The Honda Engine That Survived 7 Generations And Over 1 Million Miles

In 1982, a Honda Accord rolled off the production line in Maryville, Ohio, marking an auspicious occasion in U.S. car manufacturing history: The first Japanese car built in the U.S. Six years later, the Ohio plant chalked up its the one-millionth Accord, with other Japanese car makers also lining up to build an enviable reputation for reliable, U.S. manufactured vehicles. However, it was Honda that literally went the extra mile.

When a fourth generation Honda Accord LX ticked over the one million mile mark, the manufacturer was so impressed with its feat of longevity that, according to TFLclassics, it took the car back, gifting the owner a free replacement vehicle. Honda now uses this humble four-cylinder sedan as a show pony — for example, in this YouTube video from TFLclassics, we see Honda's million-mile star and its original 2.2 liter engine performing for the camera — 185 oil changes, 31 transmission fluid changes, 13 sets of brake pads, 72 tires, nine timing belts, and seven generations of the Accord later. 

This 1990 Accord was still going strong when Honda's 11th generation appeared in 2023, taking line honors in our list of every generation of the Honda Accord ranked worst to best. An impeccably built iteration of the long-standing brand, the fourth generation Accord was designed for the American market, building on Honda's reputation with its clean lines, good ergonomics, and never-say-die engine. The rubber really met the road with this one — in terms of longevity, at least.

First introduced in the fourth generation Accord, Honda's F-series engine breathes on four valves per cylinder, with the previous generation A-series Accord engine huffing on only three: two inlet valves, and one exhaust. But despite its 16-valve, single overhead cam design, the F22A1 engine in the 1990 Accord LX is no fire-breathing, high performance beast, hitting its modest peak power at just 5200 rpm.

Honda F-series engines are highly versatile, turning up, for example, under the hood of the Rover 600, the British-built pretender to the BMW 3 Series crown. When equipped with a double overhead cam and Honda's proprietary VTEC variable valve timing technology, the F-series can coax some serious power from its all-aluminum head and block. 

Honda's flagship S2000 sports car squeezes a daunting 240 hp from an engine no bigger than what we find in the Accord LX, but at 8300 rpm, not 5200. As anyone who builds race engines will tell you, such high-revving power comes at the cost of long-term reliability.

Compared to the later, more powerful S2000, the 1990 fourth generation Honda Accord is a sheep in sheep's clothing. The humble, mile-munching LX puts out 125 hp from the 2.2-liter four banger. It's also living well within its means — a crucial factor in its incredible longevity.

To put this achievement in perspective, a million miles is roughly the equivalent of going to the moon and back, twice, and then around the world, twice. To reach the one millionth milestone in your own car, you might try driving an average of 80 miles a day for the next 34 years — but clearly, such a schedule requires not only a serious dedication to driving, but to maintenance as well. Fortunately the car's former owner, Joe, loved both. 

A former service technician for Honda, Joe acquired his blue Accord sedan in 1996 at 74,002 miles, before clocking up many more miles driving it to dealerships around the North East, according to TFLclassics, who recounted Joe's belief that with correct maintenance at proper intervals "you should be able to make the car go essentially forever."

Among a trunkful of service and parts receipts, one document unearthed in the video shows the 1990 Honda Accord LX broke down just once, when a fuel pump was replaced at 741,000 miles, and has had no major engine or transmission repairs in its lifetime. 

This commitment to maintaining an impeccable service record, combined with a love of driving, is a philosophy Joe has in common with science teacher Irv Gordon, whose record-breaking Volvo has more than three million miles. Just like Honda, Volvo has also reacquired their high-mileage P1800 showpiece, carefully maintaining their record-breaking red coupe while allowing it out, on occasions, for a test drive.