2000 Accord: clicking noise from the engine

Hello,

For about three or four months now I've been hearing a clicking noise
from the engine of my 2000 Accord (4 cyl; EX) whenever I accelerate the
vehicle. The noise is not loud, but I can reproduce pretty reliably
every time the car is under high load, e.g. AC on, hot weather,
accelerating up a hill. It happens around 3000 rpm or higher, and as
soon as the car shifts up, the noise is gone, only to happen again when
I reach 3000 rpm again.

I took it to the dealer who replaced the spark plugs, telling me that
they needed to be platinum and the ones in there were not. The
transmission also seems ok. One other honda dealer I talked to in town
said that I might need a valve adjustment. He said these cars needed
one at every 30k miles. I have about 66k on my car, and I don't think I
got a valve adjustment at the 60k service (I did not have it done at a
dealer), if ever I needed one.

I have searched through this forum, and I have seen both answers, i.e.
that this model does not need a valve adjustment until 105k+, and that
it needs valve adjustment every 30k.

Can anyone tell me if its necessary? Or if the problem is something
else? The dealer said it would cost me $100. The other dealer told me
to bring the car back when the noise is louder (he couldn't hear it on
the road or reproduce it in the shop).

Thanks,
Hasan.

 

The 2000 Accord 4 cylinder that you describe does in fact specify a
valve adjustment every 30K miles.

If you're hearing clicking that's valve related, it may be too late.

However, you should try using a higher octane fuel to see if that makes
the noise go away. I suspect it will.

If that's the case, you have carbon buildup in your combustion chambers.
Either keep using the higher octane fuel, or get the carbon cleaned out.
You can start slow and inexpensive, by using Techron or similar fuel
additive.

To test, go back to a couple tanks full of lower octane fuel.

 

I have a 2000 Accord and it said adjust vales if noisy, have 66k and the
dealer said maybe adjust at 100k


Gary

 

4 cylinder or 6?

 

I have tried higher octane fuel, and it does make the noise a little
less frequent, but it does not go away.

I have also tried fuel additives also with no success.

 

I strongly suspect that the clicking is pre-ignition,
or knocking, commonly known as pinging. I'm not positive
about the 4 cyl but the 6 cyl definitely has a knock
sensor and should retard the timing slightly to stop
this.

I've been having a similar issue with a brand new 2005 v6.
I get pinging in the 2,200 - 2,700 RPM range under moderate
acceleration, AC on, slight grade. When the transmission
shifts it goes away. I've tried a variety of different
grades of fuel. I seem get the least pinging with Chevron
premium.

When I took the car in for service I told them about it but
could not reproduce it (flat as a pancake for 5 miles around
the shop and the car had Chevron premium in it). They were
kind enough to not think (or at least not tell me) I was an
idiot and even had one of the senior technicians take a ride
with me. Since I could not reproduce the problem he was
clearly slightly skeptical ... until I mentioned that it
happens on a slight grade. They said they would research it
and get back to me but it's been several weeks ...

I suspect that in my case the knock sensor is not fully
sensing the slight pinging or perhaps the control circuit
is not retarding the ignition enough.

At the present I'm not sure what to do about this yet (okay,
there are now a couple of streets I go out of my way not to
drive on).

 

I too have a 2000 accord 4cyl but I've got to tell ya that in my manual
(not Haynes but the actual Honda owners manual) it specifies to "inspect
valve clearances" at 168,000KM (105,000 miles) or "adjust only if
noisy". I had always interpreted that litterally but knowing little
about cars I have no clue if mechanics have found it should be done
sooner based on their experiences with those cars?