The gents at TFLclassics were lucky enough to get a million mile ride honda Agreement in person. This 1990 Honda Accord LX was a mid-size four-door sedan. It has been on the road for over a million miles, in great shape and only needed towing once in its life.
Now owned by Honda for promotional purposes, this car spent most of its time on the road with a gentleman from the Northeast named Joe. Joe spent most of his time on the road traveling to different dealerships as a Honda employee. But what was Joe’s secret to maintaining his 1990 Honda Accord? Did he modify it, do some crazy ritual, or is the Honda Accord a special vehicle?
Well, the answer might not be as exciting as you’d like, but it’s a crucial lesson in car ownership.
The secret to keeping a car running for over a million miles
The secret… is tender loving care. During inspection of this car the interior appeared intact except for some stains on the seats and a worn steering wheel. The dash wasn’t cracked and the seats weren’t broken. This was incredible condition for a car that had seen over a million miles.
Even under the hood it looked to be in good shape for a 1990 Honda Accord. Sure, there was some corrosion, but that’s to be expected from a car that spent most of its life in the northeast The most impressive discovery for us was the file full of maintenance receipts. This is where tender loving care comes into play. Joe saved almost every maintenance receipt for the million miles.
The car has had a lot of work done and it’s hard to even estimate the amount of money spent on general maintenance. Glass repair and replacement receipts had their own file. Highlights of maintenance stats: 185 oil changes, nine timing belts, 13 sets of break pads, 72 tires, 31 transmission fluid changes.
The vehicle still had the original brake calipers, transmission and engine. No doubt this engine’s endurance was due to its 185 oil changes. Proper maintenance of a well-designed engine will continue to run longer than a person’s lifetime. The only time the car needed towing was at 741,000 miles, ten and a half years into Joe’s ownership. It was all due to a failed fuel pump.
This was the secret of this Honda Accord; consistent and thorough maintenance. We know, not the most exciting answer to the question. Maybe you’ve been looking for a more magical answer, but if you want to keep a car going for a million miles, it’s not about magic, it’s about maintenance.
This isn’t the only record-breaking car, and it’s certainly not the only Honda Accord to hit a million miles. Let’s not forget the three million mile man who drove a Volvo P1800, Irv Gordon. Irv attributed his three million mile record to his willingness to fix every problem that came up with his Volvo P1800. He loved the car and wanted to keep driving it, and that’s exactly what he did. The car ended up overtaking him.
Is the Honda Accord a reliable car?
Let’s face it, the 1990 Honda Accord was a well-made car. As the fourth generation of its type, it had solved the problems of the previous models, such as anti-lock brakes and airbags. At this time Honda was a reliable company.
Japan had created a revolution within the automobile industry. After some failures they adopted some of the ideas of the West, but they also adopted a more communal attitude. They welcomed the voice of the worker and this environment put Japan at the forefront of innovative car design.
The 1990 Honda Accord, at the time of its release, was something special. The all-aluminum 2.2-liter inline four had four valves per cylinder. With 125 horsepower it was enough to get the 2,800-pound body to 60 mph in about eight seconds. The Honda Accord was a reliable and durable car, because Honda was a reliable company. This particular model had a new body style at the time called the CB7, and Joe’s 1990 Honda Accord was a base trim model. It wasn’t the EX special, it was a standard Honda Accord, but it still lasted a million miles.
In a culture that’s quick to ditch the old for the new, it’s hard to believe that anyone would keep a car long enough to get to a million miles minus three. Now, could any car get that kind of mileage if you put in the right care? The reality is that proper care and investment should keep a car running indefinitely.
We think this highlights the durability and reliability of many of the vintage cars. With proper care and attention, many vehicles from the 1980s and 1990s can last forever.
