2003 Honda Accord: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Jul 8, 2021 · Engine · MD

I bought this vehicle at 130k miles and it had a regular maintenance. Since then it feels like there’s no power, it revs high when it shouldn’t, feels like the gears aren’t shifting when they should, hard shifting.

Filed Jun 25, 2015 · 131,000 miles · WA

I have owned four hondas and have never encountered or heard of issues like this before I bought my 2003 honda accord. I take very good care of my cars and do not drive them hard either. I bought my 03 accord in 2010 and had no idea that I was driving what is tantamount to a ticking time bomb. Roughly a month ago, my tach started slipping and the car started jerking and clunking while I was driving it. The problems do not begin at a set amount of time behind the wheel. It starts I the lower gears and I can tell it is starting when I decrease my speed to a stop, at 10 miles per hour the car ?shudders? And ?clunks?. It progressively gets worse and the higher gears become affected. I was on the freeway, on my way home from an appointment in the middle lane. I was traveling at roughly 55 ? 60 miles per hour when the entire car violently jerked. It was enough to throw my head into the steering wheel. I immediately went to exit the highway when I noticed that my car was now in neutral. I babied the car home and checked the fluid. It was fine. The problem has gotten worse and I can no longer drive my car without being willing to be injured or worse. The cost of replacing or repairing the transmission is not a possibility. I now have a car that I cannot fix and cannot drive. It is unconscionable that a car company that is built on its reliability would not acknowledge and fix this problem. Does someone need to die first? I guess that I am unwilling to risk getting behind the wheel of a honda again. The scariest part of this whole situation was that I was going to put my 16 year old daughter in this car. Something needs to be done?now.

Filed Apr 23, 2014 · Transmission · 189,134 miles · FL

Transmission problems have happened ever since purchasing the car. At 144000 miles the transmission was replaced. At time of purchase, fluid was changed, january came, and once again needed another fluid change. I changed the fluid after purchase out of fear and transmission went from hard shifts to normal, even shifts. Problems raised again in january, I have two cases of honda transmission fluid at hand right now. Now, it's maybe two weeks before it shifts hard again. I deal with it knowing the cost to fix the transmission, but yesterday was the point where it starts to affect my safety. Going 30-45, shifting from second to third, there is delay in shifting when at 3000 RPM, at 4000 RPM or higher shifting is very violent from second to third as of yesterday, april 23, 2014. Also at 55 MPH on my way home, the car jolted during shifting while accelerating causing me to almost lose control. If this happened just three seconds before as I was turning a corner on this road it could have caused me to crash. Transmission feels distant at times, as if power is not being properly applied to the wheels during slow medium and hard acceleration from first to second gear. The transmission deteriorates with time and mileage. Car is 100% different than when we acquired it. Complaint after complaint and not one thing being done by honda nor the federal safety agency. The oil jet kit was a cheap and limited fix to this problem and only delayed transmission failure. Why is there no recall for this? Several people are on the highway when these transmissions fail and are lucky to avoid accidents and death. Does it have to take someone traveling 70 MPH with violent down shifting, being rear ended and killed for this to reach headlines for someone to acknowledge the danger? It's a real problem that affects safety, people's lives including my own.

Filed Jul 7, 2012 · Transmission · 154,000 miles · WA

The transmission had a major transmission failure of some kind as the car was just driving along the highway. It was as if someone had hit the brakes hard. The car went from 60 to 40 in just a second or two it seemed like... A violent slowdown. Now the transmission has no reverse, and forward driving is clunky, hard shifts and unpredictable.

Filed Feb 15, 2012 · Transmission · 73,000 miles · CA

Transmission began shifting with a "clunk," then began shifting erratically. Reverse would not work at all. Transmission replaced 2-15-2012 by omega honda of fremont, ca.

Filed Oct 21, 2011 · Transmission · 174,925 miles · CA

Transmission clunks loudly into gear, then slips when it warms up. Fluid has a burnt smell despite being flushed at regular intervals since new.

Filed Sep 19, 2011 · Transmission · 78,000 miles · NY

Second owner of the 2003 honda accord v6, bought it on 2009 first found out this issue after taking my brother to jfk airport and on my way back home, some weirdo sounds clunking while car stopped on traffic and accelerate onward.(lucky didn't get self and my wife killed/crashed) took the car to auto repair and they told me it's transmission failure, dashboard is blinking as well. Transmission slips out of gear. Shifts roughly. Won't go into gear. Drive indicator light flashing on dash. High pitched whining noise from transmission. Clunking into gear. Shifts violently at low speed after highway driving. Not shifting properly.

Filed Jan 27, 2011 · Transmission · 72,000 miles · CA

Transmission on 2003 accord has began to fail. Transmission slips and often violently slams into gear when down shifting or placing vehicle in reverse. The problem is fairly consistent each time the vehicle is driven. Nothing has been done to correct the problem, and honda has now twice claimed that "they can't duplicate the problem." research has shown that this problem is endemic to the 2003 accord, and the ultimate (and inevitable) failure of the transmission presents a safety concern. Users have reported the vehicle violently quitting at freeway speeds, narrowly avoiding rear-end collisions, etc.

Filed Jan 10, 2011 · Transmission · 97,067 miles · VA

The last week of december 2010, around 96,930 miles, the automatic transmission on my 2003 honda accord v6 began to have problems shifting from second gear to third gear when in d4, reluctantly sliding into gear between second and third; I would have to back off on the throttle for the transmission to complete the shift. I also tried driving around town with the automatic transmission in d3 to see if that would overcome the sliding and hard shifting; it did not. The automatic transmission also began to have a noticeable hard downshift when hot, creating a pattern of very surprising hard downshifting that got worse very quickly. One time, when I was slowing down from 45 MPH for a stop light, it downshifted so hard I inadvertently knocked it into neutral with my right arm. The unpredictability and severity of the hard downshifting caused me to immediately park the car. When hot, there are times when the transmission will now not shift above second gear and only reluctantly goes into reverse. This change occurred over the course of several days for a total of 67 miles traveled. When the transmission is cold it shifted normally on the way to the way to the facility that works on my honda: they were able to duplicate the erratic and hard downshifting when reaching operating temperature. The automatic transmission failed at 97,067 miles; the car was purchased new in august of 2003. The automatic transmission unit is being replaced with a rebuilt automatic transmission unit as I am told there are no new units being manufactured (per honda). On the failed unit I had the honda 2nd gear oil jet recall performed on the transmission in september 2004; transmission drain and flush at 42,000 and 95,000 miles; and transmission drain and refill at 60,000 miles. I had driven 8200 miles in october 2010 (fairfax, va. To seattle, wa, and back) without a problem. I have observed the manufacturers required maintenance schedules.

Filed Nov 16, 2010 · Transmission · 112,000 miles · TN

On november 16, I was driving with my wife on the interstate at about 75 MPH. Suddenly, the tires locked and squealed enough that I could smell the rubber. Both of our seatbelts locked out because of the deceleration. About 1/2 second later, the car continued normally and we slowed to 55 MPH. We proceeded to the nearest exit and experienced another sudden deceleration that was not as severe as the initial one. We pulled into the nearest parking lot and I got out of the car to check the brakes. They appeared normal. When I shifted the transmission from park to drive, the entire car shook with a pronounced "clunk." when I shifted the car back to p and returned it to d, it shook the entire car again. The car drove normally around the lot, so we started driving to the dealership. The car would not shift past second gear once we got on the road. We pulled into a parking lot and had the car towed the remaining distance to the dealership. Maintenance has been performed according to the owner's manual service schedule. My research found hundreds of similar issues with 2003 accord transmissions. The local dealership said they had never seen this issue before. The dealership will charge over $4400 to replace the transmission. Other websites suggested contacting corporate honda directly to request "goodwill" financial assistance. I recalled the details to the representative who would not offer assistance because it was outside of warranty. The representative also stated they had not heard of this happening to any of their 2003 accords, which is highly suspicious given the 100s of complaints that I found.

Filed Oct 4, 2010 · Transmission · 107,000 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle began to independently accelerate and decelerate aggressively. The contact was able to drive to his residence yet the vehicle would only drive forward while in second gear. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission would need to be replaced. The manufacturer stated that they could not assist with repairs, as the vehicle was outside of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was approximately 107,000. Updated 1/19/2010 *cn the consumer stated while driving 40-45 MPH the vehicle began to change gears and slip out of gear on its on. The startling delayed shifts were violent and sudden, within a short period of time, which cause the vehicle to lurch and decelerate in a very aggressive manner. After stopping the vehicle, it would not engage in reverse or move forward above second gear. Updated 03/28/11

Filed Sep 17, 2010 · Transmission · 115,010 miles · CA

'took 2003 accord ex to south bay honda in milpitas on feb 24, 2010 for applicable recall service' 1.they performed recall 08-043 wiper motor inoperable. 2.up shift flaring in second and third gear diagnosed 'said transmission. Recall already performed by anderson honda 3.problem 'traced to internal transmission concerns.' 4.fluid level ok, but leak noted 5.recommended transmission replace $3,596.00 6. Escalated to mgr who declined to fix 'contacted honda america same day explained situation to rep. In recall dept 1.said recall already performed-transmission; transferred to post-warranty svc dept. 2.rep. In that dept said anderson honda did recall and added 'jet kit' on sept 28, 2004 at 20,491 miles, (far exceeding recommended period by honda w/o removing second gear and inspecting and rebuilding transmission if gear damaged) 3.asked whether they took pictures of gear and could provide records of that service' rep told me 'that's internal information. We don't give out that information.' 4.rep. Said that the problem with transmission. Was not gear lock, was flaring ' not covered by recall 5.rep said to follow up quickly ' did so but no response. 'car drove ok, so continued to drive while waiting for response. 'july 13, 2010 at approx.9:45am while in route to business meeting - car locked in gear on freeway, loud clunk, tires chirped a tad, and car downshifted to lower gear' ea 'drove car slowly in 2nd gear position to dealership on freeway with hazards' nearest dealership in fairfield, ca ' steve hopkins honda 'service advisor said definitely transmission. He said 'I got it to lock up on me here in the lot'. Advised honda rebuilt transmission repair w/warranty costs $3,750' I explained situation in greater detail' said he would contact honda 'american honda regional manager refused 'any and all assistance' with the repair. 'paid over $4,400.00 in all for repairs at honda dealership.