2002 Honda Accord EX 2.3 VTEC

Summary:

A reliable and comfortable sedan without any strong emotions

Faults:

One minor leak through the oil pan drain bolt. Fixed by putting a new washer on the bolt.

The "original Honda" oil filter is different from the after-market ones.This caused some confusion. But the aftermarkets work as good.

The driver's seat is a bit too high for my taste.

My car suffers from the mysterious pop-up inner door panel when windows are being closed completely. It doesn't bother at all, but gets you wondering...

Clock light is burned out.

General Comments:

I got this car not very long ago to replace my work-horse Mazda 626. I was really looking for a 00-01 Audi A4, but after some research found out that parts are expensive and hard to get and they are not simple to fix, beside tons of electrical problems and poor reliability. Finally I decided for this Honda, which had really low miles and looked like brand new (metallic maroon), save a scratch. Inside everything is flawless and works perfect. The materials are what you expect for the price. This car drives really good on the highway. The suspension is one of the most sophisticated in the segment (Upper A arms in the front) and it handles great for a sedan of this size. It is pretty quiet and precise. Brakes are good (4 discs + ABS). The power from the engine is good, specially the low-end torque, and fuel economy is excellent.

In the engine bay everything is accesible and easy to fix, parts are cheap and easy to get.

Overall I am happy with this car.

In a few years, when this accord becomes a second-car, I will definitely go for the more classy A4.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th July, 2006

25th Jul 2006, 09:38

The clock bulb is easy to replace, as is any bulb on the dashboard.

7th Aug 2006, 08:44

Recently my SIDE AIRBAG light came on. I disconnected the battery to reset the computer, and this fixed the problem. But sometimes when I have a passenger and the car is running, the light comes ON for 1 second... I hope this to be treated as a recall.

I had performed a valve adjustment, changed all filters, changed all oils and fluids, and even put a new clock bulb in 30 seconds; and this car performs very well. Overall I am satisfied.

27th Jul 2008, 18:43

To the commenter about the side airbag light coming on... There is a sensor in the seat that senses if a passenger would be harmed by the side airbag if it were to fire. This is usually a result of someone sitting funny in the seat where the airbag would do more harm than good.

A small object being placed on the seat will also trip the sensor which is a good thing (this means that the small object won't become a projectile in an accident... Well at least if it did it wouldn't be because the side airbag launched it)

2002 Honda Accord EX 2.3L VTEC

Summary:

I recommend this car and plan on keeping for a looong while

Faults:

Not a thing.

General Comments:

This car is the best. Its all I can say for it. It's a 5 speed and has power, I'm surprised. Love the Vtec engine. Comfort is outstanding. Gets complimented for looks too.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th May, 2006

8th Feb 2011, 12:53

Do you live in an area where there is snow? How did it get around if you did?

rkbliss78@gmail.com.

2002 Honda Accord EX v6 3.0L V6

Faults:

Minor problems, squeak in dash and radio controls only work half of the time. Recently I had a serious problem, the air bad deployed while driving causing a serious accident. I should have known something was going to happen; the dealer had tried to fix the "srs" problem 8 times with no success. I contacted Honda many times with no luck. I’m lucky no children were in my car and that I wasn’t on the highway. Honda makes good cars, but when they have a lemon they do nothing. I’m really sorry this happened. I'm usually the first on to defend in a car debate, not any more. This will be the last Honda I ever purchase.

General Comments:

Best car for the money in 2002, when compared to Nissan Altima, Camry and any others in the price range.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th May, 2006

14th Aug 2006, 13:32

Which airbag did your car deployed? And also, which light was ON in your dash, the SRS or the SIDE AIRBAG?

My car momentarily (after driving a while with passenger) lights up the SIDE AIRBAG light for a second or two. I didn't pay attention to it, but since I read your comment I am kind of worried. Please give me more information about your incident and how to deal with Honda about it.

15th Apr 2009, 21:19

That is scary. I had an 02 Accord Coupe that the airbag light would illuminate on from time to time. Glad I did not get an explosive surprise in the face. Hopefully you did not get injured in the accident.

I would recommend doing an NTSB report on your car. With an accident involved due to sudden deployment of the airbag, the NTSB might be quite interested.