My 2004 Honda Accord EX: The Perfect Commuter, In Trying Times

My Accord looked just like this! Courtesy of the Curbside Cohort Saud Al-Olay

By June of 2004, it was time to say goodbye to the Infinity G20.  It had served us well, and our mechanic said it was time to let it go.  We had the 300M as a family car, but that’s not to say I couldn’t take it over and make it my commuter car.  In the end, we made a practical decision and bought a 2004 Honda Accord EX.

When we started looking, we discussed the idea that I could take over the 300M and buy Bobbi a new car.  We started our search by looking at a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country minivan that had been traded at our local Chevy Cadillac dealer.  It had almost 35,000 miles on it, and the price wasn’t bad, but we’d had a few annoying issues with the 300M, and our local Chrysler dealer was not very good.  I suggested we look at SUVs.  They were becoming the family vehicle of choice, with various options.  I test drove a Mercury Mountaineer, which was ok, and a Buick Rainier, which wasn’t horrible.  However, gas prices in the metro area increased in 2004, and I didn’t want to drive such a big vehicle and pay over $1.50 a gallon for gas.  This would prove fortuitous when gas prices spiked after Katrina in 2005.  I had a 30-mile commute one way, and I did go on sales calls, so gas mileage was a consideration. With all that in mind, we started to narrow down our search.

It so happened that Road & Track had done a comparison test of midsize cars in the February 2003 issue.  In that test, they compared 6-cylinder models of the VW Passat, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Mazda 6, and the Honda Accord.  I still had that issue, and so I went back and reread it. I had always liked the VW Passat, but I didn’t want the maintenance costs.  Mazda had just introduced the new Mazda 6, which I found intriguing, but there was not a Mazda dealer close to home, so I never went to test-drive it.  We narrowed the list down to Toyota and Honda; my only criterion was that I wanted a sunroof. I set a budget of less than $25,000, though Bobbi did say we could spend more.  We did consider both the Sienna and Odyssey minivans, but in the end, we chose the Accord EX.

The 2004 Accord was the second year of the 7th generation, and we chose the 4-cylinder with cloth interior.  Honda still differentiated the cloth found in the EX from the lower trims and, with the red, our interior was in a nice gray with brushed aluminum looking accents throughout the car–even on the back doors. With the EX, came a sunroof, 16 inch alloy wheels, a six-disc CD changer, keyless entry (the buttons were on the key-so cool), AC, power windows, power locks, cruise control, and power mirrors.  The engine, with 161 horsepower, was more powerful than the G20’s so the car had plenty of power.  We chose Redondo Red as it was exclusive to the EX trim and we thought we’d never see it on the road.  We were mistaken.

Driving the Accord the first couple of weeks of ownership, I came to realize how many thoughtful touches Honda put into their cars.  For example, if the windshield wipers were set to intermittent, the wipers would swipe when you took your foot off the brake if you were stopped.  The center console had a two level store compartment with a tray for your phone (which Honda needs to bring back in their new Accords).  The stereo controls and cruise control buttons were laid out logically on the steering wheel so I could change tracks and stations without moving my hands from the wheel.

However, the coolest thing was the ambient light above the center console.  We bought the car in June so I had not driven the car much at night.  One evening, I had gone to a work function and was returning home as the sun was setting.  I kept seeing the orange glow and couldn’t figure out how the sun was shining at such an odd angle.  Finally stopping, I held out my hand and saw this orange light on it.  Looking up, there was the orange ambient light shining down.  I thought that was the coolest thing about the car.

My commute settled down nicely.  The Accord was pleasant to drive and certainly had enough luxury features to make things comfortable.  The AC handled the humid DC summers nicely, and it was powerful enough to keep up with beltway speeds.  Driving up 295 into DC was always an experience, but the Accord handled it beautifully.

However, not all was sweetness and light. I had owned the car for about 18 months when the lights on the dashboard would come on, and the car would stall.  I took it to the dealer and described the problem.  They looked at it and said nothing was wrong.  I drove it to work the next day, and all seemed fine until a couple of days later.  Driving home, the car did it again.  This time, I drove straight to the dealer and said something was wrong with the car.  Again, they checked it out and said nothing was wrong.

I was becoming concerned and seriously contemplating trading it in.  However, everything seemed to work until a couple of days later when it happened again.  This time, I went back to the dealer and said that something was really wrong with the car and that they needed to look at it, “I need a loaner car because I am not taking it back until you fix it.  It’s dangerous.”  I was just at 36,000 miles, so the warranty was almost up, and I was mad.

The dealer gave me a rental car and kept the Accord for the day.  They drove it everywhere, but could not repeat the issue.  In talking to my advisor, I said something like drive it for 30 miles, as it always happens on my commute.  I called later that day to see if they had found the problem.  My service advisor started saying there was nothing wrong, she then said to hold, and then came back on the line and said they needed to keep the car overnight.

They kept the car for almost three weeks.  They replaced the control modules and the engine computer, but still did not solve the issue.  In the end, they brought in an engineer from Honda.  Apparently, my car was the first car on the East Coast and the third in the nation–the other two were in California–to have this problem. It turned out there was an issue in the fuse box, where it would overheat, which caused the car to stall.  Honda replaced the fuse box, and there was a recall for that issue after that, but I don’t know how many cars were involved.  Everything was covered under warranty, and I didn’t pay a cent.  After that, the car was great.

I had left The Washington Times to go to Roll Call in 2007, so my commute took me to Capitol Hill.  Working at Roll Call meant I could take the metro or taxis to sales calls, so the Accord was only used for commuting.  I had started as a retail manager, but a position opened up on the National Sales Team, and I became a sales rep.  I had never dreamed that I would leave management, but a friend told me I would find it liberating.  He said, “You will miss being a manager for five days, but after that, you’ll love it.”  He was right.  Not managing people was the greatest thing.  I carried a quota that was dependent on me, and I ran with it.  The 2008 election was behind, and advertisers wanted to reach Congress and the new administration.  Selling advertising was exciting and lucrative, and I was in a great position.

Things had been going great, but 2010 brought some dramatic changes.  First, we had new managers at work, and they were under tremendous pressure to hit the sales goal; I ended up leaving for a new company, which was a mistake.  In the meantime, Bobbi’s mom wasn’t feeling well.  She went to the doctor, and the diagnosis was Multiple Myeloma.  Her mom needed help, so Bobbi, her brother, and her uncle all took turns spending time with her mom in Pittsburgh.  This worked for about a month, until her brother was in a terrible car accident.  He ended up as a quadriplegic and spent several months in Baltimore Shock Trauma and the Sheppard Center in Atlanta.  Bobbi and her uncle had to tell her mom about the accident, and I had to tell the girls.

My mother was not one to panic, and I learned from her that if you present something and do not show stress or worry, no one will panic.  At breakfast, I told the girls that their uncle had been in a car accident and was at a hospital in Baltimore.  I never told them how serious his injuries were until just before they saw him again in June.

That summer, Bobbi and the girls stayed in Pittsburgh, and I’d drive up every weekend in the Accord.  On Sundays, I’d take backroads home to avoid the turnpike and prolong the trip so I wasn’t spending so much time alone at home.  By the fall, Bobbi was alternating weeks with her uncle, so she was home one week and then in Pittsburgh the next week.  Her mom was in hospice, and the decline came rapidly.  Bobbi’s brother was able to leave the rehab center, and they were both there when her mom died.  This time, the girls and I drove to Pittsburgh in the Accord for the funeral.

After Bobbi’s mom died, things resumed a new normal.  We were still making trips to Pittsburgh to see my parents and clean out her mom’s house.  Her brother could not help with labor, but he helped in other ways.  We were able to settle things, and by the summer of 2011, her mom’s house was sold.  I left my previous company and joined a new firm, which was a much better fit. My commute was greatly improved as I now drove to Arlington.

That year, between Christmas and New Year, I came across a house for sale.  It was one that Bobbi had found years ago and had fallen in love with.  In her words, it was her dream house.  We decided to put in an offer, and it was accepted.  We had a new house and a lot of stuff to move.  We hired movers, but we used the Accord to move certain things.  With the rear seat folded down, I was able to fit paintings, crystal, and other things in the car for safe passage.

By this time, my Accord had 200,000 miles on it, and I was ready for something new.  It had been a great car, and I have lots of memorable drives on backroads with the sunroof open, listening to music.  In my next car, I wanted Bluetooth, a navigation system, and a way to stream music.  In the meantime, a friend of mine wanted a used Accord, and he asked if I would sell mine to him.  I was concerned as my car had 200,000 miles, but he said that my car was always well-maintained at the dealer, which it was, and he knew he was getting a good car.  I sold it to him for $4,000.00 and made sure it was washed for him to take delivery.  I was sad to see it go, but excited for my new car.