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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
75,829 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Honda Accord drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2001 Honda Accord Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #41

Oct 202003

Accord 4-cyl

  • 37,405 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Bought the car new in 2001 from john Eagle Honda clear lake. The first transmission gave out at 37400 miles due to a defective transmission. Car transmission suddenly started making noise and slipping between gears. Honda placed vehicle on their computer and received an error message. We were told a new transmission was only solution. The same error message came up on the "new" transmission. We were told to try Honda customer service for assistance, which told us the solution, was totally up to the dealership. We waited for over two weeks for [xxx]to call; I had to call him again today to get his reply. The clear lake Honda dealership that we have been going to since 1997 says their "hands are tied". [xxx] the service manager states he talked to vernon sage, district manager, and states they have no transmissions to correct another defected transmission but they can sell me a new one??!! this is an issue of safety not just cost and it is absolutely unacceptable that Honda cannot honor their mistake. If this transmission would go out while on a highway there could be a real tragedy. They knowingly replaced transmissions with the same defect. This car is driven 90 percent on the highway and wells maintained w/the same Honda dealer. There is no reason that this car should need two transmissions within only 112000 miles. The dealer passes the problem to Honda customer service, which in turn hands the problem back over to the dealer. It should be a crime to know of a failure that could cause a major tragedy and not honor or accept your mistake and make it right. This is an issue caused 100% by a known defective transmission that Honda and the dealership are completely aware of. There are entirely too many other Honda owners with the exact same problem with the second transmission. There is not any "goodwill" from Honda by putting in the same defect. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Pearland, TX, USA

problem #40

Nov 172012

Accord

  • 130,000 miles
Hi purchased a used Honda Accord on Saturday everything ran fine for about 30 min the. When I got off the freeway I noticed to trans was starting to slip got home and looked under the car and there was trans fluid everywhere on the ground car had lost a good amount of atf. Just spent 4000 on a used car went to the dealer told me the trans was serviced there at 114,000 miles for a trans service 16,000 miles later in going in on a massive leak. Reading about this trans has me worried as I got a car with decent miles thought I'd get a lot more then 40 miles out of it it's at the dealership now awaiting diagnosis if they say its my trans I'm going after someone.

- Martinez , CA, USA

problem #39

Oct 312012

Accord 4-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
A loud sound came from transmission during acceleration, and the check engine came on, along with the D4 indicator started blinking. Transmission started slipping.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #38

Mar 012005

Accord

  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I had transmission replaced at 60,000 miles 2 months after I purchased it. Paul moak Pontiac in jackson, ms supposedly put a new transmission in the vehicle. I never really felt that it operated correctly. How could it if Honda made all these transmissions. Now 7 years later, October 2012, I have another code or automatic transaxle problem. Ridiculous. I just bought another used 2000 Honda Accord and I pray that I don't encounter this same issue.

- Jackson, MS, USA

problem #37

Aug 142012

Accord 6-cyl

  • 69,900 miles
I brought in my 2001 Honda Accord ex to my long-term Honda dealer (I'm the original owner of the auto), because I noticed that my transmission seemed to be acting up. They informed me that a new transmission needed to be installed (appx. $4800). I found myself in a predicament because the kbbv was only between $4000-$5500. I was not pleased that a Honda could need a new tranny with that low mileage (we moved to holland for four years and the car sat during the '01- present). But, I looked at my service records and noticed that Honda had already installed a 2nd transmission in 2003. What" this now means that this new one would be the third transmission in a car with 69,900 highway miles.?!?!?! Honda America, along with my dealer, said there is nothing they can do as the time warranty has expired (7 years, 8 months they said they extended it to because there were so many complaints about this year's transmission. I explained, "okay, fine, then naturally we must take both transmissions that have failed and add the years=appx. 11.6-12 years. Now, the mileage and the time should be covered. They must need an abbasid because my math did not compute with them. Why am I writing? I read online that there are thousands of these faulty cars on the road and last Saturday when we were stopped at a red light, it turned green, I pressed down on the pedal, and nothing; no movement. We were then, very lightly because the light had just changed, hit in the back. My 5 and 9 year old sons were in their car seats and were very frightened and upset. Honda America is aware of this faulty design and yet refuses to offer a honest and goodwill safety/service recall. What if the accident had been worse and my dealer had kept their knowledge of the possible accident to themselves just to make $5000" I believe each of my children would be worth more than $2500 apiece!

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #36

Jan 012005

Accord

  • miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled sporadically when driving at any speed. When the engine was restarted and the gear was shifted, the vehicle would jerk abnormally. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was taken to several mechanics who performed diagnostic testing and located the failure at the transmission drive shaft. The transmission was replaced and the failure was repaired. The failure and current mileage was not available.

- Mobile , AL, USA

problem #35

Aug 282006

Accord 4-cyl

  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

In 2006 Honda issued an extended warranty on the transmission due to the many complaints/failures. Shortly thereafter we started experiencing slipping/missing gears and took it to klein Honda in everett where we purchased it. They ran the diagnostic and told us that it wasn't bad enough to warrant a replacement. Since then it has slowly gotten worse to the point where it is becoming a safety issue because we never really know if it is going to catch and actually go or when it will just decide to stall. Now of course it is past the extended warranty and the dealer refuses to fix it.

- Snohomish, WA, USA

problem #34

Feb 152012

Accord 6-cyl

  • 102,000 miles
When coming to a stop the car did not down shift to first gear. When the gas was applied it banged into first gear. I took it to the Honda dealer who double drained and refilled the transmission. It worked great for a few days and now slips and shifts at will. I am told it needs a new transmission. The Honda dealer asked american Honda to participate financially in the repair. American Honda declined. I was never notified of the premature failure findings or the class action law suit. I purchased this vehicle new and have maintained it according to manufacturers recommendations. The car is now not safe to drive as the transmission can fail at any time with no warning. I think american Honda should participate in the cost of repair as they have with so many thousands of similar vehicles.

- Lee's Summit, MO, USA

problem #33

Feb 012002

Accord 6-cyl

  • 5,000 miles
I purchased this vehicle new in November 2001. I noticed that the transmission would not shift correctly from 1st to 2nd and read some complaints from other owners with the same problem. I took the vehicle to the local Honda dealer for inspection and was told there was nothing to worry about. The problem has persisted since and has gotten worse as it gets older. Please advise of any kind of recourse I may have should a transmission replacement be necessary. I did have one solenoid on the transmission replaced a year or so ago as well as a motor mount.

- Monroe, LA, USA

problem #32

Jul 152012

Accord 4-cyl

  • 126,500 miles
I bought this car brand new in 2001 from a Honda dealership. A couple of years later, the transmission had failed. I called the Honda dealership where I had bought the car and they acknowledged that this generation had a known transmission defect. They repaired my car for free because it was still under warranty at the time and I was told that the transmission now had an extended 7year/109,000mile warranty. On July 15th, 2012, I was driving on highway 101S at 65mph when the check engine light suddenly came on. I noticed a slight loss in power, but my car did not die out. The check engine light stayed on. The next day, I decided to test drive the car again to see if the check engine light was a one time occurrence. I started up the car, put it in reverse, and then to drive. There was a sudden delayed jerk from reverse to drive. I managed to plug in a code reader into the car's computer port and pulled up two codes: P0700 and P0740. Both of these codes are associated with the transmission. Not again"!"! my car has now exceeded the extended warranty and I am afraid that Honda will not cover the repairs. I read on several forums that this has also occurred to Honda owners where the dealership has refused to repair the vehicle due to the expired extended warranty coverage.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #31

Jul 072012

Accord 6-cyl

  • 116,807 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle shifts hard from1st to 2nd and 2nd to 1st. The same problem that Honda settled out of court for in 2006 class action settlement. Reports are that Honda only pays 50-75% of repair costs. In this case the repair costs are roughly 75% of the vehicles total value.

- Monument, CO, USA

problem #30

Apr 072012

Accord

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the vehicle emitted a loud grinding noise while changing gears. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified and a complaint was filed. No further assistance was provided. The contact also stated that the transmission was replaced once prior at the mileage was 55,000 on September 6, 2011. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 91,613.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #29

Jun 012011

Accord

  • 145,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while parked, the vehicle lunged forward abnormally accompanied with a loud pop sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the main drive belt and the power steering pump were replaced. The dealer also advised the contact that the transmission would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that her vehicle was not covered under recall. The failure and current mileages were 145,000.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #28

Feb 242012

Accord

  • 68,593 miles
Transmission was slipping when it shifted into 2nd gear for several weeks, then it just stopped. Now it will cost 3000 dollars. The car has only 69000 miles and never was abused. I was the only owner.

- Bethlehem, PA, USA

problem #27

Feb 082012

Accord

  • 101,600 miles
Car was being driven at 20 mph when engine raced and the car coasted to a stop. The shift lever moved through all positions but car did not move in forward or reverse. Car was towed and the diagnosis was that the front drum of the transmission had completely broken down. Transmission was totally rebuilt at a cost of $1950. This was the replacement transmission installed by Honda at 40,000 miles under warranty after the original transmission failed.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #26

Feb 072012

Accord 6-cyl

  • 136,000 miles
I experienced a transmission failure at 130000 miles on a 2001 Honda Accord, a car that is supposed to be known for reliability. I was making a left-hand turn at the time and the unexpected failure of my car to switch into a higher gear nearly resulting in a deadly collision with oncoming traffic, lucky the other vehicles has sufficient time to react, and I was able to avoid damage. However, this problem has me concerned with the reliability the Honda corporation claims to have. This is an example of a blatantly obvious problem with Honda vehicles that may well end in death, or serious personal expense.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #25

Sep 282011

Accord 4-cyl

  • 105,966 miles
Transmission started slipping then during the same local trip started jerking violently while in traffic. Once pulled over it was taken to a garage to get looked at. It was diagnosed with having a failed transmission.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #24

Jan 082012

Accord

  • 60,000 miles
The transmission slips all the time when trying to move from a full stop the RPM's rev but no movement then it jerks.

- North Hollywood, CA, USA

problem #23

Apr 012002

Accord

  • 25,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Accord. While stopped, the contact applied the accelerator pedal but the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic. The mechanic stated to the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced due to a failure in the differential bearing. The transmission was previously replaced twice by a dealer under a manufacturer's recall. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #22

Dec 052011

Accord 4-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
Transmission problems at 34,000 and now again at 120,000. This car will be on it's 3rd transmission.

- Carl Junction, MO, USA

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