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:
60 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
77 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,540 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.
Driver was involved in a rear collision, all passengers wore seatbelts. However, passenger's side airbag deployed, but driver's side airbag did not deploy.
I was the driver in a front end car accident and my driver side airbag did not open. The passenger side airbag did open with no passenger. I sustained injuries because of the failure of the airbag to open. I contacted the dealer, muller's highland park Honda, who informed me that they knew of other cases of airbags not opening. The dealer said to contact the customer service at Honda North America. A representative from H.N.a. looked at the car and stated the computer said the driver side airbag was functioning properly and should have opened. Next they had an engineer call who did not look at the car herself and said the car functioned properly. I will never feel safe in this car again. I will never know if the airbag would open if there was another accident. Honda North America now refuses to admit there is a problem and I feel this should be investigated before someone dies.
While traveling about 55 mph on the highway and without prior warning the side air bag deployed without physical contact with a vehicle. The curtain and seat air bags had blown on the passenger side. Honda refused to repair the vehicle under warranty. There were no previous accidents.
Vehicle was struck from behind at about 40 mph. Vehicle was pushed into another vehicle and the vehicle spun around and landed on top of the car from the side. Neither the front airbags or the side airbags came out. Thank god no injuries; just sore the next day; but I'm very puzzled as to why the air bags didn't come out.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tamarac, FL, USA