2003 Honda Accord LX from North America - Comments

January 20,2007.

I own a 2003 Honda Accord LX, and honestly I know exactly what some of the owners of them are saying about the transmission problems.

Mine is in the shop right now, with the transmission out on it. There is no recall for this problem from honda that I know of, but there honestly should be.

I've always loved honda's and have owed six of them. Just in the past year. Some with over 150,000 mile's on them, and yet they're still going strong, but my 2003 Accord doesn't have close to the mileage on it, and the transmission's out, radio stopped working, and when I brake it shakes, and pulls to the right as well. So this will be probably the last honda I will ever purchase.

Does the 2004 model or newer have any problems? I have not really heard of any at all to tell you all the truth. Plenty of Odyssey problems and TL, but I have not heard of any problems with the 2004 model Accord.

Yes, the problems persist on the '04 models. I've had an '04 Accord EX V6 coupe for just over a year now. The rattles are incredibly annoying, and the car does pull slightly to the right. I have rattles in both of the door window frames and on the rear deck, as well as one behind the headliner of the moonroof. On rare occasions I have also heard rattling from the center console. The mechanics could not replicate the noises in the window frames, but did mention that some of the sedans had that problem. They did hear the rattle in the headliner, but when I asked them to fix it they suddenly couldn't relocate the problem.

The car sounds somewhat cheap when it goes over inconsistencies in the road, as you can hear everything hitting, especially in the trunk... the "cushion" you'd expect just isn't there. The car's build quality just doesn't seem as solid as one would expect with a near $30,000 price tag.

The speakers in the rear aren't superior in the slightest. Listening to a 'bass' song at normal volumes with the bass on the default C setting often will cause rattling in the speakers. In spite of this, the stereo system does sound good overall.

Occasionally when braking the car will also pull slightly in either direction, which could be a sign of bad rotors. The brakes squeal like nobody's business, but it's intermittent. Sometimes they are perfectly fine, and other times the squealing is insane. I took it to the dealer for that and they said that the rotors looked fine, that the new metallic brakes have a tendency to squeal now that they've done away with the asbestos component. I confirmed this with a few of the mechanics that I work with. That still didn't stop the dealership from charging me $19.99 to look at the brakes and tell me there weren't any problems (surprise, surprise). They claimed to put a gel that would help the problem on the rotors, but when I took it to my mechanics at work they couldn't find any gel. The mechanics at the dealership said that they could resurface the rotors for $80 but that even that wouldn't guarantee that the brakes wouldn't squeal. Well gee, thanks for the help.

I recently had the alignment done on the car and it still pulls slightly to the right, only now the steering wheel also shimmies a bit. This is highly annoying, albeit minor. The problem only gets worse at higher speeds.

Overall the interior is very well done. The controls and displays are gorgeous, and the material for the headliner looks very elegant. The leather seats are very comfortable, but they're already showing signs of wear on the sides. I've applied conditioner, but that hasn't seemed to have helped. The sunglass holder has randomly started to pop open and won't stay shut. The dealers claim this is a $100 repair (parts and labor) and, of course, it is not covered under a BUMPER-TO-BUMPER Warranty!

In spite of all this, I do love the car. The engine and acceleration are superb, and the exterior styling is absolutely beautiful. Overall the ride is very smooth (aside from the aforementioned rattles and less than superior build quality) and shifting is virtually unnoticeable except when first starting out (if the car isn't given a couple of minutes to warm up it tends to lurch forward when going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. This goes away quickly once on the road).

In the summer I have been getting great gas mileage, over 30 on the highway and 24-26 in city. In winter this mileage drops as low as 19mpg, although additives for winter driving are likely culprits. With the A/C on there's no noticeable drop in power. The car is incredibly quiet; many times I've driven up behind bikers or walkers who have been startled there was a car there at all.

If anyone has had luck in getting some of the nagging problems fixed, please let me know. rocklink00@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

I bought a 2004 Honda Accord and before the first month the block (engine) was cracked. The dealer replaced the engine. Then there was popping when you made a turn and the dealer fixed that. The remote keyless entry stopped working and the dealer fixed that. 40,000 miles later, 2 sets of brake pads and warped rotors. I'm going to Toyota. Never again Honda!

I also purchased a 2003 Honda Accord LX... I immediately begin to complain about the transmission, racing even with the foot of the pedal and for the RPM not reducing. I was basically told that it couldn't be found. Maybe, because I am a female. I know how cars should ride. I also complained about the brakes, which were machined, new pads, and so on. Still, there is a outlandishly loud squeaky sound, which is really embarrassing on a virtually new car. I complained about my vehicle for so long, without overall results that I ended up call Honda Corporate, who called the dealership and insisted on result. The balls were moving. On a test drive, the tech and I noticed problems with the transmission, and he replaced it at 60K... WOW!! Brakes still made a lot of noise and there is a lot of noise and vibration when applying the brakes at low speed. I guess I will call Honda Corporate again... I will never buy another, I still have this one, because my service adviser is EXCELLENT!!! But, the saga continues... good luck HONDA OWNERS!!!

My Accord had problems too! I fixed the problems myself by selling it! I got very good money for it! Problem solved!

I have a 2003 Accord EX Navi and have had no problems yet, but I have replaced the A/C, because it was not blowing "HARD" and have replaced a few switches in the interior, like the Electric outlet went out a few times and the display where the clock and the temp. are shown, that has been dimming by itself and going out, but other than that, I have no problems, But one more! its all my 4 power windows! The same goes for my 2005 Acura TL they get all SCRATCHED when I roll them up and down! I don't know what that problem is, a few people told me that it may not have the felt inside the windows!

I have a 2003 Honda Accord with 45k miles. I have not had any problems with this car. The only thing, like some one else said, when I roll the windows up it scratches the tint a little (noticeable over time). But the car rides smooth and can't complain. What also plays a roll in your car (like in any) is how you treat it. The good thing with most expensive cars like the Accord, Camry, or even TL's is that they can put up with more abuse, but all cars need to be handled with care even on the road.

The sound system has a good thump and the bass is pritty good compared to other cars, but they could gave the Accord LX more power in the sound system like Nissan did with the Altima's :(

I am the sad owner of a 2003 Honda Accord V6. Every year I have to get the rotors changed due to warping. I get told is driving habits, etc.. well the past year I bought a Kia for 1000 dollars for the winter, and my daughter started driving the Honda daily to high school. 15 minute drives each way, 1 stop light. I used to work from home so I know she wasn't offroading. Long story short, 4000 miles and the rotors are warped and shakes all over.

The KIA 2000, has been driving like a charm, haven't done anything but oil changes, and my new job forces me to drive it 2 hours bumper to bumper 50 miles each way. So F the Honda, the brand is no longer what it was.

I used to have an 87 Toyota Supra, sold it for 2000 dollars with 275,000 miles on it to my friends son who still has it on the road. I say this because I only went through 2 clutches and 3 brake jobs on the Toyota.

I regret buying a Honda also. I have a 03 Honda LX V6 Coupe.. which I had to replace the A/C and the radio on. The ride isn't smooth, every bump you hit you feel... I don't care if it's a speed bump... I also notice that my transmission doesn't change gears properly... I really hate that I used my savings on a Honda. I will never ever buy another Honda... I'm thinking about selling this car ASAP... Honda isn't the same anymore.