2007 Accord EX - front bumper advice

[Carl H]

I carefully inspected my 2007 Accord EX diesel before I bought it and I noticed the following :-

1. Some of the clips at the top of the grille looked like they had been disturbed.
2. One of the fins on the grille is cracked (not noticeable until you get right up close)
3. The sump guard / undertray is slightly crinkled at the front
4. One of the clips under the bumper is missing and has been replaced by a cable tie.

The bumper itself is spotless. The lights, panels, panel gaps, etc did not ring any alarm bells and everything under the bonnet and underneath looked straight and original.

The HPI check did not report any accidents or insurance claims, so I concluded that it had had a minor bump and had a new bumper fitted by someone other than a proper bodyshop (who would hopefully have straightened the undertray and used proper Honda clips). No big deal for a 6 year old car, I didn't think, so I bought it.

However... it's just struck me that it does not have front foglights or headlight washers - and these were fitted as standard to the EX.

The replacement bumper must have come from a lower spec car. Either cos it was cheaper, or an EX one wasn't available, or it because whoever fitted it was a cowboy and didn't realise or care it was missing a few things.

Regardless of why, I'm annoyed, both by the fact that my lovely car isn't quite as perfect as I first thought, and that I didn't notice this when I was buying it.

Anyway, now I've poured my heart out over it... what are my options?

Can I fit front fog lights to the bumper that I've got? It has black vents where the fog lights should be.

Or am I better off getting the correct bumper for it? If so, any suggestions from where, and how much it would be? Will any bumper fit or will it have to be a diesel EX?

Or maybe an aftermarket bumper? Are they a direct replacement or would I need to change other things as well? How much am I looking at?

And also - how easy is it to do? Can I do it myself or am I better going to a car body place?

 

[Stevearcade]

Best option is a breakers yard with an exec the same colour and get the bumper, fogs and washers in. Retro fitting fogs is one thing, but retro fitting headlight washers I reckon is messy and easier to just get a replacement bumper with everything there ready to go.

If you're prepared to spend some cash, you can get any colour and get it sprayed.

 

[shab_the_man]

replacement bumper pal. Put a pic up of the front of the car so i can visulalise

 

[Carl H]

I'll take a photo at lunchtime if it's not absolutely lashing it down.

I suppose I'm asking too much for a breaker to take my existing bumper in part exchange... :lol:

 

[shab_the_man]

I'll take a photo at lunchtime if it's not absolutely lashing it down.

I suppose I'm asking too much for a breaker to take my existing bumper in part exchange... :lol:

No harm in asking however they probably won't give you any cash. You never know

If you can't get rid of it maybe a member on here will take it off your hands as a freebie

 

[Carl H]

Put a pic up of the front of the car so i can visulalise

This do?

 

[Stevearcade]

Retro fitting Fogs would be fairly straight forward. But like I said, the washers is a whole other matter. I reckon your best bet is to get a replacement from a scrap yard and replace the whole thing. Also, you don't know how much of the washer mechanism is still there, so you mean need a fair deal of the hoses etc.

 

[shab_the_man]

Is your motor a facelift?

 

[Carl H]

Yeah, I guess the first thing I should do is have a look and check that the wiring for the fogs and the washer hoses are still there.

Is your motor a facelift?

I haven't managed to work that out :blush:

What's the difference? It's a 2007 model.

 

[Carl H]

Does this help with whether or not it's a facelift model?

 

[Stevearcade]

It's a facelift which means it's less likely to have xenons and then you don't need headlamp washers. I think the next step is to check if your headlamps are xenons. If they are you need headlamp washers and the easiest route is a full bumper replacement from a breakers.

If they're not xenons, you don't need headlamp washers and you only need to fit the fog lamps. For this, you can get replacements (including the plastic trim surround) from a breakers or new replicas from eBay perhaps, remove the bumper, undo one screw behind the black plastic and the plastic bit will pop out. Fit your fogs in and ***uming the wiring's still there somewhere, just plug and play.

But as I type this, I thought, do you definitely have a front fog lamp selector on your left indicator switch? If not, it probably means the car never had front fogs. It's unlikely for an Exec, but you never know.

 

[shab_the_man]

Carl you have the wrong bumper on your car completely. You have a pre facelift bumper on a facelift car.
You need to get the right bumper for this car.

 

[Stevearcade]

Yeah! Damn! I knew something was wrong with that picture. This is what your front end should look like:

 

[J4JAV]

you have wrong bumper and grille mate, if you car is an EX then you have headlamp washers and also fog lights factory fitted... if your car is an SE/ES then you won't... I reckon your car has been in a slight bump and they have put any old bumper they can find!

 

[J4JAV]

also guys just to clarify... majority of Honda Accord's wether facelift or non facelift come with factory fitted Xenons/HIDs - only the 2.4 EX/Executive Accords which are automatic transmission have them factory fitted, and thats from 2003 - 2008...

 

[Stevearcade]

also guys just to clarify... majority of Honda Accord's wether facelift or non facelift come with factory fitted Xenons/HIDs - only the 2.4 EX/Executive Accords which are automatic transmission have them factory fitted, and thats from 2003 - 2008...

Sorry Jav, that last one doesn't quite make sense. Can you confirm, do you mean they don't come with xenons apart from Execs?

Also, mine's a manual Exec with Xenons. Would they have been an optional extra chosen by the original purchaser? Or do all execs manual or auto have xenons as standard?

I'm not doubting what you're saying, I just don't know myself and want to make doubly sure I've got my facts straight. Cheers buddy.

 

[J4JAV]

Steve, all 2003 - 2005 pre facelift and also 2006 - 2008 facelift 2.4 Accord EX which are Automatic have then factory fitted as standard, as Honda classed these as their flagship models...

Now as for yours yes it could have well been an option fitted by Honda from new by the original purchaser, but this is very very rare, as Honda wanted silly money for this optional extra so the majority never asked for it all...

What year is yours mate? Can I ask, do you have the headlight adjustment toggle on the right side of the drivers steering wheel next to the VSA switch?

 

[Stevearcade]

Nope. No toggle and strangely, my mate who had the exact same car as me also had Xenons, factory fitted, no toggle switch. They're both 2003 manual 2.4 exec models.

 

[toffee_pie]

My manual 2.4 Ex is 2004, got HID standard, no self level switch. Only the halogen models have a level adjuster, all the HIDs are self levelling as discussed here plenty times, they got the headlight jets too which is a give away for HID lights, any car in the UK with washer jets almost for sure got HIDs.

 

[jayok]

Confusion is rampant here...

From 2003-2005 Pre-Facelift ONLY the 2.4 Executive (Manual or Auto) came with HIDs. The also came with levellers and washers as these are a legal requirement from the Euro build standards (and UK). The 2.2 diesel and 2.0 petrol executive also came with headlight washers, but do NOT have HIDs. The washers are there to clear the halogen lens.

From 2006-2008 Facelift ONLY the 2.4 Auto with the optional ADAS came with HIDs. All other cars, headlight washers or not came with standard Halogens. So unless, the car is a 2.4 Automatic with ADAS, you won't have factory fitted HIDs. These HIDs were sold as part of Honda's safety pack and was something like an additional £5K add-on - so wasn't popular.

Now, the OP has the wrong bumper for the generation and I ***ume he still has the foglight switch on the left-hand stalk? Unless they cut off the wiring, it should be an easy enough re-fit. As for the washers, this is just a splitter junction in the water hose that comes from the pump on the OSF of the car. But you need to see how much of a hack job they done.

 

[Stevearcade]

Nice one Jason. That makes things clear. That would explain why my car and my mates have HIDs.

 

[Carl H]

you have wrong bumper and grille mate,

Are the bumpers and grilles interchangeable between pre and post facelift? I think I prefer the grille I've got to the one in the pics that Steve Arcade posted. If I put the right bumper on, will I have to change the grille as well?

if you car is an EX then you have headlamp washers and also fog lights factory fitted... if your car is an SE/ES then you won't...

It's definitely an EX. It does have the front (and rear) foglight switch on the indicator stalk, and it has a headlight aim adjuster switch next to the VSA button.

I reckon your car has been in a slight bump and they have put any old bumper they can find!

Think you're right. I'm annoyed with myself for noticing it had had a new bumper but not spotting it was the wrong one. I'd never have known it was the wrong bumper for the year but I should have noticed the foglights not being there.

 

[Carl H]

Another question... think I read on here somewhere something about the bumpers are different on the inside between petrols and diesels?

Do I need a bumper off a diesel EX or will one off a petrol EX fit? Obviously it would be embarrassing if, in a few months time, I post photos of my car with new bumper, and someone points out that it's the wrong bumper.

 

[jayok]

The diesel is different from the petrol - so you'll need to get a Diesel EX one

 

[toffee_pie]

my head hurts after reading this...!

so many variants.

 

[Mr Honda]

Your chassis number will dictate what actual year the car is... look at the last 8 digits and if it's a 7c******, then it's a 2007 production, if it's a 5c****** then it's a 2005 production and you could have a facelift bonnet and headlamps with stock 05 bumper.... sorry to confuse the matter further but you will never know the full history of a second hand car

 

[Mr Honda]

The diesel is different from the petrol - so you'll need to get a Diesel EX one

AFAIK that was only on the prefacelift model

 

[jayok]

AFAIK that was only on the prefacelift model

Think they are still different between the petrol and diesel. The diesel different is to accommodate the intercooler and difference in the cooling system.

 

[Mr Honda]

Yeah, my understanding was that that was for the prefacelift, but they improved the cooling system on the facelift and therefore there was no need for the difference in bumpers....

2.2 http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/honda/accord/honda-accord-2-2-i-ctdi-sport-4dr-leather-alcantara-interior/1824551

2.4 http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/honda/accord/honda-accord-2-4-i-vtec-ex--plus-dvd-sat-nav-hft-bluetooth-at/1596509

 

[Carl H]

And here I was thinking I'd be able to get a bumper like this....

I had a look around the net for an aftermarket front bumper, but there don't seem to be any for the Accord.

Anyway... thanks for all the replies and info, much appreciated.

One other question though - is the grille the same shape and fit on pre and post facelift cars? When I change the bumper, will I need a new grille as well?