Many years ago, I was the manager of an auto parts store, and an elderly gentleman came in and bought two of our top-of-the-line batteries for his RV. A little while later, he called me and told me that both of the batteries were bad! I told him to bring them back and I would take care of him. When he got back to the store, I went out to carry the batteries in and test them. The first thing I noticed was that the black plastic caps were still on the negative terminals, and both of them had scratches on the plastic where the gentleman had installed the cables OVER the plastic! I told him, "I think I see the problem", and as he watched, I removed the caps! I then tested both batteries, which showed to be perfect. Of course, I did NOT smirk or make light of the situation... this man was a retired Sergeant Major in the army, and his eyesight was not what it used to be. We ended up being friends for several years until his passing...
God bless you and the patience you've shown to others. Your story serves as a good reminder to slow down and be graceful when others make mistakes and it's your position to help fix them.
@@robwaters8848 in my store whenever I sell batteries a actively remove most battery caps to A. Prevent people from forgetting but also B. to use them on the old cores to stop them from sparking.
I hope you don’t accept that customer anymore that did the chargeback on the card. That was absolute arrogance that not only pushed their way in but also didn’t pay.
That’s audacity. Paying the Wizard for a half and hour of his time is not only fair, but should serve as a lesson learned. She should be grateful of his honesty.
These are the kind of folks that should be sued. She is as you rightly pointed out, she is arrogant. How on earth can she not see or know how much gas she bought or when it finished.
You know wizard, I really like when you ask your viewers “ what do you think is wrong “ and give us a set of options to choose from. Thanks for all you do.
2005 Accord has 248,000 miles. I love the car and hope to keep it rolling well past 300,000. No check engine, no knock, no automatic trans issues. Do my ATF every 20k and oil every 5k :)
@@jack8356 slowly increasing intervals; prev owner did not change fluid as often as manual suggests (wanna say 60-90k?) so i was slowly replacing what was in there w new stuff. next change will be more miles in between. ATF-DW-1 is expensive lol
@@jack8356 If it's the 5spd automatic, that is one thing you can do to hopefully extend the life of the trans. They are notorious for failure in the older ones.
@@jack8356 Our '13 Accord with the 4 cylinder has the CVT. I change the fluid roughly every 30k. 160, 000 miles and no problems with it. The CVT is very tough on the trans fluid and that service has to be done on them to keep them in good shape.
The highlight is crystal clear, the paint shines in like-new condition. You can tell this car has been taken care of with love and diligence. Very nice!!
@@granddya5323 Not the point tho. Plus having a clean engine bay is just a tiny part of maintenance and also if something is leaking etc... it's easier to spot where
Yes. Yes. Yes. Something I ran into SEVERAL TIMES when I was still turning wrenches at the dealership. I tell people ALLLLL the time. Even when you get to your destination and park. Turn off EVERYTHING. Your radio, AC , Unplug chargers, make sure you turn off ANY LIGHTS. 75% of the time that I've seen. It's the simplest of things that DO, get over looked
Anytime I've done something really dumb like that, I've never questioned the bill and even consider it a 'stupid tax' completely on me. Hence, I usually avoid doing something kinda dumb. I never hold such stuff against my mechanic.
It should have a timer at the battery level for dead pull. I had my Odyssey run out because the AC was being used with the engine off. Many people don't know enough about cars to guess that would kill the battery. It's a safety issue on both sides maybe, But it should really be dummy proof to prevent totally draining the battery down.
In my opinion, it’s more in how you take care of your car. It’s great that your parents follow the service intervals as they should. I’ve had co-workers with Hondas and Toyotas on their last leg due to lack of maintenance. Maintenance I think is the key to long lasting cars.
100% maintenance makes or breaks the vehicle. My wife owned a 2010 Kia Rio down here in Australia. Put like 180,000km’s on it and it ran perfectly when it came time to upgrade. Never leaked (which I found odd the Wizard made a comment about Kia’s) or had any mechanical issues. Was a great little car and my wife loved it. I own a 2007 Mazda 3 Sedan and it’s got 218,000km’s on it and runs great too. Maintenance really is everything.
I agree. I just posted how I’ve seen several Fords and Kias on their original engine and trans. clock over 200,000 miles. I also agree with the wizard about his comments about Late model GM vehicles having issues prematurely as I have had a Chevy dealer in 2019 tell me my wife’s 2015 Chevy Trax had 80,000 miles, so leaks and electrical issues were to be expected. We traded that p.o.s in for a 2013 Ford Escape right away.
Exact same thing that happened to my mom's 2010 Accord. After that, I've caught the dome/map light on a handful of times, as I come home late in the evenings and can see the interior lit.
I’ve only ever driven Hondas in my life. I had the same 8th gen as your parents. It was a great car. Mine was fully loaded so it looked a little different with black leather. The only thing about this car was it had an 18 gallon tank and took a lot of fuel to fill it. Always great cars as long as you take care of them.
My folks have an ‘09 with around 240k, has had no major issues and pops keeps up on the maintenance. Very comfy sedan, I did buy him a new set of headlights housings as a gift and installed them. He said it looks brand new. Very reliable vehicle.
I bought a one year old ex rental car. The only problem I found with it was that the dome light didn't work. Thinking it needed a new bulb I removed the cover to see what bulb I needed and found there wasn't one fitted. I now wonder if it was taken out by the rental company to avoid dead batteries.
@@lescobrandon6327 depends on a lot of other factors. age of the battery, temprature, parasitic load from stupid modules in modrn cars. yeah they can die in just a few hours.
My solution for interior lights is to replace them all with low drawing LED's, I have left interior lights on over night and the battery was still good.
I did that I my acadia, and some of the leds went bad and they started staying on (very dim until the door opened) all the time. That killed my battery... not drained it, I had to replace it.
I'm surprised that an incandescent bulb had a high enough draw to flatten the battery. A 10W bulb will draw less than an Amp so a fully charged battery should last for several days.
My 2012 Accord got me that way once. The interior lights will not turn off automatically after "X" amount of time. Honda must've finally stepped up to the 21st century and heard complaints from customers and my 2017 interior lights turn off automatically, no matter how they're set, once the doors are locked. Yes, I checked. I sit in my cars a lot and it matters to me. My 12 and 17 Accords are really good cars and I agree with the Wizard that these are cars to buy. My 17 is my seventh Honda in 30 years. Just stay on top of their maintenance.
I was in Vancouver in 1999, at my inlaws. A friend of theirs turned up in a new car to show it off. It wouldn't start after just being parked. Handbrake on, was in park and full of gas. They were flummoxed. I hopped in and noticed that he hadn't centred the steering wheel. Sure enough the steering lock was on and disabled the ignition. Wheel straight and car started.
First car (and still current daily) is a 2.4 accord from 2010 with the manual transmission, love the thing, never given me any serious problems that weren't my fault. 185k miles, some new brakes, and she's running strong, great cars
Wizard, I get your frustration. I really do. It just seems like people are set in their ways and willfully ignorant about the simplest of things, and always try to make it your problem when something goes wrong. I've seen your "to buy/not to buy" videos twice over. My mom has owned a 2011 GMC Acadia since it was new. I told her to trade it in ASAP when it started idling rough. "But I like it there's nothing wrong with it". I even sent her your videos on the 3.6 V6. Then the A/C died. Then the water pump. Then the timing chains. Thousands in repairs. Then finally the fuel pump went out and it wouldn't start. This thing has only 115k on it. Got it towed to the dealership. They said "bad transmission". Seriously? Then why wouldn't it start??? They offered her 500 dollars trade-in. I pleaded with her, GET SOMETHING ELSE. Bet you'll never guess what she pulled up in this morning. I just laughed and laughed. Sorry for the rant, I'm just so frustrated right now and suddenly I just realized that I bet you go through this on a daily basis sometime multiple times a day.
This is the LONGEST STORY in the world! This guy likes the sound of his own voice. He goes on and on, checks everything BUT the battery drain. He finds a light on but it takes 20 minutes of jibber jabber! The tour of the chassis, a look at the muffler, and every nut and bolt will drive you crazy!!
Hi Wizard and Mrs Wizard, I was a Tow Truck Driver and Mechanic for 21 years before my hands gave out and cars got more complicated. People would always ask me what car should I get, Toyota Camry or Honda Accord. Personally when I lived up North I had a 75 Impala with a 350 with AC. Easy shop class car and easy to get parts and No Computer. Thank You Great Videos and God Bless 🙏
I have a story very similar to Mr Wizard's parents story. I too and retired and don't drive very often, sometimes up to a couple of weeks or more apart, so during the winter time with the normal drain on the battery from my 1998 GMC pick up truck, it could drain enough to the point of it not starting, I ruined a couple of batteries that way. ANYWAY just recently I noticed my 4 amp Harbor Freight charger screen kept showing red, meaning it was charging instead of maintaining the battery. This went on for several days, finally one day I was walking past the truck and glanced at the interior only to notice the overhead light was on, how or why, it got turned on, I don't know. I turned it off and now the Harbor Freight charger is back to showing me the green screen, meaning it is maintaining it.
About 10 yrs ago, when my son was 5 or so he was able to click on the little reading light, on the roof , next to the right rear door. I started having issues like this honda. (2007 Infiniti G35.) Replaced the battery, which it probably needed. Still kept draining the battery. What a pain in the a**. Hopefully new cars have LED lights that don't drain batteries like that. Or why doesn't the car have a mechanism that just shuts lights off automatically? I mean if I unlock my car with the key fob, if I don't enter the car within one minute it locks the car up.
This video was very interesting because yes...almost everyone has had this happen. In my case it was an after market Alarm System. I took it back to the alarm place that installed it. I had to threaten to get a lawyer. Which I did talk to a Paralegal. So after about a week...the shop replaced it with no charge after I gave them a bad review on YELP. Thanx for the well appreciated video!!
Bro, that story you told towards the end of the video; Some people shouldn't be operating cars haha. It's like that one episode from Spongebob where Patrick gets a brand new hot rod and he threw it away because the fuel gauge was on "E for end" 🤣🤣
I got the 2011 accord, 2.4 liter with Nav. Purrs like a kitten - change the oil every 3k . did the transmission oil and filter myself, slotted rotors myself. Gotta get some new headlights. Bought it in 2020, has 218k highway miles. Still strong, no oil burning at all.. But I admit I still my NX2000...
Car Wizard I'm glad it was a simple fix. Sorry to hear about your story with that customer that did the charge back. I mean here you are trying to help someone out, just to have them pull that s###. Glad to see you stay humble and calm about it. Glad to see you keep a positive attitude as well. Your videos are very informative and helpful! Keep up the great work! And Wizard, If you ever get to Wisconsin, I'd like to buy you a beer!
In my 2015 Accord, if you leave the map light or the leave the trunk open and the trunk light on, the lights will automatically turn off after a while. I think this was designed to prevent battery drain
I installed remote starters for 15 years. I can't count the number of times a customer came in saying their mechanic told them a remote starter was draining the battery. Not one time was that the case. Not to say it doesn't happen, but its pretty uncommon unless it is a VERY old system that has gone bad. Most mechanics are just lazy and immediately blame anything aftermarket for a battery drain.
During my time in a garage whenever a car with an aftermarket remote start came in with a starting issue it was on the usual suspect list. If it wasn't something else quickly noticeable I would disconnect. There was a few times that the problem was solved.
I’ve had many civics and many accords, I currently have a 2020 Accord that I love. But this Accord is still such a beautiful design and I absolutely love it. If I wasn’t currently paying for nursing school I would by one just to have one.
We have this same car with the V6. It was a relay draining the battery. Unrelated, but the VCM (vtech cylinder management) on those cars is a horrendous mechanical travesty (anyone who knows of the Honda lawsuit knows what I'm talking about.) I pulled the valve cover and one side of the engine looked brand new (230k), the cylinders that shut off looked cooked and far older. I put a tuner on it and it cut down on the oil consumption and misfire problems a bit.
I have a '14 Accord with a manual transmission.😎 211,000 miles, bought new. Only unschedule normal repair was a sun visor. 😀 I think it is the correct, mine has a very small battery with space for a much bigger one. The base four is plenty fast. With traction control on, it will chirp the tires first to second at 30 mph. Took it in for it's first wheel alignment at 185,000 miles, everything was in specs.
I had a boss who was very proud of his luxury car... until he had this battery drain problem. It was well before the Internet and thus hard to find info on this vehicle's common problems. Acting on a hunch I told him to put his 14 year old son in the boot (trunk) and close the lid. His son shouted that the boot's courtesy light was staying on. His father said that he was tempted to leave his son in there anyway... but he let him out and then examined the plunger/spring switch....broken and earthing occasionally even when the lid was closed .....so then he replaced it.....solving the otherwise "hidden" problem.
You said in a video that you loved the Nissan Cube because you don't bang your head against the B pillar getting out. I have a 2008 Honda Civic 2dr with nothing wrong with it... but I'm too tall for it. I've taken your advice for my next car and keeping in in the Honda or Toyota family. Or a sorted La Sabre V6 that is sorted... cruising grandpa style! Thanks for the honesty in each video!
Wizard. New to the channel and I am enjoying the videos. My Dad had a 1988 Mustang LX and had a slow drain he could not figure out. Battery and alternator worked as they should. Drive the car every day, everything was fine. Let it sit for a few days, battery would go dead. He eventually gave the car to me and I daily drove it. Problem still was there but I drove it enough that it was not a bother. Fast forward to a day in traffic, sitting in the car looking around and I flipped the visor down in my boredom and noticed the visors had courtesy lights for the vanity mirrors and the light on my (drivers side) visor was on. The switch had failed and it was stuck on. Got home and took the visor down, unplugged the light and lived happily ever after. It is the little things that can bite us.
I have an 2008 pilot and I leave that exact same light on because when you turn off the key the lights turn on so you can’t tell light is on. I put good quality sylvania led bulbs and that helped alot. I have left that same light on for days and it didn’t kill battery
Car Wizard, thanks for showing us your parents' car - and reminding me - when I need a reason not to go for a japanese car - where to look for the reason (the reason will appear when I'm totally fed up with constantly fixing my 2008 audi A6 - now I'm about 90% there to need the said reason). So the reason would be RUST - as said thousands of times, and as experienced personally (had a 2004 Lancer since it was new until 240 000 km) - but it shows time and time again. All the underside, all the bolts, fittings, weld points - they're much, much more rusted on this Honda - than on my 2008 audi - and I live in a country where winter salt is being applied with no mercy whatsoever. Even yesterday, when changing the brake pads and discs on the said car - I was dumb-struck once and again - all the bolts are extremely easy to get lose, there are no rusted or dead bolts (which I found a lot on my previous mitsu - and this Honda seems to have lots of them, too) - I don't know, there's something about rust protection both on the body of the car, but also all the fittings and threaded fasteners seem to be made of higher class metal or something. Yes, the damn alternator (or the steering pump, or the belt tensioner, or the dampener, or the water pump, etc, etc) cannot be removed without REMOVING ENTIRE FRONT of the car - but that said, you almost never end up cursing for hours because of the inability to losen one or two bolts. The audi kinda redeems itself somewhat in this respect. And yes, the steering rack needs to be replaced... like... NOW. Anyway. Greetings from Latvia, keep the videos coming.
You should look into getting the proper tool for the front bumper, or a mechanic that has them. Its just 2 long threaded rods that the bumper stays on and slides forward. All the hoses are designed to slide like that and then you have plenty of room. Its called the 'service position' and VW sonce 1999 have had the same. Its 15min of book time, in the grand scheme probably saves you time if you learn how to do it properly. On the other hand Toyota just makes it easy to get to everything (probably costs them a few million in extra design work, but probably amortizes out to pennies per vehicle). And Nissan and Ford seem to make everything 1/4" too big to get out without removing everything surrounding it
I really like to watch this 'Wizard' channel. His body language tells you exactly what sort of upfront, honest, straighforward, trustworthy person he is. There must be somewhere in the UK that has the same type of mechanic, but I have never found that person. Most of them here would be well suited to having a peg leg and a parrot on their shoulder.......robbing bastards!
In 2008 I bought a 1992 Imperial from a young woman that was missing the radio. She said it didn't work so she got mad, pulled it out, and trashed it. Took me five minutes to find out that the amplifier fuse was blown, and it was the wrong type of fuse to begin with. Replaced the fuse, grabbed a random Chrysler head unit from a junkyard, and it never had another issue with the audio system.
Wizard you missed the tyres. The thread on the sides looks more worn than the middle. (it looked that way on camera). If so then mom Wizard must add a little more pressure into them. Ohhh yes the gas issue I know. I had a customer who did it twice. I then took the float level and adjusted it so that it shows empty on a quarter tank and never experienced it again from them
@@helloimclaudio Who cares, USA is just one of the countries using En, and actually not even the "genuine" one. Your "genuine" language should be some Indian dialect.
I just bought a 2010 Honda a Accord Ex-l, spitting image of this car, and I killed the battery the same way, left one of the map lights on. I jump started it, and I saw the one light on! I learned after the 1st time, never again! These are solid cars, very dependable, and I also have the 4 cylinder! 🙂
I once did an install of a garage door, the operator, flashing and weatherstripping. The customer told me i did an excellent job and that i was a real craftsman in my trade. Then i brought him the bill and asked for the payment, he then said that he will not be paying etc. So i call my boss and told him that. He said don't worry i've got this, wait there and say or do nothing, he was there within 15 minutes. He then proceeded to the customer, which told him the same thing, and since it is install we were not able by law to remove it either where i live. So my boss backed his brand new pickup with a chain, rammed it into that paper thin metal and proceeded forward with his truck, simply ripping the garage door from the house. The customer was screaming in anger, bewilderment etc. Then my boss told him that he noticed a defect on the door nd it was just too dangerous to be operated that way because he could hurt himself. My boss told me to live. Then i went back to that same guy, doing a job for another company that did installations for Home Depot, when i saw the house i started laughing. It had been 12 weeks since i had been there, the hole was covered with plywood. So i called that boss and explained what that customer had done previously, he told me to turn around and do not do anything and just come back. The customer saw that it was me again and i was laughing so hard. That guy waited 10 weeks for the previous door, and now waited another 8 weeks and still not getting a garage door. He had to wait all winter with no garage doors till spring again. I knew the guy who was sent from another company and he knew about the story with this moron. So he had to completely pay his whole bill cash when he ordered, no checks, no credit cards etc CASH ONLY!! People being able to reject charges up to 6 or 8 months and the customer is always right ?? really not worth it at all. Demand cash payments only and with the pandemic it was even worst, is and will be. You can't pay for it, then don't buy it, pretty simple 😉
I have a 2010 Accord and it has been the greatest car! Except for wheel bearings and I did have a power draw in my car. Ended up being the stock stereo- go figure. Made it a Perfect time to upgrade
That’s the unfortunate of getting older. My parents are in their late 60s and they too do stuff like this without realizing it, so to those with forgetting parents, be patient with them. It will happen to you eventually.
I just bought an base model 06 corolla manual with 60,000 miles. That car is, I love it. Last car was a 14 corolla cvt and while the 14 may be far more comfortable the old corolla is just brilliant
At 17:25 you're right, you shouldn't charge your parents to look at their car. I do all the maintenance on my parents cars, I don't charge them a thing, after all they went to hell to raise me right, and I probably owe them so much I wouldn't even be able to pay them back 😂
Had a teacher say that having his kids is like spending a million dollars overtime. Probably not even joking between food, school, medical, clothes and etc.
Ya I understand people don’t take the time to see the basics of a car !! Before call your local garage!! Wizard your a good soul god bless you and your family!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you C.W. for that great video. We, the public, do need to reinforce the commonsense checks to your viewers what they should check b4 calling the shop. But unfortunately a lot of people in this world don't know what commonsense checks are. My wife for one and most older parents for another. That's why I value you so much as " MY good local mechanic that I can rely on." Please keep up the good work CW and Mrs CW. I may consider moving to Newton KS to keep my cars serviced correctly and to live in a simpler Christian environment but with lots of cool cars!!!
While it wasn’t on a car, I once had an issue with my house electrical. A few months after buying the house, a certain circuit kept shutting off and turning on randomly. I checked the breaker and it was always fine (power going through). I checked plugs for issues and nothing. Checked switches too. I called my electrician and he came out and checked everything after I explained what was going on. He found a 2 inch wood screw placed in a light where a small screw was supposed to be (the old owner couldn’t find the right one and replaced it with something he had). The screw went right through the wiring and was shorting out. I felt dumb. He replaced the wiring and screw. The electrician then charged me for the hour he spent and left it at that (fortunately). I considered that a stupid (as in I was stupid and didn’t check everything) fee.
My story has some things in common with yours. Years ago I lived in a scummy old house in rural Western Australia (climate a bit like inland California). Part of the house was probably 50 years old, but it had had various renovations and remodelling over the years. The owners just before me, had bought it as fire damage to one part, and had rebuilt that laundry/bathroom area. Being in a remote rural area, every 2 months the state electric power supplier would send me a return postage paid postcard for me to fill in the electric meter reading (they could do a spot check themselves when a lines maintenance truck was in the area if they wanted). I was in the habit of writing down my meter reading on a list before mailing the postcard away, as I strictly budgeted my electric use. I didn't have proper airconditioning, just evaporator fan units, and used electric heating in Winter only occasionally. Cooking was partly by LPG/Propane gas tank. One day In my 15th year living there, as I was outside on my front porch, I glanced at my electric power meter and thought "that's funny, its only 3 weeks since my last meter reading but I've used more than my usual 8 weeks of power". I went and checked my list. Yep. Definitely electric use had gone up massively, just in the last 3 weeks. I phoned up the number for the electric authority and although the woman on the phone was very nice, she insisted on STRICTLY following their preset list. First of all she said "well you probably used more than normal, like a heated spa-pool or swimming pool filter pump". I said I live in a hovel in the desert. I have some electric lights, a TV and a fridge, no aircon, no pool, no spa, no electric hotwater system. She said "well I've looked at your bills over the last 10 months and they're all regular similar amounts. I said, look I've got the readings going back 15 years on my list and I can tell SOMETHING has changed, but in just the last 3 weeks, because SUDDENLY the consumption has gone up. I had one of those "walkabout" phones that the base plugs in . but you can walk around the house and into the back and front yards a way, so while I was on the phone I walked out to the front verandah and read her what the meter had gone up to just during the few minutes on the phone with her, and it was far more than just the power to run the living room light and the phone. Anyway 24 hours the lady calls me back and admits WOW Catherine you are 100% correct your electric bill is racing far ahead of normal. As the meter was the one originally installed when the house was put on the rural electric connection about 35 years earlier , so she put me down for a worker to come out and replace my electric meter with a brand new unit. A lovely guy came out and replaced the meter and as soon as he turned the power back on, the disc was spinning indication a partial current draw. That showed the fault was likely NOT the meter. Nevertheless, he carefully wrapped the old meter and assured me they would test it's calibartion to check it hadn't been overcharging me. (part two follows)
(part two ) So even with EVERYTHING turned off, even the phone base, the meter was still registering a current draw. About the same as having a 1,000 watt electric heater on. Remember that Australia is a 240 volt MEN Multiple Earthed Neutral system. As was common for old rural houses with gas cooking and gas hotwater, the house had just one 8amp fuse for all the lights and one 16 amp fuse for all the wall outlets. Anyway, I knew that sometimes in the past wild rabbits had moved in under the house and occasionally rats ran through the wall cavities. Perhaps an animal had chewed through wires going through a wall cavity or under the floor, their carcass like a condemned man in an electric chair ? Enough power to leak to wastage down to Earth, but not quite enough to blow the fuse, I thought. But running at a cost of about 1,000 watts per hour would run away with my electric bill. My house had no proper access underneath and no access to check inside the walls or the ceiling cavity at all. (Legal disclaimer... "This story is for amusement only, please always obey your local and state laws about electricity wiring"). I assumed a dead creature at an inaccessable part under the house was shorting some power to Earth. So I pulled the one fuse that ran all the wall outlets. My mysterious power drain was fixed. Temporarily I rigged an outlet connected to a seldom used laundry light, and using extension cables could run one major appliance at the time. Such as the fridge , or electric kettle, plus the tv or computer etc. After a few days, I tried plugging in the wall outlets fuse again, the problem was still there. How long does it take a rat/rabbit carcass to fossilise itself ? I knew that with Australia's electric system it was only the PHASE wire which was "hot" with respect to Earth, and I also knew everything would work perfectly ok if I simply swapped the PHASE and NEUTRAL wires right back at the main fuseboard (as I had previously heard this was a possible fault if a house had been wired up in error, but appliances still worked). The NEUTRAL is connected to Earth normally anyway, at the fuseboard. After swapping the main Phase and Neutral wires, my electricty drain fault was instantly fixed. I ran like that for awhile, days or weeks I can't remember. On day I tried swapping them back as they should be. WOW the electric fault was even WORSE. It was now almost a 4,000 watt current draw. It must have been close to blowing even the 16 amp fuse with no other appliances running. Now things in rural areas are very quiet like city people don't understand. I could HEAR a noise, a sort of arcing sparking like noise. Very faint, I went through the house, it was audible most in the kitchen and laundry/bathroom which shared a common wall. Where the remodelling had been done after the fire, over 20 years earlier. Without access to the ceiling space I decide the best option was some slightly destruction to a bathroom ceiling panel. After cutting away a piece and turning the power off at the main switch, I couldn't see far enough back in overtop of the common wall between the kitchen. I felt around with my fingers deep into the ceiling cavity atop the wall. I could feel that a roofing nail from the corrugated iron roofing had gone through one of the main TPS (tough plastic sheath, extra plastic insulation) wires that linked (all the wall outlets being on one fuse circuit remember). Remember wires are NOT in conduits in Australia. I climbed up on the roof and estimated where would be overtop of the bathroom/kitchen dividing wall. I saw one of the roofing nails in that location and to the touch was loose. I pulled it out with my hand. I saw char burn marks on that nail. My system was instantly fixed. No power was leaking away. During the remodelling after the fire, someone had run a TPS thick plastic insulated main wire overtop of a wooden beam. Later a carelessly placed roofing nail pierced the plastic outer insulation, but must have missed the actual copper wire inside. With 20 years of hot Australian Sun beating down on the roof and the wire's plastic insulation getting hot, eventually the wire conductor touched the nail. The roof was probably live to 240 volts and power leaking away to ground. Everything was fine with that one roofing nail removed. I made a slip over replacement insulator and slid it from the ceiling part I had access to, into the inaccessable area overtop the interior wall and then repaired the bathroom ceiling. Job done, all sorted. I don't think an electrician could have found the fault any quicker. It had to get so bad that I could HEAR it, to narrow down, where in a large 3 bedroom house the defect was. A better electric system would have had several independent circuits on their own fuses, and a better house design would have had wires running underfloor or in ceiling cavities that were accessable and could be inspected for damage.
We have all done stuff like this.. I left a OBD2 Bluetooth plugged in to the car.. went on a trip for a few weeks, came back to a dead battery.. Dome lights are easy to leave on too... I am surprised that the light would drain the battery dead just overnight. If it happens again.. or seems to be a pattern of them forgetting.. Maybe a bigger battery would be good.. you mentioned it is not the right battery. Also .. change the bulbs to LED.. that would drain less too. Great video as always..
One time my work truck wouldn't start. It was almost brand new, under 10k miles on it. I wasn't stepping on the brake pedal. I start the truck all the time without pressing the brake pedal, usually I won't even get in the drivers seat, I will open the door start it up to get the A/C cooling down. After sitting there for about 30 minutes I tried it again but decided to press the brake pedal and it started right up. I still start it multiple times a day without hitting the brakes! Glad I didn't have to call a tow truck for that!
I was having a similar problem with my 2004 GMC Sierra . I turned my automatic dome light to off but the problem continued . I have automatic headlights and I make sure they are off and haven't had a problem since . Maybe daylight lights are staying on periodically which maybe a module but it appears the gremlins are working in my favor . As a electrical contractor I understand a service call that was homeowner error . I say have you correctly reset your breaker , did you reset your GFCI and did you plug something in that is defective . I tell them if I have to come out I charge . Now they are getting free advice over the phone on my time . Now I may fabricate a problem just to save a husband's embarrassment like a loose wire on the breaker that does not add any cost . I think for this person with the gas issue the embarrassment would not allow her to pay . Time is money . I really make sure customers understand the cost of me coming out and have never had this kind of problem .
We had an 1989 Buick Century that had a Battery Drain. We figured that it was the light under the hood not going off. We just removed the bulb as the solution!
HA! This morning my 95 Buick had a low battery but did start. That's when I noticed that the dome light was on, I forgot to turn it off last night. In the words on the immortal bard, Homer Simpson: "DOH!"
My mom has an 08 CR-V which we’ve been battling an intermittent and inconsistent battery drain for the last few years. Multiple mechanics checked it and couldn’t find anything. Finally after all that time we found that it was the insurance drive wise in the OBD2 port that was putting the draw on the battery. Haven’t had an issue since we took it out. Just another thing to keep in mind when troubleshooting!
I inherited a 09 accord V6. Has some oil consumption issues but has lots of power. Super smooth on I90 going 100mph. Will prob deactivate the VCM some day.
I had a mysterious battery drain in my old 2004 Subaru Legacy. Drove me crazy. I had to jump start it every morning. I got rid of it. I really liked that car. My new Chevy is behaving so far. Love the Wizard's videos.
I would expect a newer Honda to have run down protection. Even my 2001 Jimmy would shut off the power to the light if it was left on. I know from experience it actually worked!
My sister has a 2008 Honda Accord EXL v6 and she had it for three years now. Them cars have very low maintenance and once she put a new alternator in. The car has that new car power. I would definitely buy one of them cars for the right price
I can see this happening easily for people who don't drive at night. Those LED lights aren't easy to see during the day. My 2001 Chrysler Sebring Convertible has these 6 LED lights under the rearview mirror. Same kind of thing, they have to be manually turned on, but they also come on when the doors are open. Also trunk lights with someone hitting the open trunk remote and not knowing it. If you don't see it, you don't know...until you go to start it and BOOM, dead.
I have a 2014 Fiesta. The map lights (or most of the lights) turn off after 15 minutes when you shut the car down and leave the car. It's great for goofballs like me.
My son had loose change in his cigarette lighter. (89 Firebird) I happened across a guy on a forum who had the same symptoms and that’s what he found. Sure enough, a dime and a penny had fallen in. Removed them, problem went away. Got a cover for the outlet since the lighter was missing
That was way out of order that women did the chargeback on the card ! your a very nice honest guy ! anyone else could call her & said it needs a new fuel pump charge her $500 bucks !
You dad and I are probably about the same age (I'm 76). He and I take great care of our cars. We have 2 CX-5 Mazdas that have been fantastic. I even have them washed every three days. Going to enjoy guessing what is draining the battery.
@@bobbob-gi1yp When my grandpa retired he bought a new Jeep that came with "unlimited car washes". I think he went to that dealership every other day for years.
Swap out all the interior lights with LEDs. I did that on my 05 Odyssey. Not only are they brighter but I bet they wouldn't cause a dead battery if left on.
Maybe it's the former 911 system operator in me (or my inner mechanic), but I swear that maintenance is everything! I probably drive north of 50,000 miles a year in my personal vehicles, and I don't think it would be possible if I wasn't proactive in how I maintain them similarly to the way police cars and fire trucks are. Yes, I know some get flogged within an inch of their lives during those occupational years, and others are under-worked or unnecessarily babied, but most emergency vehicles are routinely kept from being broken because it's important for them to be 100% reliable - and THAT is of the utmost importance to me..
A relative gave me there old used Volvo , "he was tired of buying new batteries as it was dead every 3 days.'". 5 minutes on RUclips and I found out the glove box light had a tendency to remain on. All fixed for free, removed the bulb.
I purchased a 1991 Ford Mustang for super cheap because it had electrical gremlins, turned out just to be a bad ignition switch that I snapped back together and it worked perfect. Lol Eventually I replaced the switch with a new one a few years later just for safety measure.
@Catsanova someboy stole the little swedish forest elf in charge of the glovebox light. try to order one NOS from Sweden or a freshly captured one although they're more expensive right now due to all them russians shenanigans. 😉
@@kennypool football? isn't that ridiculous show playing between tv ads in the US? 🤔 if so, no thanks, i'd prefer to watch paint dry all day long and do touch-ups with my paws. 😼
We had an old 98 Tarus that had been passed around the grandkids. It had a broken fuel gauge, but we knew the mpg, and used that as the fuel gauge. My daughter called on the way home from school, the car died. It had close to 200,000 so it was beginning to nickel and dime us. Got it home, spent the weekend, checking battery, alternator, usual suspects. Fuel pump still primed, filter was clean. Checked fuel at the injectors, no pressure. She miscalculated the milage. Out of gas! Always check the easy stuff first.
Those Honda map-lights are a common failure point, and there are three potential issues. First is the obvious dead bulb, but that is no more likely than it is for any other car. The quirk is that a map-light switch can either fail completely, _or enter a partial-failure mode_ -- where the light functions under some conditions but not others. Again, this is apparently very common as the miles pile up. I recently bought a 2006 Accord, and it had two of the three problems. The bulbs turned out to be fine. Yet, the driver's side light was completely inoperable, while the passenger side only worked manually. Once that happens, the switches can easily get 'out of phase' with each other, _and_ in relation to the car's different lighting modes. Let's say someone pushes a partially failed map light -- maybe that's exactly when the switch fails; the first time they push it -- but the light doesn't come on. One way or another, they ultimately leave it in the manual 'on' position, and out of phase with the system. Afterward, the lighting computer turns the darn light _on_ when the door is opened and _leaves_ it on when the door is closed! That _could_ be only with the key out, I'm not sure. I mean not just 'off', but physically out of the ignition switch. Just that, alone, affects the function of the interior lights. So I think the Wizard's parents are not really to blame here; they just got fooled by a partially failed switch. He also said _neither_ map light comes on when a door is opened. But they _are_ supposed to come on, meaning this car has some combination of map-light switch and bulb problems. The rear dome light is unaffected by this issue, BTW. Luckily, the map-light switches are cheap, readily available, and easy to replace. Once I came to understand the problem, I just replaced both switches and both bulbs, in my car. _But, there is one more important thing to watch out for._ Naturally, after I replaced the switches and bulbs, I wanted to test my map-lights before I reinstalled the little plastic assembly they live in. So, the stupid thing is hanging there, I push a switch, and the light comes on. I push the other one, and _it_ comes on, but the first one goes _off._ They go back and forth. When I closed the door, either one or both lights would come on again, as I recall. In any case, it still definitely wasn't right. By removing one bulb, I found could get the remaining one to work well enough to get by. I thought: _Well, OK, I guess it goes deeper than this. The assembly, which does have a little circuit-board inside, has apparently failed. Maybe it was zapped by a one of the bad switches._ But I still needed to use car while locating a good used assembly, so I started putting everything back together. As soon as I put a mounting screw in the plastic assembly, the map light's behavior changed again! So I reinstalled the second bulb, and the whole thing worked perfectly!! What the...? Unbeknownst to me, this mounting screw (there may only be one, I can't quite remember for sure), which holds the assembly to the ceiling, is also its ground-point. The contact is a little metal ring around the screw-hole. When that primary ground is disconnected, the power finds an _alternate_ ground path, which must be another dormant but somehow accessible circuit, I suppose, and _that_ caused the wonky operation in my test. Learn from my annoying struggle! Just replace both switches, both bulbs, and put the whole mess back together. It'll be fine for another 100k miles, or so.
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 *In the past, I have owned Honda Civics and Honda Accords* !! *Currently, I have a 2007 Honda CR-V* !! *Several of my Civics and Accords had well over 200,000 miles when they were traded* !! *My current CR-V was purchased for a LOW price* !! *Very little money has been spent to keep my current CR-V running* !! *LOVE all three of these Honda vehicles* !! *My current CR-V gets 27 - 29 mpg* !! *GLAD to see your parents take such good care of their Accord* !! #CarWizard 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
I have this car; those interior lights come on and stay on for a minute when you turn it off and get out, you wouldn't notice one left on unless you stood there a while.
I remember when Ford got the bright idea to instal a fuel pump cutoff switch in the trunk. I swear if you coughed near the car it would trip the switch. I lost count of how many times I fixed a no start problem by hitting the reset button on the side of the trunk trim.
I recently thought I found a nail in one of my tires. Instead of immediately prying out the nail and starting the tire to leak down, I made an appointment with the VW dealership to have the nail removed and the tire plugged. As it turned out, it wasn't a nail at all. It was just a pebble, stuck in the tread, the same size as the head of a roofing nail. They spent another half an hour, inspecting the tires to make sure there were no foreign objects or leaks. No charge. I could hardly believe it! But you can be sure, I'll keep on taking my Golf back to that shop for service and repair.
I completely agree with you wizard, although I got a 2015 Malibu and it’s barely giving me any issues, it greatly depends on the maintenance, I know people with Japanese cars that are falling apart and have a ton of problems because they have been neglected and abused…
I bought a as new 1963 Dodge with a 383 for a song because the battery kept draining overnight. I noticed all the added heavy bonding wires. I knew it was something simple. Turned out the trunk light (halogen type bulb) stayed on because the plunger switch was slightly bent, and stuck on. Found it by just having someone turn on and off all the switches, and open and close doors while I had a test light in the fuse box. Gorgeous car. That said, on my boat I kept having batteries go weak real quick. Took them back to Sears, got another, same thing. Did it again-same thing. Finally I took my battery tester to the store, and EVERY battery on their racks were 10.5 volts!! Quit buying from Sears. Problem solved.
Modern cars pretty much _all_ have 'gas' struts / shocks. This means there is nitrogen gas inside, under some amount of pressure. Its job is too keep the oil from foaming when the internal piston rises and falls rapidly, as on a rough surface. Since nitrogen doesn't build pressure with heat as much as normal air does, performance stays relatively constant. Racers often use nitrogen in their tires for that reason, BTW. Anyway, if a shock is leaking oil we can assume it has lost its gas-pressure. That is really not a big problem most of the time, except when it is really 'busy'. The loss of pressure _does_ tend to reduce the basic 'stiffness' of the shock, to some extent. But, as long as the shock has not lost too much _oil,_ it will perform reasonably well for the majority of normal driving. The rear strut on this car looks to have lost enough oil to be a concern, but if it feels OK when driving there is no need to jump on the repair.
I left my ODB2 reader in the slot so I couldn't mislay it. And it turns out that it uses the battery hot, instead of the accesory hot, for power. So the reader was powering its Bluetooth circuit and whatever else to create a parasitic load!
My 2013 Acura tsx, nearly the same car as this in fact it’s actually called the Honda accord in other countries, had a constant battery drain that eventually lead to a total power steering failure, replacing my EPS module fixed it, dealer quoted 1500, our mechanic did it for 300, other then that this has been the most reliable easy to maintain car I’ve ever had
Great video wizard I was hoping you could answer a question for me I have a 2012 Honda Accord same motor upon acceleration right front vibrates really bad nobody can figure it out I think it's a half shaft CV joint what do you think
Perfect timing; my '14 Vette has been trouble free, got a new battery a month ago. some really hot weather and she just died. Put her on a trickle charger for a couple of days and she seems fine but I'm still concerned and will bring it to my mechanic to check for: drains, bad starter/alternator or anything else.
Wiz, on your parents car, I'd take the bulb out of the dome light, or add a small beeper so they would hear it was on. On your nice chargeback lady, that's not just rude, that's fraud. I know some folks who could quietly drain all of her fuel out one dark rainy night, so her car was the same way it was when she brought in into you.(g)
@@ItsAlive111 A little more work to do, finding and buying the right bulb, and if they park for two weeks while on vacation...that's why I ignored that option.
@@lyfandeth He's a frickin mechanic and it literally takes less than a minute to put an LED bulb in. LEDs just weren't common 12 years ago but now they are. They last a lot longer and use a fraction of the electricity, so it wouldn't drain the battery overnight. Plus it's brighter, so you'd notice that it's on.
@@daveclark8337 The Wiz is a mechanic? Gee, I thought he was a paid actor, like The Monkees were. LED bulbs are fine, but first you have to pull the existing bulb. Then go try to find a match at the parts store. Then come back and put it in. Hey, if they're not going to use it, just pull the old bulb and save an hour of your time. I've used LEDs since they only came in red, I know what they are.
@@lyfandeth With your thinking, next time a check engine light comes on , you should just yank out the bulb from the CEL so it doesn't come on anymore. Why 'waste time' fixing the actual problem? And DE3175 LED dome bulbs DO come in white.
Many years ago, I was the manager of an auto parts store, and an elderly gentleman came in and bought two of our top-of-the-line batteries for his RV. A little while later, he called me and told me that both of the batteries were bad! I told him to bring them back and I would take care of him. When he got back to the store, I went out to carry the batteries in and test them. The first thing I noticed was that the black plastic caps were still on the negative terminals, and both of them had scratches on the plastic where the gentleman had installed the cables OVER the plastic! I told him, "I think I see the problem", and as he watched, I removed the caps! I then tested both batteries, which showed to be perfect. Of course, I did NOT smirk or make light of the situation... this man was a retired Sergeant Major in the army, and his eyesight was not what it used to be. We ended up being friends for several years until his passing...
If he can't see well enough for that, I am scared by the fact that he's driving a large heavy motorhome
How many of us have done something like that?
I work at the parts store in the short time I've been here I have seen two peope do that too.
God bless you and the patience you've shown to others. Your story serves as a good reminder to slow down and be graceful when others make mistakes and it's your position to help fix them.
@@robwaters8848 in my store whenever I sell batteries a actively remove most battery caps to A. Prevent people from forgetting but also B. to use them on the old cores to stop them from sparking.
I hope you don’t accept that customer anymore that did the chargeback on the card. That was absolute arrogance that not only pushed their way in but also didn’t pay.
I hope that you let her take her car elsewhere from now on.
That’s audacity. Paying the Wizard for a half and hour of his time is not only fair, but should serve as a lesson learned. She should be grateful of his honesty.
Arrogance is probably the nicest word I'd use hahaha
These are the kind of folks that should be sued. She is as you rightly pointed out, she is arrogant. How on earth can she not see or know how much gas she bought or when it finished.
@@hualant you are buying his expertise. The same goes for seeing a medical specialist.
You know wizard, I really like when you ask your viewers “ what do you think is wrong “ and give us a set of options to choose from. Thanks for all you do.
I was thinking, nah, it can't be the dome light....
@@hugobloemers4425 I was thinking it would be a hard to find light like a trunk or hood light left open.
2005 Accord has 248,000 miles. I love the car and hope to keep it rolling well past 300,000. No check engine, no knock, no automatic trans issues. Do my ATF every 20k and oil every 5k :)
Thats pretty often for transmission fluid
@@jack8356 slowly increasing intervals; prev owner did not change fluid as often as manual suggests (wanna say 60-90k?) so i was slowly replacing what was in there w new stuff. next change will be more miles in between. ATF-DW-1 is expensive lol
@@jack8356 If it's the 5spd automatic, that is one thing you can do to hopefully extend the life of the trans. They are notorious for failure in the older ones.
Trans fluid wears out faster and faster as the trans gets older. Ask me how I know
@@jack8356 Our '13 Accord with the 4 cylinder has the CVT. I change the fluid roughly every 30k. 160, 000 miles and no problems with it. The CVT is very tough on the trans fluid and that service has to be done on them to keep them in good shape.
The highlight is crystal clear, the paint shines in like-new condition. You can tell this car has been taken care of with love and diligence. Very nice!!
Too bad they haven't figured out how to clean the engine bay. Looks like a filth-hole.
@@OMGWTFLOLSMH Nobody is staring at the engine bay anyways, more so on a daily commuter.
@@granddya5323
Not the point tho. Plus having a clean engine bay is just a tiny part of maintenance and also if something is leaking etc... it's easier to spot where
Apprently he forgot to mention it was garage kept. I don't even have to know that was the case. I can see it.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Something I ran into SEVERAL TIMES when I was still turning wrenches at the dealership. I tell people ALLLLL the time. Even when you get to your destination and park. Turn off EVERYTHING. Your radio, AC , Unplug chargers, make sure you turn off ANY LIGHTS. 75% of the time that I've seen. It's the simplest of things that DO, get over looked
Anytime I've done something really dumb like that, I've never questioned the bill and even consider it a 'stupid tax' completely on me.
Hence, I usually avoid doing something kinda dumb. I never hold such stuff against my mechanic.
It's not your fault, is a poor power logic circuitry.
Honda's have always had the interior. Hi Wizard. My Accord is a 6MT V6 6SPEED Accord Coupe. I think you will like it. Honda's F1 roots speak through
It should have a timer at the battery level for dead pull.
I had my Odyssey run out because the AC was being used with the engine off.
Many people don't know enough about cars to guess that would kill the battery.
It's a safety issue on both sides maybe,
But it should really be dummy proof to prevent totally draining the battery down.
My 02 Honda CR-V 4x4 stick, has 250k miles on it, I love it, perfect for hauling medium size stuff.
In my opinion, it’s more in how you take care of your car. It’s great that your parents follow the service intervals as they should. I’ve had co-workers with Hondas and Toyotas on their last leg due to lack of maintenance. Maintenance I think is the key to long lasting cars.
100% maintenance makes or breaks the vehicle. My wife owned a 2010 Kia Rio down here in Australia. Put like 180,000km’s on it and it ran perfectly when it came time to upgrade. Never leaked (which I found odd the Wizard made a comment about Kia’s) or had any mechanical issues. Was a great little car and my wife loved it. I own a 2007 Mazda 3 Sedan and it’s got 218,000km’s on it and runs great too. Maintenance really is everything.
I agree. I just posted how I’ve seen several Fords and Kias on their original engine and trans. clock over 200,000 miles. I also agree with the wizard about his comments about Late model GM vehicles having issues prematurely as I have had a Chevy dealer in 2019 tell me my wife’s 2015 Chevy Trax had 80,000 miles, so leaks and electrical issues were to be expected. We traded that p.o.s in for a 2013 Ford Escape right away.
It doesn't take a genius to know that. It's like anything else. The issue is that some people just don't care.
Exact same thing that happened to my mom's 2010 Accord. After that, I've caught the dome/map light on a handful of times, as I come home late in the evenings and can see the interior lit.
I’ve only ever driven Hondas in my life. I had the same 8th gen as your parents. It was a great car. Mine was fully loaded so it looked a little different with black leather. The only thing about this car was it had an 18 gallon tank and took a lot of fuel to fill it. Always great cars as long as you take care of them.
I love big gas tanks in cars like this, tons of cruising range. Have an 18.5 gal in my 2000 Camry V6.
18 gal is 68 L. My car's tank is 88 L and uses premium. It costs $176 to fill it right now.
@@OMGWTFLOLSMH what car do you have with 88 liter?
Large gas tanks are fantastic. Fewer stops at the gas station.
I have a 2012 Honda Accord SE with 159,000 miles and no major problems. Change your oil that’s your main thing to do. Excellent car.
My folks have an ‘09 with around 240k, has had no major issues and pops keeps up on the maintenance. Very comfy sedan, I did buy him a new set of headlights housings as a gift and installed them. He said it looks brand new. Very reliable vehicle.
They're good cars if you keep up on maintenance. Good on gas too
I bought a one year old ex rental car. The only problem I found with it was that the dome light didn't work. Thinking it needed a new bulb I removed the cover to see what bulb I needed and found there wasn't one fitted. I now wonder if it was taken out by the rental company to avoid dead batteries.
Hahah. That’s hilarious 😂
Dome light when left on all night should not drain a healthy battery!
@@lescobrandon6327 Most cars cut them off after a certain time now
@@lescobrandon6327 depends on a lot of other factors. age of the battery, temprature, parasitic load from stupid modules in modrn cars. yeah they can die in just a few hours.
My solution for interior lights is to replace them all with low drawing LED's, I have left interior lights on over night and the battery was still good.
I did that I my acadia, and some of the leds went bad and they started staying on (very dim until the door opened) all the time. That killed my battery... not drained it, I had to replace it.
I'm surprised that an incandescent bulb had a high enough draw to flatten the battery. A 10W bulb will draw less than an Amp so a fully charged battery should last for several days.
I have a 2013 venza and even if I leave all the lights on, 5 minutes later they all turn off automatically
@@MrDuncl That Accord has a tiny 51R battery in it, not a lot of reserve capacity in those
Ditto
My 2012 Accord got me that way once. The interior lights will not turn off automatically after "X" amount of time. Honda must've finally stepped up to the 21st century and heard complaints from customers and my 2017 interior lights turn off automatically, no matter how they're set, once the doors are locked. Yes, I checked. I sit in my cars a lot and it matters to me. My 12 and 17 Accords are really good cars and I agree with the Wizard that these are cars to buy. My 17 is my seventh Honda in 30 years. Just stay on top of their maintenance.
I was in Vancouver in 1999, at my inlaws. A friend of theirs turned up in a new car to show it off. It wouldn't start after just being parked. Handbrake on, was in park and full of gas. They were flummoxed. I hopped in and noticed that he hadn't centred the steering wheel. Sure enough the steering lock was on and disabled the ignition. Wheel straight and car started.
First car (and still current daily) is a 2.4 accord from 2010 with the manual transmission, love the thing, never given me any serious problems that weren't my fault. 185k miles, some new brakes, and she's running strong, great cars
Wizard, I get your frustration. I really do. It just seems like people are set in their ways and willfully ignorant about the simplest of things, and always try to make it your problem when something goes wrong. I've seen your "to buy/not to buy" videos twice over. My mom has owned a 2011 GMC Acadia since it was new. I told her to trade it in ASAP when it started idling rough. "But I like it there's nothing wrong with it". I even sent her your videos on the 3.6 V6. Then the A/C died. Then the water pump. Then the timing chains. Thousands in repairs. Then finally the fuel pump went out and it wouldn't start. This thing has only 115k on it. Got it towed to the dealership. They said "bad transmission". Seriously? Then why wouldn't it start??? They offered her 500 dollars trade-in. I pleaded with her, GET SOMETHING ELSE. Bet you'll never guess what she pulled up in this morning. I just laughed and laughed. Sorry for the rant, I'm just so frustrated right now and suddenly I just realized that I bet you go through this on a daily basis sometime multiple times a day.
This is the LONGEST STORY in the world! This guy likes the sound of his own voice. He goes on and on, checks everything BUT the battery drain. He finds a light on but it takes 20 minutes of jibber jabber! The tour of the chassis, a look at the muffler, and every nut and bolt will drive you crazy!!
Hi Wizard and Mrs Wizard, I was a Tow Truck Driver and Mechanic for 21 years before my hands gave out and cars got more complicated. People would always ask me what car should I get, Toyota Camry or Honda Accord. Personally when I lived up North I had a 75 Impala with a 350 with AC. Easy shop class car and easy to get parts and No Computer. Thank You Great Videos and God Bless 🙏
I own a 2010 Accord that now has 125k miles on it...it's been a joy the past 7 years I've owned it. I bought it in 2015 with 65k miles.
I have a story very similar to Mr Wizard's parents story. I too and retired and don't drive very often, sometimes up to a couple of weeks or more apart, so during the winter time with the normal drain on the battery from my 1998 GMC pick up truck, it could drain enough to the point of it not starting, I ruined a couple of batteries that way. ANYWAY just recently I noticed my 4 amp Harbor Freight charger screen kept showing red, meaning it was charging instead of maintaining the battery. This went on for several days, finally one day I was walking past the truck and glanced at the interior only to notice the overhead light was on, how or why, it got turned on, I don't know. I turned it off and now the Harbor Freight charger is back to showing me the green screen, meaning it is maintaining it.
About 10 yrs ago, when my son was 5 or so he was able to click on the little reading light, on the roof , next to the right rear door. I started having issues like this honda. (2007 Infiniti G35.)
Replaced the battery, which it probably needed. Still kept draining the battery.
What a pain in the a**.
Hopefully new cars have LED lights that don't drain batteries like that.
Or why doesn't the car have a mechanism that just shuts lights off automatically?
I mean if I unlock my car with the key fob, if I don't enter the car within one minute it locks the car up.
This video was very interesting because yes...almost everyone has had this happen. In my case it was an after market Alarm System. I took it back to the alarm place that installed it. I had to threaten to get a lawyer. Which I did talk to a Paralegal. So after about a week...the shop replaced it with no charge after I gave them a bad review on YELP. Thanx for the well appreciated video!!
Bro, that story you told towards the end of the video; Some people shouldn't be operating cars haha. It's like that one episode from Spongebob where Patrick gets a brand new hot rod and he threw it away because the fuel gauge was on "E for end" 🤣🤣
I got the 2011 accord, 2.4 liter with Nav. Purrs like a kitten - change the oil every 3k . did the transmission oil and filter myself, slotted rotors myself. Gotta get some new headlights. Bought it in 2020, has 218k highway miles. Still strong, no oil burning at all.. But I admit I still my NX2000...
I have the same car and I love it... Good to know it's Wizard approved!
Wizard Aproved 😊
Car Wizard I'm glad it was a simple fix. Sorry to hear about your story with that customer that did the charge back. I mean here you are trying to help someone out, just to have them pull that s###. Glad to see you stay humble and calm about it. Glad to see you keep a positive attitude as well. Your videos are very informative and helpful! Keep up the great work! And Wizard, If you ever get to Wisconsin, I'd like to buy you a beer!
In my 2015 Accord, if you leave the map light or the leave the trunk open and the trunk light on, the lights will automatically turn off after a while. I think this was designed to prevent battery drain
My 06 Accord is the same
Most cars have had that for 25 years.
I wished you live in florida.
You are the most honest mechanic in every seen.
I installed remote starters for 15 years. I can't count the number of times a customer came in saying their mechanic told them a remote starter was draining the battery. Not one time was that the case. Not to say it doesn't happen, but its pretty uncommon unless it is a VERY old system that has gone bad. Most mechanics are just lazy and immediately blame anything aftermarket for a battery drain.
During my time in a garage whenever a car with an aftermarket remote start came in with a starting issue it was on the usual suspect list. If it wasn't something else quickly noticeable I would disconnect. There was a few times that the problem was solved.
q
I’ve had many civics and many accords, I currently have a 2020 Accord that I love. But this Accord is still such a beautiful design and I absolutely love it. If I wasn’t currently paying for nursing school I would by one just to have one.
We have this same car with the V6. It was a relay draining the battery. Unrelated, but the VCM (vtech cylinder management) on those cars is a horrendous mechanical travesty (anyone who knows of the Honda lawsuit knows what I'm talking about.) I pulled the valve cover and one side of the engine looked brand new (230k), the cylinders that shut off looked cooked and far older. I put a tuner on it and it cut down on the oil consumption and misfire problems a bit.
I think the common thread here is every cylinder deactivation system is garbage. Does a "good" one exist?
That's usually more to do with the EGR system on Honda's J-series engines. The front bank was worse, right?
@@B-rad1 3,4,5,6 were the worst. 4,5,6 shut off, while 3 does sometimes, so 3 wasnt as bad. 1,2 were clean
SVCM or VCMuzzler is a must for these. Variable Cylinder Management is a problem in mostly the 08-12 Accord V6 and 09-15 Pilot
Oliver. No they don’t. Although some last a long time, eventually they go bad
I have a '14 Accord with a manual transmission.😎 211,000 miles, bought new. Only unschedule normal repair was a sun visor. 😀 I think it is the correct, mine has a very small battery with space for a much bigger one. The base four is plenty fast. With traction control on, it will chirp the tires first to second at 30 mph. Took it in for it's first wheel alignment at 185,000 miles, everything was in specs.
I had a boss who was very proud of his luxury car...
until he had this battery drain problem.
It was well before the Internet and thus hard to find info on this vehicle's common problems.
Acting on a hunch I told him to put his 14 year old son in the boot (trunk) and close the lid.
His son shouted that the boot's courtesy light was staying on.
His father said that he was tempted to leave his son in there anyway...
but he let him out and then examined the plunger/spring switch....broken and earthing occasionally even when the lid was closed .....so then he replaced it.....solving the otherwise "hidden" problem.
lol removed mine and the light. old car issues.
You said in a video that you loved the Nissan Cube because you don't bang your head against the B pillar getting out. I have a 2008 Honda Civic 2dr with nothing wrong with it... but I'm too tall for it. I've taken your advice for my next car and keeping in in the Honda or Toyota family. Or a sorted La Sabre V6 that is sorted... cruising grandpa style! Thanks for the honesty in each video!
Wizard. New to the channel and I am enjoying the videos. My Dad had a 1988 Mustang LX and had a slow drain he could not figure out. Battery and alternator worked as they should. Drive the car every day, everything was fine. Let it sit for a few days, battery would go dead.
He eventually gave the car to me and I daily drove it. Problem still was there but I drove it enough that it was not a bother. Fast forward to a day in traffic, sitting in the car looking around and I flipped the visor down in my boredom and noticed the visors had courtesy lights for the vanity mirrors and the light on my (drivers side) visor was on. The switch had failed and it was stuck on. Got home and took the visor down, unplugged the light and lived happily ever after. It is the little things that can bite us.
I have an 2008 pilot and I leave that exact same light on because when you turn off the key the lights turn on so you can’t tell light is on. I put good quality sylvania led bulbs and that helped alot. I have left that same light on for days and it didn’t kill battery
Car Wizard, thanks for showing us your parents' car - and reminding me - when I need a reason not to go for a japanese car - where to look for the reason (the reason will appear when I'm totally fed up with constantly fixing my 2008 audi A6 - now I'm about 90% there to need the said reason). So the reason would be RUST - as said thousands of times, and as experienced personally (had a 2004 Lancer since it was new until 240 000 km) - but it shows time and time again. All the underside, all the bolts, fittings, weld points - they're much, much more rusted on this Honda - than on my 2008 audi - and I live in a country where winter salt is being applied with no mercy whatsoever. Even yesterday, when changing the brake pads and discs on the said car - I was dumb-struck once and again - all the bolts are extremely easy to get lose, there are no rusted or dead bolts (which I found a lot on my previous mitsu - and this Honda seems to have lots of them, too) - I don't know, there's something about rust protection both on the body of the car, but also all the fittings and threaded fasteners seem to be made of higher class metal or something. Yes, the damn alternator (or the steering pump, or the belt tensioner, or the dampener, or the water pump, etc, etc) cannot be removed without REMOVING ENTIRE FRONT of the car - but that said, you almost never end up cursing for hours because of the inability to losen one or two bolts. The audi kinda redeems itself somewhat in this respect. And yes, the steering rack needs to be replaced... like... NOW. Anyway. Greetings from Latvia, keep the videos coming.
Definitely on your cars apply undercarriage prevention like waxoyl or fluid film to everything. Really helps against salt and moisture from the road!
You should look into getting the proper tool for the front bumper, or a mechanic that has them. Its just 2 long threaded rods that the bumper stays on and slides forward.
All the hoses are designed to slide like that and then you have plenty of room. Its called the 'service position' and VW sonce 1999 have had the same.
Its 15min of book time, in the grand scheme probably saves you time if you learn how to do it properly.
On the other hand Toyota just makes it easy to get to everything (probably costs them a few million in extra design work, but probably amortizes out to pennies per vehicle). And Nissan and Ford seem to make everything 1/4" too big to get out without removing everything surrounding it
I have a 2012 Accord Coupe Manual I4. I bought it new, 10 yrs. old now. Zero problems!
I really like to watch this 'Wizard' channel.
His body language tells you exactly what sort of upfront, honest, straighforward, trustworthy person he is.
There must be somewhere in the UK that has the same type of mechanic, but I have never found that person.
Most of them here would be well suited to having a peg leg and a parrot on their shoulder.......robbing bastards!
Barrum engines in the uk is a top bloke, he builds engines though
HaaaaaRRRRR! There she blows! 🦜
In 2008 I bought a 1992 Imperial from a young woman that was missing the radio. She said it didn't work so she got mad, pulled it out, and trashed it. Took me five minutes to find out that the amplifier fuse was blown, and it was the wrong type of fuse to begin with. Replaced the fuse, grabbed a random Chrysler head unit from a junkyard, and it never had another issue with the audio system.
Wizard you missed the tyres. The thread on the sides looks more worn than the middle. (it looked that way on camera). If so then mom Wizard must add a little more pressure into them. Ohhh yes the gas issue I know. I had a customer who did it twice. I then took the float level and adjusted it so that it shows empty on a quarter tank and never experienced it again from them
Well this one has tires not tyres so your advice doesn’t apply. /s
Or maybe a wheel alignment.
Well, they're the same thing there, champ. FYI, it's spelled Tyres in the UK, etc.. Jsyk. 😉
@@R3TR0R4V3 this is America champ 🇺🇸
@@helloimclaudio Who cares, USA is just one of the countries using En, and actually not even the "genuine" one. Your "genuine" language should be some Indian dialect.
I just bought a 2010 Honda a
Accord Ex-l, spitting image of this car, and I killed the battery the same way, left one of the map lights on. I jump started it, and I saw the one light on! I learned after the 1st time, never again! These are solid cars, very dependable, and I also have the 4 cylinder! 🙂
I once did an install of a garage door, the operator, flashing and weatherstripping. The customer told me i did an excellent job and that i was a real craftsman in my trade. Then i brought him the bill and asked for the payment, he then said that he will not be paying etc. So i call my boss and told him that. He said don't worry i've got this, wait there and say or do nothing, he was there within 15 minutes. He then proceeded to the customer, which told him the same thing, and since it is install we were not able by law to remove it either where i live. So my boss backed his brand new pickup with a chain, rammed it into that paper thin metal and proceeded forward with his truck, simply ripping the garage door from the house. The customer was screaming in anger, bewilderment etc. Then my boss told him that he noticed a defect on the door nd it was just too dangerous to be operated that way because he could hurt himself. My boss told me to live. Then i went back to that same guy, doing a job for another company that did installations for Home Depot, when i saw the house i started laughing. It had been 12 weeks since i had been there, the hole was covered with plywood. So i called that boss and explained what that customer had done previously, he told me to turn around and do not do anything and just come back. The customer saw that it was me again and i was laughing so hard. That guy waited 10 weeks for the previous door, and now waited another 8 weeks and still not getting a garage door. He had to wait all winter with no garage doors till spring again. I knew the guy who was sent from another company and he knew about the story with this moron. So he had to completely pay his whole bill cash when he ordered, no checks, no credit cards etc CASH ONLY!! People being able to reject charges up to 6 or 8 months and the customer is always right ?? really not worth it at all. Demand cash payments only and with the pandemic it was even worst, is and will be. You can't pay for it, then don't buy it, pretty simple 😉
I have a 2010 Accord and it has been the greatest car! Except for wheel bearings and I did have a power draw in my car. Ended up being the stock stereo- go figure. Made it a Perfect time to upgrade
That’s the unfortunate of getting older. My parents are in their late 60s and they too do stuff like this without realizing it, so to those with forgetting parents, be patient with them. It will happen to you eventually.
I just bought an base model 06 corolla manual with 60,000 miles. That car is, I love it. Last car was a 14 corolla cvt and while the 14 may be far more comfortable the old corolla is just brilliant
Legend has it: The Car Wizard owns the largest Barry Manilow and Anne Murray cassette tape collections in the entire world.
You haven't seen his beard collection. He even have a ZZ top beard that he wears to church
Funny, very funny.
😂😂😂
A light is on, Posted when you asked in the video. My sister only buys Hondas, she has had very good luck with them, owns a 2014 Civic, no issues.
At 17:25 you're right, you shouldn't charge your parents to look at their car. I do all the maintenance on my parents cars, I don't charge them a thing, after all they went to hell to raise me right, and I probably owe them so much I wouldn't even be able to pay them back 😂
Had a teacher say that having his kids is like spending a million dollars overtime. Probably not even joking between food, school, medical, clothes and etc.
@@42luke93 Exactly. Plus they had to deal with our asses 😂
Ya I understand people don’t take the time to see the basics of a car !! Before call your local garage!! Wizard your a good soul god bless you and your family!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I have a 2011 accord. Had a bad solenoid for the interior light. Replaced it and haven't had an issue since
Thank you C.W. for that great video. We, the public,
do need to reinforce the commonsense checks to your viewers what they should check b4 calling the shop. But unfortunately a lot of people in this world don't know what commonsense checks are. My wife for one and most older parents for another. That's why I value you so much as " MY good local mechanic that I can rely on." Please keep up the good work CW and Mrs CW. I may consider moving to Newton KS to keep my cars serviced correctly and to live in a simpler Christian environment but with lots of cool cars!!!
While it wasn’t on a car, I once had an issue with my house electrical. A few months after buying the house, a certain circuit kept shutting off and turning on randomly. I checked the breaker and it was always fine (power going through). I checked plugs for issues and nothing. Checked switches too. I called my electrician and he came out and checked everything after I explained what was going on. He found a 2 inch wood screw placed in a light where a small screw was supposed to be (the old owner couldn’t find the right one and replaced it with something he had). The screw went right through the wiring and was shorting out. I felt dumb. He replaced the wiring and screw. The electrician then charged me for the hour he spent and left it at that (fortunately). I considered that a stupid (as in I was stupid and didn’t check everything) fee.
My story has some things in common with yours. Years ago I lived in a scummy old house in rural Western Australia (climate a bit like inland California). Part of the house was probably 50 years old, but it had had various renovations and remodelling over the years. The owners just before me, had bought it as fire damage to one part, and had rebuilt that laundry/bathroom area. Being in a remote rural area, every 2 months the state electric power supplier would send me a return postage paid postcard for me to fill in the electric meter reading (they could do a spot check themselves when a lines maintenance truck was in the area if they wanted). I was in the habit of writing down my meter reading on a list before mailing the postcard away, as I strictly budgeted my electric use. I didn't have proper airconditioning, just evaporator fan units, and used electric heating in Winter only occasionally. Cooking was partly by LPG/Propane gas tank. One day In my 15th year living there, as I was outside on my front porch, I glanced at my electric power meter and thought "that's funny, its only 3 weeks since my last meter reading but I've used more than my usual 8 weeks of power". I went and checked my list. Yep. Definitely electric use had gone up massively, just in the last 3 weeks. I phoned up the number for the electric authority and although the woman on the phone was very nice, she insisted on STRICTLY following their preset list. First of all she said "well you probably used more than normal, like a heated spa-pool or swimming pool filter pump". I said I live in a hovel in the desert. I have some electric lights, a TV and a fridge, no aircon, no pool, no spa, no electric hotwater system. She said "well I've looked at your bills over the last 10 months and they're all regular similar amounts. I said, look I've got the readings going back 15 years on my list and I can tell SOMETHING has changed, but in just the last 3 weeks, because SUDDENLY the consumption has gone up. I had one of those "walkabout" phones that the base plugs in . but you can walk around the house and into the back and front yards a way, so while I was on the phone I walked out to the front verandah and read her what the meter had gone up to just during the few minutes on the phone with her, and it was far more than just the power to run the living room light and the phone. Anyway 24 hours the lady calls me back and admits WOW Catherine you are 100% correct your electric bill is racing far ahead of normal. As the meter was the one originally installed when the house was put on the rural electric connection about 35 years earlier , so she put me down for a worker to come out and replace my electric meter with a brand new unit. A lovely guy came out and replaced the meter and as soon as he turned the power back on, the disc was spinning indication a partial current draw. That showed the fault was likely NOT the meter. Nevertheless, he carefully wrapped the old meter and assured me they would test it's calibartion to check it hadn't been overcharging me. (part two follows)
(part two ) So even with EVERYTHING turned off, even the phone base, the meter was still registering a current draw. About the same as having a 1,000 watt electric heater on. Remember that Australia is a 240 volt MEN Multiple Earthed Neutral system. As was common for old rural houses with gas cooking and gas hotwater, the house had just one 8amp fuse for all the lights and one 16 amp fuse for all the wall outlets. Anyway, I knew that sometimes in the past wild rabbits had moved in under the house and occasionally rats ran through the wall cavities. Perhaps an animal had chewed through wires going through a wall cavity or under the floor, their carcass like a condemned man in an electric chair ? Enough power to leak to wastage down to Earth, but not quite enough to blow the fuse, I thought. But running at a cost of about 1,000 watts per hour would run away with my electric bill. My house had no proper access underneath and no access to check inside the walls or the ceiling cavity at all. (Legal disclaimer... "This story is for amusement only, please always obey your local and state laws about electricity wiring"). I assumed a dead creature at an inaccessable part under the house was shorting some power to Earth. So I pulled the one fuse that ran all the wall outlets. My mysterious power drain was fixed. Temporarily I rigged an outlet connected to a seldom used laundry light, and using extension cables could run one major appliance at the time. Such as the fridge , or electric kettle, plus the tv or computer etc. After a few days, I tried plugging in the wall outlets fuse again, the problem was still there. How long does it take a rat/rabbit carcass to fossilise itself ? I knew that with Australia's electric system it was only the PHASE wire which was "hot" with respect to Earth, and I also knew everything would work perfectly ok if I simply swapped the PHASE and NEUTRAL wires right back at the main fuseboard (as I had previously heard this was a possible fault if a house had been wired up in error, but appliances still worked). The NEUTRAL is connected to Earth normally anyway, at the fuseboard. After swapping the main Phase and Neutral wires, my electricty drain fault was instantly fixed. I ran like that for awhile, days or weeks I can't remember. On day I tried swapping them back as they should be. WOW the electric fault was even WORSE. It was now almost a 4,000 watt current draw. It must have been close to blowing even the 16 amp fuse with no other appliances running. Now things in rural areas are very quiet like city people don't understand. I could HEAR a noise, a sort of arcing sparking like noise. Very faint, I went through the house, it was audible most in the kitchen and laundry/bathroom which shared a common wall. Where the remodelling had been done after the fire, over 20 years earlier. Without access to the ceiling space I decide the best option was some slightly destruction to a bathroom ceiling panel. After cutting away a piece and turning the power off at the main switch, I couldn't see far enough back in overtop of the common wall between the kitchen. I felt around with my fingers deep into the ceiling cavity atop the wall. I could feel that a roofing nail from the corrugated iron roofing had gone through one of the main TPS (tough plastic sheath, extra plastic insulation) wires that linked (all the wall outlets being on one fuse circuit remember). Remember wires are NOT in conduits in Australia. I climbed up on the roof and estimated where would be overtop of the bathroom/kitchen dividing wall. I saw one of the roofing nails in that location and to the touch was loose. I pulled it out with my hand. I saw char burn marks on that nail. My system was instantly fixed. No power was leaking away. During the remodelling after the fire, someone had run a TPS thick plastic insulated main wire overtop of a wooden beam. Later a carelessly placed roofing nail pierced the plastic outer insulation, but must have missed the actual copper wire inside. With 20 years of hot Australian Sun beating down on the roof and the wire's plastic insulation getting hot, eventually the wire conductor touched the nail. The roof was probably live to 240 volts and power leaking away to ground. Everything was fine with that one roofing nail removed. I made a slip over replacement insulator and slid it from the ceiling part I had access to, into the inaccessable area overtop the interior wall and then repaired the bathroom ceiling. Job done, all sorted. I don't think an electrician could have found the fault any quicker. It had to get so bad that I could HEAR it, to narrow down, where in a large 3 bedroom house the defect was. A better electric system would have had several independent circuits on their own fuses, and a better house design would have had wires running underfloor or in ceiling cavities that were accessable and could be inspected for damage.
Sadly… in this age, videos like this needed. Great (albeit obvious) advice. Thanks Car Wizard (and Mrs. Car Wizard!).
For as long as I can remember my dad has been paranoid about dome nights. He refuses to use the "door" mode even. They are just "off".
I don't blame him.
If he doesn't drive at night then he does not need them.
We have all done stuff like this.. I left a OBD2 Bluetooth plugged in to the car.. went on a trip for a few weeks, came back to a dead battery..
Dome lights are easy to leave on too...
I am surprised that the light would drain the battery dead just overnight.
If it happens again.. or seems to be a pattern of them forgetting.. Maybe a bigger battery would be good.. you mentioned it is not the right battery.
Also .. change the bulbs to LED.. that would drain less too.
Great video as always..
Just wanted to say thank you for your service Wizard.
What a kind creep. 8^)
@@born_again_torinos
Can’t take a joke?
@@12yearssober Ditto, you couldn't tell I was ribbing you...even with the smile face?
One time my work truck wouldn't start. It was almost brand new, under 10k miles on it. I wasn't stepping on the brake pedal. I start the truck all the time without pressing the brake pedal, usually I won't even get in the drivers seat, I will open the door start it up to get the A/C cooling down. After sitting there for about 30 minutes I tried it again but decided to press the brake pedal and it started right up. I still start it multiple times a day without hitting the brakes! Glad I didn't have to call a tow truck for that!
I was having a similar problem with my 2004 GMC Sierra . I turned my automatic dome light to off but the problem continued . I have automatic headlights and I make sure they are off and haven't had a problem since . Maybe daylight lights are staying on periodically which maybe a module but it appears the gremlins are working in my favor . As a electrical contractor I understand a service call that was homeowner error . I say have you correctly reset your breaker , did you reset your GFCI and did you plug something in that is defective . I tell them if I have to come out I charge . Now they are getting free advice over the phone on my time . Now I may fabricate a problem just to save a husband's embarrassment like a loose wire on the breaker that does not add any cost . I think for this person with the gas issue the embarrassment would not allow her to pay . Time is money . I really make sure customers understand the cost of me coming out and have never had this kind of problem .
We had an 1989 Buick Century that had a Battery Drain. We figured that it was the light under the hood not going off. We just removed the bulb as the solution!
HA! This morning my 95 Buick had a low battery but did start. That's when I noticed that the dome light was on, I forgot to turn it off last night. In the words on the immortal bard, Homer Simpson: "DOH!"
My mom has an 08 CR-V which we’ve been battling an intermittent and inconsistent battery drain for the last few years. Multiple mechanics checked it and couldn’t find anything. Finally after all that time we found that it was the insurance drive wise in the OBD2 port that was putting the draw on the battery. Haven’t had an issue since we took it out. Just another thing to keep in mind when troubleshooting!
The other good thing about the 4 cylinder is that you don’t have to change a timing belt like the V6
But driving the six is a lot more fun!
I inherited a 09 accord V6. Has some oil consumption issues but has lots of power. Super smooth on I90 going 100mph. Will prob deactivate the VCM some day.
I had a mysterious battery drain in my old 2004 Subaru Legacy. Drove me crazy. I had to jump start it every morning. I got rid of it. I really liked that car. My new Chevy is behaving so far.
Love the Wizard's videos.
I would expect a newer Honda to have run down protection. Even my 2001 Jimmy would shut off the power to the light if it was left on. I know from experience it actually worked!
My sister has a 2008 Honda Accord EXL v6 and she had it for three years now. Them cars have very low maintenance and once she put a new alternator in. The car has that new car power. I would definitely buy one of them cars for the right price
I can see this happening easily for people who don't drive at night. Those LED lights aren't easy to see during the day. My 2001 Chrysler Sebring Convertible has these 6 LED lights under the rearview mirror. Same kind of thing, they have to be manually turned on, but they also come on when the doors are open. Also trunk lights with someone hitting the open trunk remote and not knowing it. If you don't see it, you don't know...until you go to start it and BOOM, dead.
My mom's car kept having this when her grandsons would ride with her.They would leave the lights on and she did not notice.
I have a 2014 Fiesta. The map lights (or most of the lights) turn off after 15 minutes when you shut the car down and leave the car. It's great for goofballs like me.
My son had loose change in his cigarette lighter. (89 Firebird) I happened across a guy on a forum who had the same symptoms and that’s what he found. Sure enough, a dime and a penny had fallen in. Removed them, problem went away. Got a cover for the outlet since the lighter was missing
That was way out of order that women did the chargeback on the card ! your a very nice honest guy ! anyone else could call her & said it needs a new fuel pump charge her $500 bucks !
You dad and I are probably about the same age (I'm 76). He and I take great care of our cars. We have 2 CX-5 Mazdas that have been fantastic. I even have them washed every three days. Going to enjoy guessing what is draining the battery.
Wasteful boomer
Every 3 days? Your kidding
@@bobbob-gi1yp When my grandpa retired he bought a new Jeep that came with "unlimited car washes". I think he went to that dealership every other day for years.
@@bobbob-gi1yp Unlimited washes every month.
Swap out all the interior lights with LEDs. I did that on my 05 Odyssey. Not only are they brighter but I bet they wouldn't cause a dead battery if left on.
That story at the end 🤣. Mechanic have to deal with the worst customers.
Maybe it's the former 911 system operator in me (or my inner mechanic), but I swear that maintenance is everything! I probably drive north of 50,000 miles a year in my personal vehicles, and I don't think it would be possible if I wasn't proactive in how I maintain them similarly to the way police cars and fire trucks are. Yes, I know some get flogged within an inch of their lives during those occupational years, and others are under-worked or unnecessarily babied, but most emergency vehicles are routinely kept from being broken because it's important for them to be 100% reliable - and THAT is of the utmost importance to me..
Now David.....
Q: WHAT would you have done if your parents rolled up in a BMW?
Great video!
He probably would send send them to ninja
A: Given them Johhny The Car Ninja's address ...and sent them on their way !
I'd tell my parents they should've had an abortion all those years ago.
@@getchasome6230 but then you would have been not able to tell him not to get a BMW
@@Mr-pn2eh Its your money, pops. I just wish I wasnt here to see it happen
This is a K24 engine Honda guys love those kinda engines, u can easily make 1000 hp with the right parts 😂 3:35
A relative gave me there old used Volvo , "he was tired of buying new batteries as it was dead every 3 days.'". 5 minutes on RUclips and I found out the glove box light had a tendency to remain on. All fixed for free, removed the bulb.
I purchased a 1991 Ford Mustang for super cheap because it had electrical gremlins, turned out just to be a bad ignition switch that I snapped back together and it worked perfect. Lol
Eventually I replaced the switch with a new one a few years later just for safety measure.
@Catsanova someboy stole the little swedish forest elf in charge of the glovebox light. try to order one NOS from Sweden or a freshly captured one although they're more expensive right now due to all them russians shenanigans. 😉
@@kittytrail Layoff the catnip, watch some football 🏈
@@kennypool football? isn't that ridiculous show playing between tv ads in the US? 🤔
if so, no thanks, i'd prefer to watch paint dry all day long and do touch-ups with my paws. 😼
@@kittytrail I think you have cat scratch fever, that could be Catching and Catastrophic.
We had an old 98 Tarus that had been passed around the grandkids. It had a broken fuel gauge, but we knew the mpg, and used that as the fuel gauge. My daughter called on the way home from school, the car died. It had close to 200,000 so it was beginning to nickel and dime us. Got it home, spent the weekend, checking battery, alternator, usual suspects. Fuel pump still primed, filter was clean. Checked fuel at the injectors, no pressure. She miscalculated the milage. Out of gas! Always check the easy stuff first.
This is....my moms car
Almost thought this was a Doug DeMuro video
Those Honda map-lights are a common failure point, and there are three potential issues. First is the obvious dead bulb, but that is no more likely than it is for any other car. The quirk is that a map-light switch can either fail completely, _or enter a partial-failure mode_ -- where the light functions under some conditions but not others. Again, this is apparently very common as the miles pile up. I recently bought a 2006 Accord, and it had two of the three problems. The bulbs turned out to be fine. Yet, the driver's side light was completely inoperable, while the passenger side only worked manually.
Once that happens, the switches can easily get 'out of phase' with each other, _and_ in relation to the car's different lighting modes. Let's say someone pushes a partially failed map light -- maybe that's exactly when the switch fails; the first time they push it -- but the light doesn't come on. One way or another, they ultimately leave it in the manual 'on' position, and out of phase with the system. Afterward, the lighting computer turns the darn light _on_ when the door is opened and _leaves_ it on when the door is closed! That _could_ be only with the key out, I'm not sure. I mean not just 'off', but physically out of the ignition switch. Just that, alone, affects the function of the interior lights.
So I think the Wizard's parents are not really to blame here; they just got fooled by a partially failed switch. He also said _neither_ map light comes on when a door is opened. But they _are_ supposed to come on, meaning this car has some combination of map-light switch and bulb problems. The rear dome light is unaffected by this issue, BTW. Luckily, the map-light switches are cheap, readily available, and easy to replace. Once I came to understand the problem, I just replaced both switches and both bulbs, in my car.
_But, there is one more important thing to watch out for._ Naturally, after I replaced the switches and bulbs, I wanted to test my map-lights before I reinstalled the little plastic assembly they live in. So, the stupid thing is hanging there, I push a switch, and the light comes on. I push the other one, and _it_ comes on, but the first one goes _off._ They go back and forth. When I closed the door, either one or both lights would come on again, as I recall. In any case, it still definitely wasn't right.
By removing one bulb, I found could get the remaining one to work well enough to get by. I thought: _Well, OK, I guess it goes deeper than this. The assembly, which does have a little circuit-board inside, has apparently failed. Maybe it was zapped by a one of the bad switches._ But I still needed to use car while locating a good used assembly, so I started putting everything back together. As soon as I put a mounting screw in the plastic assembly, the map light's behavior changed again! So I reinstalled the second bulb, and the whole thing worked perfectly!! What the...?
Unbeknownst to me, this mounting screw (there may only be one, I can't quite remember for sure), which holds the assembly to the ceiling, is also its ground-point. The contact is a little metal ring around the screw-hole. When that primary ground is disconnected, the power finds an _alternate_ ground path, which must be another dormant but somehow accessible circuit, I suppose, and _that_ caused the wonky operation in my test.
Learn from my annoying struggle! Just replace both switches, both bulbs, and put the whole mess back together. It'll be fine for another 100k miles, or so.
That's why many new cars all lights goes off after 15min of the car being locked
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 *In the past, I have owned Honda Civics and Honda Accords* !! *Currently, I have a 2007 Honda CR-V* !! *Several of my Civics and Accords had well over 200,000 miles when they were traded* !! *My current CR-V was purchased for a LOW price* !! *Very little money has been spent to keep my current CR-V running* !! *LOVE all three of these Honda vehicles* !! *My current CR-V gets 27 - 29 mpg* !! *GLAD to see your parents take such good care of their Accord* !! #CarWizard 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
I have this car; those interior lights come on and stay on for a minute when you turn it off and get out, you wouldn't notice one left on unless you stood there a while.
Yes I watch my car to make sure they go out lol. Shouldn’t have to though, I’m just a bit paranoid lol
@@Dankcatvacs The base models don't have that feature. The EX model and higher might have that on this generation.
I remember when Ford got the bright idea to instal a fuel pump cutoff switch in the trunk. I swear if you coughed near the car it would trip the switch. I lost count of how many times I fixed a no start problem by hitting the reset button on the side of the trunk trim.
Did the "chargeback-lady" really just get away with not have to pay for Wizard's service?
Sounds not right, especially since she agreed to pay..🤷🏻♀
I recently thought I found a nail in one of my tires. Instead of immediately prying out the nail and starting the tire to leak down, I made an appointment with the VW dealership to have the nail removed and the tire plugged.
As it turned out, it wasn't a nail at all. It was just a pebble, stuck in the tread, the same size as the head of a roofing nail. They spent another half an hour, inspecting the tires to make sure there were no foreign objects or leaks. No charge. I could hardly believe it! But you can be sure, I'll keep on taking my Golf back to that shop for service and repair.
I completely agree with you wizard, although I got a 2015 Malibu and it’s barely giving me any issues, it greatly depends on the maintenance, I know people with Japanese cars that are falling apart and have a ton of problems because they have been neglected and abused…
Is that the generation where the bumper needs to be removed to change out a headlight?
I bought a as new 1963 Dodge with a 383 for a song because the battery kept draining overnight. I noticed all the added heavy bonding wires. I knew it was something simple. Turned out the trunk light (halogen type bulb) stayed on because the plunger switch was slightly bent, and stuck on. Found it by just having someone turn on and off all the switches, and open and close doors while I had a test light in the fuse box. Gorgeous car.
That said, on my boat I kept having batteries go weak real quick. Took them back to Sears, got another, same thing. Did it again-same thing. Finally I took my battery tester to the store, and EVERY battery on their racks were 10.5 volts!! Quit buying from Sears. Problem solved.
Great, I’m driving the same car as the wizard’s mom! 😂 At least mine is a EX-L with the 17” wheels but still a mom car
Modern cars pretty much _all_ have 'gas' struts / shocks. This means there is nitrogen gas inside, under some amount of pressure. Its job is too keep the oil from foaming when the internal piston rises and falls rapidly, as on a rough surface. Since nitrogen doesn't build pressure with heat as much as normal air does, performance stays relatively constant. Racers often use nitrogen in their tires for that reason, BTW. Anyway, if a shock is leaking oil we can assume it has lost its gas-pressure. That is really not a big problem most of the time, except when it is really 'busy'. The loss of pressure _does_ tend to reduce the basic 'stiffness' of the shock, to some extent. But, as long as the shock has not lost too much _oil,_ it will perform reasonably well for the majority of normal driving. The rear strut on this car looks to have lost enough oil to be a concern, but if it feels OK when driving there is no need to jump on the repair.
I left my ODB2 reader in the slot so I couldn't mislay it. And it turns out that it uses the battery hot, instead of the accesory hot, for power. So the reader was powering its Bluetooth circuit and whatever else to create a parasitic load!
My 2013 Acura tsx, nearly the same car as this in fact it’s actually called the Honda accord in other countries, had a constant battery drain that eventually lead to a total power steering failure, replacing my EPS module fixed it, dealer quoted 1500, our mechanic did it for 300, other then that this has been the most reliable easy to maintain car I’ve ever had
"I can't get my key out of the ignition !" Answer: Put transmission in park...
Hello, I have exactly the same car, if you take care of them they are wonderful. Thanks for the video.
Great video wizard I was hoping you could answer a question for me I have a 2012 Honda Accord same motor upon acceleration right front vibrates really bad nobody can figure it out I think it's a half shaft CV joint what do you think
Perfect timing; my '14 Vette has been trouble free, got a new battery a month ago. some really hot weather and she just died. Put her on a trickle charger for a couple of days and she seems fine but I'm still concerned and will bring it to my mechanic to check for: drains, bad starter/alternator or anything else.
Wiz, on your parents car, I'd take the bulb out of the dome light, or add a small beeper so they would hear it was on.
On your nice chargeback lady, that's not just rude, that's fraud. I know some folks who could quietly drain all of her fuel out one dark rainy night, so her car was the same way it was when she brought in into you.(g)
Don’t take the bulb out, put an LED bulb. It will not drain the battery even if you leave the light on all night!!!
@@ItsAlive111 A little more work to do, finding and buying the right bulb, and if they park for two weeks while on vacation...that's why I ignored that option.
@@lyfandeth He's a frickin mechanic and it literally takes less than a minute to put an LED bulb in. LEDs just weren't common 12 years ago but now they are. They last a lot longer and use a fraction of the electricity, so it wouldn't drain the battery overnight. Plus it's brighter, so you'd notice that it's on.
@@daveclark8337 The Wiz is a mechanic? Gee, I thought he was a paid actor, like The Monkees were.
LED bulbs are fine, but first you have to pull the existing bulb. Then go try to find a match at the parts store. Then come back and put it in.
Hey, if they're not going to use it, just pull the old bulb and save an hour of your time.
I've used LEDs since they only came in red, I know what they are.
@@lyfandeth With your thinking, next time a check engine light comes on , you should just yank out the bulb from the CEL so it doesn't come on anymore. Why 'waste time' fixing the actual problem? And DE3175 LED dome bulbs DO come in white.
I've had multiple fords and chevys since 2000... never any leaks. All bought used. Never one problem besides brakes and batteries.