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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
22,500 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.

2003 Honda Accord fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2003 Honda Accord Owner Comments

problem #1

Sep 012004

Accord 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 22,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

6-18-04 told Honda dealer that our 2003 Accord LX was idling too fast on cold startups - dealer told wife this was normal and marked bill "ok" re this item. Fast idling continued thereafter. On 9-01-04 11:30 pm car parked in driveway was started, put in reverse, and car sped so rapidly that it jumped driveway curb and was stopped by braking and hitting a tree. To be correctly parked I put the car in drive and the car shot ahead rapidly, stopped only by braking and swerving into other curbing and jumping it. I

- Cos Cob, CT, USA

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