I recently replaced by car battery with an oem battery from the Honda Dealership after I had issues starting my car. I thought I needed a new battery but the issue still persist. It often takes a few times of hitting the push start button to get the engine on when it's a cold start. When I turn the key to the on position, I hear a click, the dash board lights up like normal, and the radio turns on but I don't hear any effort of the engine wanting to start.

This issue gets worse after I drive the car for 20+ miles. Let's say I go get gas. The engine is fully warm. I try to restart the car to go on my way and the engine will absolutely not start after hitting the engine start button 10 plus times. It doesn't even want to crank. However my dashboard, car alarm, and radio work perfectly fine. I looked at the connections to the (-) and (+) for the car battery and everything looks clean. I don't see any excessive corrosion.

I have not modified or added any new electronics to my car in the past four years of ownership. The car is a 2006 model with 180,000 miles. I would like to add that the past four years I have had this car, there always seems to be a loud screeching noise when I start the car (I assume this is coming from the starter). Do these symptoms listed above appear to be a starter going bad?

If so, I seen online that the Honda Parts websites sell both a new oem starter and a refurbished ones for half the price. Are the refurbished ones reliable?

 

The strange noise you've been hearing when you crank it this whole time isn't anything to worry about. Mine does the same thing. I researched the forums and apparently it's pretty common. the starter's gear isn't retracting as quickly as it should after you let off the button. If I remember correctly, the fix is to take off the starter and lube something up in there. Exactly what, I forget. You can probably figure it out when you get it off or find the answer on the forum somewhere (probably the FAQ), but most people just conclude it's more trouble than its worth.

As for your primary issue, sounds like possibly a starter solenoid to me. I've never had to mess with the starter on these cars. I'd start by finding the starter and making sure all the cables are clean and tight on the back. May be as simple as a loose wire. Easiest thing first and go from there.

 

Yes, that or the Solenoid. They are in the same unit. You can buy a solenoid on its own, but it's almost as expensive as replacing the whole starter... That, and Honda discontinued stocking it.. It's a royal b*tch to get to, I'd replace the whole thing.

On any other Japanese car I've ever owned or worked on, yes, remanufactured Denso, Keihin, and other 3rd-party parts are just fine, and will last 100K+ miles. The original parts were made by a 3rd party for Honda. Denso made the starter, alternator, most sensors, coils, etc. Keihin makes AC compressors... The list goes on.

Make damn sure you either

A. Buy it from a Honda dealer, or
B. Buy a rm'd name brand DENSO starter from a reputable company not Ebay.

 

I had these same symptoms with mine for about 4 months leading up till one day when all I would get was a click every time I pushed the button. I was also 300 miles from home and had to push start it and leave it running for the rest of the trip :/

Replace the starter. Don't let that top bolt scare you, it's super easy with the right extensions. Biggest PITA is just maneuvering the old starter out from the bottom and lodging the new one in lol

 

I had the same symptoms as you and it ended up being my starter.

 

I had RockStar Garage in Ontario, CA replace my starter today. I purchased a refurbished one from BillKay Honda. My car starts up with no problems now.

Thank you for the help everyone. I no longer have to push my car down the street to start it.

 

Thanks, for posting this. Glad it worked out ok.

 

Good to hear!