CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2001 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure, subframe rust, & problems with the airbag system (SRS). We recommend avoiding this model year like the plague.
The transmission begins slipping & eventually has to be replaced, typically soon after 100,000 miles & with a repair cost of over $2,000. Transmission failure problems have been a huge problem for Honda Accords & other models all through the early 2000s model years. Honda eventually extended the transmission warranty to 93 months/109k miles for the 2000-2001 Accords as settlement for a class action lawsuit, but that period is over & owners of Accords with transmission problems are out of luck.
Subframe rust near the front passenger side wheel has become a problem recently, due to the poorly positioned A/C drain hose directly above that area. Repair cost to the subframe is over $2,000.
The SRS warning light likes to come on due to a defective seat belt sensor -- typically the driver's side. This sensor is covered under Honda's lifetime seat belt warranty, but some dealers charge a $100+ "diagnostic fee" or tell customers the entire SRS unit ($800) is bad. Also make sure your 2001 Accord has been checked for the airbag recall: excessive pressure may cause metal fragments during airbag deployment.
At first I thought my grandchild was spilling juice or pop on the floor in the back on the passenger side where the car seat is. When I tried cleaning it up the liquid kept draining back from somewhere unknown but eventually got better. The next time it rained there was about 4 inches of liquid on the floor on the passenger side yet again in the back & about 2 inches in the front. For 10 months autumn, winter, spring, rain, snow, car wash equaled guaranteed flood. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from, no rust or holes & it didn't make sense coming from the floor up.
Fed up in spring, I took it to the car to Honda, they thought it might be coming from the doors or floor panel but it was dry then I took the car back to the body shop I had hail damage repairs done 2 months before the flood first began. Backlogged until July they finally got my car in & discovered the floods were coming from the leaky drain somewhere around my undamaged sunroof. They plugged up one side & no more floods since.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
At first I thought my grandchild was spilling juice or pop on the floor in the back on the passenger side where the car seat is. When I tried cleaning it up the liquid kept draining back from somewhere unknown but eventually got better. The next time it rained there was about 4 inches of liquid on the floor on the passenger side yet again in the back & about 2 inches in the front. For 10 months autumn, winter, spring, rain, snow, car wash equaled guaranteed flood. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from, no rust or holes & it didn't make sense coming from the floor up.
Fed up in spring, I took it to the car to Honda, they thought it might be coming from the doors or floor panel but it was dry then I took the car back to the body shop I had hail damage repairs done 2 months before the flood first began. Backlogged until July they finally got my car in & discovered the floods were coming from the leaky drain somewhere around my undamaged sunroof. They plugged up one side & no more floods since.
- Carye S., Calgary, AB, Canada