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.
Bought a 2001 Honda Accord back in 2014 with 85k miles. The car was in excellent shape and garage kept. I noticed a very slight hiccup at around 92k miles, but when it hit around 120k miles the car started jerking into gear from first to second shift. I couldn't make it across busy streets without people honking at me from the car not engaging. I don't know if I can have anything done about this. I am out of warranty and well over 100k miles.
I am the second owner of this car, I purchased it from a so called dealer in Chalmette, Louisiana.(BEWARE) I brought this jerk problem to him at the time of purchase and he dismissed it with the fact that the V6 motor does that. Well it's a year later and the problem has never stopped. I just recently replaced a sensor on my car and the check engine light wont go off because the TCS light jumps on and that brings the check engine light on again. It's very discouraging to want to make sure your car is in top shape to now know you need a transmission. And of course HONDA will never step up and do anything because they are COWARDS. It is unfair for me to rig it and sell it to the next sucker because someone thought it was fair to do that to me. I would never have purchased this car if someone didn't run a light and tear up my truck (NOT A HONDA). Reading all these complaints let me know I am not by myself. I have a neighbor with the same year Honda and he needs a transmission too, he priced a new one about $3,000.00. Are you fricking kidding me that was the price of the car. I did not include my vin number because why what will it solve? Honda calling me and offering me a transmission at a low price for my car? I think not. But I will not sink $3,000.00 in it just enough to stop the jerk and to the dealer it sells. I was better off with my INFINITI never had a worry with it. Oh and by the way I also own a 1995 Honda Accord Ex and that car has the same issue. What ever you do pass up a HONDA ACCORD later you will regret it.
MY ACCORD GIVING PROBLEMS CHANGING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, THE CAR WILL JUMP HEAVILY INTO GEAR AND NOW IT FEELS AS IF IT HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM FROM 2ND TO3RD GEAR. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN PUT IN IT. ALSO HAVE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH DASH.
This "transmission" problem started back in Aug when I would take my car into the Honda dealership and ask them about the D4 light blinking. On several occasions they would bring my car back to me saying nothing is wrong....Well, today being in Nov my car barely made it up the driveway, the transmission is pretty much dead.!!! I would like to know how the "mechanics" at the Honda dealership can now say, no the blinking D4 light is not a problem?? I am currently checking up on all transmission issues with this type of car and everything so far has pointed at "When the D4 light is blinking, the transmission is the issue and will soon expire." This sounds more and more like Honda dealership working on getting more money for repairs.--Totally frustrated and am going to look into the possible legal aspect of it now.
- Audra P.,
Kingsport, TN, US
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The car always shifted hard from park to drive. I took it to two mechanics and even the new transmission shifts hard. I do not think this will last long either. I keep my car in fine working order and this is a Honda manufacturers defect. I will never buy a Honda again.
I have very low mileage for this age car. Now that I have retired I don't do a lot of running around. So I was shocked when the car started acting up and wouldn't shift right. This recall on the transmission won't cover me because of the age of the car. And the repair bill with me being retired will hurt. It would be nice if Honda would cover something because the mielage is so low.
Transmission would lurch or jerk at various times after putting into drive from park.
Sometimes it would also lurch/jerk after being in drive and at a stop light/sign.
-- Temperature was never the issue.
Problem occurred about three years ago with around 112 - 118,000 miles and cost appx $3,000 to get a rebuilt transmission from the Honda dealer.
-- They did give a price break since it was just outside of the warranty and I was/am a long time customer. Not much, but it was something.
The thing is, I always took my car in and paid for all the various maintenance things even when I did not believe the vehicle needed it. I have spent a lot of money on regular maintenance and repair/replace when parts failed from wear and tear.
However, I do not believe the transmission should have gone to that kind of failure that soon.
And now, guess what???? The same bloody thing has been happening again for the past two - three years.
This lurching/jerking started occurring at about the 10th - 11th month after getting that rebuilt transmission.
When I have been in to the dealer for other issues/maintenance, I made sure to bring it up again at least twice. But I did not get any response from them (this is a Honda dealer in Maryland - DC capital region).
But - it is on record.
I do not believe I will be buying another Honda because of the transmission quality issues.
To compound it, I have had to replace all the engine mounts (front in 2008 and the rear ones this month, May 2012). As I understand it, this is another quality issue and I have reported that problem elsewhere.
So there you have at least one 2001 V6 Accord with a transmission problem reported.
Happy with the car, no. Happy for the first five to six years - yes.
Buy another Honda - does not look like that will occur...
Jumps into gear when shifting from park to drive with foot on brake. Also noticed when slowing to around 5 mph then accelerating, the car will start out in second gear, then will shift to first gear then go up thought the drive gears. Problem began when still under warranty and with only 30,000 miles. Honda took it for a drive and said it was "normal". Problem is getting worse and now it feels like the trans is ready to go....
Ok I bought this car brand new back in March of 2001. Less than 10K I started to notice transmission problems like for example, the gears would not switch etc... I went to Honda dealer where I bought the card and told them about the problem. They diagnosed the car and said that there is a problem with the transmission and that they will replace it on warranty for free of charge which they did. Ok, today is year 2011, my card has ONLY 145K on it and the replaced transmission is bad again!!! I recently notice the following problems with the transmission, jerky movement when you go from park to drive, the park is jammed and you cannot sometimes move it to the drive position etc etc... so any way I went back to the dealer and told them about the problem. Of course they said the car is out of warranty so they cannot do anything etc... so I ended up calling Honda Canada customer relations and the lady told me to get a read out of the computer diagnosis... so I did that and it showed nothing but the technician at Honda said that this transmission is bad and needs replacement... so anyway I will call the Honda customer relations on Tuesday and tell her about the results so will see what happens... But I do want to point out that Honda is covering up their bad product. I mean are you kidding me, my car has 145K on it and SECOND transmission is already failing again!!! You can get any other manufacturers car low end or hi end, whatever and EASILY I mean easily get 200k on a single transmission.
Like I said I will call Honda on Tuesday and see what they say, I am not spending even a dime on this transmission as from what it looks like it was always a faulty product from the beginning... I will update this post after I make the call to Honda on Tuesday.
If Honda rejects good will repairs on this car then I will never ever ever again buy nor recommend Honda to anyone, and I will speak about it to all the people that I know and share this story with them, even on the internet, on blogs, forums, emails for as long as it takes. I will spread the word so much that for sure I will kill lots of potential business for them. So Honda can settle down with me in a simple matter and that is to fix their defected product good once and for all.
This problem has been going on for about a year now. The check-engine light has been a problem for more than 5 years. We have paid about 1,000 dollars to finally get that light to not constantly be on. I know that Honda has had to recall many of their transmissions and this one should have been too. I would like Honda to make this right. American Honda told me that they had extended the warranty to 109,000 miles to get this fixed. We were not told that we could have got this fixed for free 2 years ago, or we would have! We have always got our cars serviced at the local Honda dealer, they should have told us this information. A $2,500 repair is a lot to come with.
The car jerks and stops when shifting into 2nd gear. Many times it does not shift. It stops and D light starts flashing. The transmission was replaced by Honda for the same problem in around 2004. I called Honda this time and they declined to help. The reason: "The car is too old. Not worth the fix."
I am the first owner of 2001 Honda Accord, and I had first transmission failure when it had about 68,000 miles on it at 2008. Now at mileage of 130680, I had the same nightmare again. I found out so many people has the same issue with 2001 accord. The first transmission replacement was basically rebuilt, and it was covered with extended warranty. This is NOT normal, and I want American Honda to cover the cost.
In April or May of 2009 (i think) i brought my honda in to have my transmission looked at because of jerking when coming to a stop and jerking when shifting from neutral to D4, and jerking when accelerating from stop from 1st gear. This was all about 98K miles. This is the 2nd transmission. The first transmission was replaced by Bellevue Honda in Washington. When I went into Renton Honda to have the transmission looked at in 2009. I was told the transmission that was replace was 6 month out of warranty they only covered the transmission for 1 year. The 1st transmission was replaced at approximately 77K. To date I have not had my transmission replace but the problem has increasingly gotten worse and is now slipping in 2nd gear. The car currently has 133K miles on the 2nd transmission. Is there a recall on the 2001 honda accord transmission? These are really pieces of junk. Car needs a 3rd transmission. I'm not a happy honda owner. The transmission is an expensive part to have to keep replacing on a vehicle manufacture that has had a reputation of making a reliable car. This is my 2nd Honda Accord and I am not sure I will ever buy another.
There was a Class Action Lawsuit filed and won, Honda never contacted the owners, claimed they could not reach all second, third owners, etc. Had no way to find them! But they can certainly find us when they have a recall. Warranty for transmission was extended in 2001, 2002,again in 2004, and once more by the Court in 2006. It was Extended to 7 years on 1/5/2007 to 109,000 miles or June, 2008, which came first and that is only if you knew about it!!!! All of my notifications went to the first owner who never notified the second or third owner and therefore we lose. Honda claims they have no way to track owners, even with the VIN # - they do not have access to MVA records Database and are not able to Google VIN #'s to track down current owners - unlike Toyota - so the big loser in all this is us! Funny they can find me to replace the Airbag Inflator Safety Recall because it may result in death, they went so far as to call my home! But they cannot find me to notify me of a Warranty Extension - Poor Business!
Its very inconvenient to have to deal with this problem. My daughter needs to have a car to go to school and I cannot trust this car to take her to school. Please help me replace this transmission. Thanks!
I have never had a car that had a problem with this brake switch issue. Where you press on the brake to put the car into gear (reverse or drive but the silver button won't push in) The brake light has come on forever, but eventually go off a few minutes down the road. I was told this was probably a faulty indicator switch...a similar problem I have had with my 2002. Am told this comes from wear..the car has 80,000 milles. My 2002 has nearly 190.000 miles.
Taking the car in for repair tomorrow and was told the cost would be $150-$175
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Bought a 2001 Honda Accord back in 2014 with 85k miles. The car was in excellent shape and garage kept. I noticed a very slight hiccup at around 92k miles, but when it hit around 120k miles the car started jerking into gear from first to second shift. I couldn't make it across busy streets without people honking at me from the car not engaging. I don't know if I can have anything done about this. I am out of warranty and well over 100k miles.
- Shaun C., Wendell, NC, US