I had the same problem as most people here back in 2006. I was driving on the interstate at 65mph and the car shifted into 3rd gear all of a sudden. The RPM shot way up, and I slowed down to the 30's or 40's pretty quickly. Restarting the engine would fix the issue for a few minutes, but eventually I got it to the dealer and got a rental.

I had the extended warranty and the dealer replaced the transmission within a week. So it only cost me $100 total.

A year and a half and 25k miles later, my drive indicator light is flashing. I've also seen the TSA light come on randomly as well. Apparently the transmission replacement had a 3 year 36k mile warranty from Honda, so I'm covered if the transmission needs replacing again. No out of pocket cost again, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do after this warranty expires. I really don't want to have to pay for another transmission.

No gripe here - When this first happened I read everyone's nightmare. So, I prepared all of my paperwork and called Sloan Honda in Philadelphia, where I purchased the car. My car was 3,000 miles outside of the extended warranty. When the Service Manager called back he never hesitated. He told me he would cover 90% of the cost to install a new transmission. Out of pocket costs to me were $252.00. That included a 3 year / 36,000 mile warranty on the transmission. The key, they said, was that I had never missed an interval service in the 5 years that I have had my car. Not a bad deal and all I had to do is make 1 call to set up service. I'll buy all my cars from Sloan from now on.

I planned on taking the kids out for lunch, when suddenly my Honda felt like it down shifted to neutral on the hwy. I thought maybe I accidentally shifted to neutral because I drive with one hand on the wheel & the other resting on the shifter. So, I took my hand off the shifter and it did it again! This time it started revving high and clunking anytime I stepped on the accelerator. I safely exited the hwy and was glad traffic was light, it was still drivable, so I took it to the nearest Honda dealer which fortunately was not too far from where I exited. It was not my Honda dealer but I did not want to risk driving the vehicle any further & risk more damage.

I pulled up to the service bay area but the door was not opening, so I figured the garage was full and decided to park it in one of spaces next to it. Thats when I discovered my car would not REVERSE!!! It just revved and would not back up. I had enough room to drive it forward and make a tight turn to avoid hitting the building. I then parked and told the service tech what happened. They seemed shocked to hear that car would not reverse because that is a clear sign of transmission failure. I told them to test drive the vehicle & they were able to back out of the parking space but when they put in drive, the car lurched and clunked forward. They pulled it into the service bay and tried reverse again, it did not reverse!!!

I never had any problems with this car, I purchased it new, it only has 63000 miles, and I did all regular scheduled maintenance at the Honda dealerships. How could this happen, I told all my friends that Hondas were the best cars out there and was proud of this car, it never failed me until now. I was planning on buying a new 2009 Honda pilot for my wife but now am deciding maybe that's not a good idea anymore.

The service tech said they were going to replace the clutch solenoid because the computer said it was locked in the open position. This would cost me $630, but they said it would not guarantee it would fix the problem, it's just a starting point. They needed to special order the part and it would get there tomorrow.

Last week on I noticed the that I would step on the gas, the car would not accelerate, and the rpm needle would push to the red. This happened several times over the next week and determined it was time to take my car to the Honda Dealer to diagnose the problem. By the way I have taken my car only to the Honda Dealer for any service or maintenance since I bought it new 5 years ago.

On my way to the dealership the car stopped 4 times over a 5 mile stretch almost causing an accident each time. I was fairly upset since I had found this website a few days prior and noticed that transmission failure was probably the obvious diagnosis. The day after I drove / coasted my car into the dealership, I received a call from the service representative saying that I would need a whole new transmission, rack and pinion system and a brand new pump. The total cost with tax was going to be $5,354 which they were willing to pay for the parts but I would have to pay for the labor. The good thing is that the parts cost $3,500, however I still need to pay the $1,854 for the service and labor.

I called the Honda's Corporate office which I got from one of the other postings from this site. Honda Corporate opened up a case for me and now I am waiting to hear back to see if they can pick up any of the bill for the service and labor. Basically they are saying that the transmission is terrible and are willing to pay for it, however the consumer is still obligated to pay for the service and labor on a transmission that they know is terrible. To me this does not make sense. If Honda is agreeing that the part was constructed horribly they should pay for the part, service and labor of making my car whole again. The new and more durable part should have been in the car initially.

This is my second Honda and I have always told everyone how good these cars were. I was wrong and have now determined that this will be my last Honda. In my situation it would have been much cheaper to lease a car every 3-5 years then continue to dump money into a questionable product.

MESSAGE: Heather , sounds to familiar. do you have any solutions. I have 03 accord v-6 with automatic as well, the tranny stays in 3rd when in drive, no reverse,repetitive TCS light problem as well in past. it is a defect ! THANKS Mike

This was my reply!

Mike, I am so sorry to hear about your problem. This has been an ongoing problem since about 1 yr in to the purchase of the brand new car. I complained several times about the TCS light coming on when I am driving accompanied by a grinding of what sounded like gears?????. The dealership failed to document all the times I complained about the problem until after the vehicle was out of warranty. I believe in 2004 there was a transmission recall on this car. However when I took my car in for the recall they told me that my car was fine and was not effected by the recall. The transmission recall called for a repair or replacement of the transmission. From everything I have read from other people and through research the repair of the tranny and the replacements are not correcting the problem either. In fact the repair, rebuild, or replacement of the transmission is not the problem it is the entire transmission that was designed for the Honda Accord V6 from what I hear. I have read similar problems and when the service dealerships are handling the complaints they act as if they are not aware of the problem, but just recently found out that upon the purchase of my car the dealership provided me with an extended 5 year/100,000 mile Power Train warranty, because they were aware of the problems with the tranny. The dealership has had my car for about 3 weeks now because we contacted Honda Corporation which provide no help what so ever. We took the car in because it felt as if the transmission was slipping. The service department said they found the problem and that is was a solenoid that shifted the car between 1st and 3rd gear, they charged me $445.82 and sent me on my way I drove the car about two blocks and the service engine light came on again. They assured me that there was nothing wrong with the car and that the problem was repaired. I took the car straight home parked it and drove it about 30 miles to have lunch with my husband. On the way the car appeared that the transmission was slipping again. Once we towed the car back to the dealership they informed us that the computer showed that the car was fine, but they did notice a shifting problem. After debating back and fourth for about three days, they told us that they did not know what was wrong with the car, but they would replace the transmission if we would pay 15%. We felt it was a problem that should have been repaired in 2004 or a good market value trade should have been offered knowing that they are not going to be able to do anything to repair the transmissions on the Honda Accord 2003 V6. After looking in to this further it looked as if they were offering the same option to others" a replacement transmission with a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty. Knowing that the transmission is only good for approximately 40,000 miles. When we talked to Honda Corporation they told us that they would pay 85% of the transmission and cover it with a 36,000 mile warranty. However when we went to the dealership they told us it would be a tranny replacement with the normal 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty. At this point my husband had to step in because my blood pressure was off the charts. He told them that we talked to Honda Corporation and of the difference in the warranties and after talking to whoever the service managers boss was, they agreed to 3 year 36,000 mile warranty, which we made them PUT IT IN WRITING!!!! My husband did advise them that there would not have been a problem had they actually repaired the problem we complained about to begin with. He told them that after the repair was complete we would be taking it up with the Better Business Bureau and more than likely we would see them in small claims court. That is where we are now, I was wanting to trade the car in about 4 months ago for a Honda CR-V, but have since decided that I will never own another Honda or deal with Urse Honda again. Good luck to you!!!!

Heather

My 2003 Honda Accord almost killed me and i am terrified to travel with my kids in the car. I was head home from work when entering the 91s connector to I95 s when i gave the engine gas to get into the right lane to avoid a accident with another car the transmission slipped out gear and the car basically just made it over in front of the on coming car. This almost resulted in a rearend collision at a high speed. When i called the dealer ship to explained the problem to the service manger and mentioned this site with all the other complaints on it the shrugged it off and said that is not the case. My car is still currently at the dealer ship and i'm awaiting the results of their findings. I will keep everyone in this site informed of the out come. I have also logged a complaint with Honda USA. Hope my image of Honda is save by a replacing my transmission with minimal costs.

I too had transmission failure. Intermittent gear slipping 2 months prior. Took car into Honda and they dealer claimed they could not find a problem. They recommended to change trans fluid. after one week intermittent slipping again. Took car on interstate and after about 60 miles of highway driving the trans downshifted from what felt like 5th to 2nd at 65mph. If not for seatbelt I would have been thrown at windshield. I exited interstate and parked car. Would not go into reverse. After turning off car and restarting it went into gear. Took a chance and nursed car back home on back roads trying to keep the car from shifting. The dealer again said they could not find anything wrong.??? Honda Service rep recommended to strain fluid... they found metal particles. Ended up paying for labor only $900 and recvd refund on $200 trans fluid change from a month ago. My recommendation if you want to save a life..... if you feel your trans slipping do not have your car leave dealership until they replace transmission. Honda is one fatal crash away from major lawsuits as they continue to deny there is a problem with this transmission. Side note: I did get recall in 2004 for trans oil tube. Fix performed at 35,000 miles. My guess is they know of a design problem and all the recall did was delay the failure of trans until you get to the 80,000 mile range.

Tranny failure on 2003 Accord w/67,500 miles.

Had it towed to dealer.....52 miles from home.......they are going to look at it today.

Fluid full, but burnt. After the tow truck w/the car on it left,I Googled 03 Honda trans failure, and was AMAZED at how many others have had the same problem. I called Honda USA,,800-999-1009, and asked about "GOODWILL REPAIR", and was given a case reference#. Car was bought used, w/25k. So I told them that I was never notified of the recall in 04. They claim that they didn't have my address, so they couldn't send me a notice. Anyhow, I got the ball rolling, and am yet to hear from the service dept. at the dealership. I'll keep you posted as things develop.

I own a 2003 Honda Accord and lately, I too have noticed that at 30mph, the RPMs will rev up to 4 and then kick back normally. I took the car into the dealership and they diagnosed the problem as a transmission slip at 2nd to 3rd gear. I didn't know there were so many problems with the transmission. My dealership has agreed to replace the transmission but are requested that I pay $800 in labor cost. I have contacted American Honda asking for a goodwill repair. They will have a representative contact me within 2 days. I'll post what the final repair costs will be.

There's definitely a problem with V6 transmissions and Honda should stand behind their transmission failure!! Where's the class action lawsuit?! I'm in!

I received the recall notice back in 2004 (I think). I immediately brought the car into the dealership to have the transmission inspected. The dealership told me that the transmission was OK and that the cooling lines had been fixed. Apparently, the fix did not work as the transmission started slipping and eventually would not shift into 2nd gear. I brought the car into the dealership where they reviewed the repair history of my car. They saw that the recall work had been completed and would investigate the problem. To my surprise, they replaced the faulty transmission with a new one (not remanufactured) at no charge even though the car was way out of warranty.

A big thanks to Keyes Honda Woodland Hills for a job well done!!

Started off slipping when shifting slightly into third gear which I hardly even noticed. A few weeks later it started slipping shifting into first and second first thing in the morning, but after it shifted once it was fine for the rest of the day. Then finally it wouldn't shift above 2nd gear and the Drive light started blinking and Check Engine light came on. After turning the car off and on it would shift above 2nd finally and made it home, but it kept slightly slipping while shifting gears.

Took it to a transmission specialist and it failed so many of the electronic tests they had to take it apart to see exactly what was wrong. Now I'm looking at $2884.30 to have it rebuilt with a 2 year / 24,000 mile warranty (which I'll be taking advantage of several times I'm sure, at this rate). They say Honda refuses to sell this model of transmission new by itself.

Honda refused to help pay for it because the previous transmission recall in 2004 did not affect LX's and I did not have an extended warranty. They said I'd have to have the car towed to a dealership and only if I had the dealership replace the transmission they could open a case and I might quality for some sort of reimbursement, but it wasn't likely. Not a fan of dealerships.

I'm going to be sending them a copy of my bill and a nice angry letter once this is done though. This is my third Accord and will be my last unless I am reimbursed. This site clearly shows more and more transmission problems every year, I hope a class action lawsuit gets started.

Same problem as everyone else. Massive transmission failure at highway speed nearly resulting in major traffic accident. Dealer made some adjustment to repair price but still cost me over $2500. Even wrote to President of Honda Canada he feels this is not a serious problem and is normal failure. We need to get a class action suite going to address this issue. I had the transmission replace a drove directly to a GM dealer and traded for a 2007 Grand Prix with a 5 year 160,000 km. drive train warranty. NO MORE JAPANESE CRAP for me. I understand Toyota now has the same problems with the transmission on their V-6.

This is an interesting story about 2003 Accord transmission failures. I bought my 2003 Accord Navi EX V6 new in 2003. Overall, it has been a very good car. Runs great, handles well, excellent navigation system, very good audio system. It has averaged 24.5 MPG over the last 9,000 miles according to the trip computer. Today with 97,000 miles on it, it still doesn't leak a drop of anything on the driveway. All in all, a good showing.

I have had the car maintained as outlined in the owners manual, with the exception of the transmission. Instead of changing the fluid at 105,000 miles as the manual says, I had it changed every 30,000 miles at the dealership where I bought the car, Goodson Honda in Houston, TX.

At 93,000 miles I noticed that the transmission began making sluggish 2nd to 3rd gear shifts, taking about 3 seconds, which was unusual. I took the car to Goodson Honda to have the problem diagnosed. Goodson checked it out and told me that the transmission was failing and would need to be replaced. The service writer contacted Honda America on my behalf and convinced them to replace the transmission with a Honda remanufactured transmission at no cost to me. I was very pleased because the car was no longer in warranty.

Goodson ordered the replacement transmission and arranged for me to have a rental car at no cost for the time that my car was in the shop. About 4 days later, the job was completed and I picked the car up. As I drove away, I noticed that the replacement transmission made a very noticeable whining noise in the first three gears. I immediately returned to the dealership and had the service writer take a ride with me. He said that I was correct, the transmission was unusually noisy. Goodson contacted American honda again and ordered a second replacement transmission the following day. Another rental car was provided while my car was in the shop.

The second Honda remanufactured replacement transmission arrived a few days later and it was installed in the car. I picked up the car and the second replacement transmission also made a whining noise in the first three gears and it also made noise when coasting along with no throttle applied. I took the car back again & had the service writer ride with me and listen to the transmission. He agreed that the transmission was noisy but was concerned that Honda would not replace the transmission again. He said that Honda says that Honda automatic transmissions do make some noise and that some noise is normal. The noise I wa hearing was not normal. He suggested that I drive the car for 1,000 miles and that the noise would likely go away. I drove the car for 1,200 miles. The noise got worse. The transmission had starting making noise when it downshifted as I approached a stop sign or red light. You could hear it whine each time it downshifted through a gear one at a time.

Meanwhile, I received a call from Goodson Honda's quality assurance person wanting to know how my last service visit went, whether or not the problem was resolved, and if I was pleased with the results. I told her that the problem was not resolved and at that time I was not happy with the results.

That same day, I received a call from Goodson's Service & Parts Director who asked about the status of my car. I told him that the second replacement transmission was still making noises and the noise was getting worse as I added mileage to the car. He said that he would be interested in hearing the transmission himself. I immediately left work & took the car to the dealership so he could take a ride with me. We went for a ride & he agreed that the transmission was noisier than usual, but said that Honda says that their transmissions do make some noise. He did however offer to call American Honda & ask them to send us a third replacemernt transmission. He made the call and convinced Honda to replace the transmission a third time with another remanufactured transmission at no cost.

I asked the Service Director who remanufactures the transmissions for Honda. He said that they are remanufactured by Honda technicians at a Honda repair facility. I asked him what the odds were of getting a good replacement transmission this time were. He said that we would have to wait and see.

The third replacement transmission was oedered, it arrived and was installed in my car. Quite frankly, I was dreading picking the car up and finding the the third replacement transmission was noisy also. As I drove out of the dealership's parking lot, I was pleased to find that this transmission was quiet as it should be. I've been driving the car for a couple of weeks & it seems to operating normally.

In my opinion, this ordeal has pointed out four things:

1. Honda needs to address the reliability of its automatic transmissions. I say this because my wife's Honda Odyssey minivan also had a transmission failure at 33,000 miles. It was replaced by Streeter-Smith Honda in Conroe, TX under warranty. The remanufactured replacement transmission that was installed in the minivan was also bad and made a grindng noise in third gear. Streater-Smith replaced that transmission n with a second replacement transmission which has been OK.

2. Honda's transmission remanufacturing process needs improvement. Why should it take three different replacement transmissions to repair my car when two of the three were bad?

3. When you buy a new car from a dealership, you hope that they will be there for you if you have problems and that they will treat you properly when problems arise. In my case, Goodson Honda in Houston contacted American honda on my behalf three times and was able to have American Honda replace the transmission in my Accord three times at no cost to me. By reading some of the posts on this web site, I would say that Goodson's support was truly excellent. I would like to thank Goodson Honda, and particularly Dan Kraft & Alvin Blaker for their assistance in this matter. If you are looking for a new Honda in the Houston area, go see Goodson Honda on I-45 North.

4. Although I was fairly disenchanted with American Honda, in the end, they did come through and they stuck with the program to resolve the problem, even if it did take three transmissions. The repairs were made at no cost to me, and for that, I am grateful.

Very bad, actually it is kind life and death situation. I was on New Jersey 615, less than one second car speed dropped from 60 mph to 45 mph. After another 5 minutes of driving at 45 mph, all of sudden, it dropped to 25 mph. I see quite few people got same horrible experience (#6, #44, etc.). If I remember correctly, one said there is 18 wheel truck behind him. I strongly suggest we all report that issue to NHTSA. I did Honda emergency recall at 2004 due to transmission problem, obviously recall didn't fix it. Either damage already done or the preventive approach doesn't work.

I dropped my car at Honda dealers (VIP Honda, New Jersey) last Friday, because the check engine light is not on, it was difficult to figure out what's wrong until today their mechanic drive with me again. Actually check engine light was on one time years ago (mileage 60000), and Princeton Honda fixed it by replacing a sensor. But I have no idea if the transmission is OK or not at that time. Now I'm waiting for VIP Honda talk to Honda Corp to see what I can get. I replaced wiper motor once, window motor twice on that 2003 Accord. But transmission is different issue, 5 year old car shouldn't have this kind of problem. We all know Honda owners manual requires transmission fluid change at 10 years or first 120000 mileage. Beside that, I think Honda should do a recall again because it's really a safety issue.

I'm just going to add my name to the list.

After 75000 miles the transmission on my accord started failing. In 2nd and 3rd gear the transmission would suddenly drop out causing the RPMs to rev accompanied (of course) by a sudden loss of power.

Since it's out of warranty the cost to replace the transmission will top $4,000.00.

My whole reason for purchasing a Honda in the first place was to own car with a reputation for reliability. One that I could keep for years without needing major repairs early in its life. I have to say I'm feeling a bit ripped off at this moment.