Honda Accord Problems 2000-2005

mikek37

Honda Automatics dont stand up too well. Let me ask you this, then why is it that they are one of the most customizable cars for youth, you cant tell me they dont run their cars hard. People are so afraid to drive their cars its almost absurb. Drive you car the way you intend. Dont be afraid to rev it past 3 grand, big deal.

Bobdle, did you know that the most damage to an engine occurs during startup and not wide open throttle!

bodble2

I don't think they are customized because of the prowess of their auto trannies. Most customized Hondas are manual transmission models anyway. And most are Civics. (I don't see no Accordnation commercials). I know the engine is most susceptible to damage, and wear and tear during startup but I doubt much damage can be done to the tranny (at startup).

mikek37

If Honda trannies were so susceptible to problems, then their reliability wouldn't be top notch. BUt you are correct, not sure how much damage is caused at start up to the tranny, Im guessing not that much.

fjm1

Amen mikek37, just drive the car. If any of you need verification that the Honda products are very good go browse a few Euro-model threads. LOTS of problems. Especially when you factor in that most of the Euros as manufacturers sell fewer cars total than JUST the Accord.

Every reputable source on the planet will give glowing stats for Honda reliability. Doesn't mean they NEVER break. I feel for folks who might get a bad one but it ain't the norm.

Bodble2: When is the last time you were at the local import scene? I see lots of modded Honda slushboxes. In fact, auto trans is the best way to bracket race. Accord auto tranny (on 5th and 6th gen)will withstand I/H/E plus 75 shot of NOS all nite long. Plenty of examples at local strip. The drivers worry more about spun bearings and connecting rods way more than trannies.

mikek37

Good point. Lots of civc/accord slush boxes for speed hungry youngsters. You are correct, they are wooried more about throwing one of their connecting rods instead of ruining their trannies.

People are so afraid to run their cars slightly hard, and instead drive them conservatively when in fact , the accord/civic crave a good revving.

ammathis

I have had the pulling to the right problem since my 2003 Honda Accord V6 Sedan was brand new, I purchased it October 11, 2002 it now has almost 18,000 miles on it. Every time I would take it into the dealership they would rotate and balance the tires and put it on the alignment machine. Almost every time it would show the car was aligned correctly. The car kept pulling. I was told by the dealership that Honda had no complaints. So I called Honda and complained. I urge you to do the same. I wish I had done this a long time ago it has really gotten the ball going. They assigned a case manager who calls every few days to see what is going on. The service manager at the dealership got with his rep and they decided to replace the tires on the vehicle hoping that would solve the pulling. I took the car into the dealership last Friday and had the tires replaced they once again put the car on the alignment machine and it showed it was in spec. The car is still pulling. I wrote a letter to Honda yesterday filing this under the Georgia Lemon Law. I understand it could possibly be a torque problem which most likely can not be fixed. If you are having similar trouble email me at ammathis@yahoo.com Maybe together we can get our problems fixed. I wish now I would have got that Nissan Altima I wanted!!! I have also had lots and lots of other problems with this car.

bodble2

Never. Wouldn't be caught dead hanging around that bunch of pimply-faced r**e crowd.

justin

on my new Accord EXV6 at all. mine has a build date of 8/03 - if Honda knows about the pulling problem, perhaps it was fixed before mine was built. any car built in 02 as a brand new 03 model might be more prone to "bugs"....right?

mikek37

I believe he was only attempting to dispute your tranny claim. If people are able to push nitrous through their cars, I would say the tranny is quite strong!

fjm1

"Most customized Hondas are manual transmission models anyway. And most are Civics." it MUST be true.

(I don't see no Accordnation commercials)
therefore Accords are never modded cuz the TV doesn't support that theory.

Drop the remote and join reality. Come on out of the house and join the crowd at the local drag strip. It's fun and only a few have zits and eat eastern starchy food product.

Where is the love?

danoh

had my accord in today at 35,000 miles .

i was having unusual sounds (low, pinging, grinding-like) noises from the front of the car during accel from 30-45mph. noise would disappear if you take your foot off the gas. not very noticeable, unless you are really trying to hear it.

after driving them around and reproducing the noise for them, they decided it was the transmission and they ordered a new one today.

stump21

Where is the best place to buy a service manual for my Accord?

bodble2

Drop the remote and join reality? By hanging at the local drag strip?? You're joking, right? So now "reality" resides with the Fast n Furious crowd. Interesting take on life. Come back after you've survived puberty.

pj23

When does this pull to the right occur? Under hard acceleration? Always? Do you notice a difference on different roads? If it is torque steer that you are feeling, the Altima would've been no better, if not worse. It could be the crown of the roads you drive on. I don't want to come across as denying a "pulling to the right" problem, because plenty have experienced it. But it sounds like what your dealer has done would've fixed the problem, if the problem was with the car.

What other problems are you having with your Accord?

serendip

I'm not having any pulling either - also 8/03 build date. Only have about 400 miles on it, but it sounds like people are having problems from the start. My driving is split pretty evenly between highway and city, and no drifting.

Maybe we can all help figure out problems (or know what to expect!) by posting the build date when posting problems.

jebinc1

My car was born on 7/26 and does not pull. It is sensitive to road surfaces and crowns. Be sure that the front tires are at 32psi (cold) and 30psi in the rear.

serendip

Where can you find out the exact date for your car? The plate on the car shows 8/03, but nothing more than that. Oh, wait - does 8/03 mean August 3, and not August, 2003?

Thanks!

bburton3

I like the Helm manual-some people swear by others but this manual has lots of details-kind of pricey like $50 or so. www.helm.com i think.

jebinc1

When I ordered it, they gave me the mfg date and Vin number. You can find the month of birth on drivers door jam label. Same place as the tire pressure and weights. There is also a Honda owners web site that you can register your vehicle. I think that lists a lot of detail based on the VIN you type in. I will log on and check. The post the results....

Update: Just checked - BD not on owners link. Check the door label for month, call salesman for date info as they have that.

rodut

Does anybody hear a click-click noise from the front wheels when driving slowly in a parking lot? It's barely audible. My car is a manual 2001 Accord.

Thanks

hondalady44

Can anyone help me out here. I have a 03 Accord Ex with 3500 miles on it. On at least 12 ocassions I've heard a noise similar to that zapping noise you would hear on the child's game "operation" when you touch the sides with the electric tweezers when I start the car. I can't find rhyme or reason when it happens. It startles me and I immediately restart the ignition with positive results. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also does anyone hear creaking in the steering colum upon making turns? Thanks in advance

tblazer503

www.helminc.com

bburton is right though... if you get the full set it could cost you upwards of 50-100 depending on the manual.

the 2003 accord service manual L4 engine 2/4door is $70.00. the V-6 supplement is $40.00.

My dad's Helm service manual for his truck was about the same price, but it was also 2300 pages. very informative, covers all parts(as far as I know)

Kirstie_H

A reporter with a major newspaper is looking for consumer input regarding the difficult decision: when do you stop fixing an older car and replace it with a newer one? Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com with your brief thoughts and daytime contact information by Wednesday, September 17.
Thanks!

auburn63

All Honda dealers have to take on all warranty work regardless of where purchased. They are not allowed to turn you down and if they do then I would call and complain.

jdexter23

Have you checked your tires for a rock jammed in between the treds, or maybe a nail?

jdexter23

I have been having trouble with noise coming from all 4 of my windows on my 03 EX-V6. The noise tends to come and go. lately, the front passenger window rattles while in the up position and the rear windows rattle (horribly) when they are partially open. I've silicone sprayed the windows to keep them from rattleing in the up position, but that has not helped. Is anyone else experiencing these problems?

imidazol97

I recommend their factory authorized manuals. They do a great job.

They're an American company with ethics! They're located near Detroit. They sent a revised edition of a manual for the 1998 car I owned -- there had been changes from the original set I ordered somewhere. I just found a box of new manuals on my doorstep one day that said Revised Edition or something like that across the front! I didn't even order an update...

CDs are available for some car models instead of the paper version...p

jmulholl

I have a subaru legacy with same problem. Bring it into dealer at night and let them test it first thing in morning. If yours is like mine, once heated up the sound goes away. One theory: hesitation due to worn gaskets; with heat they expand and the prob. temporarily goes away.

My experience with Subaru service was not very good. They continually denied that there was a problem at all. I'd be interested to see how yours turns out. Joe

fjm1

"So now "reality" resides with the Fast n Furious crowd". Basing your opinions on the TV again bodble?

My only point was that your stereotypes and info are pretty far off.

Example 1: I guess you don't want to address the part about how wrong you were regarding Honda Automatics being modified often.

Example 2: Honda auto trannies can't take mods? Your wrong again

Example 3: Generalizations about the "type" of people who enjoy working on Hondas can make YOU look bad. A local drag strip on a Saturday night is a WIDE demographic group that really only has one thing in common. Cars. Not zits, r!ce, or age as you so eloquently put it. But you would know that if you weren't an armchair quarterback.

So, as social creatures, I invite people to dispel the myths and have a little fun at the local strip. Drop the remote, it's clouding your judgment. Come on out of the house and SEE just how stout those Honda trannies are.

"Come back after you've survived puberty." Man I laughed at that one as I'm probably older than alot of posters here. I guess I'll just have to settle for being immature.

jmellenb

Yes, I've read several posts about window rattles. I have a posting on the "Accord Quality Control Issues" discussion. The window in my front passenger door rattles a lot, the driver's window a little less so. That's my major beef with the car. I'm hoping they will come up with a new window gasket design as a fix.

fjm1

"So now "reality" resides with the Fast n Furious crowd". Basing your opinions on the TV again bodble?

My only point was that your stereotypes and info are pretty far off.

Example 1: I guess you don't want to address the part about how wrong you were regarding Honda Automatics being modified often.

Example 2: Honda auto trannies can't take mods? Your wrong again

Example 3: Generalizations about the "type" of people who enjoy working on Hondas can make YOU look bad. A local drag strip on a Saturday night is a WIDE demographic group that really only has one thing in common. Cars. Not zits, r!ce, or age as you so eloquently put it. But you would know that if you weren't an armchair quarterback.

So, as social creatures, I invite people to dispel the myths and have a little fun at the local strip. Drop the remote, it's clouding your judgment. Come on out of the house and SEE just how stout those Honda trannies are.

"Come back after you've survived puberty." Man I laughed at that one as I'm probably older than alot of posters here. I guess I'll just have to settle for being immature.

justin

i doubt me and my Buick sized Accord will be visiting a drag strip anytime soon. i am kind of glad that the Accords aren't as heavily modded and in demand as Civics. the rate to insure Accords, for me anyway, is actually lower than the rate to insure a Civic. the Civic has 127 HP and the Accord 240! it is all about the fact that the Fast & Furious crowd (for lack of better term) steal Civics more than Accords.

in fact, i have a feeling if i brought my BEIGE 4 door automatic Accord to a racing event, people would wonder whose Dad I was. and i am only 30! haha.

mikek37

The lower insurance for the accord is mainly due to safety reasons ( The accord is safer then the civic) , not because they are stolen less then civics ( On the contrary more accords are stolen each year when compared to Civics).

justin

more Accords are stolen? dang! i should have got wheels locks with the car.

justin

i went to register my car on the Honda website. i guess based on my VIN, it said my car is not subject to either recalls. it did say some early 2003 automatic transmissions were faulty, but not mine. they did a fix mid-year?

pj23

I think those were only in the 2003 TL/CL, which was a carryover design from '02.

serendip

Thanks for the date of birth info. I got the 8/03 from the driver side door jam plate. I'll check with the salesman, and see if he can find out the exact date. And thanks for checking the owners site for me - I didn't realize there was one! I'm going to register right now.

jebinc1

No problem! I kind of liked the owners link site as well. Good luck!

bodble2

I get it now. Honda's auto tranny is so reliable that Honda voluntarily extended the warranty on the affected model years. I guess Honda got bored with counting profit and decided to create some negative publicity just for excitement. And all those Accord/TL/CL owners on their second and third trannies are just imagining things. To paraphrase: fjm must figure if you post enough bullsnot on the internet, some of it just might stick. But he must be on to something. Afterall, the man lives in REALITY, and apparently real up on the local r*ce culture!

tblazer503

you really need to stop referring to the import tuner folks as "r*ce culture" ... it's really getting annoying, how about you call it what it is, import tuning. Gee what a concept. tuning imports, import tuning. wow.

FJM is right, though it is not an asian culture thing to fix up cars.. it is an enthusiast thing. I have seen folks, old and young, light, dark, red, blue, purple... why do most people do it? because they want to make their car stand out. same reason people have almost always changed the hubcaps, or wheels, exhaust, etc.

What are people who fix up the Cavaliers, Neons, Focus, etc called? Burger culture?? burger racers? What about the Jetta's, 318's, etc? bratworst racers? sheesh. Hate when people are so ignorant as to classify a group of people by what they drive.

Justin... actually, if you consider it, your V6 Accord would smack the crap out of a stock EX civic. the EX civic weighs in at ~2700lbs w/ 115ft/lbs tq, and 127 HP. Your V6 EX weighs in at ~3300 w/ 215ft/lbs(i think) TQ and 240HP. So you have ~20% more weight, almost 2x torque, and almost 2x the HP.

Of course, if the guy in the Civic did what I've seen some people at the tracks do.. remove the front seat, rear seats, spare tire, jack, etc... lol. what a great way to know what your car's true ability is... haha

bodble2

You know, it is amazing how many people have an outdated perception of "The Word" in question, Edmunds TH included. The word has long achieved generic or colloquial status. It is so widely used even in publications such as Car and Driver. It just refers to the subculture of the import car tuner. Its origin may have had racial basis, but right here and now, in Two Thousand and Three A.D., it's got almost no racial overtone at all. Hell, I hear it more amongst Asians! But, unfortunately, some people still figure they get brownie points or whatever for pretending to be politically correct if they make a public show of denouncing the use of the word or act high and mighty and chastise people who use it.

BTW, there may no doubt be the odd WASP retiree who's into this import tuning scene. But lets not try to fool anybody. We all know who this culture is predominantly populated by. IMO, anyone over the age of 30 would look like an idiot driving around in a tricked-out Civic or Accord. There are toys for boys, and toys for men. The trick is know the difference.

aggie1995

All this talk of food is making me hungry.

bodble2

Finally someone with a refreshing sense of levity!

justin

....the EARLY 03 automatics were bad, since Honda extended the warranty. what did they do to mine, to make it better, since it doesn't get the warranty? build date 8/03.

how can we find out that info? what was the specific component that was causing failures to begin with??

aggie1995

I think the post was referring to 1999-2001 V6 Auto transmissions. That was the warranty extension he was talking about.

As far as I know Honda is not offering anything extra on 2003 models other than the TSB's they have released. Go to www.NHTSA.gov for that data

So don't think you're off the hook yet. Your build date 08/03 transmission may fall apart yet. Just kidding

ammathis

I wouldn't know where to start with the problems with this car. One afternoon I got into the car as I was driving down the road I noticed something was not quite right. The car would jump when shifting between 2nd and 3rd gear and wouldn't go out of 3rd. The check engine light came on, the traction control lights came on, and the light on the instrument panel that indicates which gear you are in began flashing. They towed the car in and could find nothing wrong with it. The computer didn't store any codes. It has done this once again since then. The air conditioner quit working once but after shutting the car off and then back on it works. The cd player died with 4 new cds stuck in it. It was making the very loud popping noise when accerlerating from a stop for several months took it to the dealership a couple of times for this; they didn't fix it; it finally went away on its own. I know the car is pulling I had have several people drive it. It seems to be worse when accerlerating or even on cruise. If you take your foot completely off the gas it is not as bad. I have driven it down the center of a four lane highway it still pulls. For that matter you can get in the left lane of a two lane road where road crown would make it pull left. It still pulls right. I wish it were my imagination. I am sure that there a some things I am forgetting but this is enough. I am truly afraid of what this car will be like a year or two down the road. Don't get me wrong I love my car and would like nothing better than for it to be fixed.

justin

but not my specific VIN #. per Honda's website. i will keep my eyes open for any issues. if all i have is a transmission issue, i will be fine. the SECOND a coil goes, BYE BYE Honda.

ak973

Hi Auburn. I'm new to this board. I have a 2000 Accord SE 4 cyl. auto and have been having trouble involving the check engine light. I could feel the engine miss sometimes when accelerating and I was encountering frequent hesitation when accelerating and braking. Also car was stalling out when I came to a complete stop but only when I had a half a tank of gas or less. If I had a full tank my car would not completely stall out, it would only hesitate. The codes said misfire in all four cylinders. Took to dealership and diagnostic said number one O2 censor was bad so we replaced the O2 censor ourselves (my car is no longer under warranty). We haven't had the codes cleared out yet but I'm still experiencing problems, although its not as bad as it was before. It's only been two days since we replaced the O2 censor and my car stalled out again this morning when I came to a complete stop. I'm having a hard time believing that the reason for this is simply because we haven't had the check engine light cleared off yet. Could this be the case or do you have any idea what is causing this? Thank you so much for your help!

tblazer503

have you checked/replaced the little stuff like the fuel filter, pcv valve(unlikely cause), ran a fuel system cleaner, etc?

I had a problem like that once, the problem was the fuel pump, this was on an Isuzu P/U w/ 175k miles and it was about 8 years old... The fuel in the tank cools the fuel pump off, so it maybe the cause of the stalling(overheating), and it may be causing the misfire... of course, I would guess that there would be a code for low fuel pressure as well... just not too sure...

as for justin's question...
I read a report somewhere that the root cause of the transmission failure was the 2nd or 3rd gear clutch pack in the auto trans. the clutch pack would prematurely wear out and disintegrate in the tranny and plug many of the holes... they began using the new clutch packs in early-03 or so transmissions... I'll see if i can find the article...

justin

thanks for the info. if you can find the article that would be great!