Problems with 2003 Honda Accord POWER TRAIN

Transmission failed going over bay bridge into san francisco. no warning and no way to engage any gear. near death experience for entire family. *tr

While traveling on the freeway the transmission jumped down to first gear, resulting in my car suddenly decelerating to a speed of 20 mph. i was very fortunate to not be rear ended and have since had to replace the transmission. i know this is a known issue with this model and year honda, however i did go through the original process of the manufacturer recall. i have done research on this model and it seems it is a prevalent problem. honda will not acknowledge the issue. *tr

I was driving my 2003 honda accord ex (v6) on the freeway at 65-70mph. as i was driving, i noticed that the car rapidly began to decelerate at sporadic intervals. i was nearly rear-ended a few times, with cars having to dodge me on both sides. this happened over a period of 3-4x within 5-10 minutes as i tried to exit the freeway. i stopped at a gas station and there was no check-engine light on or anything visibly wrong with the car, such as tires etc. on my way home, i had to stomp on the gas in order to get it to drive at 60+ mph. the car made loud buzzing sounds the entire period, as i struggled to maintain 60+ mph. when i got home and parked the car, it came to my attention that i was unable to reverse the car. i learned that this transmission issue was not addressed by honda as requiring a recall. despite my problems and the reports of countless others, honda will not pay for a new transmission. this will cost me over $2500 for repairs/replacement. i am absolutely furious, especially knowing that this is a common issue with the 2003 model. i spoke with a local honda dealer and they will not take care of the charges. considering this car has only 76k miles on it and is 8 years old, this is an absolute nightmare since i faced a god-awful commute home with my car breaking down and so much uncertainty of whether it would even make it home. *tr

Transmission began to slip between 2nd and 3rd gear. this is similar to many other complaints on this make and year vehicle. honda should be ashamed of making such garbage and not stepping up to the plate and fix it at no cost to the consumer. i will never buy another honda vehicle ever again. i urge others to take the same stance so honda learns their lesson. *tr

At approximately 40,000 miles,transmission failed. honda usa was called and they paid for repair. now at 116627 miles transmission failed again. *tr

In 2008 the transmission froze up on the freeway while going 65mph. 3 years after having the transmission replaced, the rebuilt transmission goes out again while driving on the freeway. seems to be a bad design with the honda accord 03 v6 transmissions. i just found out that there was a recall in '04, but never received any notices. *tr

While driving on the interstate i experienced a sluggish jolt. the rpm's reved up and the car was having trouble switching from 2nd-3rd gear. my mechanic and a transmission expert stated the the transmission is going out and not worth repairing based on several same year make/models he has encountered. this along with the motor mounts needing to be replaced will cost me approximately $5000.00 my complaint is after researching this issue on-line i have found hundreds of honda 2003 accord owners with the same exact issue, some of them move severe. honda did a patch job recall the summer of 2004, but clearly the problem has not been fixed as i now have the same issue associated with the recall. why isn't honda taking responsibilty? *tr

Transmission clunks loudly into gear, then slips when it warms up. fluid has a burnt smell despite being flushed at regular intervals since new. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord v6. the contact was driving 25 mph when the vehicle stalled with an abnormal fluctuation in engine rpms. the contact slowly drove to the dealer where the dealer inspected the vehicle and found that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 94,000 and the current mileage is 95,000. updated 11/23/11 *bf

2003 honda accord v6 transmission failure in the middle of traffic, almost caused an accident but fortunately this was on a road with a slower speed limit. 3 out of 4 engine mounts are broken. i have owned this car 8 months and the estimated repair is $6000. i have found several websites and forums where this appears to be a problem for 2003 and 2004 transmissions on the accord. most drivers just stalled on the highway/road they were traveling on and this is a serious safety concern. how can these cars continue to be sold where this is a common problem. *tr

Honda service manager said he was "almost killed on the highway" driving my car: first incident: 9/19/2011 (mon evening) car lurching irregularly at highway and town speeds; difficulty getting into gear and trouble reversing. took it to dealer that night. 9/20/2011 (tues): dealer reported not being able to detect a problem. nothing came up on diagnostics. no service light was on. dealer asked to keep it one more day. 9/21/2011 (wed): dealer still unable to detect a problem, they drove it around but claimed nothing unusual. service manager asked if he could drive it home. i ok'd. employer annoyed. second incident: that night the service manager, drove it home, because it wasn't acting up at the garage, and diagnostics showed nothing. there were no warning lights. he, [xxx], said he "almost went through the windshield on the highway" on his way home. he said repeatedly that he was almost killed. that's right the honda service manager said he almost was killed!!! which is what could have happened to me or any other honda accord owner. if this happened in inclement weather, i'd be dead in a ditch (it's new england so those days are coming). the car lurched at highway speeds and at low speeds. it lurched speeding up and slowing down. if i put the car in neutral, and just applied some gas to the pedal, the tachometer (rpm) needle jumped around all over the place. only until the service manager got it back to the service garage (9/22) did any service lights come on. how convenient. their proposed solution: step one: replace transmission fluid (material, parts, labor) = $120 step two: replace transmission solenoid (parts labor, etc) = $500 failing that: step three: replace entire transmission. est. cost: $4300 total potential cost: approx $5.000.... or my life. this is a significant safety issue and a recall is in order and asap. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

We noticed hesitation in shifting from second to third gear. it seemed as if it would slip into neutral. after approximately 5-10 seconds it would shift into third. the transmission was checked and flushed in early 2011. this car has been maintained according to industry standards. after discussing the problem with various mechanics, it was determined that third gear was going out. driving to repair location the transmission failed. the car went from 65 mph on the highway to stuck in second gear after the engine warmed up. this car was part of the recall in the summer of 2004 and the repair was made. however, after researching the honda 2003, it appears as if this is a continual problem and honda is aware of the faulty transmission yet does not assist in the cost of repair. *tt

My wife was driving her 2003 honda accord when all of a sudden it shifted into neutral. . she turned the car off and a few minutes later turned it back on. it went for a short distance and did the same thing again. it took her three hrs. to get home from work. when the car violently stopped she was almost hit by a truck who was behind her. she could have been seriously hurt. i feel honda is responsible to replace the transmission after reading the thousands of similar complaints regarding this faulty transmission. recalls should have been done and the tranny fixed before this problem occurred. honda new the problem and failed to recall these cars. *tr

While driving my 2003 v6 honda accord coupe (automatic) the transmission violently jerked the entire vehicle forward and downshifted to a lower gear. this occurred during rush hour and almost caused the vehicle behind me to rear-end my vehicle. i immediately turned on my flashers and made my way to a parking lot. i left the vehicle there overnight and had it towed to a honda dealership for inspection. they advised me that they could not identify anything wrong with my transmission and everything was working properly during their tests and could not duplicate the problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. the contact was driving 20 mph when the vehicle exhibited a loud, abnormal knocking noise. the contact was unable to accelerate of shift from second gear. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the second gear had burned and as a result, the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. the manufacturer advised that because the transmission was not locked, the vehicle would not be repaired under nhtsa campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train:automatic transmission). the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 150,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. while the contact was driving approximately 30 mph the transmission slipped into neutral gear without intent and began to lock which resulted in no power during acceleration. the vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and resumed normally after shifting into drive. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where a recall repair was performed for nhtsa recall campaign id number 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission). the failure persisted after the remedy repair and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 111,000.

Transmission failed. *tr

Coming back from the airport, going home on belt parkway, the transmission stopped functioning properly out of a sudden, without giving any hints before, totally unexpected. it didn't go to the 2nd gear, stuck in 30mph. after anxiously drove back home trembling, found the reverse did not work either. the vehicle had to be turned off and restarted again to gain back the function of reverse. after research the on the web, and read through so many comments of honda accord 2003 owner, this seems very much related to the honda accord recall incident in 2004. it is believed honda didn't fix the problem permanently back in 2004. it was a temporary fix trick, and right now many of the honda accord 2003 owners are suffering from honda's failure to fix its defective product. *tr

Second owner of the 2003 honda accord v6, bought it on 2009 first found out this issue after taking my brother to jfk airport and on my way back home, some weirdo sounds clunking while car stopped on traffic and accelerate onward.(lucky didn't get self and my wife killed/crashed) took the car to auto repair and they told me it's transmission failure, dashboard is blinking as well. transmission slips out of gear. shifts roughly. won't go into gear. drive indicator light flashing on dash. high pitched whining noise from transmission. clunking into gear. shifts violently at low speed after highway driving. not shifting properly. *kb

I bought this car in june 2003 with 2 miles on it from jim coleman honda in clarksville, md. i have only driven the car 88,000 miles and the transmission is dead. according to chryswel dealership in germantown md, the issue was not the transmission but the clutch pressure control which is responsible for shifting gears. that is what went bad which then caused debris in the transmission causing it to fail as well. the car runs fine when it is cold but once you dive it for about 20 minutes, it will automatically downshift to the 1st or 2nd gear and drop your speed for 60 to 20 or less with a big jolt on the passengers in the car. we are very close to getting into a major accident on the highway when it happened. the dealership quoted me $5000 to fix the transmission and also informed me that they have seen many other 03 honda's with the same situation. i was really surprised that there has not been an official case against honda to fix the issue or provide a recall. i am very disappointed with the service and support for honda. this is one of the 4 honda's i own but it will def be the last honda i ever own. i have also submitted a complaint to honda with the issue. i would appreciate any follow up on this issue. thank you *tr

At around 107,000 miles, i noticed my transmission leaking fluid very rapidly. in addition, the front end of the car started vibrating violently between 50mph and 60mph. *kb

I have a 2003 honda accord ex v6. it has been serviced as per instructions in honda owners manual. it has 119k on car and the transmission will slip out of gear when driving, according to several web sites (http://www.hondaproblems.com/problems/transmission-failure.shtml), (http://cdonner.com/honda-accord-2003-ex-v6-transmission-failure.htm) their are many more out there doing the same thing and honda usa is turning a blind eye to the problem. the real issue is the transmission, the past few recalls include jet kits and ignition switches and a few flash file updates to transmission software never truly addressing the real issue which is a much more expensive transmission replacement. the recalls are like any other recall when a large repair is needed on a broad scale, smaller more band-aid like repairs are instituted as recalls to get the vehicle out of warranty and no longer a problem for honda. the problem with this kind of irresponsibility is this, the issue is not a cylinder wear issue and it isn't a fuel pump failing issue that simply is a financial inconvenience to the owner, it is a problem with a transmission failing to stay engaged, a problem that is leaving drivers in the middle of roads. a problem that is causing car to lose power in the middle of merging into traffic or changing lanes, or at any moments without warning, endangering the driver. last but not least when a person decides to buy a honda they are not only purchasing a car with money they purchase it with confidence of reliability. when you maintained a vehicle and you drive it like a baby and it fails at 119k that it what i believe falls into the category of premature failure. honda needs to take responsibility for this dangerous and subpar product that they have given to the buyers in good faith and at the least give 100% parts goodwill. *tr

I was driving on the highway and my car suddenly downshifted i was thrusted forward and back. i continued to drive home attempting to slow at a light it shifted so hard the tires squealed. the car continued to shift very hard between first and second gear for about 1 mile until i got home. as i was looking on the internet for a transmission i came across a web site and learned there was a recall for second gear in 2004 that i was never notified about. i dropped it off for first thing in the morning at the dealership, that afternoon i received a call stating they drove my car around the block and there was nothing wrong with the transmission and i could come get the car when i refused due to recall, i was told they would need a few days to get the recall repair parts. i was fine with that considering i was too afraid to drive the car and i was getting a ride to and from work for the last two weeks anyway. the very next day they called and said they fixed all recalls, and drove the car again and the transmission was fine. when i went to pick up the car i wanted to make sure they inspected second gear per recall they told me they did take a picture but would not offer proof. they also told me second gear would not fix my transmission after they tell me there is nothing wrong with it.i do not believe they inspected my transmission at all. i think they just replaced the parts they needed to get the recall done i cannot help but think if i received this recall six years ago i may not be going through this now! by all the complaints on this site and many others this is a known problem. what is going to take for honda to make it right? i am now stuck with a car i an too afraid to drive!!!!!!!!!!! *tr

Driving on the highway in traffic, my 2003 honda accord v6 suddenly dropped into first gear suddenly slowing my travel from 55 mph to 35 mph. i narrowly avoided being hit by the vehicle behind me by turning off onto the shoulder. the accord then downshifted and continued to jump suddenly between second and third gears. the accord showed no dashboard indications that something was wrong but continued to drive changing gears sporadically. my car was taken to a local honda dealer where i was told the transmission needed to be replaced entirely but would cost more than the vehicle was worth. *kb

The transmission in this vehicle is faulty. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord lx. the contact stated that the vehicle would not drive in second gear unless the vehicle was on an incline. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was approximately 134,000. the vin was unavailable.

While traveling at speeds approximately 45-55 mph, the engine initially would rev up and after gas pedal released, would return to normal within seconds. this happened approximately three times on separate days over a 3-4 week period. yesterday, the transmission revved once as described previously. within a few minutes of that episode, it then started to suddenly downshift from overdrive or drive into 2nd causing the car to suddenly lurch forward, rapidly decelerate and the tires to squeal. this happened several times and occurred regardless of whether we were going up or down a hill and at various speeds. we narrowly avoided an accident with a tractor trailer before we had the car towed.

I have a 2003 honda accord ex v6. about two months ago i started feeling the car wasn't feeling right. as i was driving, it felt like the gear shift had been knocked down in to neutral, but was still actually still in drive. when this happened, the rpm's would go up and the car felt like it wasn't going anywhere, just coasting, then it seemed to just jolt back to where it should be. the problem wasn't happening every time i drove, but recently it started happening more often and for longer periods of time. i take the car to one place to have all my work done on it, so i took it there, but they felt the problem might be internal and recommended i take it to a transmission shop. they did diagnostics on the car and drove it. the result, the car is going into transmission failure. the transmission fluid is black and burned and has debris in it, and they said that the clutches are also burned. they won't know the complete picture until they take the transmission apart and get a good look. it is 5 days before christmas, i don't have the money to fix it or we will not have any christmas and now i have no transportation to do anything! soooo frustrated. i thought honda's were suppose to be such good cars, but i have had nothing but problems with this one. it doesn't seem like a transmission should go out at 113,000 miles and i have had so many people say the same thing. now that my transmission is going out, i read up on it and find out there was a recall in 2004 for the 2003 honda accords. why, am i just finding out about this?? *tr

I was driving approximately 35 mph when i went to accelerate, the transmission slips and engine revs high while car downshifts into what felt like first gear and violently slows down. this almost put me through the windshield. any attempts i made to speed up or maintain speed just cause the transmission to slip and lag until finally the car just acts like its in neutral. i turn off the car and start it up again, it drives fine all the way to the dealership. they find nothing wrong with it and charge the $100 diagnostic fee. i drive it off the lot and it immediately starts slipping between 2-3 gears and downshifting; so i drive it right back into the shop and they say the transmission needs replaced. transmission replacement run roughly $5000. car is at 85,000 miles, all maintenances and 3000-mile oil changes performed, car has required many visits to the shop for malfunctioning electrical systems and problematic brakes. honda claims all recalls have been performed, including a recall for a defective transmission part they never replaced with a working part. the technician informs me i am able to drive home granted i can deal with some slippage of gears, if this had happened on the highway, i would be dead right now, and i do a lot of highway driving. nothing has been done yet to correct this failure, i believe honda should do the right thing and replace these dangerously faulty parts in all of its vehicles. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. the contact stated that the vehicle would independently shift out of gears while driving at any speed followed by an abnormal increase in rpms. in april 2005, the dealer replaced the jet fuel kit to correct the failure but had since recurred. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, did not offer any assistance. the current and the failure mileages were 90,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the engine began to rev, but the vehicle would not accelerate beyond 30 mph. the check engine light also began to illuminate on the instrument panel during the failure. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer denied assistance with the repair. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 91,605 and the current mileage was 91,700.

Driving at 50 mph the car suddenly downshifted into 2nd gear without any warning.

The transmission was slipping, and did not allow me to accelerate in an intersection. near collision by 2 cars caused an incredibly unsafe and hazardous situation. *kb

I own a 2003 honda accord, ex v6 4 door sedan. i was driving on the bqe expressway in brooklyn yesterday when the transmission started slipping and lurched. it almost cause a rear end accident, and i had my 16 moth old baby in the back seat. the car then wouldn't go into a drive gear, nor would go into reverse. i restarted the car and the car limped the 1 mile home - but transmission was still slipping. this is an extremely dangerous condition. websites listing identical failures are full and plentiful. when does someone have to die to get this remedied? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. the vehicle was previously included in the recall under nhtsa campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train:automatic transmission) and was repaired. after the repairs, the contact was driving approximately 45 mph when the tcs and brake warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the technician stated the transmission would need to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

I was turning left into a store parking lot when my car unexpectedly downshifts violently causing my car to hesitate before it ever took off, leaving me setting in the middle of the road with a car headed right towards mine, lucky for me the car was able to slow down enough to swerve to avoid plowing into my car and the side of the vehicle my 3 year old daughter was setting at! now my car jerks extremely violently when driving randomly down the road at any given time. took the car to my mechanic, transmission is shot, needs replacement immediately, too bad i am a student and single mom who does not have the kind of money to get this replaced. only good thing that i can say about my almost accident was that no one was hurt, this time. too scared to drive car anywhere else. count my blessings since i did make it home, not without driving 25 mph in slow lane of interstate with emergency flashers on! *tr

My 2003 honda accord has just reached 95k. i was accelerating to get onto interstate 81 when the car lost almost all power and rpm dial went down. the car the jerked violently forward, the rpm dial jumped up, and the car sped up. i had a friend in the car, and she joked that i was trying to kill her! i , of course, i didn't cause the car to do this! a few weeks went by and i was driving on i481 south when the vehicle lost most of its power. i couldn't do anything but try to get it to the next gear. as i did this, it violently jerked again, sending the shocked person in the car behind me to speed up, just to get around me! i was so scared, that i pulled over, and had my fiance come and drive the car to our mechanic. he could only go about 35-40mph on the highway the rest of the way, if not, it jerked on him as well. upon parking at the mechanics, he couldn't get it in reverse. after two different certified mechanics scratched their heads about my car, i had my transmission fluid changed. it did nothing to fix it. i am picking up the car from a honda dealership, who have told me that the only fix is a new/rebuilt transmission at the price of $3800! there are no diagnostic codes that are being read, and no lights on the dashboard come on, except for traction control once in a while. this car is worthless to me! i cannot believe that honda will do nothing for us, and that there hasn't been a recall for this problem. we need to keep complaining to them! i believe that as more of this make and model gets into having higher mileage on them, the more complaints they will have! i will keep on complaining about this until something is done! i urge others to do the same. hopefully, nobody gets hurt or killed in the process of them doing nothing in the meantime! *kb

My 2003 honda accord staring making a "noise" unfamiliar to me. after getting my car checked out it was determined to be the transmission. *kb

Driving the car no problem till recently in july when my transmission decide it wont go into gear every once in a while. give me sudden stops while driving on the highway. almost causing accidents, since the last stop i have stopped driving it and started researching only to find it is a common problem with the vehicle. knowingly producing inadequate unsafe products. thanks alot honda *kb

Since the purchase i've experienced continual transmission problems. upon speaking with the dealership i was assured all was fine. you can imagine my surprise when i received notice of the transmission recall (nhtsa 04v176000). upon repair, in september 2004, i did not notice repair improvement, and continued to detect the rough grind of transmission shift and a whining sound. in 2009 i experienced a catastrophic transmission failure to which i had sought repair. in december 2010 i experienced another transmission failure. i have just now experienced my 3rd transmission failure, july 2011. my power steering pump had always had a faint whine, but honda services never identified it as concerning. the problem progressively became worse until honda finally suggested a repair, but informed me that the component was then out of warranty and would be a costly repair. i decided to delay repair until june 2011. ac problems manifested in september 2005 and required replacement in april 2008. my center council clock and temperature display has been flickering, dimmed, and absent since 2009. the interlock stuck issue first materialized in 2008 and serviced in july 2010. my airbag warning light has been active since 2008 with an occasional but repetitive tcs alert; and my headlamp glass has been hazed since 2005. the paint deterioration is ridiculously embarrassing, the leather seating began showing wear 2 years in, my seatbelt doesn't return to the original released position, head liner has water leak stains, cd player stopped working, exposed wiring is visible at the driver door hinge, i've gone through 3 batteries, countless tires, one cracked windshield, and i have always suffer from poor radio reception and occasional navigational signal roaming issues. in these times of thrift conscious fuel consumption, i utilize my nav tools to monitor my driving activity. i'm stunned to report i get a fuel economy of 24 mpg highway, not the 31 mpg as sticker reports. *tr

Failure of transmission. was driving 70mph on highway and took the off ramp to go home. i stopped at the red light near home and proceeded to go on the green light. the car would not go over 40mph and would not accelerate like usual. at the next red light i could not go over 5mph. engine light came on. transmission shift light flashed green. i barely got home. dealership said the transmission died with only 79k miles on it. there was no previous indication that the transmission was going bad. *tt

All was normal when suddenly my transmission lost its gear. the rev count went all the way up and my car wasn't moving. the only way the car will slip back into gear is i turn off the car and start it back up. then it still loses gear randomly~ *tr

I just bought a used 2003 honda accord ex v6. the transmission seems to have problem. the second gear does not shift smoothly. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. the contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating further. the vehicle resumed normal acceleration after a brief hesitation. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified, and the contact was waiting to be informed if the vehicle was or was not included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 04v176000 (power train:automatic transmission). the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 78,400.

Honda 2003 transmission while on a trip from st. louis to the chicago area 6-23-2011and just north of springfield, il the transmission made a pronounced sound, slipped into neutral, and i had to make an emergency stoppage in heavy highway traffic to the side of the side of interstate 55. smoke was pouring out from under the hood. i opened the hood and the smoke was emanating from the transmission area. we got towed ($136.00) back to springfield, il and as it was past 6:00 pm we had to leave the car at a local recommended transmission shop. the shop has informed us that the transmission was "burned up" and need to be replaced to the tune of $3,400 for factory rebuilt with 36 month, no mileage limit guarantee. to get transportation to where we were going and back to st. louis cost almost $300 in rental car fees. this does not count what it will cost to return to springfield, il to retrieve the car once it has been fixed. the transmission service business there said they have repaired another four or five 2003's, and my honda mechanic in st. louis said he had done four as well. what was normally a four hour plus trip turned into nine hours. the car has 148,215 miles and has been well maintained. this has shaken my confidence in honda. we have owned six honda's in the family, but this is the only v6. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda accord. the contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under nhtsa campaign id number 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission). after the repairs while driving 30-40 mph, the vehicle would not respond to acceleration attempts. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. the failure and current mileage was 84,000.

While driving home from pep boys to have them diagnose a noise issue with my car (the noise could not be duplicated), i was turning left from a stopped position across 3 lanes of traffic on bellaire blvd. and my transmission failed and acted as if it were in neutral. this is the 2nd transmission i have had to have installed in this honda in the past 3 years. the first time i was on a busy freeway traveling about 60 mph when the transmission suddenly dropped to 1st or 2nd gear and would start bucking in and out of gear. houston traffic is very busy and i feel i have escaped serious injury on more than 2 occasions with this vehicle. something needs to be done before someone is killed or critically injured. this is a well known issue with the 2003 models.

My 2003 honda accord began lurching violently as i was driving on the highway. i was slammed into the seatbelt and narrowly avoided an accident. i've found hundreds of other complaints online for the same problem. it appears honda knows there is a defective transmission in these cars but have done nothing about it. *tr

The 2003 honda accord ex v6 automatic transmission slips out of gear to neutral and then jerks the car and goes back into gear. this happens periodically without warning. the car has 97,258 miles. the honda dealer said the transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $4075.22 + taxes and alignment. *tr

My 2003 honda accord transmission failed at only 84000 miles. the car suddenly decelerated from 65 to 45 miles per hour on the freeway. luckily it was not rush hour. my 1 year old son was in the car with me. no recalls have been issued even though numerous people have been experiencing this issue with their 2003 accords. upon inspection, i was told the transmission has a shift malfunction and is stuck in 3rd gear. needs replacement with cost of $3900. the car is undriveable at this point without repair. *tr