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.
Here is a 4 cylinder Accord automatic transmission failure story. 175,000 miles. This car is my wife's daily drive for her 100 mile round trip daily commute to work. I'm a former ASE mechanic so the car receives the best care. Never any transmission issues prior.
In 1/11/2014, she called me and said the engine was quitting while coming to a stop, sometimes lurching when it died. She could restart the engine but it would quit again when she put it into drive. There was no check engine light nor any codes stored in memory. I was able to get the car back home by keeping the rpm's up and dropping it into drive. As long as it was moving, it appeared to run and shift fine. By the time I got it home, it was running normally. For the next 4 days the problem would come and go as I went thru fuel pressure checks, IAC valve clean outs etc.
On day 5, she notified me of a rattling noise coming from under the hood accompanied my the the renewed engine quitting. The rattling noise was coming from inside the bell housing and signaled to me the torque converter was coming apart. Drove it to the transmission shop and upon tear down, noticed the torque converter failing, sending metallic particles throughout the transmission. Transmission is being rebuilt as we speak.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Here is a 4 cylinder Accord automatic transmission failure story. 175,000 miles. This car is my wife's daily drive for her 100 mile round trip daily commute to work. I'm a former ASE mechanic so the car receives the best care. Never any transmission issues prior.
In 1/11/2014, she called me and said the engine was quitting while coming to a stop, sometimes lurching when it died. She could restart the engine but it would quit again when she put it into drive. There was no check engine light nor any codes stored in memory. I was able to get the car back home by keeping the rpm's up and dropping it into drive. As long as it was moving, it appeared to run and shift fine. By the time I got it home, it was running normally. For the next 4 days the problem would come and go as I went thru fuel pressure checks, IAC valve clean outs etc.
On day 5, she notified me of a rattling noise coming from under the hood accompanied my the the renewed engine quitting. The rattling noise was coming from inside the bell housing and signaled to me the torque converter was coming apart. Drove it to the transmission shop and upon tear down, noticed the torque converter failing, sending metallic particles throughout the transmission. Transmission is being rebuilt as we speak.
- proftomda, Newnan, GA, US