The contact owns a 2003 Honda Accord. The contact stated that there were several mechanical failures with the vehicle. The contact stated that there was a failure with the ignition switch, and the key could not be removed from the cylinder, and the shift lever failed to shift into drive(D), park(P), or into reverse(R). The contact stated that while the vehicle was in drive(D), the drive(D) indicator was flashing. Additionally, the contact had been having a failure of the power steering assist. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn to the left or to the right. The contact was unaware of any warning lights during the power steering failure. The contact stated that the power steering failure was recurring. There was also a failure with the transmission. The contact stated that after being able to shift to drive(D), and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated before responding. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shaking abnormally and hesitating. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and found several recalls related to the failures. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, and the contact was advised that two previous recall repairs were completed for the air bags and the ignition, but the VIN was no longer under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.
2003 Honda Accord: hesitation when accelerating
33 of the 1,987 complaints about the 2003 Honda Accord describe hesitation when accelerating.
- owner complaints
- 33
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical repair cost reported
- $4,000
- typical mileage
- 103,000
- recalls
- 1
Hesitation when accelerating by model year
What owners say
According to anna, who is service representative from honda of seattle, just giving me an update on my car, so the technician verified the lights and hesitation while driving is due to the transmission failing internally, when we drained the fluid there was debris in the old fluid and it was completely dark, which indicates that there is damage internally. Technician said rebuild of transmission is going to cost me around $6500. My car has had 106500miles.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to start and made an abnormal noise. The failure happened without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the symptoms were the same as listed in the federal safety agency campaign number: 10v364000 (electrical system). The vehicle was not repaired. Prior to this failure, a similar failure occurred. The ignition was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. While driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle jerked and hesitated before moving forward. The tsc warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.
I started to use the honda around 2008 for work. It's mileage was about 25000 miles due to the use of a second family car at the time. I have an extensive record of maintaining my honda with a local honda dealership since I purchased an extended warranty that expired in april 2014. On aug 26, 2014 I left my work and entered the freeway ramp at about 30 MPH ready to accelerate and merge with traffic. The car started hesitating and the rpms would race without the car picking up speed. Concerned about the cars behind me and making a very fast decision to move right as fast as I could without getting rear ended, I managed to exit the freeway to a right off ramp. I experienced the same RPM acceleration a week or two prior to this incident, but I thought I had just hit the gas peddle in a strange way while driving. I exited the freeway and drove home. When I arrived by my home 10 minutes later, the car stopped accelerating and I drifted into a parking space on the side of my house. A family member helped me straighten out the car in two moves after I placed it in neutral. I ended up towing the car to my local dealership who diagnosed it as aa broke transmission. The honda was purchased brand new, I'm the only owner and it was bought because of it's reliability, reputation and quality in general..
2003 honda accord. Consumer states car stopped while driving due to transmission failure. *ta the consumer stated the vehicle just stopped. It would not go forward, made noises and at times hesitated. The problem was diagnosed as a faulty torque converter solenoid. The consumer drove the vehicle for one week, when the problem returned. The dealer informed the consumer, the transmission needed to be replaced at a cost of $5400. The consumer took the vehicle to a repair shop, where the transmission was replaced for $3,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the vehicle hesitated and jerked without warning. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. The VIN was not available.
Vehicle transmission has been hesitating for over a year. Dealership insisted that there was nothing wrong. Two months ago I was told the rear main seal may need to be replaced soon. Three days ago the car violently shifted into a lower gear and nearly caused the vehicle to be rear ended. I'm told that the transmission now needs to be rebuilt or replaced. When I contacted american honda I spoke to a customer services representative by the name of sopana. He first told me that because my car was over 120k mile honda would not provide any goodwill assistance, I reminded him my car was at 115k mile, he was then flustered and said well I mean 100k mile or whatever.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that the transmission jerked and hesitated while driving at various speeds. The contact also stated that the transmission would downshift sporadically. In addition, the transmission would engage from fourth to third gear and from third to second gear without warning. The vehicle had not been inspected. The contact stated that in 2004 the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs under the federal safety agency recall campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission). The dealer replaced the oil jet kit on the vehicle, but did not repair the transmission. The failure and the current mileages were 142,000.
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated when driving at any speed and would exhibit a grinding noise. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a diagnostic was performed, but the dealer was unable to generate a failure code. The dealer also test drove the vehicle but the failure could not be to duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 93,000 and the current mileage 108,000.
Transmission is slipping between 1st and 2nd gears and after car is warm transmission hesitates from dead start. I have looked online only to find out that there are hundreds of complaints and this is definitely a safety concern, the federal safety agency is failing it seems in their responsibility to address this recurring malfunction, I only hope that the death as a result of this situation that finally causes a recall is not one of my family members.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Case v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. BC 424169 (Third Clutch Transmission Settlement
- Dealer message
- Honda: update replacement PCM with automatic transmission.
- Honda: the vehicle moves faster than expected with the transmission in gear, foot off the brake, and foot...
- Transmission grinds at shifts, skip shifting
- 1-2 upshift shudder, judder, vibration at 2,000 RPM
- Replacing a canon A75 digital camera to take inspection photos for s/b 04-021, safety recall: a/t 2ND gear...
- Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) leaks
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- On some mini vans, sport utility and passenger vehicles, certain operating conditions can result in heat build-up between the countershaft and secondary shaft second gears in the automatic transmission, eventually leading to gear tooth chipping or gear breakage.
- Risk
- Gear failure could result in transmission lockup, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- On vehicles with 15,000 miles or less, the dealer will update the transmission with a simple revision to the oil cooler return line to increase lubrication to the second gear. On vehicles with more than 15,000 miles, the dealer will inspect the transmission to identify gears that have already experienced discoloration due to overheating. If discoloration exists, the transmission will be replaced if discoloration is not present, the dealer will perform the revision to the oil cooler return line. The recall began on april 21, 2004, for pilot, odyssey, and mdx owners. Owners of the accord vehicles will start receiving letters on june 28, 2004, and on june 29, 2004, for owners of the tl and cl vehicles. Owners should contact honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009 or acura at 1‑800‑382‑2238.
Recall number 04V176000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2003 Honda Accord hesitation
Is hesitation when accelerating a common problem on the 2003 Honda Accord?
33 of 1,987 owner complaints about the 2003 Honda Accord (2%) mention hesitation when accelerating. The model year with the most reports is 2002.
How much does it cost to fix hesitation when accelerating on the 2003 Honda Accord?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $4,000 (median of 7 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Honda Accord?
There is 1 recall and 42 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Honda Accord
Transmission failure 379Slipping 186Jerking 134Won't shift 100Airbag light 93Check engine light 64Grinding brakes 59No deployment 58Wipers 52Stalling 41Sudden acceleration 27Loss of power 25Harsh shifting 24Fire or smoke 21Pulling 20ABS 19Headlights 19Brake failure 18Door locks 18Premature wear 18Seat belt 18Won't start 16Whining noise 14Overheating 13Shudder 13Tire blowout 10Knocking 9Adaptive cruise 8Oil consumption 8Screen failure 7Ball joint 6Engine failure 6Power steering loss 6Battery drain 5Steering noise 5Warning lights 5
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