CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2003 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure & problems with the stereo backlight failing. 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.
The stereo backlight problem has been an issue since these Accords were only a few years old. Honda eventually issued a recall which covered the repair for 7 years/100k miles, which was nice while it lasted but now that period is over. Honda initially was replacing the entire radio ($800) but eventually began replacing just the PCB which at ~$300 is much cheaper. That sounds like a deal, but keep in mind we're talking about a backlight bulb that costs $2 to fix in most other cars.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
108,851 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.
Automatic transmission suddenly failed into 1st gear with sudden drop in speed and control. Transmission locked in first gear, no reverse. Apparently a known issue with Honda automatic transmissions of this era.
The contact owns a 2003 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 40 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration power. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was found that the front axle had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 163,072.
Driving 60 on a busy interstate the transmission drops gear making my car jerk hard and slow almost enough for the person behind me to slam into me. Pulled over and turned car of then back on transmission seems to be slipping bad. Bought it used 2 years ago it has 93,000 miles and never misses servicing. I see it is not uncommon, why is this issue not being taken care of?
This is just unbelievable. Every three months I take my car in to get service and now my transmission is failing me. I place the car on drive and it does not go anywhere. I turn the car off and turn it back on and it finally drives. I really was not expecting this from Honda. My car was in perfect condition and drove very smooth because it is well maintained. Not in a million life years would I guess my transmission would be an issue right now.
- Miami, FL, USA
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While traveling over a bridge at 55mph. The transmission suddenly disengaged and the car almost came to a stop with no warning. Very lucky no one hit me.
Car felt like fuel wasn't getting to engine and would slow down, then suddenly get gas and would jet forward. Very unsafe for driving with my child and baby. Had the transmission replaced with a used transmission and now the same thing is happening today. I'm lucky not to have been on a highway when this happened as it could have spelled death for my family.
Complete transmission failure on fully serviced 2004 Honda Accord at 124K miles while driving in rush hour traffic. Upon research, found very common problem that Honda is aware of but does nothing to fix. Rebuilt Honda transmission cost $4,800 for part alone!
Attempted to drive car but it would not go over 10mph.brought it to auto repair."R&R, O/H transmission" was done at $2892.51!! this seems to really have been a defect with this 2003 Accord Honda car across the country. I purchased the car used at a dealership with 64,283 miles in 2008, by 2010 after less than 40,000 added driving, the transmission failed. This really needs to be a recall but after all this time the harm is done!Honda should reimburse!! didn't think about filing a complaint till now, thought it was only my bad luck, but I noticed others were having these issues.
While driving on a rain slickened road Monday September 2nd, the transmission locked up at 45 mph and nearly caused me to lose control of the vehicle. Subsequently the transmission completely failed and the vehicle had to be towed to a repair shop. The transmission repair shop confirmed that the 3rd (third) gear had failed and caused the transmission lockup. The vehicle has 76,000 miles on the odometer and I am the original owner and purchased the vehicle from a Honda dealership in dallas, Texas. I contacted american Honda customer motor customer service to report the incident and after describing the event was told to take the vehicle to the dealership for evaluation. Clearly this is a defective product and a hazard to safety when the transmission fails. The telephone representative that I spoke to said Honda had no information on transmission "lockups" or unsafe conditions regarding this particular vehicle. I told her that after the transmission lockup happened I researched this condition and found that Honda has in fact extended the drivetrain warranty on this model vehicle as the result of a class action lawsuit. At that point she ended the conversation by hanging up the phone and not attempting to call me back after she has requested a callback number at the beginning of the call. This transmission design is faulty and should be recalled due to safety considerations. If I had lost control of the vehicle and was killed, no one would have known that the faulty transmission was the causal factor the accident.
Transmission was downshifting hard. Talked to an independent shop that told me Honda's have transmission issues, which the internet confirmed, but the dealer or Honda usa wouldn't. I opened a case with Honda usa. On a side note, I had transmission serviced at 26,000. So I took it to dealer who only serviced the car & all services were up to date. On 8/20/2013 they filled & drained transmission 3 times (mileage 51,507). They said all was fine. On 9/11/2013 transmission won't shift out of park, used emergency procedure out of owners manual to get it out of park (mileage 51,811). Dealer says it's the ECU (part#37820rad415) $1000 to repair, I'm still not sure this is the issue, it could be the transmission. Honda usa says "we don't care" due to the age & mileage. Seriously" an 03 with 51,500?! always garaged & serviced at the dealer" as of this writing the car is at the dealer, I'm deciding if they should do the repair.
2003 Accord coupe 4 cylinder: When driving 35 miles per hour and came to a stop sign, car revved up but would not advance. Towed to mechanic, says transmission failure, gears are bad/ slipping.
Was at a stop sign went to drive and heard a loud screech car would not go forward went to put it into park car screeched car rolls back even when in park...transmission.
My sister-in-law was driving the car on the highway at 60mph when it started to violently decelerate, as though somebody had jammed on the brakes. This happened approximately 6 times within about 4.5 miles. She got off the highway and managed to drive the car to the dealership. When they tested it the next day the transmission destroyed itself and they barely managed to get back to the dealership. If it had failed the day before my sister-in-law could have been killed.
While traveling at about 60 mph on the highway the vehicle stalled out, and due to light traffic the driver was able to pull over safely. The transmission would no longer take, when placed in any gear. The vehicle was towed home.
2003 Honda Accord 2 dr coupe, V6 with 5sp auto-58K mileage-transmission locking, vehicle without any warning shut itself off, coasted, drifted no power, all electrical power shutdown while driving 0-30 mph, three lane road creating dangerous potential for driver without any capacity to engage hazard lights, temperatures 105+ degrees. Vehicle nearly rear ended as it occurred in middle of road. Vehicle towed to dealer. Sensor installed at $322 cost to owner. No goodwill. Less than one week once again transmission locking without any warning shut itself off, electrical power remained intact, driver immediately put on hazard lights, yellow light came one for service, tow arrived 60 minutes later three lane hwy hot weather conditions. Impeccable service records, all from Honda dealer, owner diligent with every required maintenance and extended warranty. Honda dealer mechanic diagnosed needs new transmission assembly approximately $6,267 w/ 3 year warranty and Honda manufacturer offered less than 6 1/2% toward replacement, owner responsible for remainder (dealer volunteered credit of 23%) dealer provided free loaner car for one week at their cost as Honda did not cover the loaner. Decision pending after Honda is contacted directly to remedy this dangerous, recalled defect noted to millions of others in transmission recall. Had great potential for owner to sustain injury or fatality, two locking incidents, one with all power failure too.
While driving my 2003 Honda Accord V6 coupe, at around 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly dropped to about 20 mph. The RPM's jumped to 7000. The check engine light and "maintenance" lights came on. After nearly being rear-ended by the vehicle behind me ( rush hour traffic), I pulled over and turned the car off. After waiting several minutes, I turned it back on and drove home, never going above 20 mph. When I finally got the car towed to landmark Honda (alexandria, va) I was told that I would need a remanufactured transmission at the cost of $5085, parts and labor. Granted, the vehicle is 10 years old with 90K miles, I was a little dishearten. I was able to find a transmission specialist in the area where they are rebuilding the transmission for $2800. I am extremely disappointed in Honda and especially with their reputation for dependability. I strongly feel that Honda is aware of this problem and needs to rectify the issue and compensate all Honda owners who have had this similar issue.
After getting a transmission flush (fluid was dark and apparently already damage to the transmission had already occurred), a week later the transmission would violently upshift and downshift repeatedly. This occurred on side roads at 20 miles an hour and on the highway at 45-50 miles per hour. At 45 miles per hour it would up and downshift every 5-10 seconds on the way to the transmission shop. I did not drive faster than that in order to avoid a resulting accident. This occurred with about 119,000 miles and required a rebuild of the transmission at a cost of $2,800. Honda says they had issued a transmission recall in 2004 but I never received a letter. Also all searches by VIN on Honda's site had failed until yesterday. When I went to the dealer they said it was fixed for my car. But I never brought in my car for this work, and they have no record of fixing it that I can see. Honda should put a new transmission in my car as the rebuild is not the same as a new transmission and I already paid for it.
When driving both on street and highway the vehicle suddenly shift gears on its own. The rpms will go up and the car violently slows down. For some time after the vehicle will not shift up and will not go above 25 mph.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Keene, NH, USA