CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure, subframe rust, & problems with the airbag system (SRS). 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.
Subframe rust near the front passenger side wheel has become a problem recently, due to the poorly positioned A/C drain hose directly above that area. Repair cost to the subframe is over $2,000.
The SRS warning light likes to come on due to a defective seat belt sensor -- typically the driver's side. This sensor is covered under Honda's lifetime seat belt warranty, but some dealers charge a $100+ "diagnostic fee" or tell customers the entire SRS unit ($800) is bad.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,000 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2002 Honda Accord. In cold weather conditions, the contact noticed that the driver's side window had spontaneously fractured. The windows were replaced at the cost of $180. Three years later, while driving at an unknown speed, the passenger side window spontaneously shattered. The manufacturer referred her back to the dealer. The failure mileage was 78,000 and current mileage was 140,000.
On Sunday the 19th, my wife had an accident in our vehicle involving a deer. The location was in our area, on a semi-rural 2-lane road. Weather was not a factor, and occurred at approx 11:30am. The deer was average in weight, 70-90 lbs, vehicle speed was 45mph at the time of impact. The point of impact appeared to be on the driver's side of the windshield, eye height of the driver, and was severe enough to shatter approx 90% of the windshield. Integrity of the windshield remained, and was not expelled from the vehicle, nor was it perforated, it was just almost completely shattered. Upon inspection of the vehicle on Monday at the towing yard, I discovered that the interior of the vehicle, front and back, had many particles of sharp glass shards, and almost a complete covering of what I would call "glass dust", which I did not expect. My understanding of safety glass, when shattered, the result is small particles of glass about the size of a pencil eraser, without the sharp shards and dust. My description of this "dust" is just that - like the dust on furniture if left undusted for a while. Had my wife not been wearing sunglasses, she would have had serious injury to her eyes. My question (or food for thought) is this. Is there a difference in the safety standards for U.S. manufactured vehicle safety glass, and that which is imported? my understanding is that this vehicle was assembled in the U.S., but the components were imported. Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information. Sincerely, gary S. westbrook
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tigerton, WI, USA