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2003 Honda Accord engine complaints

Page 3 of 6: complaints 41 to 70 of 146, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2003 Honda Accord engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jun 12, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 160,000 miles · CA

I was driving around 20 MPH when my car starts revving and the car doesn't move. It happens between 20mph-40mph. I was to pull over then start driving again. It happens more often then not now.

Filed May 6, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · IA

2003 honda accord. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle repairs and seeks reimbursement. *smd the consumer stated within the past year, the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, transmission, heater valve, transmission mounts, power steering pump, dash and steering links were all replaced.

Filed Apr 16, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 130,800 miles · TX

The car suddenly would not accelerate and change into the 3rd gear while driving on a busy road. Had the car towed to an authorized mechanic who diagnosed the issue as transmission failure with the 3rd gear. This is the same issue that caused honda to issue a recall for their 2003 v6 accord in 2004. A month prior, on two separate occasions, I was driving between 40mph-45mph when all of a sudden the car would not accelerate and slowed down, while I simultaneously engaged the accelerator. During both incidences the tcs and check engine lights immediately came on. After pulling over and turning the car off and on, the lights did not remain on. This is a very dangerous car with thousands of complaints already noted for the same issue. Honda needs to recall this dangerous car.

Filed Apr 1, 2013 · Engine · 150,000 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, she heard a loud whining noise. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

Filed Mar 26, 2013 · Engine · 150,000 miles · DC

Uses tons of oil, has done so since new. Disappointed in motor and honda's lack of response for this issue!!

Filed Jan 19, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 106,000 miles · FL

When driving the car will not shift from second to third gears. While driving, the car while suddenly downshift to a lower gear with no warning. No check engine light is on. Honda states this is not covered under warranty but this should be since it is a major component of the car and this is something that honda was aware of when the car was released.

Filed Dec 13, 2012 · Engine · 130,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for an unrelated issue when the contact was advised that the engine mounts were failing and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.....updated 07/05/16 *bf updated 07/11/16.

Filed Dec 3, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 101,000 miles · DC

A couple of weeks ago my automatic transmission started acting funny at low speeds - having trouble downshifting to speed up the car (I.e. Going about 25 and then trying to speed up - it would just feel like it was in neutral and the car would rev but not speed up).the biggest issue then was that, at high speeds, the car would violently shift into 1st gear - thus causing the car to suddenly and severely slow down. This happened several times on the highway, and each time I barely avoided an accident - luckily no one was right behind me either time it happened. After doing some research, it looks like '03 honda accords with the v6 have major transmission issues - and it appears many other people have had this same issue.... But I was never made aware of it. My current car is an accident waiting to happen. I called honda and they will not do anything about.

Filed Nov 14, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 132,000 miles · GA

After about 45 minute ride out of my city on a major highway, my car violently downshifted from 65 MPH to 0 and would not move out of first gear thereafter. This has happened everyday afterwards that I drive my car at least 20 minutes. It seems as if once a mechanism inside the transmission heats up or gets hot, this happens. I always service my vehicle as required, I am worried. This is a major transmission failure. I have read where over 200 other honda owners have had this issue in the past but no recall has been issued. Please advise.

Filed Nov 12, 2012 · Acceleration, Brakes · 107,000 miles · WA

I bought my honda from the dealership 06/23/12, 1 owner completely serviced through the dealership then traded in at same dealership. When bought it had 101,793 miles, timing belt was done at 90k and power steering pump. Not even month later I had to replace throttle body. I've always felt something wrong with the transmission after bought car. On 11/10/2012 out of no where when I was getting off the freeway my car started to down shift really hard, was jerking while driving and then was stuck in first gear, luckily I was less than a mile from my house so I drove home then parked it and no indicator lights on. The next morning (today) called a friend who works on hondas and he looked at it and said the transmission fluid was very dirty and practically gone. Drove around the block twice and transmission was working fine. Then later drove about 8 miles and started hard down shifting and was stuck in first gear. Then parked and tried to put my car in reverse and it not move acted like was in neutral. Put it in park, turned it off then started it again and put it into reverse, reverse now worked. After that I had my friend look under the hood at the transmission fluid and it was practically empty again. So I went to the store got more transmission fluid and put some in and tried to drive back home. Everything seemed fine for about another 8 miles then it started to hard down shift all over again. After another 3 miles the car completely freaked out check engine light finally came on along with the ABS, tsc, and the light showing I was in drive started flashing. So I pulled over and put the car in park and everything was still doing the same thing, including the light indicating I was in drive even thought I was in park and the park gear light was on. So I turned off my car, sat for a min then restarted. Driving slow needed to stop and brakes started to go out.

Filed Oct 12, 2012 · Engine · 60,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH the contact smelled sulfur inside the vehicle. The contact stated that he believed the smell was emitting from the catalytic converter. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated the smell was normal. The contact continued to driver the vehicle with the sulfur smell since no remedy was provided but the smell was becoming too harsh to drive the vehicle. The failure mileage was 60,000.

Filed Oct 10, 2012 · Engine · 97,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that when the air condition or heater was being used and the engine was shut off, it would become hesitant to restart. The contact would have to allow the vehicle to sit for several hours before the engine could be restarted. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic several times for the failure. A diagnostic was performed that was unable to locate a failure. The vehicle was also test driven however, the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired the failure mileage was 97,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.

Filed Sep 12, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · CA

I have a 2003 honda accord ex v6. About two months ago I started feeling the car wasn't feeling right. As I was driving, it felt like the gear shift had been knocked down in to neutral, but was still actually still in drive. When this happened, the RPM's would go up and the car felt like it wasn't going anywhere, just coasting, then it seemed to just jolt back to where it should be. The problem wasn't happening every time I drove, but recently it started happening more often and for longer periods of time. I take the car to one place to have all my work done on it, so I took it there, but they felt the problem might be internal and recommended I take it to a transmission shop. They did diagnostics on the car and drove it. The result, the car is going into transmission failure. The transmission fluid is black and burned and has debris in it, and they said that the clutches are also burned. They won't know the complete picture until they take the transmission apart and get a good look. It is 5 days before christmas, I don't have the money to fix it or we will not have any christmas and now I have no transportation to do anything! Soooo frustrated. I thought honda's were suppose to be such good cars, but I have had nothing but problems with this one. It doesn't seem like a transmission should go out at 113,000 miles and I have had so many people say the same thing. Now that my transmission is going out, I read up on it and find out there was a recall in 2004 for the 2003 honda accords. Why, am I just finding out about this??

Filed Aug 13, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · 144,202 miles · IN

I was traveling at 60 MPH on us 30 when my honda accord suddenly jerked and slipped into low gear. I was nearly rearended and was definitely in shock. I continued homeward and it did the same thing 3 more times. I had slowed my speed to 40 MPH but the engine sounded like I was going too fast for the gear I was in so slowed down even more....put my flashers on and crept home. Since it is after hours I must wait until tomorrow to contact the dealership. However I have found that many people have had the same problem with honda accords.

Filed Jul 2, 2012 · Engine · 70,795 miles · PA

We have a 2003 honda accord ex v6 automatic. While accelerating at low speeds, car lurches violently. It appears to occur when shifting gears. This has been very alarming, especially with two young children in the car. Also, the car does not go into reverse sometimes, unless turning the engine off and on again.

Filed Jun 27, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 98,076 miles · CA

The car after being driven to work by my wife would hesitate going into gear. After speaking to the honda dealership,and honda america we were told it to far out of warranty to be covered. We have owned several honda cars and now we are told they will not cover any of the costs involved. I thought honda was better than this.

Filed May 6, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 60 miles · TX

Starting the car from a stopping point and slowly increasing the speed to 40 will result in slight jerks in the car. As the speed increase beyond 45 into the 60 the car will jerk repeatedly and try to shift down. Rpm revs into the 5 or 6 zone, near redlining while only going 40 MPH. Sometimes the car will shift down while on the highway causing car to jerk driver forward. Could lead to major car wreck. This car model already had a defective transmission, which was fixed by honda, yet it seems to have another transmission issue now.

Filed Apr 14, 2012 · Engine · OH

Honda accord just stopped while my daughter was driving. Made a grinding sound when tried to restart. Fortunate that this happened on our court.

Filed Mar 26, 2012 · Engine · 142,800 miles · DE

The very first thing I noticed was approximately 3 months ago. When parked, the rpms would suddenly jump to 2000 without pressing on the gas, then it would go back to normal. My malfunction indicator lamp came on briefly about a month ago, and then went off. The maintenance required light came on a week after the malfunction indicator lamp, and now blinks everytime I turn my car on. I was driving for approximately 15 minutes at a range of speed between 0 to 50mph. Very suddenly, the rpms shot up to 6000, and it violently jerked as though I was slamming on the brakes. There was a burnt rubber smell right afterwards. The longer I drove, the more frequently it happened. If I didn't have my seatbelt on, my head would have smacked the steering wheel. I was almost hit from behind several times. Now even when I am driving for a short distance and time, the rpms are higher than normal, and then the violent jerking begins.

Filed Mar 3, 2012 · Engine · 106,990 miles · OK

I was driving at approximately 45 MPH when the engine suddenly revved up and lost all power. It did this several times. I pulled off the road into a parking lot, I could not get the car to go into reverse or drive. Towed to honda dealer. They "could not replicate the problem". Recommended transmission fluid change, which was done. Fluid reportedly "dirty". (had been changed last time at 90,000 miles). I drove it approx 5 more weeks. At that time problem became consistent. Occasionally smelled "burning odor". Engine revved up, no power. Would not go into reverse - clanked very hard into gear when shifting. Had great difficulty going up hills. Went back to honda dealer - confirmed transmission failure.

Filed Feb 23, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 109,819 miles · CA

I was driving approximately 30mph on a long straight road when for no reason the car started downshifting on it's own. The vehicle lurched. I came to a stop and while I was braking, the car suddenly stopped on it's own as if I slammed on the brakes. I stopped at a light, and then turned onto a side road. I was driving approximately 20mph when the car started downshifting on it's own again. I pulled over to the side of the road and once again, the car stopped suddenly as if I slammed on the brakes. After a few days at a personal mechanic, it was decided that the vehicle should be taken to a honda dealership. Personal mechanic stated he at one point took my vehicle out on a side road where the vehicle suddenly went into a neutral speed and lost power. While on the freeway driving around 50mph to the dealership, car downshifted on it's own causing me to almost get rear ended. I pulled off freeway and came to a stop on the side of the road. Once again, the car came to a quick sudden stop as if I slammed on the brakes. Once at the honda dealership, test were ran and it was decided the vehicle had transmission failure and the transmission needed to be replaced. They quoted me $4500 for repairs. Ended up calling honda customer service, they were willing to only cover $1100. I ended up with a total bill of $3406.26.

Filed Feb 19, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 108,000 miles · NJ

2003 honda accord. First transmission began to slip at 50,000 miles. Took to dealer for evaluation and was told nothing was wrong. About a week later, driving on west side highway going from brooklyn to home in nj. Transmission failed and finally got it into first gear. Brought to dealer and transmission replaced at 50,000 miles. It was still under warranty at this time and did not have to pay anything. At 108,000 miles again I felt the transmission start to slip. Again, brought to mahwah honda and told that there was nothing wrong. One week later, driving on major highway in nj (route 17 south) the transmission failed. Luckily, at cars going 60 MPH around me I was able to coast into a parking lot and not get rear ended or in an accident. Car was flat bed trucked to dealer. When we discussed the issues we knew that honda 2003 accords/transmissions were having, they ignored the comments. This was now the third transmission for the car, the original, the replacement at 50,000 miles and the event that just occurred. They did not want to hear anything of it. In the end, the "deal" they gave was to pay close to $3000 for the transmission (they gave a 20% discount, how kind). The service was awful. As a life long honda customer with at least 25 years of honda cars, I will never go back. What a shame that honda will not live up to their prior great reputation and back up the cars and obvious defect that could have killed me driving. Shame on honda.

Filed Jan 26, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 150,000 miles · FL

Transmission problems.

Filed Jan 3, 2012 · Engine · 120,000 miles · MD

My 2003 accord ex v6 completely failed. I was driving on the freeway at 65mph and the transmission went out with no prior warning and no warning lights. I was lucky and safely coasted off the freeway to the shoulder.

Filed Dec 16, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 102,000 miles · NC

I was driving to work today and my car began to downshift into 1st gear when I was running about 45 miles per hour. It began jerking and after pulling over it would not go into reverse. If I had been on the freeway, this could have caused a serious accident. This is a major complaint with 2003 honda accord owners. Something needs to be done.

Filed Dec 14, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 95,000 miles · AZ

While driving at a constant speed, the engine suddenly started accelerating and then decelerating in quick succession causing the car to jerk back and forth uncontrollably. As I attempted to come to a stop on the side of the road, the car continued to accelerate/decelerate. Honda dealership diagnosis is transmission failure. Cost of repair is $3800. The car was just at the dealership in october for service and there were no issues then.

Filed Nov 21, 2011 · Acceleration, Engine · 76,000 miles · CA

My transmission failed while driving on my way to work the morning of nov. 16th with no warning whatsoever. Luckily I was not in an accident due to the fact I was unable to control the car because the RPM's were all over the place and the vehicle would only rev but not go any further. Therefore I immediately had to pull over in fear of causing an accident. I have researched the past few days how many other 2003 honda accord owners have had the same problem with their transmissions and there should really be a recall done by honda. The transmission should not be going out at 76,000 miles. My car is currently being repaired at an independent transmission shop with an estimated cost of around $3400. I hope to recover some of that cost from honda but further action needs to happen to ensure more people with similar year vehicles do not have to experience this as well.

Filed Nov 11, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 88,000 miles · MD

I bought this car in june 2003 with 2 miles on it from jim coleman honda in clarksville, md. I have only driven the car 88,000 miles and the transmission is dead. According to chryswel dealership in germantown md, the issue was not the transmission but the clutch pressure control which is responsible for shifting gears. That is what went bad which then caused debris in the transmission causing it to fail as well. The car runs fine when it is cold but once you dive it for about 20 minutes, it will automatically downshift to the 1st or 2nd gear and drop your speed for 60 to 20 or less with a big jolt on the passengers in the car. We are very close to getting into a major accident on the highway when it happened. The dealership quoted me $5000 to fix the transmission and also informed me that they have seen many other 03 honda's with the same situation. I was really surprised that there has not been an official case against honda to fix the issue or provide a recall. I am very disappointed with the service and support for honda. This is one of the 4 honda's I own but it will def be the last honda I ever own. I have also submitted a complaint to honda with the issue. I would appreciate any follow up on this issue. Thank you

Filed Nov 3, 2011 · Engine · VA

My car seemed to drive fine when the transmission was cold, but when it warmed up after a few minutes of highway driving, the transmission would down-shift violently into first gear, regardless of the current speed.I could smell of burnt rubber in the car after such a forced down-shift. This seemed to be quite dangerous. Once this happened, the transmission would fail to shift into anything but first gear. It wouldn't go past 20mph on the freeway and almost caused an accident. When I tried calling the honda corporate and dealership that said they had the oil jet kit looked at during the recall of 2004 but said there was nothing wrong with the transmission. There is obviously something wrong with the transmission because it shouldn't die this quickly. I know other people with the same car have had problems, which is very dangerous and nothing is being done about it. This is very disappointing. I guess it's ok to allow honda come into this country, charge what they want and kill innocent lives. If they have made a mistake, instead of trying to cover their tracks, they should fix the problem. If you look online, thousands of people have this same problem with this year make (2003 honda accord v6) but nothing is being done about it.

Filed Oct 24, 2011 · Acceleration, Engine · 97,000 miles · NC

I was having problems shifting gears and it seemed my car couldn't shift into 3rd gear. It's an automatic and when it would reach 3rd gear, the engine would just rev. It would drive fine at first but as soon as the car warmed up, it progressively got worse. I had to have my battery replaced prematurely (after 3 years) last week and I mentioned the gear shifting problem to the honda dealership. The gear shifting problem happened right around the same time my battery died so I thought it may be related. They told me the gear shifting problem would be fixed when I replaced my battery. They paid for 60% of the cost of the battery. Over the next few days it progressively got worse to where I couldn't even drive and I had to coast into a parking lot because the engine would rev and the car would jerk. It seemed to be dangerous. I then shut off the car and tried to restart it. I wasn't even able to reverse at all - like it had no reverse, just rev. I had to call a tow truck and have it towed to the dealership. I have a 2003 honda accord ex v6 with less than 100k miles - right around 97k - and the dealership told me I needed a new transmission and motor mount. A rebuilt transmission is $4500 and a new transmission is $6400. I bought a honda because it was suppose to be a reliable car that would last years without expensive maintenance repairs. And now it's less than 10 years old and 100k miles on it and I have a huge repair. It seems many others have had the same problems with the 2003 honda accord.

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