I just replaced my starter on my 2007 EXL (192K miles) with a Honda OEM unit. I followed Mr. Ranger's excellent video (
), which got me 90% of the way. BTW, if you haven't watched his videos, you are missing out. He has elevated instructional videos to a work of art. They are short, to the point, contain everything you need to do the repair and nothing else. Truly excellent, and I urge anyone considering making such videos to follow his model.
In summary, it's not a hard job, but it's involved and time consuming because of lack of access. If you are considering it go for it, it will save you a bunch of money. But watch the video carefully and make sure you have all the tools.
So why 90% there? It's not his fault at all, different years/models have slight differences and no single video can account for them all. So consider this an addendum. It's better understood after watching the video.
Ask me if anything is not clear, or if you need more detail.
Why did I replace the starter? It was making a grinding noise on cold startups (I have another thread with a short video) when the temperature was near or below freezing. I suspect the gear was not retracting fast enough and was grinding on the flywheel, which potentially spells big trouble down the line. The problem seems rectified, but I need to wait for a really cold morning (low 20s or less) to confirm. I suspect I could have lubed the gear and put it back, but I had a new one at hand and I figured at 192K miles it served me well.
In summary, it's not a hard job, but it's involved and time consuming because of lack of access. If you are considering it go for it, it will save you a bunch of money. But watch the video carefully and make sure you have all the tools.
So why 90% there? It's not his fault at all, different years/models have slight differences and no single video can account for them all. So consider this an addendum. It's better understood after watching the video.
- Intake dam had two plastic pins attaching it to the body, easily removed with needle nose pliers.
- I did not have to bend the tab holding the intake plenum as he did. You can loosen the battery tray by removing all the bolts and take it out first.
- I could not remove the battery tray from the top (my tray was different than his), some bolts were only accessible from the bottom. To access them you have to remove the lower plastic cover, which has a myriad of plastic clips and a 10mm bolt attaching it to the front bumper cover and the subframe. If you have replaced those clips with ones bought from Amazon (like me), they are one-time use. You cannot remove them like the factory clips by lifting the middle pin and pulling them, they will break. So have spares. Moreover, there are two sizes of these clips (I think most are 10mm and a couple are 8mm, but don't quote me on that).
- Keep track of how you removed things, you need to follow the reverse order exactly when you put them back. I am mostly referring to brackets, cables, etc, which you have to remove to gain access to the starter bolts.
- I could not see the lower starter bolt from the top (no way to do it from below) like the video. I used a mirror and tried to feel my way through.
- Be ready with a nice collection of wobble extensions and lengths. You will end up trying various combinations to fit your ratchet in there.
- I removed a few more cables/brackets than in the video to gain better access. Not hard at all.
- My starter looked exactly like his, with the bolts along the width (short dimension) of the starter. I have seen other videos where starters looked different, with the bolts going the length of the starter. Make sure you have the right starter.
Ask me if anything is not clear, or if you need more detail.
Why did I replace the starter? It was making a grinding noise on cold startups (I have another thread with a short video) when the temperature was near or below freezing. I suspect the gear was not retracting fast enough and was grinding on the flywheel, which potentially spells big trouble down the line. The problem seems rectified, but I need to wait for a really cold morning (low 20s or less) to confirm. I suspect I could have lubed the gear and put it back, but I had a new one at hand and I figured at 192K miles it served me well.
