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:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,644 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.
This 2003 Honda Accord has caused me a lot of problems since the beginning I bought it. Just after 2 weeks with around 500 miles all this rattling noises started coming from the doors and windows. I took it to the dealer, they fixed it, but the problem was back less than a week after. Today I have 14000 miles on my car and I have been to the dealer more then 20 times for this problem. They have replaced the run channels and other parts without any success. Also the interior is falling a part; the middle compartment is not working. The cd compartment gets stuck all the time. The engine is making a lot of noise, feels like its actually sitting in the passenger side next to me. I know this is not the quality Honda has, my wife has a 1996 Accord and it doesnT make as much noises as mine, and it also runs better. Honda needs to take quality seriously. And help me out with this lemon car.
- Northridge, CA, USA
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- Northridge, CA, USA