I read the messages as well as others on other sites. There was one comment on this site that listed everything, small and major that happened to my car I felt like i wrote the comment my self. My car is the EX 03 Honda Accord Coupe V6. It is no coincidence that all of the same cars, same years with low mileage are having the same problem. Honda has this Rep to be the best car you can buy. They last so long people all say. In 2003 they made a whole line of cars with bad transmissions. Every one that has bought a car was always told that a transmission problem is the worse thing that could happen to a car. If Honda would have done a national recall on all of these cars their REPUTATION would have been out the window. So what they did was recall the cars for what they called was a product update to the transmission this was to prevent this problem from happening. What it really did was prolong the problem so that the transmission would at least last through out the 36,000 mile or three year warranty. Now, the warranties are going out and within less than 5 year but longer than 3 the TRANSMISSIONS are completely failing. Something is not right....... My mileage is at 59,000 and I got my fluids change as per the recommendation of the HONDA service Techs. Two days later my car is jerking not going in reverse, getting stuck in the 2nd gear and slipping out of the 3rd gear without notice. This is very dangerous when traveling the highways of Houston. Honda needs to be exposed they would rather risks their customers lives and peoples financial stability than risk and ruin there REP for selling GOOD and LONG LASTING cars. WHAT A JOKE!

I was with my wife and went to pull out into traffic. The car lurched forward then just reved but there was no transmission. The oncoming cars had to slam on their brakes. We were almost hit! I had to roll back off the road. Then at a stop sign I could not proceed. The engine would rev up but the car acted like it was in neutral.

I took the car to a Honda dealer, and opened a case with American Honda asking for a "goodwill coverage". They are paying about $600 and I am stuck paying $2000 out of my pocket.

There is no recall on these transmissions as there is no safety issue. I guess me and my wife getting killed is ok with Honda.

My 88,700 mile 2003 EX V6 Automatic Transmission Accord started experiencing violent transmission problems, identical to many of problems described by others.

This started off as very rough shifting into third gear where the car would accelerate through second, the RPMs would flare to 5,000+ and then it would jerk and shake into 3rd gear. When in 3rd, the car would shudder as it accelerated.

The problem grew to shuddering and terrible shifting both into and out of third gear and then spread to all gears.

The worst point came when I was on the highway, cruising at a steady 65mph and the car downshifted several gears. The deceleration was so dramatic that my tires screeched and I was jerked forward, almost into the steering wheel. Thankfully, nobody was behind me, because if they were, they would've definitely hit me.

All of this happened in two days, over the weekend while I was driving to my destination, then home and on the way to the dealer. Prior to this, my car has been performing flawlessly and I had previously had a transmission fluid change around 42,000.

While I was experiencing these problems, I added SHICK 50 transmission treatment--this helped for 30 minutes. Then the next day I added 2 quarts of Transmission Fluid, this helped for a short while.

I was fortunate enough to have the problem reproduce itself when the service rep went for a ride with me. He felt the shuddering and violent downshift. With that alone, they were able to conclude that the trans was shot. The one comment the service rep did have is that when you turn off the car and turn it on again, you restart the computer which helps with the rough shifting. This is true. The car did perform better for the remaining 45 seconds that we rode together. Nonetheless, the problem would have likely come back had we driven around for a few more minutes.

Honda first offered to split the cost of the repair 50/50, but with only a small bit of negotiating, Honda agreed to pay for the entire transmission replacement. The replacement is a "RE-MANUFACTURED" transmission in which all parts are new, with the exception of the case. This comes with a three-year, 36,000 mile warranty on parts and labor.

Overall, I'm disappointed at the quality of the transmission. I NEVER thought I'd have trans issues with my Honda. Nonetheless, they made up for it with their quality service.

I bought my Honda Accord Coupe V6 used from a dealer it had a clean title one owner and was a previous lease vehicle. I have had it less than 90 days when the transmission began to slip. I immediately took it to a certified mechanic who diagnosed the transmission as being bad and in need of a replacement. I then found out about the recall on the '03 Accord V6 transmissions. When I phoned Honda customer service about the recall they told me the vehicle's transmission had been serviced once before but not replaced due to this they said they were not able to cover any other repairs due on the transmission. I find this absurd due to the fact that Honda has recognized the transmission to be faulty and publicly issued a recall. The transmission should be replaced at the expense of Honda due to their faulty transmission. If any one else has had the same experience please contact me at bonnidee2002@yahoo.com thank you.

bought the car through private party (big mistake) i thought i wouldn't have problem due to the history i've had with Honda's. owned two previous 1=212,000k, 2=220,000 and both of them i beat to crap and still asking "what else you got?!?" i did my research on the car before buying and didn't find any problems. After purchasing it the previous owner pulled the records to show me that the vehicle was maintain for it's whole life @ a Honda Dealership and was purchased as a certified used honda by him as well. after driving for A DAY i get off the highway and the car down shifted and jerked hard as if i slammed on the brakes while coming to a stop light. It was stuck in 1st gear and wouldn't shift out of it even when putting the selector into 1-2-d- or OD (automatic). after parking it, it wouldn't shift into reverse and thats when i knew for sure the tranny was shot. I had it towed into honda and needed to replace tranny for $3,300.00!! Honda of course says they never heard of this problem. i go home and type in "2003 honda accord transmission problems" and find this website. its too bad that you can only find this website when typing in those words because i know i will never feel secure with this car when the last thing you expect to break in a car is the tranny especially in a HONDA with 60k on it, i'm sure that a KIA would last longer. It may die after 100k but at lease it made it to 100k not much to say for the lemon i bought. very angry and Honda should feel embarrassed for putting such crap on the market, i wish i could put a '06 tranny in or something because there is an obvious prob with the '03-'04.

I guess I can join the crowd. Purchased the accord due to quality rep.... Had to have the first transmission replace under warranty at 32,000 miles. I travel on the road for a living, and after 160,000 miles on the "second" transmission; it failed and left me stranded in the middle of the mountains in TN. I was nearly run over by an 18 wheeler. They are quoting me $3200 to replace it, and are having problems finding a transmission. Does that tell you something??? No replacement parts to go around. Will never buy a Honda again. Do you think I'll have any luck w/Honda on some reimbursements???

Just got a call from my girlfriend that my car broke down in the mountains of Tennessee. Same complaint others are having. You get plenty of RPM but the car barely moves. It's already cost me $150 to tow it to Rusty Wallace Honda and another 200 or so for a rental so she can get back home. If it only broke down near home I would be happier. I am kinda scared from what people are saying it's costing to repair. I will definitely be calling Honda about this issue to see if they will split the costs.

I previously owned a VW that had a bad habit of acting up and spending weeks in the shop. So, after consulting with a few Honda-owning friends, I decided to trade in my beloved Jetta in hopes that an oil-change-only Honda Accord would fair better. To my disappointment, I have had far more problems with my Accord in the 25 days that I've owned it than in the 7 years I owned my Jetta. Within 15 days of purchasing the Accord my brakes failed, my suspension "froze," and my transmission failed. AAA towed it to the dealership, where it took them a week to put in a "new" transmission (by the looks of it, the thing has been to hell and back) and refused to supply me with a rental car. They also found a problem with the suspension that they claimed to have fixed but no problems with the brakes.

In the 3 days since I've had my car back, the transmission is hinting at failing again, it pulls horribly to the right when the breaks are applied, I have gas in my oil pan, oil leaking out of my intake manifold, and it whines like a diesel bus when accelerating, among a few other problems that don't necessarily pose a horrible threat to safety. Those problems were all found by simply lifting the hood and looking - Lord only knows what I'll find when I actually have a mechanic pull the car apart and search.

All in all I want nothing more than to get rid of this car. I've had to put my life on hold and have had to add almost an hour to my morning commute just to ensure that I'll have time to pull over and deal with the car malfunctioning and still get to work on time. That's not exactly why I bought the car...

This is the 3rd car I've owned in my life and by far the worst. Not only am I disappointed that the all-mighty, reliable Honda has made such a horrible car, but I'm also disppointed that the dealership tells me I'm lying about these obvious problems.

After owning American cars my entire life and having many problems with quality, I decided that I had had enough. I chose a brand new 2003 Honda accord EX (known to be an icon of reliability). Up until this past weekend, (7/9/06) I have had good luck with this car. At 56,600 miles and all service records from the dealer complete I had been enjoying this car. Now comes the incident which could have taken my life!! While in Los Angeles, I was approaching the entrance to the 405 freeway(probably one of the busiest freeways in the world), when I felt the car hesitate and lurch a couple of times as if the engine was cutting out. I decided I had better get to my destination as soon as possible. While on the freeway, the car seemed to shift harder. As I was traveling at approx. 65 MPH, with no warning both front wheels LOCKED and I skidded to a stop in the middle lane of the freeway! My life flashed before my eyes. I don't know how I WASN'T involved in a major accident. I managed to limp to the exit where the car expired. It wouldn't start or move. I thought, thank goodness I purchased the extended warranty! If I had been hit by other cars, Honda would have been staring at MAJOR lawsuit! The Honda dealer has informed me that it was a "total transmission failure" and they would be installing a "remanufactured" transmisson. So now I am getting another persons old transmission that has been fixed up! This really makes me upset and uncomfortable about this car. How can I trust the Honda name and reputation. Does Honda know that lives are at stake here??

As with other people with the same car, I was driving on the Highway at 60 mph and the transmission went from 5th gear to second gear. This happened twice in one minute. My passenger thought I slammed on the breaks while driving for no reason. I realized after that we could of been killed by getting rear ended. I got off the highway going very slow. Then the car would not go in reverse and I realized it had to be the transmission. I had it towed to a Honda Dealer I work with. Unfortunately, the dealer couldn't find the problem at first. However, the service guys at this dealer are much better than others and kept the car for a week, taking it out daily until the problem happened again. Honda replaced the entire transmission at their expense. While my dealer was great, my concern is if Honda is aware of this? Will it happen on the new transmission? And the fact that how the transmission failed was absolutely so dangerous.

THERE WAS A RE-CALL WHEN THE CAR WAS 1 YEAR OLD. HONDA REPLACED SOME INTERNAL PART. THE GEARS WERE SLIPPING SOME MONTHS AFTER AND RUSTY WALLIS HONDA "DOWNLOADED A SOFTWARE UPDATE." GEARSBOX STARTED SLIPPING AGAIN AND FINALLY WENT OUT COMPLETELY, LEAVING ME STRANDED ON A DALLAS FREEWAY IN AN AWFUL NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK GOD FOR TRIPLE-A. NOW REALLY, 64,000 MILES AND THE TRANNY GOES TOTALLY OUT? THERE WAS A PROBLEM ON THE '03 MODELS AND THE DEALER, RUSTY WALLIS, HAD TO KNOW ABOUT IT. SOFTWARE UPDATE MY BUTT.

Driving north from Toronto the rpms jumped to 7000 and the car slowed down. Got to the shoulder of the highway luckily I was in the next fair sized city when this happened (Barrie, ON). Got CAA (AAA) to tow me to Barrie Honda and was back on the road in a rental in less than 1.5 hrs. If this had happened another 100 miles north (I was on my way to Sudbury for business) I may have turned into a popsickle by the time someone got to me. The temperature was -6 degrees last night in Northtern Ontario. I just got my LCD screen replaced as good will gesture by Honda Canada and have placed a phone call to them regarding this. I'm guessing this could cost $2000. All my service has been done at Honda and I just had my expensive service done with a transmission check. I love the car but it is becoming a money pit.....

It's really frustrating that you buy a car that is supposed to be so reliable but turns out to be a clunker in a new body. May be I'm being a little extreme but from my experience it has been one thing after another even though you follow the suggested maintenance. I have never seen a transmission fail so fast. I had the recall fixed approximately one year ago. Now granted, I never had a problem before the recall. The first symptom was that the transmission slipped while driving, seeming as if you put the car in neutral, it eventually shifted back in gear. The next day, I planned to drive my car to the dealership to get it checked out, but my transmission did not last that long. I was fortunate that I was able to creep my way off the interstate but could go no further. I got my car towed to the dealership. I guess the service people didn't believe that my car was having problems even though it was dropped off on a flat bed tow truck. A few hours later, they took my car for test drive, as you can guess, the transmission failed on them. The only thing I can laugh about is that they had to push it back to the shop, feel a little of my pain. I asked the service manager if this has ever happened before. According to him, this was the first time. I guess he is not be aware of this web site. I strongly believe that the corporate office is fully aware of the problem but as much as possible trying to avoid the liability, leaving their customer screwed. As far as I am concerned, anything less than 100% of the cost to fix it is not enough. It would take a miracle for me to buy another Honda.

I bought a 2003 Honda Accord EXL from Superior Honda in Omaha, NE. When I went to pick up the vehicle after signing paper work, it had a nearly flat tire and the gas gage was below empty. Well done, Superior. But that's fine. In 3 months I have had the car serviced 4 times. Two thing were on the inspection checklist as having been checked but clearly were never checked. Still, that's fine. On my way to Minnesota from Omaha, the transmission started to go out. I was in the car with my wife and daughter and the temperature was freezing. We made it to our destination 6 hours away but we just barely made it. I drove the car the next day the the transmission went out completely. No gear would engage. Spent 3 hours on the phone with MN HOnda dealerships trying to get car fixed on a Saturday. No one was open for transmission repairs. I got the car into a dealer on Monday, missed a day of work, but I got a rental car which Honda has agreed to pay for and they finally agreed to pay to have the car towed to their shop. I haven't picked up my car yet so we'll see if they really pay. In any case, I called Superior Honda in Omaha, NE to see if they could get the car to me in Omaha so I wouldn't have to spend 12 hours in the car on Saturday. They literally laughed at me and said they were under no obligation to do this. This may be true, however, the customer service was very poor. The sales manager, Jay, was very rude and finally transfered me to the service manager, after telling me numerous times that I never should have been transferred to him and telling me that they were "under no obligation" to help me. Well done Jay. As I have only had the car 3 months and have had numerous minor issues with the vehicle, a broken horn, TCS light won't go off, etc. I was getting very mad but remained calm on the phone when transferred to the service manager. He had a bit of customer service skill, but was very interested in proving to me that I had no legal action against them. When I said that the very least customer service they could provide would be to pay my gas to and from MN to get my car, he said that he doubted they would do that but he'd ask his manager. That never happened. 3 days later, I'm stil waiting for the call.

I called MN and the transmission will be covered under the warranty. This whole experience has made me sick. I have considered getting a lawyer and demanding my money back; initial purchase price plus tax, title and license. But I really like the car. If anything else fails, I may persue legal action. In any case, I would stay away from Superior Honda in Omaha, NE.

OK, after a few days of my transmission not shifting into 3rd. my car finally finally broke down. I loved my V6 Honda Accord until today! What a piece of junk! The tramsission completely failed on me. On my way to work this morning at 5am, I am on the freeway driving 60mph and the it slips out of gear, I am almost at 7,000 RPMs and slowing down, it is out of gear and cannot put it back in... as I am trying to get to the right shoulder I pray that I don't get hit by one of the drivers storming by me doing 70-80mph. I pulled over stopped the car, turned off the engine. Started it again, tried to put in gear.. it worked this time, so I got back on the road... this happened several times, until I finally got the work. This is very unsafe and it is totally ridiculous that a 3 year old car's transmission fails like this.

It had just enough life to get to the dealership where I bought it. (Well, actually to the front of the dealership... a cop car gave me a push with his car to clear traffic because it stalled at a light right before the dealership entrance) you can imagine how angry I was when I walked into the dealership. After ripping the service dept. guy a new ass they hooked the car up to the diag. machine and said the tranny was toast. (I coulda told them that..) well, about five days later they fixed my car free of charge and now it runs great.. I got it back yesterday but I decided to get rid of it in a few months just in case more things go wrong with it.

First and foremost, I am meticulous about maintaining my car and I do all oil/brakes on my own...... Out of nowhere, driving home from work, transmission slips out of gear, engine races, slips back into gear again, slips back out, in, out, in, out...... Stayed in high gear on highway thankfully, made it home, had tranny company tow it the next day. Contacted Corporate Honda, told to bring car to Authorized Honda Service Dept. Had tranny company tow car to Honda ($150 out of pocket so far). Spoke to service dept., tranny is shot, need new one. I stated that my tranny was recalled two years ago (at 51,000 miles, recall NHTSA # 04V176000) and that the fact that I drove this car for 51,000 miles BEFORE the recall work was done, with a perceived significant problem, could have contributed to my tranny failure. Service manager said that the tranny failure had nothing to do with the recall issue. I said OK, "what caused my tranny to fail?". Service manager said "I don't know, we didn't open the tranny up". So, obviously, my next question to him was "If you don't know what caused my tranny to fail, how do you KNOW that it wasn't due to the recall issue?" He stated that if it was the recall issue, my tranny would have "locked up". OK, so I go to the NHTSA website which lists the recall problem and it states that "failure COULD result in tranny lock-up"...... Key word:COULD. Since my tranny didn't lock up, apparently it's my problem. I guess I'm a crappy driver eh? Service guy stated that they "have heard" that Honda has, in the past (hush hush, no one knows this), contributed in the cost of repair up to 50%. I stated that I felt that Honda should pay 100% of cost, a tranny should NOT fail at 83,000 ESPECIALLY if it was a quality vehicle like I believed Honda WAS. Service manager said to talk to corporate Honda 1-800-999-1009. Spoke to Corporate Honda Claim rep..... long story short.... since I was not willing to contribute to the cost of repair, Honda would not either... I am over my warranty "sorry we couldn't help you". I was being nice the whole time..... no ranting or yelling. I spent over $50,000 on Honda cars within two years (Accord+Odyssey), and this is how they treat a loyal and recent customer? I was very disappointed to say the least. My last ditch effort, which I did yesterday (10/2/06), was to call Corporate Honda claim rep one last time and offer to pay 50% of the cost, "would Honda be willing to do the same?"... Left message on her machine... I am currently waiting for a response..... let's see if they reconsider and be the quality Auto giant that they are. If not, then they have awoken a sleeping lion....... I will have an independent tranny shop replace my tranny with a new one..... AND THEN I will have them open up the defective tranny and diagnose the problem, I WILL take pictures, and I may or may not (i. e. disclaimer) post pictures on the Web of what other Honda owners can expect from a Honda transmission. I will let you all know what happens in the next few days. We'll see if Honda does the right thing...... until then, have a nice day people. Oh, if anyone else has experienced anything like this, please let me know....... I set up a yahoo E-mail account specifically for this........ galo2222@yahoo.com Thank you !!!!