I estimated the date and mileage of our first transmission failure. Husband was out of town so the repairs were not done locally. We were greatly inconvienced. It was also a hassle ( with that dealership) to honor our extended warrenty. About a year and a half later the refurbished transmission thankfully under warrenty had to be replaced. I worry that it will eventually happen to our 2001 that we purchased before this happened to our 2002.

If we had known of such existing issues that Honda has had for years we would not have purchased a Honda. Way to go Consumer Reports. I am totally against Honda for any future purchase.

my 2002 Honda accord has 106000 miles on it and started shifting very hard and the check engine light came on. the rpm will shoot every time you start and rattle the car. the D4 light was blinking. took it to the Honda dealer and they said i will have to replace the transmission. i called Honda and they said they will try to help if i take to the dealer in 5 days and a case number was given. i took it to the dealer and the dealer said Honda is not ready to do any help.

it will take 2700+tax to fix it. will never buy an Honda again...........will sell this junk to some other dealer and buy another brand bit not a Honda....

NEVER BUY A HONDA

This car was serviced at each book interval at the dealer where the car was purchased. For about 3 days while driving there was a slight hesitation, racing of the engine and then the transmission would engage. I checked the fluids and all checked out in okay levels. I took the car in to have it checked out and got a call the same day saying a whole new [rebuilt] transmission was necessary. No service plan help would help cover the loss. I do not understand how at less than 70K miles you total a transmission.

Update from May 16, 2010: The date of the Honda Accord V6 is model year 2002 NOT 2005. Year mistake was mine.

So I hear Honda is a great vehicle! Maybe, but not the 2002 Honda Accord. Check engine lights on, transmission is completely gone. Should not be happening at 147K! I called Honda (nationwide) they said there may have been a recall on the transmission part to not allow it to fall apart but not a recall on the slipping of the transmission! I will never, ever purchase another one! It hydroplanes in the rain, the check engine light does not go off!! What a piece of crap! Save yourself some dough! Do not go Honda!

I was given this 2002 Honda Accord as a gift in 2006. It had 28,000 miles on. Upon delivery of the car I took it to my mechanic to check it out and he gave it a clean bill of health. Said the car had been well maintained, Normally a car is just a mode of transportation for me. I want something reliable, safe and economical. But this car has very special meaning to me. Back in July of 06, my older brother, Pat, who was my guardian angel and best buddy, died of pancreatic cancer. The week before he died after a nice visit w/ him he walked me out to my car & made the comment that he wanted to help me get a new car. Something newer & more reliable than my 1992 Corolla, which had 180,000 miles & was a great car. He was worried at the high mileage stuff would be falling apart. (in hindsight I should have kept that car!! Person who has it says it is still running). A month later my sister-in-law took me to lunch & told me that Pat had talked w/her about getting me a newer car, one that was reliable. She discussed it with her four kids,they all agreed that they wanted to do this for me. 4 weeks later I got a call from my sister-in-law telling me she had bought me a car. She found a Honda 2002 with low mileage and in great shape & she knew the owners. She was so excited to have found an Accord as she had 3 later model Accords in her family & always believed they were reliable cars. WRONG on the reliable. I need a new transmission @ 68,600 miles! I maintained that car very well. It went in for its regular oil changes, tire rotations, scheduled maintenance. Any little unusual noise/movement & the car was at my mechanic.

I was driving on a windy, hilly road and the transmission went beserk, I was truly scared that I would get stranded out in the middle of nowhere.I did make it home... Took it to my mechanic the next day & he said I needed a new transmission but he suggested I take it to Tipton Honda in El Cajon, CA just to get a second opinion. Which I did and I asked them why was the tranny failing at 68,000 miles. Well cars just do that. I called American Honda Corp in Torrance, CA which began my added frustration with HONDA. Don't know if I can use names but I am going to... Sergio Suarez who took my case was never at his desk when I called and I called 12 times thru today's date. When I did talk to him it would be, I'll call you with our decision on Tues. No call on Tues. so I would call him back & of course he wasn't available and I'd tell the poor receptionist my plight and she would be kind enough to track him down. I asked him to explain to me why my 2002 with 68,000 miles should be needing a new transmission. Aren't Hondas built to last? He told me it was due to the age of the car, not so much the mileage. That the metal gets old and the wear and tear on it. But there isn't much wear and tear on it with 68,000 miles..... He was condescending and treated me like I was just some dumb girl. He finally agreed to give me 25% off a new transmission job. Unfortunately that was only good at a Honda dealership where they charge more than my own mechanic and I DO NOT TRUST DEALERSHIPS. I was at the dentist the afternoon that I dropped my car off at Tipton Honda and in that hour I heard from 2 people that they would never take their cars to Tipton again. My dentist said she had taken her car in to have them check the brakes and look it over as she was taking it on a road trio. They said everything looked fine and she wouldn't be needed brakes for a very long time. She came back from the trip and had the oil changed and lo and behold they told her she was in desperate need of new brakes. Then the receptionist told me her 89 year old mother took her Honda in to Tipton to have the oil changed and they told her she needed new brakes. She said she would have to come back for that as she didn't have time. She took the car home and had her mechanic grandson look at the brakes and they were fine. 2 stories like that in 1 hour about the dealership where my car was..... So I think I have vented enough. My word of advice: DO NOT BUY HONDA AS THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. My next car will be a Toyota. I do get to say that by telling people your story it does effect their purchasing choices! My sister was looking to buy a new SUV and a Honda Pilot was on her list. But after hearing what I have been thru she didn't even bother to go look at the Pilot. YEAH!!! And I will continue to tell my story.

A Clunk or hesitation occurred when shifting to R or D at 12,000. The deal said it was going and I would need a replacement, end of story. I did ask how long before the car stopped running and they said "Hard to say two months, two years, can't tell". So I drove it like, well sorry for any senior citizens, an old lady. Well on a Thursday evening en route to grocery shopping it felt like I was riding a Brahma Bull. It would buck and then not engage at all. Check engine and transmission light flashed I believe red. Don't remember for sure with everyone yelling and honking at me like I was stopping in the middle of the intersection on purpose. There was no questioning from the dealer it was out of warranty here is the bill.

In looking at other posters here it is obvious Honda has a problem with 02 Accords. I now know of other owners of 02's that haven't posted that have the same problem. Well anyway long story short I got a recond trans 5 days later and 2500.00 less in the wallet. This has halted me buying a new Honda and now with the Toyota problems I'm not buying anything new til I get the Warm and fuzzes again.

I recently was in a position 2 months ago where I needed a new car, pretty much right there and then. Saw this Accord, low milage, and thought "great!" I, like many others, believed the mystique that Hondas last forever and are very little trouble. After hearing about the airbag recall on 2002 Hondas, I did some searching on the Internet and then came across this website. I was somewhat shocked to read about all these transmission problems. I thought the car was OK, but I was definitely experiencing some jerkiness and thought, "oh crap, I'm next."

Low and behold, I bought the car at 59,500 miles, and only 2,000 miles later I was coming to a stop and the car thudded suddenly, check engine and TCS lights came on, same as several other people here. I cut off the engine, started it again, and the check engine light stayed on. The car is drivable, but I always have that feeling that the tranny is going to give out at a moment's notice if I don't drive the thing with the softest foot ever.

I luckily was still covered under the dealer's 3 month/3000 mile warranty, so they are replacing it no hassle to me. Of course, my next question is exactly how long will this next transmission last? If the trend continues, I'm sure not very long. I definitely will not be seeing 200,000 in this hunk of junk, that's for sure. I hate to have to take a loss on this thing, but I'm sure I'll be looking to trade it in at some point down the road. It's just not going to be worth the trouble.

I currently own 3 Honda Accords. The 2002 SE started showing transmission problems in January 2002 with 85000 miles. It had problems shifting from 1st to 4th and once in 4th it would not downshift. Took it to 2 transmission specialist and they said a rebuild was necessary at a cost around $1800. They also said this was a common problem on 2002 Honda's. Found this website and based on recommendations called North American Honda @1-800-999-1009. They said to take the auto to the dealer and gave me a case number. Took it to the dealer the next day and gave him the case number. Dealer called back and said transmission was bad. After checking my service records and noticing i changed oil every 4000 miles and transmission fluid at 52000 miles as recommended he called North Ameican Honda and gave them my case number. After 1 day Dealer service rep called back and said North American Honda would pick up aroud 35% of the cost of an installed remanufactured transmission and i would still owe $2250. After talking to the service manager and sales manager they took another $150 off since i bought 4 Honda Accords from them over the past 12 years. So I was left paying $2100 for a transmission that appears to have been defective from the beginning. I figured that a remanufactured transmission for $2100 and a 3 year 36000 mile warranty was better than an $1800 rebuilt transmission for a 1 year 12000 mile warranty. Felt that a rebuild on this transmission would set me up for more problems in the future.

This Accord has always shifted more roughly and given me less gas mileage than the other 3. I have a 98 Honda with 102,000 miles and transmission is fine. I have another 2002 with 65000 miles and it seems fine. Based on what i see on the internet, transmissions are a problem on quite a few 2002 and 2003 Accords. I called NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 and reported the problem. If enough of us report this problem maybe Honda will be forced to recall. I strongly believe that a transmission that has trouble shifting up and down is a safety as well as a reliability issue.

I purchased this car 10 months ago. I purchased a 2002 Honda accord from Odonnell Honda in Catonsville md. The car had 154000 miles on the car. I took the car back to have it checked and of course they said nothing was wrong. Well first this is the second car I had from Odonnell Honda. The first car had a transmission problem and they took it back. This car is no better. Last Thursday I was driving and the engine light came on. When I was slowing down a hard jerk, slipping between first and second gear. When trying to go forward the car would also jerk and the rpm would go up very high. I took the car back to Odonnell Honda and they informed me that the transmission was no good and they could not fix it because it would cost $3000.00. The dealer that sold me the car told me that he was advised to tell to trade the in. I just purchased the 10 months ago with cash because I work and attend school. If there are any class action suit going on please contact me. If you know how to get any help please contact.

Well lets add one more to the growing number. My story is very similar to most on this page. I was driving home and check engine light,tcs and D4 ring came on. pulled in to the driveway and shut off the engine. when I started the car back up the check engine light was the only one still glowing. After checking all the fluids I took it up to the dealership to have it looked at. With only 70,000 miles on the car I though it was something small that would be cheap to fix. I was shocked when honda called and said my tranny had to be replaced at the cost of $3100. They then told me they were contacting hondas head office to see if we could get some help. After waiting 4 days they called and said honda agreed to pay half the cost of the new transmission. that still left me to pay 1500. Then to top it off honda woldnt even cover the cost of the rental that i needed while i had the defective part they put in my car repaired. Google 98-01 accord class action suit to see the true measure of this problem.

OMG where do I start.. D4 FLASHING, TCS light, CHECK ENGINE light..called Honda corp, they told me to take it to the dealership.. 100 bucks just to for the scan.. the guy said they needed to "flush my tranny fluid" a 260 charge, and it may not fix it.. It might need more fixing...LMAO are you FN kidding me.I pay for the scan so u can tell me what the F is wrong with it, not guess it. I can ask my neighbor to guess for me..then the dealership guy calls me back with the technician.. he said the tranny fluid was not HONDA TRANSMISSION FLUID..Im thinking to myself.. TRANNY FLUID IS TRANNY FLUID... tell me If Im wrong.. I would be concerned if they said they found ENGINE OIL on my tranny, but not a different brand..then he said it was a TRANSMISSION SWITCH... $390..I said perfect I'll pay,BUT guarantee me that SShhh aint going to go out in 3 months..

WHY IS IT THAT HONDA EXTEDED THEIR WARRANTY ON THE 2001 AND NOT THE 2002? ... I KNOW I AINT ALONE ON THIS ONE..just so frustrated..

My 2002 Accord has been serviced exclusively at 2 Toronto area Honda dealerships. In June 2009 Parkway Honda did approx $2400 worth of repairs (triggered by the infamouse Type 4 scheduled maintenance). I drove the car less than 200kms, the engine light, oil came on. All oil drained from car. They towed 150kms to the dealer and 'fixed' it.

In Dec 2009 i take my car for Type 1 service and new tires. They call back to tell me the pistons that hold the hood up are shot $180 to replace (I declined)..they called back again $1000 in brake work...nice. Total bill $2200 cdn..after which i drove the car less than 200kms...D4 light, TCS light and Engine light are on...prognosis..new transmission.

Dilema...I have a car with $900 worth of new tires, $1000 worth of new brakes...that won't run...i've spent more than the book value of this car on repairs/maintenance in the past 12 months. The dealer gave me a break and total cost of new trans, alignment and labour is $2600 (they took %15 off labour, %50 of price of new transmission)

Honda Canada...does not care or stand behind their product. The dealer a

Consumers buy Hondas expecting reliability and longevity. I bought my first Honda in 2002 and I have been having regrets ever since. I know 2 personal friends who also own a Honda Accord 4 CYL and they both had their transmissions crap out on them, and they had no problems getting it resolved. Unfortunately the lawsuit filed only extended and covered the warranty from 1998 to 2001. WHAT ABOUT 2002! They said they redesigned the transmission, but from what I am hearing from a vast number of people in the US their transmission is having concurring problems (redesigned to fail). My grandparents drive this vehicle we bought for them and is it going to take a loss of their lives from a defective product to call for a recall or fully covered replacement? These corporate barons find the cheapest way to get out of these types of problems, but as a consumer it is our RIGHT to have these issues addressed. I am in the process of contacting a class action law firm to see if we can get another lawsuit going. If you own a 2002 or any Honda Accord between 1998-2002 please contact me so we can get these corporate swindlers to pay for their obvious design flaw.

Regards,

James

Driving my 02 accord on a sunday morning around town when it downshifted, jerked violently then shifted up. I turned around to go home and when I went to pull up on the driveway the transmission would not grab until around 1500 rpms. I took it to the dealer which was 40 miles(65kms) away and on the way the check engine light came on as well as the abs,tcs and D4 lights. Dealer looked at it and said it needed a new transmission and the cost of $5000. I phoned Honda head office for a goodwill repair but they said they were willing to do nothing for me. At 58,000 miles(92000kms) there is no acceptable reason that a transmission should fail like this. This is my wife's car which she loves and was looked after very well. Beware when buying a honda because they don't seem to have a problem putting a sub-par major component in their vehicles, and they don't stand behind their product.

OK - so I HAD (key word) a 2002 Honda Accord EX. I'm putting this story on here because I promised Honda that I would tell as many people as I could about this story & convince more than the 2 I already have NOT to buy Honda. I bought it brand spanking new. At 40,000 miles, the transmission failed. Now here's the kicker; it was covered under my EXTENDED warranty - the warranty the dealership was trying to convince me NOT to buy. I'm glad I listened to my gut. Anyway, it was replaced (rebuilt trans - new ones didn't exist nor do they exist now for this make/model). At 59,000 miles, THIS trans failed. The dealer ship (Coast Honda in Wall, NJ) told me too bad - they didn't put an ext. warrenty on that trans, even though my car was still within 10,000 miles of the warrenty. I took it to Kay Honda in Eatontown & they replaced and put a warranty on it. Then at 105,000 miles, THIS trans began failing. Keep in mind, this transmission only had about 45,000 miles on it. They said the best they could do was to give me the trans but I had to pay $1700 to have it installed. I told them that by now they owe me a new car, not a trans and that their best wasn't good enough and at this point with all the problems I've had (trans wasn't the only problem), I will never buy Honda again. Please be sure to do your research! I've looked up this make/model & see that now people are getting screwed over with the brakes with the 2008 model! Do yourself a favor...don't buy a Honda!

I had experienced no problems with my transmission..went in for routine motor oil change. Service mngr told me I needed a new transmission. He said the 2002 was the only model that did not have a Honda transmission installed. I told him I'd had no problem and would hold off on the replacement of my transmission. Went back in 4 months later for another oil change, was told I needed new transmission...$3100. I delayed again. In mid October, 2009 at 92,000, my engine began to rev up on its own. I took the car to an independent mechanic who found no problems...revving had stopped after 2 hours driving. I took it to Honda and they said it did need a new transmission. (apparently they don't investigate to see what's wrong...just replace the entire transmission). I found online Honda complaints that 2000-2003 Hondas have a transmission problem...can rev up due to torque converter, burn out transmission fluid, and burn up the transmission. I called Honda and they now say they will pay 1/3 of the cost of replace of my transmission....the total cost of which is now $3200....$100 more than 3 months ago.

I fully intended to drive my one and only Honda (bought new because of my mistaken buy-in to their false reputation)300,000 miles. Now I am sick! There should be full free replacement of the transmission IMO.