Honda Accord 2003 EX-V6 Transmission Failure

Christian Donner,
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So we joined the ranks of people who own a 2003 Honda Accord with a broken transmission. As of 3/4/2009, Carcomplaints.com listed close to 200 similar cases, and it is safe to assume that there were many more who have not found that website, but paid the $3500 that it costs to have the transmission replaced. The damage to Honda’s reliability reputation must be devastating already, but no recall has been issued.

Initially, we did not feel quite ready to spend this kind of money, either. I thought that maybe a new transmission was not really needed. Given today’s market conditions, $3500 pays the lease for 3 to 4  years for a comparable car, and the Accord has already been costing thousands in repairs over the past 2 years.

I was especially frustrated because I suspected there was something wrong with this transmission from day one. The moment of hesitation that we always noticed before the transmission shifted from first to second gear was probably related to the failure (the transmission recall in 2004 was certainly related to the failure, but was designed to minize cost and liability, not to permanently resolve the issue). I had brought the car in after only a few months of driving in 2003 because of the odd characteristics of the transmission, but I was ridiculed and sent home again.

Here is a history of related events:

1/3/2003 Purchased the car at a local Honda dealer
7/28/2003 Took the car to another local Honda dealer where a service technician drove it and determined that there was nothing wrong with the transmission (at 11,000 miles)
9/21/2004 Transmission recall, Honda dealer installed oil jet kit, transmission was not replaced
9/30/2008 Transmission service at Honda dealer (at 111,000 miles)
2/13/2009 Transmission failed on I95, shifts into first gear only, no reverse (at 120,000 miles)
3/3/2009 Transmission fluid replaced, old fluid was very dark

The car seemed to drive fine when the transmission was cold, but when it warmed up after a few minutes of highway driving,  the transmission would down-shift violently into first gear, regardless of the current speed. My wife reported the smell of ‘burnt rubber’ in the car after such a forced down-shift. This seemed to be quite dangerous. Once this happened, the transmission would fail to shift into anything but first gear.

Honda apparently lost a class action for the 2000/2001 Accord and other models in 2006. I was unable to find any current class action initiative that includes the 2003 model year. If you are an attorney who is willing to work with me on a class action against Honda USA, please contact me at . If you have similar transmission problems with your 2003 Accord, please contact me as well, or post your complaint on Carcomplaints.com as well so that there is a record of it.

Regardless of what you are planning to do, you should file a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – they can force a recall if there is a sufficient number of documented issues.

3/22/2009 Update: We had to make a decision and decided to replace the transmission. Our side of the bill: $2200. Honda paid $900.

4/1/2010 Update: The NHTSA website today lists 328 complaints for the 2003 Accord and 188 for the 2003 Odyssey that describe transmission problems. A search does not show a current or past defect investigation for this problem. It is not documented what criteria and process the NHTSA uses to prioritize their work, but safety does not seem to be a factor. Instead, it seems that the NHTSA works on those problems first that pose the smallest financial risks to auto manufacturers. For instance, the February 2010 report lists a defect investigation for the 2003 Accord about a problem with the ignition switch (park/shift interlock). There are 11(!) complaints on file for this type of issue, and yet, the NHTSA chose to investigate it. Replacing an ignition switch is inexpensive, compared to the cost of replacing an automatic transmission.

People will die from a failing Accord transmission, or already have. Honda should be prepared for the same disaster that Toyota is going through right now. Apparently, neither authorities nor car manufactures can learn from past mistakes, and since nobody will be held accountable, why should they?

1/8/2011 The New York Times publishes an article about transmission problems on Honda vehicles

11/16/2010 Update: The NHTSA has issued a recall for the 2003 Accord because of the ignition switch problem that I mentioned above. Kind of funny, actually …

5/23/2011 Update: The number of comments added to this blog post every month keeps rising – a sign that the rate of transmission failures is rising?

2/14/2013 Update: It is now clearly visible from the updated chart below that the number of incicents peaked late in 2011 with almost 30 posts per month and has now decreased to mere noise. If you are having this problem as late as 2013, you will be just a blip on Honda’s radar screen.

Incidents per month

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Comments (464)

  3. Same issue with a 2003 I inherited from my mother last year. The car has less than 75K and the transmission is slipping/shifting erratically. I just talked to the local Honda dealership and they claim ignorance of the problem.

  4. I had to replace my 2003 v6 tranny last year
    Was no warning sign just violently slipped into 1st repeatedly until I got her home…5 minute drive….then stuck in 1st …no reverse

    Paid a boatload for a rebuild

  5. This is the same problem with my ’03 EXV6, shifting from 2nd to 3rd; it slips….and doesn’t want to go into the next gear. My service dealer, told me I’d need a new one, but couldn’t find one, and a used one would be above $2500 guaranteed for three months.

  6. Same issue with my 2003 honda accord v6 ex , went out last week. The code said the torque converter

  7. Just purchased a 2003 Honda Accord v6 auto, has 91,000 miles, no issues with car….original owner did have the recall work done which was any car with less than 15,000 miles had a oil jet kit installed to spray oil at second gear which was the subject problem. he has had no issues with transmission and so far so good for me as well although I know given the transmission failure rate of owners , I won’t take any chances and will have the fluid changed regularly every 20,000 miles to be sure.

  8. Just bought a 2003 Honda Accord V6 EX that has 182,000 miles. Just starting last week I was driving and it slipped into neutral and I had to put it in park and back into drive for it to work again. Same thing happened 2 days ago. Then today, I reveresed and when I put it into drive it went into neutral again and I had to put it into park and back into drive for it to work again. I’m not sure if this is sign of transmission failure(the transmission has already been rebuilt) or a different problem?

  9. WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM ,,,JUST ALL AT ONCE GOING 65 AND THE CAR STARTS JURKING AND FELT LIKE SOMEONE HIT BRAKES THEN LET GO ,, NEDDLESS TO SAY IT SCARED US. TOOK IT TO SAM BOSWELL HONDA AND THEY SAID IT WAS BRAKES DOINGIT 575.00 LATER WE ARE NOW BEING TOLD NO THE TRANAMISSION IS GONE . THIS IS SOME BS ,, AND THEY WON’T GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK EVEN THOUGH THE DEALERSHIP SAID BRAKES WAS THE PROBLEM WHEN IT WASN’T CAUSE WE HAD THEM DO THE BRAKES A YEAR BEFORE.

  10. 2003 V6 auto 186K miles. Started acting funny a couple of weeks ago. Changed the fluid which was dark and smelled burnt then it was all working fine. Yesterday it started with the dreaded slipping, going into only second gear and wouldn’t go into reverse. At this point I can’t see spending another dollar on it since the value of the vehicle doesn’t or maybe equals the cost of a replacement transmission, and how long will that one last. I quess this one lasted possibly longer than average, it still doesn’t lessen the pain though. I always thought extremely highly of Honda, not so any more. I would be extremely hard pressed to buy another. They are now like so many others that the bottom line is all that matters.

  11. I understand your pain. With ours, there was only 65K on it (it was the car I had helped my now deceased mother buy new in 2003) so my wife and I had to grapple with the car’s value vs the repair cost. For us it was cheaper to do the fix. In your case I can see why you wouldn’t. Honda’s response to us was disappointing. They offered no relief or recompense-no reduction in the trans replacement cost. It presents a dilemma. I had always had good service for Honda. I have an older one that is wonderful. And I do understand that this defect probably represents an anomaly for them. But it still doesn’t erase the displeasure and disappointment that I feel.

  12. I understand your pain. With ours, there was only 65K on it (it was the car I had helped my now deceased mother buy new in 2003) so my wife and I had to grapple with the car’s value vs the repair cost. For us it was cheaper to do the fix. In your case I can see why you wouldn’t. Honda’s response to us was disappointing. They offered no relief or recompense-no reduction in the trans replacement cost. It presents a dilemma. I had always had good service from Honda. I have an older one that is wonderful. And I do understand that this defect probably represents an anomaly for them. But it still doesn’t erase the displeasure and disappointment that I feel.

  13. Yes I purchased a 2003 Honda Accord Ex v6 with 141000 miles and athe transmission slips and grinds from 1,2and 3rd gears. Honda should be made to do something about these issues. It seems as the public that we should boycott buying honda cars until something is done about it. That would get honda’s attention

  14. 2003 Honda V6 “special edition”
    Yes special all right !
    95000 miles and there goes the transmission
    Honda of course blames me ” negligence ” because the transmission fluid was filthy dark even though I had it flushed 2 months ago by my mechanic
    These people at Honda should be ashamed for not covering the cost of these repairs
    I will not buy Honda anymore .
    I used to be my favorite car
    Their ethic is poor and their car unreliable
    DONT buy a Honda –

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