2005 Honda Accord EX-L review from North America

Noticed the tires were flat spotted the day after delivery. The dealer was very reluctant to replace them, however, after speaking to the GM they were replaced.

The intermediate shaft heat-shield started making a horrible squeaking/rattling noise after 4000 kilometers. Dealer was unable to find the problem for a few weeks until they tightened the heat-shield (common issue)

Right side A-pillar trim piece was loose from factory and trim was fraying off.

I had to replace all brake pads out of my own pocket. After the factory pads heated up, they left residue on the rotors. This caused a nasty pulsation of the steering wheel when driving above 70 km/h and the car would not stop quickly. (This feeling was not the ABS, which felt quite different) The dealer refinished the rotors once but the issue arose again after a thousand km or so. (common issue)

The weatherstripping on the doors started to make a rattle/popping sound when driving on any type of pavement. The dealer applied some Honda shin-etsu grease under the moldings which has helped to quiet it down (common issue)

Honda Factory Performance lip kit repeatedly came loose, held on with double sided tape. Luckily my dealer sent the car to a body shop and permanently adhered the lips, after calling Honda Canada (common issue)

Head light bulbs are known to be defective in all Accords (2003-2007) and dealers should replace. The problem is they do not emit enough light at night. My dealer adjusted the lights higher but neither my dealer or Honda Canada will acknowledge the issue.

My biggest gripe with the car has been the brakes.

However, other that the car is great. Has good power (244HP), fuel mileage is quite good for V6 engine.

Interior build quality is alright, but not as good as older Honda's. Materials and attention to detail is not as good as our older 1994 Accord which felt more solid and better built.

Seats are comfortable over long trips and have better bolstering than the sedan.

It's a little too early to comment on long term reliability but it should be alright. A known problem is the motor mounts breaking on all recent Honda/Acura V6 engines.

Handling is alright for a large coupe.