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2004 Anticipated Repairs. OEM or Upgrage.

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  gilbertguy 
#1 ·
I acquired a 2004 5-speed about a year ago and have only scant knowledge of its prior service history. As it is currently around 160K miles, I know that many of the original parts will soon wear out and need replacement.

I plan to take it to the shop in a few weeks to get the engine tuned, transmission and brake fluids changed, and a full inspection.

From your experiences, are there any non-OEM parts that should be substituted or upgraded to when the time comes, or should I just accept the standard items that the dealer shop would use?

Thank you.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Hi Uncled,

This is a good question, and I guess the answer is depending on the person.

I personally have not been to a Honda dealer at all , and I have my car for a little over an year now. I get all the parts online, trying to stick to OEM parts while they are available, and then I bring the parts and consumables to a local shop and they install replace for me.

This way I know what part is in the car and I do not pay the "premium" which is often associated with "the dealer".

some small number of the parts can be substituted with aftermarket ones, but I believe it would not be an upgrade in most cases as this car was designed with a lot of thought and innovation to be so light and fuel efficient, so chances are with non original parts the MPG would suffer.

There are a lot of posts here as people try other possibilities and post their findings, for example if you are not after a higher mpg but instead you need better handling then there are several choices of non OEM tires which will do the job perfectly,

oil is another thing, some people get better results in the tranny with other brands of oil . I use mobile 1 for the engine and the car is happy with it....

quick drain valve is a good choice over the OEM drain plug , as many oil changes tend to strip the oil pan...

there are several providers of OEM parts which for me Majestic Honda works the best:

Honda Automotive Parts

good luck!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Not that many aftermarket

From what I've seen there aren't that many aftermarket parts out there for this car. My CEL light was on for a bad LAF sensor, I put in a Bosch for about half the price of the Honda sensor. Also I put in aftermarket hatch lift struts at half the cost of the Honda struts. Several other parts that I've needed I could only get at Honda: hatch release motor, clutch master and slave cylinder, and I need rear shocks.

So if you are talking about stuff like oil and spark plugs (which i did buy Honda plugs $$$ for the indexing) then there are some choices out there but car specific parts you will probably end up buying from Honda.

Now about the IMA battery.... you have a few choices to go with:
1) pay dealer prices 3-5 thousand
2) pull the battery out yourself and break it down to individual sticks, there are threads on the forum that discuss this
3) If you live on the east coast might want to use Ron in NY: Hybrid-Battery-Repair
4) If you live on west coast might want to use Matt in Phoenix: HybridReVolt: Hybrid Battery Repair


Hey uncleb, please edit your profile so others can see where you are from, there are probably other Insight owners where you are that can help you with issues and questions.
 
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