8.1
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$1,431.00
Average Mileage:
95,251 miles
Total Complaints:
15 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace the transmission (8 reports)
- not sure (3 reports)
- had the transmission rebuilt (1 reports)
- replace the torque converter solenoid (1 reports)
- replace timing and other belts (1 reports)
- service transmission (1 reports)
transmission problem
Helpful Websites About 2003 Honda Accord not shifting properly
2009Aug 27
Accord EX 3.0L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 113,500 miles
My Accord started slipping when shifting, then started bucking (accelerating/decelerating), occasionally wouldn't even start from a stop (slipping entirely). Not what I expected from one of the standards of reliability at 115k. Very disappointed and the jury is out on what the dealership is going to do (I bought the car used with 50k 2 1/2 years ago). I had the dealer do all of the recommended service from the time I bought the car....
2009Jul 31
Accord ES V6
- Automatic transmission
- 145,000 miles
After rountine trans service in which in my opinion an excess amount of new trans fluid was add (4 qts.) the car slipped gear and wouldn't shift when slowing around the corner. All seemed well for a few weeks and then car would not shift properly out of 1st or out of 2nd. I believe the excess new fluid caused the bands to deteriote premeturly. Dealer wants to replace trans for $3200.00, what a deal when I can have it repaired for less at reputable shop. Love the car Honda needs to stand behind it alittle better.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Jul 01
Accord EX 3.OL V6
- Automatic transmission
- 97,120 miles
I Sold Honda's For some years. I think this is Very Bad! Coming from Honda, I sold Nissan's, Gmc, Fords, mazda's and many other cars names at dealers.I choose to put my money on a Honda because I believed in their product and this is how they pay their customers! WoW! People need their cars to work right. I will Buy a Toyota Or Nissan next time around. at 97,000 miles my 2003 Honda Accord V6 3.0L Ex started shifting wrong thank God I had the 100,000 mile coverage! Honda you let me Down. That's how I feel!
2008Sep 17
Accord EX 3.0L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 90,000 miles
Not sure if this will help anyone, but so far I think I got lucky. The transmission really struggled to shift into 3rd, sometimes having to pull over, switch off and start off again. Took it to Honda and of course it did not duplicate in front of the tech. Put up with it for about a year putting off the inevitable. Then at 105K as scheduled I had a non Honda guy replace the timing belt plus all other belts etc $1200 approx. They obviously had to reset the timing when that work was done. Well, driving home, and 500 miles since, the problem has not reared it's ugly head. Smooth as the day I bought it. Maybe have techs check the timing before replacing the whole transmission....
2009Jun 18
Accord EXL 3.2L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 47,000 miles
Transmission gone at 47,000 miles. Power steering leak also. Could have been a driving hazard. Concerned with the quality and safety of this car. Representative at Honda very rude after I said I wouldn't buy another Honda. Told me I was ungrateful since Honda did cover the cost of the transmission. He said he wouldn't have given me a dime if it were up to him. Told him I was glad they paid for transmission but why should I pay for labor on a faulty product. Had to part on power steering leak -- total cost $944.00. I am 59 years old -- on disability for breast cancer second time and lost my job. Explained all this but to no avail. I will join class action lawsuit and call National Highway Traffic Administration and also pass along my problems via telling friends and family about my experience and also by the written word. Honda boasts of its quality, engineering and customer service and yet they are rude to a 59 year old woman -- there is no excuse to be rude to any customer. It isn't coming out of his pocket -- however, the cost does come out of mine.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2006May 01
Accord XLE V6
- Automatic transmission
- 54,000 miles
We took it to Honda because it was barely over warranty and they refused to fix it, so we took it elsewhere because Honda wanted to put another 2003 transmission back in and charge us $2800. They have had several complaints about the 03's but still refused to do anything for us.
2008May 08
Accord EX V6
- Automatic transmission
- 137,000 miles
I first got my honda accord with 137ki on it.. after having it for 23 days..the transmission failed. it started by slipping really bad..and would rev up high, but the car wasn't moving very fast! also, i would step on the gas, and it would take a second to speed up, then it would shift hard and jerk. it was a REALLY bad choice for a car..and i wish i knew that honda was having transmission problems during that year. I finally had it replaced in may of 08 by Honda, and Once AGAIN the transmission failed one year later, with 156ki on it. so now it has had two transmissions, and who knows if it will need a third..
stay away from 03 accords..cause chances are the transmission has had problems.
2009May 28
Accord LX 3.0L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 100,936 miles
I bought this car two years ago from a local Honda dealer. As a Certified Used Car and had 12/12,000 mile warranty with the Powertrain Coverage 7 years/100,000 miles. The car had 57,400 miles on it when purchased. Right off the bat the CD player was replaced, the tail light was not working, and a sensor of some kind was fixed.
After two months I was headed to work and pull out from a stop light, the transmission locked up and the dash board lit up like a Christmas tree this was about 6 miles from my home so the transmission was not HOT in my opinion. I had just short of 30 miles to make it to the dealer. I manually shifted gears and made it to the dealer slowly and my nerves on edge. Luckily at the time I did still have my old vehicle to drive as I did not trade it in. They said it would take a couple days to fix the car , replacing the transmission with a rebuilt one. With a 12 month , 12,000 mile warranty, I did not think about it much at the time was just glad to get my car fixed. The two days turned into 9 with several calls from the service tec explaining other problems found. Now a year and a half later and other minor problems, my vehicle just turned over 100,000 miles and the end of last week I had my grandson in the car with me and we pulled up at a light and as I took off the car jerked and I had to shift gears down to make it go, again the dash looked like a christmas tree again. I was about a mile from my daughters home and roughly made it to her house. I left mine car there and drove one of theirs home. The next day my son-in -law suggested I get the transmission flushed. I was due for an oil change ( mind the dealer had just recently moved 50 miles away) so I took it to their local service center who told me his machine would not fit the Honda Accord transmission and I would have to take it to the dealer. I let him change the oil and made a few calls and was suggested another local service center. He said he could change the fluid but , not the filter. I told him to go ahead.
After much prayer and picking up the car the lights were off the dash the transmission has shifted better then ever before, but now I left with another three years payments, a honda worth half what is lefted owed on it and it just out of warranty. Like others here I thought my Honda Accord would be my last car purchased for years to come. Now I pray to make it home safely each time I leave. I sold my Saturn and the guy is still driving it with no problems and 200,000 + miles showing. After my transmission change a year and a half ago the service tec mentioned Honda had problems with the older models but , not so many with 2003 and above. I think he was wrong and their are many more out their that know their Honda is running roughly and thinking it bad gas and are now wondering if a trade is in order. I am not a Happy Honda owner in Georgia.
2009Jun 01
Accord EX 3.2L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 120,000 miles
I noticed my 2003 Honda Accord wasn't shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear very good. I took it into the dealer and they found nothing wrong with the transmission. I picked it up from the dealer and didn't have any problems driving home. Over the weekend the problem started again, the transmission wasn't shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear smoothly. Four days later on my way to work it would not even shift into 2nd gear so I couldn't go over 20 mph. I turned back around and drove 20 m.p.h. back to my house. I called the dealer and they sent a tow truck to pickup the car. I am now waiting to find out how much this will cost me.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Mar 01
Accord LX 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
Let me mention, this is the 3rd transmission in this Honda. DO NOT BUY A 2003 ACCORD!
Original transmission went out at about 70k. Under Honda certified used warranty. No cost to us. This 2nd transmission went out as above around 100k mileage - and we had to pay 2k out of our pocket. Now on our 3rd transmission. Hopefully this will last long enough!
2009Apr 16
Accord EX V6
- Automatic transmission
- 61,205 miles
Hey guys, i just purchased a pre-owned Honda accord coupe V6 approx 2 months ago. the transmission was fine when i got it but i guess its normal to start slipping around the 100k mark. I have done TWO synthetic oil changes in a month and half and because there is no external cooler line you can not flush the oil out, its just a simple pour and fill. So all you are doing is putting new oil with old oil which is not good. the second time i changed it it had already turned black. I was browsing the net because I have been reading everyone getting jerked around by the very nice service managers at dealerships and Honda Canada (being sarcastic). I found that these are in fact recalled by transport Canada and the office of defects and investigations (links posted below). Hope they help you out because it doesn't seem that Honda is what it used to be. I used to own a 1993 accord EX and the original tranny lasted me until 562,000 KM!!!!!! thats right ...no exaggeration. something needs to be done. check the links and get your butt to the dealership and give those service manager hell, if you don't get anywhere with them, call Honda Canada or Honda America....if still nothing then call the government divisions who issued the recalls.
http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/7/vrdb-bdrv/search/RecallDetail.aspx?lang=e&mk=0&md=0&fy=0&ty=9999&ft=&ls=0&sy=0&rn=2004143&cf=SearchResult
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/results.cfm?SearchType=QuickSearch&rcl_ID=04V176000&summary=true
2009Apr 25
Accord EX V6
- Automatic transmission
- 94,000 miles
I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX V6 coupe that I bought in December 2002. I LOVE this car. I am only 5'2'' but my husband is 6'; this is the 1st car ever that is comfortable for both of us, handles great & looks good. It has been meticulously maintained in accordance with the owners manual. My husband is a former mechanic and he has always taken care of the routine maintenance himself, with more complex maintenance going to the dealer or a shop we trust. We follow the 'severe' maintenance recommendations, even though the car has always been driven on paved roads in (flat) rural Ohio with light traffic and very little stop and go. On Saturday 4/25/09, while driving in hilly southern Ohio, we noticed that the transmission seemed to be slipping in the mid gear ranges and sometimes, when it finally went into gear, it went into it with a loud thump. We knew this was not good and agreed we needed to contact the dealer 1st thing Monday morning, which I did. I have subscribed to Consumer Reports for years and the Honda reputation for reliability greatly influenced our decision to purchase this car in 2002; however, I had noticed that in the 2008 & 2009 annual auto issues the 2003 Accord V6 was 'black marked' for major transmission issues. Before I called the dealer, I looked for a website to see if I could find any Honda service bulletins about this issue and found this site, which really concerned me after reading the comments. Of course, when I called the dealer Mon. 4-27, the service manager claimed he was unaware of any transmission issues. I took the car in on Tues 4-28. It was determined that the transmission needed replaced. The 'Honda Rep' happened to be at the dealer that day & since I had purchased the car new at this dealer, had purchased other cars (Fords) from the dealer in the past, it was offered that Honda would pay 1/2 the cost of the parts and labor to replace the transmission with a 'new, remanned' tranny that would have a 3 year, 36 month warranty. What could I do? We had just signed the paperwork to purchase an new Honda Goldwing motorcylce ($23,014.63) on Saturday; I couldn't buy a new car at this point. Besides, I truly do LOVE this car. So, my car is at the dealer as we speak getting the 'new, remanned' tranny. Hopefully I will get the car back good as new today or tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to share 'the rest of the story' with others who may be looking at this website because they are having the same transmission issues. This part of Ohio is located within 50 miles of Marysville, OH where these cars are manufactured. A very large portion of the local economy depends on Honda and Honda suppliers, and everyone know someone who 'works for Honda'. Last night, in a totally unrelated encounter with someone who just happens to work for Honda in Quality Control, we were told that the transmission failures are the result of a design flaw, that it affects the '3rd gear shift pack' and that Honda has been aware since the problem 1st arose on the Acura TL's (before this transmission was ever put in the Accord V6's). Like many of you, I am happy that Honda is helping me with the cost, but I don't feel that Honda customers should EVER be responsible to pay nything for a design flaw. My husband now says there will be no more Honda cars purchased in this household because it is apparent Honda is not standing behind their product completely. I don't necessarily agree (this is really my car afterall, and remember, I LOVE it) but there is something to be said for owner loyalty. After all, GM has the 2nd worse reliability record for domestic automakers in the US, but they do reward repeat buyers, don't they?
Update from May 17, 2009: Just to update...After I got my car back with the 'new' re-manned transmission I wrote a lengthy letter to Honda of America detailing my disappointment that Honda is not picking up the full tab for ALL customers who are experiencing these transmission failures that result from the design flaw previously discussed. On Friday May 15, 2009 a Honda Customer Service Representative called me in response to my letter. As expected, she advised that Honda would not be providing any more assistance to me. I heard the same denials of any known problems with this transmission as I had heard from the dealership's service department. I was told (again) that the car was out of warranty and if I had wanted further coverage I should have purchased an extended warranty. She told me that she has been in the Customer Service department responding to complaints for 14 years and that Honda had been generous in taking care of 50% of the cost the the transmission replacement as a 'goodwill gesture', especially since Honda would not benefit from that goodwill since I was not offering my loyalty to Honda in the future.
The truth was, she was deliberately missing my point--that Honda needed to step up and take responsibility for their design flaw, just as other car manufacturers have had to do in the past. It later dawned on me---all those re-manned transmissions are coming from somewhere! Obviously these are transmissions that have been taken out of vehicles and then re-manufactured to specs. And why where they taken out of the vehicles to begin with? That's a rhetorical question, of course. This auto manufacturer must think we consumers are really stupid.
2008Nov 01
Accord DX 3.0L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 112,000 miles
car would not drive over 20 mph because it could shift into 2nd gear. it would jerk and not shift into gear. but if you don't fix right away it will tear your transmission apart because the the clutch wont function properly and the torque converter wont engage
2008Oct 20
Accord EX 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 50,000 miles
Back in October, I had to jump-start my car. There was a fair amount of corrosion on the battery terminals which I scraped off. On the way home, I noticed a definite loss of power. Thought it was the battery, so I replaced it. Since then, I have lost between 80-120 miles on a full tank of gas, and the transmission always seems to be in the wrong gear. Over normal city driving, the RPM's will always fall down to 600-700, whenever I take my foot off the gas pedal. Going up hills, it usually won't down shift unless I floor it. Toke it to the dealer, and of course, they found no problem, and didn't notice any loss of power. They reset the computer, but it is still doing it. Taking it to a transmission shop to get the transmission fluid flushed, to see if that's the problem.
We have partnered with JustAnswer to offer online auto repair help and advice from expert professional automotive technicians. You describe your transmission problem or ask your question and they try to help you figure it out. The fee is typically $9 to $15, but you can offer to pay more for really tough questions. You will usually receive an answer in 10 minutes or less, and you do not have to pay anything unless you accept the answer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Nov 06
Accord LX 3.2L V6
While driving home, my transmission refused to change gears. I was able to get home by driving at less than 20 mph! Took it to my repair shop - the transmission is being rebuilt! At a cost of $2,000. What makes a good transmission go bad, anyway!!!
katherinegeorgia
Statesboro, Georgia, USA
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