Honda Forum

[LenBo]

Hello - I am a new member and I have a problem.
Any advice or comments would be gratefully received.
I hope my screed is not too long or booring.


A TALE OF WOE - A CLUTCH OF PROBLEMS.


HONDA ACCORD 2.2 i-CTDi SPORT TOURER. 55 PLATE.

During May of 2007 we purchased a Honda Accord 2.2 CTDi Sports Tourer from the local Honda dealer in Bedford.
We actually live in the West Country – Weston-Super-Mare – and spotted this car in the showroom whilst visiting our son in Bedfordshire.
The purpose of the purchase was to upgrade our car for a more suitable towing vehicle for our newly aquired caravan.
This particular model had recently been reviewed by the Caravan Club as Tower for its year.
Although it had a ‘55’ plate it only had 6,000 genuine miles on the clock having been used as a Demo car.

Within a few days of taking delivery, and prior to any towing, my wife and I took a short trip to Cornwall. It was on this journey that I experienced difficulty with building up revs, - for example after slowing down for roundabouts and then pulling away.
On our return I took the car to our local Honda dealer and mentioned this problem to them. Their response was that I was probably not used to this car. I then asked them if they could road test this car for me and was told that they could but it would cost me £80 or so. I was reluctant to do this and resolved to mention this to the selling dealer on my next trip to Bedford. Needless to say none of this was recorded and in fact the problem seemed not to reappear.
We then had a towing hitch fitted and happily went caravanning.

I had researched the Kerbweight of the Accord as 1575 Kilos with a maximum towing weight of 1500Ks. Our caravan was a 2005 Lunar Lexon EB with MTPLM of 1400 Kilos.

In January of 2008 with 12000 miles on the clock I was returning the car to the Bedford dealer for its first service.
On this trip, minus the caravan, without warning, the clutch played up and I barely made Bedford.
Of our 6,000 miles of ownership we had towed for a maximum of 1,000 miles – this is being generous – and had not had any indications of any problems.
I battled my Warranty corner with both Honda and the dealer but without success. However Honda did provide the clutch and the dealer and I shared the labour costs.

All seemed well.

Now in February 2010 and 24,000 miles later (total of 36,000 miles on the clock) I take up the story of the present day problem.
The clutch has failed again !!!
Of the subsequent 24,000 miles - at the extreme - we have towed 4,000 miles – and again this is very generous. 80% plus of our towing has been either motorways or ‘A’ roads with minimal town work or traffic jams etc.
We have had no warning of any problem and in fact have not towed since October 2009 – for over four months - and in fact have not done any journey more than 40 miles since then.

I have been driving for almost fifty years and towing caravans for more than seven.
I have only ever experienced one clutch failure and this in a diesel car with over 120,000 miles on the clock.

I am seeking advice and comments on my latest problem.
Obviously I shall have to have the clutch replaced – again.
Two clutch replacements in 30,000 miles of ownership.

I am not very familiar with mechanical problems.
However I am told that diesel cars generally have a poor clutch record.
Also that there may be a problem with the Dual Mass Drive Wheel – all foreign to me.

Could the problem be with me and my driving or with towing weights etc. or is anyone aware of any history attached to Honda or Honda Diesels giving similar problems.
I would appreciate hearing from anyone on this matter.
Thank you in advance.

Naturally I have lost confidence with this car.
I intend to replace it with a ‘tank’ of sorts. We are keen to continue caravanning.
Could anyone comment on automatic gearboxes for towing.
Again, Thank You in Advance.

Best Wishes and Happy Everythings,

Len Bullock, Weston-SUPER-Mare, Summmmerset.

[dribs]

Just read your tale of woe. I have just "joined" the Honda owners website. I'm afraid to say I'm not a Honda owner-yet. However I did have a Toyota RAV4 2.0 diesel. Just out of warranty and with less than 50,000 miles on the clock (and never having towed a caravan) the flywheel and clutch went- a rather expensive repair! It seems that many diesels ( Ford, Audi, VW, Skoda, Land Rover) had what is termed a Dual Mass Flywheel, supposedly beefier to cope with the torque of a diesel engine. Unfortunately, because of what I can only imagine must have been a design fault these DMFs "break" internally and the whole flywheel-clutch assembly goes out of line and you are in to big money repairs. I fought Toyota who initially refused to admit it was a known design problem, but they eventually paid part of the cost with bad grace. If you find the Toyota owners website you will see lots of detailed information on the subject. Sadly, it has put me off ever buying a diesel engined car though dealers all claim that this problem has been resolved. I have to say I have never heard of this fault affecting Honda vehicles, but who knows! Sorry this is not too helpful but maybe it will help you track down the problem.

[orallissatact]

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