Power windows - '04 Accord

One thing I've noticed that Honda should change on the Accords is that when
the window lock is set by the driver, the driver should still be able to
operate the windows while locking the other passengers, i.e. kids out.
Anyone else annoyed by this?

 

lol...too funny.I bought a 2001 ex last week and noticed that nuisance last
night...thought it was strange also!

 

I'm not. I don't find it that difficult to flip a switch to allow operation
of the windows. It's not as if the switch is in the trunk or glove
compartment, it's right there beside the other switch you've got your hand
on.

--
Brian

www.cakesbydarlene.ca

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

 

The point is to give the driver "control" of all the windows in the car.
The driver shouldn't have to give up control even for a few seconds in order
to open his/her own window. No it's not difficult or serious, but it's an
obvious engineering/design flaw that along with the other obvious flaws in
the new version released in 2003 that should have been corrected while the
car was still in design spec. stage.

Other flaws? 1. Location of hood release. 2. Dash level airflow leak
when set for feet or windshield. 3. No interior light sensor to adjust
dash lights brighter when headlights on during daylight (overcast, rain,
etc.). All minor annoyances to be sure, in an otherwise fine vehicle, but
ones that would have cost little to nothing to rectify if recognized early
enough.


Bob

 

If you had small kids that rode in the back seats you'd understand.

The switch shouldn't disable the drivers functions... even my crappy chevy
malibu got it right.

 

Hey Bob, I haven't noticed the other concerns you noted...

.... as far a dash illumination have you tried turning the trip odometer all
the way to the right while using the head lights during the day?

 

In my opinion, the driver still has complete control over all of the windows
in the car. A split second is all it takes to flip the switch to the other
position to control the windows other than the driver's. Am I missing
something here? Are you saying that the driver's window is controlled by the
master switch now?

I've had every 2004 model out for test drives, and had every compartment
door or cover opened. I didn't find any releases to be in a strange or
difficult to access location.

Is this something peculilar to your vehicle or do you believe that every
model has the same problem? I never noticed it in any of the vehicles I had
out.

on during daylight (overcast, >rain, etc.).

This is something that I don't believe Honda will ever do anything about. I
found it a nuisance annoyance back in '79 with my first Accord (but, then
reaching forward and turning the dash lighting control up, solved that
problem). I've become oblivious to this minor inconvenience, in much the
same way that many people deal the speed limit ;^)

--
Brian

www.cakesbydarlene.ca

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

 

Thankfully, I am blessed with the fact that the two of ours are out on their
own. That aside, I don't see what possible difference that makes to having
to flip a switch. Maybe I don't see the problem, because I very seldom have
any need to put my windows down or up.

That's something I'll agree with 'crappy chevy'. I never had any luck with
that manufacturer. Their vehicles spent more time in their shops then they
did in my driveway (a wee bit of an exaggeration, but not too far off the
mark).

--
Brian

www.cakesbydarlene.ca

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

 

Thankfully, I am blessed with the fact that the two of ours are out on their
own. That aside, I don't see what possible difference that makes to having
to flip a switch.[/QUOTE]

The point is, once you flip the switch to give yourself control, you
also give the kid control--and now it's a battle for you to get the
window up and the switch flipped back while the kid is fighting to get
the window down.

The lockout switch *should* disable local control switches while leaving
the main control switches at the driver's door enabled.

Get it now? It's obviously been a long, long time since you've had kids.

 

on during daylight (overcast, >rain, etc.).

This is something that I don't believe Honda will ever do anything about. I
found it a nuisance annoyance back in '79 with my first Accord (but, then
reaching forward and turning the dash lighting control up, solved that
problem).[/QUOTE]

But the 04 is way, way different than anything before it with respect to
the dash lighting. In a normal car, in daylight conditions where you'd
want the headlights on, it doesn't matter--because the dash lights
aren't required to see the instruments. You don't even know they're on,
quite frankly.

But in the 03 and up Accord, the dash is black until the car comes on.
When you turn the headlights on, the car ASSUMES--that's a bad
thing--that it's nighttime out, and so it automatically lowers the
REQUIRED instrument lighting a good deal.

The car has no way to accommodate those situations where it's not really
dark out and the dash lights SHOULDN'T be down that far as if it were
dark out.

In other words, the car should have a small light sensor on it to guide
the behavior of the REQUIRED instrument backlighting, such that the
instruments are still visible in the daylight even though you may have
CHOSEN to turn the headlights on.

Either you're just not getting it, or you're out to cause an argument.

 

Yup. You're missing the point that once the master on/off switch is set
to on in order to give the driver control, you've also given the kid
control. You're missing the battle that goes on between the kid using
his switch and the driver using his switch.

He's been saying that all along. The master switch is master--and it
cuts out the driver's switch, too, which shouldn't be.

 

I didn't realize that the '04's master switch disabled the driver's window
control.

It would be just a matter of tellng the child to stop and put the window
back up. At least my children listened to me when they were little. But,
then again, they still listen to me now while they're in their twenties.

--
Brian

www.cakesbydarlene.ca

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

 

It would be just a matter of tellng the child to stop and put the window
back up.[/QUOTE]

Generally it is, but some kids sometimes get it in their minds not to
listen.

 

Sure - I can manually adjust the brightness to maximum when I turn the
headlights on in daylight, but then I have to manually adjust it back to my
preferred nighttime setting later on after dark. Extra work and distraction
from driving that should not be necessary. An interior cabin light sensor
would have been a much more elegant solution.


Bob

 

GEE
Did you buy a Honda Accord or a >50K Lexus LS 430?

Typical American, needs to ask permission to an arm in order to move the
other one.

 

I have a 2003, and perhaps they corrected this one in 2004. The hood
release in my car is next to the drivers left foot where the side panel
underneath the dash meets the floor. It is necessary to get out of the
vehicle and squat or kneel on the ground to reach.

Every one I test drove had the same leak. A small amount of air flowing
though the dash vents when the airflow was set to the feet or the
windshield.

I too had my first Accord in 1979. It was my first brand new car, as
well. I fondly remember plunking down a $25.00 deposit and picking from the
long list of 2 offered accesories , and then choosing from the myriad of
colors offered (Silver and Maroon) and patiently waiting 6 months for what I
was damn sure was going to be the best car in the world for the money
($6340.00). I was never diasappointed in the vehicle and might still have
it today if I hadn't been sandwiched in a rear ender that totaled it.

Honda should have learned a lesson from their radio supplier in '79.
Mine had an FM stereo/casette player ( may have been made by Alpine) with a
bright green LED display for station/clock. Built into the radio itself was
a roomlight sensor that automatically adjusted the brighness of the LED
based on cabin light conditions.

Bob

 

GEE
Did you buy a Honda Accord or a >50K Lexus LS 430?

 

Every one I test drove had the same leak. A small amount of air flowing
though the dash vents when the airflow was set to the feet or the
windshield.[/QUOTE]

Everyone seems confused by this. This is by design. Outside air is
always flowing into the cabin via the dash vents, unless you manually
turn the vent in question off.

Honda (and Mazda) has done this forever.

 

Everyone seems confused by this. This is by design. Outside air is
always flowing into the cabin via the dash vents, unless you manually
turn the vent in question off.

Honda (and Mazda) has done this forever.
[/QUOTE]

I am talking about *fan forced* air, not a leisurely flow of outisde
air. My '79 Accord, '86 Integra, '89 Accord, and 94 Quest did not do this.
And if it's by design, then it's the designers who are confused to think
that this is desirable. When I want heat on my feet and not on my face I
choose the "floor" airflow setting. If I wanted heated air in both places I
would choose the dual airflow setting specifically designed to push air at
the floor *and* the dash level vents. No car I have ever owned has also
forced me to also close the dash vents to prevent heated air to my face
while the floor setting was on.....


Bob

 

Again, Honda has done this forever. Not only is it outside air, but
it's the temperature of the heater setting.

Go figure.

My Lexus has this little crotch vent that's tied to the dash vents;
there's no way to turn it off, only redirect it. Either my crotch gets
cold, or my ankles get cold.

It's not only Honda who does weird things.