2002 Honda Accord DX from North America - Comments

-Transmission had to be replaced at 45,000 miles

-Rack and Pinion had to be replaced at 40,000 miles

-TERRIBLE GAS MILEAGE.

Not a lot has gone wrong with the car for the most part, but I am just basing my opinions on what I have experienced with this car within the 15,000 miles I have owned it so far with two pretty expensive repairs and the most horrible gas mileage of any car I have ever owned since the early 70's. This makes me very hesitant to ever buy a Honda again. Luckily with all that has gone wrong with this car, it all has been covered under warranty. But what scares me is that what if I didn't have that warranty, I would be out $4000 to $5000. But the part I don't understand is why would two major repairs need to be made on a car with less than 50,000 miles, and a HONDA at that. The part that makes me even more furious is the gas mileage. Now take this into consideration before coming up with a smart answer about how I need to do this and that and not have a leadfoot. I am not a lead foot, I do a mix of city and highway driving, and anything that has to do with getting the best gas mileage has been done. Air filter, proper tire pressure, and not stepping on the gas. I have gotten anywhere from 13 to 19 miles to the gallon. Once I got 22, but that was driving up north straight going 65 mph. Now I originally bought my Accord based on Honda's reliability, and also the great gas mileage they praise themselves on getting. But this is ridiculous. Come on 13 to 19 mpg, a four cylinder with just over 50,000 miles on it. Originally I took it to the dealer to have them inspect it under warranty to tell me why I am getting such crappy mileage. They said they could find nothing, so I took it to a mechanic to check it over and they didn't find anything either. So I went back to the dealer and complained to the service manager about the mileage, and he said that is pretty normal to get that kind of mileage from an Accord. I just looked at him with my mouth open. I said why is the recommended mileage for this car in the twenties, and he said that is not really relevant and you shouldn't go off of that. It is not accurate. You know its funny because my son has a 97 Diamante with a 3.5 liter V6 with 90,000 miles on it and he is a leadfoot, and gets an average of 17 to 20 mpg, and gets 24 to 30 mpg when driving up north. Its amazing how I have a little 4 cylinder and no lead foot and get less miles to the gallon then my son with a V6 and a leadfoot. And after a few months of owning the car I took it in to Honda to look at something under my car. I honestly can't remember why, I think it was a noise. They said that they would have to replace the rack and pinion for $1200-covered under warranty. And then a couple of months later I noticed a little dripping on the driveway, took it in to honda, and they said I needed to have the transmission replaced-covered under warranty. They said that would have cost me like $3,000 something dollars. Its funny, because my son made me go to the dealership and yell at the sales manager, and not the service manager on the last day of my warranty. My son talked to the guy and they were willing to buy back the car from me for the same price I paid for it after I had owned it for 12 months, which was very generous and took a lot of haggling. Literally I told him I would put up a sign in my yard saying not to buy from them unless they do something about it. Well when we went on the lot to look for a replacement, the best I could find was a 2004 Civic VP with like 20,000 miles on it. It was nice, but didn't feel as sturdy as the Accord, so I decided to bypass the offer and just keep the Accord and pray that nothing goes wrong. I just didn't want to go down in cars, and also was leary of buying another Honda. So far for the last 6 months I have not had a problem at all, just the terrible gas mileage. Which in the long run is really hurting my pocketbook. Does anyone else get bad gas mileage with their 4 cylinder Accord??? Other than the terrible gas mileage, and faulty transmission and rack and pinion, it has been a very enjoyable car.

This is the most strange review I have ever read on an Accord. First because of all the major repairs you have done and second for the extremely poor gas mileage. I have an 02 Accord 4 cyl. too and this car has only been good to me. Don't believe your mechanic, my car gets between 27 and 32 MPG. I have verified this and it is always a relief that a tank of gas takes me for around 450 miles. The largest repair I have done to my car is full set of new brakes at 70000 miles.

Only thing I can think of is you got a lemon, or somebody exchanged broken parts into your car and took the good ones. Which is not uncommon for dealers or ma-pa shops these days.

For me, Honda is on top of reliability. And my personal experience is proof of that.

I had a similar experience, although not as bad, with a 1.6l Civic 5 spd. It only got 23 mpg highway (@65mph), but should have got more like 34 mpg. I sold it in frustration. I now own a BMW 528i (5 spd) with a 2.8l six cylinder engine and get an amazing 39 mpg highway (@65mph) even though it is epa rated at 26 hwy! I also have another 1.6 l civic 5 spd that gets 40mpg hwy and a 3.3l v6 Dodge Caravan (auto) that gets 21 mpg city. About the only way I can think of avoiding a gas guzzler is to measure the gas mileage before signing the check.

I have a 1999 Accord 4 cylinder and we get around 28MPG's and I have a mix of city and road miles. I will be testing the mileage with some changes. The tires will be inflated with nitrogen, 30psi and then a new airfilter. Next I will try a fresh air intake. I have read that fuel additives and air intake inserts do not deliver what they advertise. There are products that claim to mix hydrogen with the car's fuel system but they look suspicious.

Yeah, but why should you have to go to using all that. I already do everything that is recommended and yet I still get bad gas mileage. Does anyone else have this same problem with their Accord??? If so, is there any fix to it.

I'm also getting really bad miles per gallon. I drive mostly city, but only about 10 miles a day, yeah I'm lucky in that I work very close to home, but even like this, I measured and took very good notes, and was surprised to see that I'm only getting about 245 miles to the tank. I think this is ridiculously low.

My mom's 2004 Camry does about 320 miles to the tank. I have a 2004 Accord 4 cylinder and I'm baffled. I have been trying to find answers.

Sparkplugs are NGK iridium and have K&N air filter, tires are inflated properly and I don't have a lead foot. My RPMs seems to go way up high in shifting from 1st to second gear, they go up to like 2.5.

Anyone have suggestions, I'm really regretting that I bought this car. Also, I have not gotten any check engine light, so the mechanics say nothing is wrong, but that gas mileage is telling me otherwise. HELP

My Accord gets much better mileage than that, so it appears there's something wrong with it.

You could check that your brakes aren't binding - you should be able to slowly move it by pushing on level ground with the park brake off and neutral engaged.

Check your transmission fluid - (not engine oil) it should be completely clea - clear like cooking oil or perhaps red coloured, but still clear (sometimes the oil has colour added). If it's dirty (brown or black or not clear) or smells your trans may be eating itself and giving bad mileage.

I'm guessing it's been well serviced - check the service schedule and make sure everything that is meant to be changed has been (mechanics can forget). You could check the air filter yourself and make sure it's not fill of rubbish - vacuum out the dirty side and put it back in see if that makes a difference.

Still no luck - get a mechanic to download the fault codes from your car - if there's a problem with the engine management or other it may be the only way to find out.

That's a few low cost things to try, hope you get lucky.

I have a FIVE-SPEED, manual shift, 2002 Honda Accord, EX, and found it to be the MOST perfect car I've ever had. It has 59,675 miles on it and gets 31 mpg on the highway and about 22 in city traffic.

It has the ORIGINAL brakes and tires, and I have never had a day's worth of trouble with it. In fact, all I've had to do is change the oil and air and gas filters, which I do religiously at about 3200 miles.

Several years ago there was a stale odor coming from the air-conditioning system, and I had them change the cabin filter, but it didn't work, so I wrote/called Honda in California and they offered suggestions that also didn't work, so I turned on the HEAT when it was summer (that's right...summer!) and opened all the windows, put the system on high (A/C compressor OFF), and let that sucker blow real hot air for almost 1/2 hour while on the highway... and the (apparent) humidity and mold was for the most part, removed.

I love the car and the only reason I would get another one is because I've had it 8 years and like to change a car after 10 years. The body is in showroom condition and it gets washed regularly.

I also have a 1997 Toyota Avalon XLS, and that car runs perfectly also. I just changed the rear and front brakes at 125K and 143 respectively, and the body and engine are in great condition, as is my Accord.

One important think folks should know is to change the timing belt, and/or water pump, gas filter and air filter in accordance to the manufacturer's recommendations. These items are critically important to the running and dependability of a car.

I think that the way a car runs is definitely related to the maintenance given it. I can be contact for comments at alphapromo@verizon.net -Warren T.

I have the same problem with my mileage! I have a 2003 Accord and the only reason I like it is because it's nice to look at!! I had the 02 sensor replaced, several recall pieces, and a few other thing done on it, and all I can say is I will never buy another one! My Saturn was better than this.

You are not alone!!!

My theory to your bad gas mileage, you're going way to fast. Try going 55 MPH, this gives you much better mileage. I have a Civic (yes it is rated to have slightly better mileage than an Accord but it isn't by much) and when I travel at 55 MPH on the highway, I get around 45 MPG.