My 2004 Honda Accord is about to hit 250k miles, and little things are starting to break down as expected. I’ll probably get rid of it by spring time, but I want to cross the 250k mark, as I’ve successfully reached that figure with all 4 cars I’ve owned in my life.
Anyway, I have a couple of questions:
Right at the end of summer, the coolant for the A/C ran out and it stopped working. It wasn’t worth repairing, since I don’t plan on having the car next summer. But around the same time, the A/C light that shows if the A/C is on also stopped working without my knowledge. As a result, the A/C was “on” for the last couple of months and I had no idea. Has my car been utilizing more gas during this period, even if the A/C isn’t working? Or did the absence of coolant prevent the higher gas usage?
When my front blinker goes out, the interior indicator and rear blinker blink as double speed. Is this just a function of the circuitry, or is it planned? Because not only does it tell me that my blinker isn’t working, it also tells the potential cop behind me.
50% of the time, it tells the cop behind you. The other 50% of the time, the fact that you didn’t apparently signal your change at all (due to the burned out turn bulb on that side) tells the cop behind you.
The value as an indicator to you hypothetically outweighs the increased risk, as long as you don’t just sit on a burned-out turn indicator for months at a time.
ETA: and if you do ignore a burned out bulb for months at a time, you deserve the ticket.
Your a/c clutch has a low pressure sensor that will not allow the compressor to kick on when it is low on freon so it should not have been running even though it was turned on.
On every car I’m familiar with, if there’s not enough refrigerant in the A/C system it won’t engage the compressor clutch. In other words, it’s smart enough not to turn the A/C on if it knows it won’t work. The compressor is your big load on the engine while the A/C is running, so if the compressor won’t kick on then you won’t be using additional gasoline.
The blinker module is designed to blink faster if it detects that a bulb is out. It’s by design.
ETA: HoneyBadgerDC’s post wasn’t there when I started typing (dang ninjas)
Thanks. In terms of the blinkers, I figured it would be better if there was just some interior indicator that a light is out. But perhaps most people find the quick blinking to be annoying enough to replace the bulb earlier.
I don’t know about modern blinkers, but on my cars I think they flashed faster because the resistance of the failed bulb was gone. The relay expects four bulbs and flashes at the correct rate. If there are only three, it speeds up.
some cars have such a feature, but it’s not universal. when it comes to adding features, there’s a cost involved and there needs to be a business case for adding the feature.
older cars used to not blink at all when a turn signal bulb burned out.
My work van is a 2005 Chevy. The mechanic explained it as bob++ did - not so much a feature but as a function of the design. Having some indication of a failed bulb doesn’t hurt, but you still have to do a walk around regularly to check other bulbs anyway.
In older vehicles if the turn signal was blinking fast it indicated a failing blinker module that needed to be replaced rather than a burnt out bulb.
My dad has just over 270k on his 2004 Accord LX. The only thing outside of regular maintenance that it has needed was a new stereo head unit last year. I found one at a salvage yard online for $125 and installed it for him. Otherwise it’s still going strong.
He had a 1992 Accord EX before the 2004 and it had 322k miles on it when he sold it. The transmission had to be replaced at 280k but was bulletproof otherwise…
What are you planning to get to replace the Accord?