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.
I can turn on the A/C and have it blowing, but sometimes the vents will only stay on FACE and will not change to anything else no matter what you do. Dealer replaced the whole panel twice and now I can't even turn on my A/C anymore. To top it off, the manufacture certified technicians scraped and marred all over the dash and other trim pieces... now my car is a mess. They offered to put on a new dash, but now the new one is even worse than the old.... nothing will line up and wrong screws were used.... more scraping of my trims. They took everything apart to put in the new dash, now my cup holder keep popping up, steering wheel is hard to telescope, glove box wont line up, have to slam to close glove box.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I can turn on the A/C and have it blowing, but sometimes the vents will only stay on FACE and will not change to anything else no matter what you do. Dealer replaced the whole panel twice and now I can't even turn on my A/C anymore. To top it off, the manufacture certified technicians scraped and marred all over the dash and other trim pieces... now my car is a mess. They offered to put on a new dash, but now the new one is even worse than the old.... nothing will line up and wrong screws were used.... more scraping of my trims. They took everything apart to put in the new dash, now my cup holder keep popping up, steering wheel is hard to telescope, glove box wont line up, have to slam to close glove box.
- Tony H., San Diego, CA, US