CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002 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 90,000 miles & with a repair cost of over $2,000. Transmission failure has been a huge problem for the Accord & several other Honda models all through the early 2000s model years. Honda extended the transmission warranty to 93 months/109k miles for the 2000-2001 Accord as a class action lawsuit settlement, but owners of other Accord model years 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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 2
Average Mileage:
50,000 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.
The sub frame is rusted away on the passenger side. I noticed it while I was driving. If I would've kept driving the vehicle and the rusted frame gave way, me and my kids or other passengers in vehicles on the road could have been injured or even killed
I was traveling home in the far North bound lane going 40 mph and was hit head on by a Dodge durango traveling South bound in the far right lane. (2 lanes each way with a center.) I was driving and the airbag exploded as the durango cut off another car and hit head onto me. The airbag explosion produced a burning smell which I thought the car was on fire but it was the airbag explosion. My face was very red and swollen and just felt on fire from the explosion which covered my face. I had a scratch in my left eye and needed a rinse and a small laceration above my eye. My right hand was swollen immediately and was throbbing from the grip of the wheel and the airbag explosion. My right pinky was totally numb for quite a while with radiating pain up the right arm. The right had still has issues with grasping things and dropping them. I had and still have headaches from the jolt and neck injury especially in the frontal area. I noticed my speech became slurred and thoughts took longer to process when speaking to people. On the job this created difficulty.
My uncle was traveling on a state highway when his 02 Honda hydroplaned on a rainy afternoon and hit head on with another vehicle. My three month old daughter sustained severe head trauma and died at the hospital a little later. Eleven days later my uncle died from severe bleeding and brain damage. Honda said nothing was wrong with this car. My daughter who was 2 at the time was a passenger along with two other cousins, they all came out fine. Now 6 years later we received a recall notice about the airbags and I'm concerned that this vehicle was not safe enough and could have been the main result in my daughters death.
- Mt Pleasant , TX, USA
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