Bought this car last September from a Professor at the university. I had got the car thoroughly checked by a mechanic, who said that apart from the transmission fluid leak, the car was in excellent condition and looked like it was very well maintained. It was at 94,500 miles then. 2,000 miles and 5 months later, the Check Engine indicator lights up, along with the TCS indicator and a flashing D4 light. The TCS and flashing D4 stopped when I turned off the engine, but the CEL stayed. I took the car to a Honda dealer as soon as possible, who fleeced me out of $100 just to read the error codes off the car's computer. He told me its a P0780 (Shift Malfunction) and the only solution is to replace the entire transmission, which would cost $4,000 (!!!). He didn't seemed at all interested in diagnosing the exact cause of the problem...

The only reason I got the Honda against a Nissan or Hyundai was because of its reputation for reliability and long life. In retrospect, I should have paid more attention to that transmission leak. The car seemed to be giving a jerk in shifting from gear 1 to 2 for a month before the CEL came on. Honda should definitely recall its faulty transmissions for the 2002 Accords as well. If anyone needs people to file for a class action lawsuit, please e-mail me at malharmehta@gmail.com. Thanks!

Update from Mar 29, 2010: Honda gave me a goodwill discount on the transmission unit replacement. They shared half of the ~$2800 cost of the repairs, so I would say it worked out to be a pretty good deal. They said they helped me out with the discount since the car has a good service record at the dealership...

Went to local mech. to have oil changed to learn that I needed to have my transmission fluid flushed. Somewhat mechanically inclined i thought I would save some money and do myself.. Now I learn through the internet that this is a serious problem on the yr and make of my car i begin to wonder if this is the problem with the manufacturing of my car.

I bought the car used so I doubt that there will no longer be under warranty, but if manufacture defect should it be taken care by Honda. One would think so. How do I find out about this goodwill fix??? any help appreciated

Trans still in the car At 200,001 today 1/30/10.. Occasionally it shifts very hard and the trac light come on along with the check eng light. While still rolling I put it in neutral, turn off the motor, turn it on and restart, the flashing D, and Trac light go out leaving the check eng light on until I disconnect the battery. Some times this happens twice in a day then not for several weeks or even couple of months???? Of course Honda wants 3500 to 4000 to change out. After reading this web site how long can I expect it to last. Love my accord hate the fact that Honda has not addressed the problem for so many years..Can't buy another Honda sad so sad...........

I see that I am not alone with the problems with the Trans in the 2002 honda accord. I just left the Honda dealer and it's going to cost me 2888.00 to get the Transmission fixed. Why didnt HONDA sent notification that the transmissions in these Honda's are bad. Something needs to be done. I read that if your car is at least 7 yrs old and under 100,000 miles then you can get a new trans. Well I had the honda dealership look up to see if my car would be coverd and it's not. I really love my car. I dont know what to do. Should I have to pay almost 3000 for this problem when Honda knows that the trans are defective.

The problem occurs at slow speed(5 or 10 miles/hr) or stop then accelerate. The

transmission wil bang into gear or chatter. And I mean a loud bang. Sometimes when down shifting it will bang

into 1st gear. When you come to a quick stop at a stop sign or in a parking lot and then

try to pull ahead fast this is when it happens. If i'm careful and come to a complete stop then accelerate slowly or just punch it from a complete stop it is fine. If tiy watch the tack you can see the trans is slipping when going through the lower gears. This is a known problem in the repair

industry and the trans needs to be replaced and of course is out of warranty. Its been years now and the car has 180000 miles on .

The problem started when turning corners at slower speeds. The trans would thump when shifting back down into 1st. We went to the dealer whil;e the car was on warranty and of course nothing was done. It has been slowly getting worse since then.

I have had the transmission flushed and new filters etc done and the motor mounts changed hoping that would fix it. The car went to a trans repair garage and I had the thing checked for solinoid problems and electrical shift problems etc. The next step is to rip out the trans and rebuild it. I would not trust a new replacement from Honda because the same thing would probably happen. A good rebuild mechanic is the best bet to solve the hard shifting and hestitation.

The trans problem started while the car was on warranty and even though the warranty is over they should still be held liable because I took it to the dealer while under warranty and did nothing. If I would have known about the trans problem Honda was having I would not have bought the car. I bought a Civic for my daughter that has 420,000 km on it and the only problem was that the rear seal leaked. The Accord is a different case. From now on I will stick to Toyota, I have a 1993 Camry with 310,000 and it runs like new and no problems. The accord has 135,000 km and needs a transmission.

I bought my Honda Accord LX brand new in 2002. I own a repair shop and religiously change the oil every 15,000 miles with Honda Transmission oil. We really baby the car and I was so disappointed when the transmission started slipping. What a joke. Maybe an American car is better. Our shop is continuously swapping Honda accord with used transmission from Japan. A Toyota Corolla and Camry are cars that we never had to swap transmission. My next cars will be Toyota. What a disappointment. I have complained to Honda and they will get back to me. If I am not satisfied, I will tell all my customer to buy Toyota or domestic cars.

I've noticed the slipping when I drive which isn't much, once a month. The service engine light came on and my better half had it checked out at the local auto store and they told her the code number. So she looked it up on the computer and found the problem was the trans. code #p0780 which isn't in my service manual but was stated to her. As much as I hate to say this, knowing the situation now, I used to work for honda on their

motorcycles and power equipment from 1989-2004. When I worked for them they did everything possible to make the customer happy. I can't believe they've changed their ways with their customers. They should fix this problem before somebody gets seriously injured or killed. I purchased my second accord for its dependability because I travel a lot with my vehicle.. this isn't the honda company I remember.

Purchased 2002 Honda Accord SE 4 cylinder used with 19k miles in 2003. Never had any problems and followed all maintenance schedules including transmission fluid changes. Before 70k noticed the transmission hesitating and shifting hard into gear. Talked to my mechanic and he said he'd heard this before with Hondas. At 73k went to dealer and they interceded with the regional rep. Honda would only pay 30% of the cost to do a "goodwill" repair. They replaced the transmission with a remanufactured one and gave me 36k warranty. My cost was $1800. The replacement transmission has the same feel as the original one, that is it is slow to shift until engine gets completely warmed up and then it still is not as smooth as it should be. Obviously it is a manufacturing defect that they have known for some time and have built into their business model. Essentially the buyer or second owner of these cars is paying an extra premium to Honda and the dealers to unload faulty components on car owners. The class action settlement for older models is proof of the point. They need to be prosecuted by the government. The definition of fraud is "a deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain." The definition of conspiracy is "an agreement to perform together an illegal, treacherous or evil act." I believe Honda, its dealers, and its components manufacturers are engaging in a conspiracy to commit fraud. I also agree with other posters who identify this as a safety issue. NHTSA should take action.

I just bought the car off a person that took great care of it with all the scheduled maintenance. The other day as I was driving away from my house the transmission would hesitate to shift gears and would jerk pretty hard once it would get to second gear. I took it to my mechanic and he told me that the transmission had to be replaced. My car now has 120,000 miles and I thought that this was the reason for the malfunction of my transmission, but after looking at this blog I realize that the mileage has little to do with it. It is just a faulty transmission from the get go. I am very disappointed in Honda because their vehicles have had a good reputation and after having this problem I doubt such a reputation. I wish Honda would take responsibility for using such faulty transmissions and at least pay for part of the cost to repair. If anyone needs any support to get a law suit or try to get honda to do something I am all for it... jolujaper@yahoo.com.

The car was purchased as a new car in 2002 right off the show room floor. I never drive any where of any distance accept work and back home. 7 years later with just under 70,000 miles the transmission starts to fail. The Honda dealer in my town gives me a quote of $3299.00 to purchase a new transmission, or I should consider purchasing a new car. They said they could not tell me if the transmission would fail in two days, two weeks or over a year. They said, most people just purchase new vehicles. I took the car to Alexandria, VA today for another opinion and was told the transmission was going into failure, but the problem was the transmission fuel was never changed during maintenance and that even if I paid Honda $3299 for a new transmission that it would not be new, but refurbished. How was I to know the transmission fuel was not being changed and how can I get Honda to replace it for free. Who has the answer?

When attempting to accelerate moderately from any speed, the Accord would feel like it was stalling, then suddenly and roughly downshift and surge forward. The delay could have been disastrous when pulling into traffic if not accounted for. I wrote up the problem a few times after it became very prominent around 45,000 miles, but the dealer said they could never duplicate the problem. It happened to me almost every time I drove the car. This went on for almost three years. Of course, the warranty had long expired. I also have a virtually identical 2000 Accord LX whose shifts were/are always smooth and without hesitation. I always liked its transmission better than the 2002's. The 2002 Accord's transmission grew worse with time and miles.

Have been having trouble with this car for the last 10 months. First it's the O2 sensor, or so they said. Car has been having trouble shifting into gear since before the O2 sensor came on. Just took it to the dealership where I bought it & was told that the transmission needs to be replaced. I don't understand how this car's tranny can go, with only 53,000 miles. I have had this car in for regular maintenance service & oil changes regularly. Any advice on how to pursue a "good will repair?"