallel to the A-pillar. It is now.

I thought I threw out my bag of oil plug crush washers last year. No! I still have about 20 of them! Good for another 10 years.

Two of my garage door openers didn't work, so time to round all of them up and see what's going on. I found 4. I have 4? I thought I had only 3. Oh yeah, the extra came from dad's car that was here for a few months last year before I sold it. I only need 3 so one is in the garbage, and another needed a new battery and had to be added to my opener (probably the one from dad's car).

 

[mtts60]

As I was walking up to the car today, I noticed my tires are illegal - the treads are down to the wear bars.

There goes another $900. I ordered 4 Continental Pure Contacts. Since there's no snow or rain in the forecast for the next week, I'll keep driving it.

I knew I'd be buying tires this year, but so soon after getting it is an unwelcome surprise. And I'll have to do it again later this year for winter tires.

 

[mtts60]

The new tires were installed today, Continental PureContact LS. So far they are quieter and appear to have a more supple ride. The old tires (Nokians, one at 2/32", another at 3/32") were hard and noisy.

 

[mtts60]

I went to the dealer today to see if the transmission TSB 16-053 was done. Good news - it was, a few years ago. Plus, since it was serviced primarily at another Honda dealer, they were able to see that and printed all of it's Honda service history (15 pages). So now I have that in my binder.

And, I was introduced to a new employee (new to me since I've been MIA at the dealer since the crash): Zoey, a 3-year-old chocolate Lab who comes to work every day. 🐶 Her human is one of the service writers.

 

[Ash051]

Zoey sounds adorable- would love to see pictures if you ever get the chance!

 

[14v6]

Nice find on the service history and that removes a lot of question marks now. On a sad note, today marks 5 weeks since we put down our 15 year old chocolate lab, Cadbury. He is so missed and the happiness that he spread to everyone.

 

[mtts60]

Sorry to hear about your dog. What a great name for a chocolate Lab!

 

[mtts60]

It is nice to have that old service information. Reviewing it tonight, I found that the battery was the subject of a few service calls. It tested OK in May 2018, then shows "diagnostic needed" in March 2019, then tested OK in March 2020, then replaced in March 2021, then replaced again in December 2021, which appears to have been a part-warranty replacement since it was installed less than a year prior. In one of those battery replacement jobs, they forgot to re-install the black plastic box around it, so I need to order one.

The battery management sensor was checked (or replaced, not sure) under recall 17-069 in May 2018.

Something going on with the battery? The car does have a Honda-brand remote starter and it did have an external XM satellite receiver that I have since removed. It plugged in to the power socket below the radio. I wonder if they left it plugged in and had some kind of parasitic draw.

The brake fluid was changed in 2019, and the CVT fluid at 49,285 miles.

 

[14v6]

Maybe you could do the V6 battery mod. Some threads about it. Probably a good idea in your cold temps.

 

[mtts60]

First major wrenching job was done today. I replaced the cam chain tensioner. While under the bumper removing clips for that job, I noticed a few missing clips and a tear in the bottom of the bumper cover on that side. Nothing major; I just need a bag of those push-pin retainers and everything will be back in order. That will probably wait until I install the block heater, which requires removing the bumper cover to run the AC power cord.

A few nights ago I found a copy of the pre-delivery inspection that dealers are supposed to do on 2015's, and it shows one step to install 4 body plugs. Since I had the front in the air today, I found that I need 4 body plugs....

 

[frogvtec]

Nice find on the service history and that removes a lot of question marks now. On a sad note, today marks 5 weeks since we put down our 15 year old chocolate lab, Cadbury. He is so missed and the happiness that he spread to everyone.

So sorry about Cadbury, but know he is in a better place. Hope things are well and hope you folks feel better. Labs are super smart and very family. lol.

@mtts60. Keep up the diary and post more pics! Invaluable member!

 

[mtts60]

^^^ thanks!

Took the unused $125 cam chain tensioner (CCT) filter screen back to the dealer today; minus the restocking charge (it was a special order), that's about $100 back on the card.

What a bill this month was. $950 for tires, $150 for the trailer to tow the car home, $150 for one year's registration, $100 for the hotel where I stayed the night before I got the car, $75 for the CCT itself, and $75 to fill my friend's diesel truck that towed the car. And that's in addition to the usual expenses!

Knowing about the battery issues the original owner had, I looked at it yesterday. All cells needed a llittle bit of water, but the cell on the far left (closest to the body) had exposed plates. It took about an ounce of water by itself.

 

[sequoiasoon]

For the battery you could do a parasitic draw test yourself if you have DVM. I get confused now sometimes between DA and CRV owners club. The CRV's and maybe others had an issue with the AC relay getting stuck. It would keep the clutch engaged when power was off. My daughters CRV had that and my brother-in-law never listened to me when I offered suggestions from searches. He went through 3-4 Honda batteries under warranty. When I got the vehicle it had a large parasitic draw from that. Swapped to new relay and issue was solved.

Either the CRV's or some Accords also had an issue with I think a factory bluetooth adapter that was also causing a large draw.

Car looks very nice when clean. Good Luck with it.

With the frame plugs missing think about maybe doing a flush higher pressure wash with some Salt Away or similar. Sealing up the holes with damp salt could make things worse. I lost (got rid of) the Sequoia due to everything rotting out from salt. Toyota even had frame recall because of it. The Pilot as replacement got Fluid Film treatment done when new. Wish I would have done that on the Sequoia.