Problems · by component
2002 Honda Accord vehicle speed control problems
47 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2002 Honda Accord cite vehicle speed control, 4% of all 1,062 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
47
4% of all complaints
Crashes
18
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
What owners say about the vehicle speed control
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“AS THE VEHICLE WAS SLOWING TO A STOP AT A RED LIGHT, THE RPMS SUDDENLY ROSE TO 5-7K ! THE DRIVER COULD NOT CONTROL OR STOP IT FROM LURCHING FORWARD INTO TRAFFIC, SO SHE CUT OFF THE ENGINE. UPON TRYING TO RESTART, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START AT NORMAL RPM. A BYSTANDER CAME OVER AND ADJUSTED SOMETHING IN THE ENGINE AND IT WORKED AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED 2 TIMES SINCE THEN. NO ONE CAN FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM, BUT AFTER A WEB SEARCH, THIS IS NOT RARE FOR 2002 MODEL. UNACCEPTABLE! THIS HAS ALSO HAPPENED AS IT THE CAR IS PUT INTO PARK, AND THE RPMS RISE QUICKLY TO HIGH LEVELS. IT STOPS WHEN THE CAR IS OFF, OBVIOUSLY, AND USUALLY DOES NOT RECUR ON THE SAME DAY. IT'S BEEN HAPPENING ABOUT 1 TIME PER MONTH SINCE WE BOUGHT IT USED FOR OUR TEENAGER TO USE. I'M NOW AFRAID TO LET HER DRIVE IT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE! THIS COULD HAVE KILLED THE DRIVER, MY DAUGHTER, AS WELL AS OTHERS IN HER PATH.”
“WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY VEHICLE ACCELERATED, CONTINUE TO GAIN SPEED. HAD TO BRAKE REAL HARD, VEHICLE CONT. TO ACCELERATE. EXITING FREEWAY AT HIGH SPEED, BLOW A STOP SIGN COULD NOT STOP. CONTINUE HARD BRAKING CAUSED BRAKES TO CATCH FIRE. FINALLY ABLE TO BRING VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP. UNKNOWN WHAT CAUSED VEH. TO ACCELERATE”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CONTACT OBSERVED A LOUD ABNORMAL SOUND FROM THE VEHICLE AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT SHE HAD THE CODES PRINTED THAT SHOWED THAT THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND CYLINDER FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 279,000.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE GAUGE AND RPM UNIT ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL BECAME INOPERABLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT IT WAS EXTREMELY HARD TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN. THE FAILURE OCCURED ONCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000.”
“VEHICLE LURKED INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC CAUSING VEHICLES TO SLAM ON BRAKES AND A NEAR MISS ON INTERSTATE 10. 3 OR FOUR VEHICLES HAD TO GO TO THE MEDIAN,ENTERING ON-RAMP HEADED WEST ON I10. NOT THE FIRST OCCASION THIS SITUATION HAS HAPPENED. *TR”
“I HAVE A 2002 HONDA ACCORD EX AND THE CAR JERKS INTO GEAR, EVEN GOING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. I AM ALWAYS WORRIED TAKING OFF FROM A STOP LIGHT BECAUSE THE CAR DOESN'T GET INTO GEAR RIGHT AWAY OR TAKE OFF SMOOTHLY. *TR”
Showing 6 of 47 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.