Problems · by component
2003 Honda Accord engine and engine cooling problems
95 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2003 Honda Accord cite engine and engine cooling, 5% of all 2,013 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
95
5% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine and engine cooling
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“HI! AS YOU CAN SEE, I AM AN OWNER OF A HONDA ACCORD 2003. I HAVE RECENTLY TAKEN IT FOR A REPLACEMENT OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. WHILE I WAS DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THIS SPECIFIC YEAR AND MODEL, HAD SOME OTHER ISSUES OR RECALLS TOO. FOR EXAMPLE, THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM. HIS CAUGHT MY ATTENTION SINCE I THINK I DO HAVE A PROBLEM PROBABLY RELATED TO IT. I BOUGHT THIS CAR IN MAY LAST YEAR, FROM AN ACQUAINTANCE, AND SOON AFTER, I NOTICED A SHAKING IN THE GAS PEDAL, EVERY TIME I WAS ACCELERATING BETWEEN 25 TO 35 MPH (CITY AND HIGHWAY). THE SHAKING ALWAYS GO AWAY WHEN I STOP SPEEDING IT FOR A SECOND, AND THEN CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE. IT HAPPENS AGAIN AND AGAIN. IT FIRST, AND BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE TURN ON, I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC, AND I WAS TOLD THAT I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE CATALYTIC. WELL, I DID IT AND...THE PROBLEM PERSISTED. AM I IN DANGER HERE?. OK, I WILL WAIT FOR YOUR RESPONSE. IN THE MEANTIME, AS MIGHT UNDERSTAND, I WILL DOCUMENT THIS REQUEST, JUST IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION!!! *TR”
“THE CONDENSER AS BEEN RUPTURED TWICE DUE TO DEBRIS ON THE STREET WHICH AS CAUSED 500 DOLLARS IN REPAIRS. RUPTURED AGAIN TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT WAS REPAIRED. THIS ISSUED NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, HAVE HAD SEVERAL CASES NEVER EXPERIENCED A ISSUES SUCH AS THIS. HOWEVER IT'S CAUSING A UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING EXPERIENCE AND A LOT OF MONEY THAT I DON'T HAVE TO REPAIR A UNNECESSARY REPAIR. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED BECAUSE IT IS CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW THAT HONDA HAS TO KNOW ABOUT. *TR”
“I BOUGHT MY CAR USED AND GRANTED IT HAS ALMOST 200,000 MILES ON IT BUT I TRUSTED IN HONDA THAT IT WAS A GOOD CAR NOW MY TRANSMISSION HAS GONE OUT AND I HAVEN'T HAD MY CAR A YEAR YET GRANTED I'M DISAPPOINTED IN HONDA BC I HAVE READ SEVERAL FORUMS ABOUT 2003 ACCORDS HAVE TRANSMISSION ISSUES WITH WAY LESS MILEAGE THAN MINE HONDA REALLY NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE. IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME AND I'M OUT A CAR I WOULD FIX THE TRANSMISSION ON THIS VEHICLE BUT IT'S NO POINT IN DOING 3000 DOLLARS WORTH OF WORK ON A CAR WHEN I OWE MORE THAN THAT ON IT AND I HAVE ALREADY HAD TO REPLACE ENGINE MOUNTS, THERMOSTAT, CRANK SHAFT PULLEY. *TR”
“2003 HONDA ACCORD. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE REPAIRS AND SEEKS REIMBURSEMENT. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED WITHIN THE PAST YEAR, THE TIMING BELT, SERPENTINE BELT, WATER PUMP, TRANSMISSION, HEATER VALVE, TRANSMISSION MOUNTS, POWER STEERING PUMP, DASH AND STEERING LINKS WERE ALL REPLACED.”
“STARTING THE CAR FROM A STOPPING POINT AND SLOWLY INCREASING THE SPEED TO 40 WILL RESULT IN SLIGHT JERKS IN THE CAR. AS THE SPEED INCREASE BEYOND 45 INTO THE 60 THE CAR WILL JERK REPEATEDLY AND TRY TO SHIFT DOWN. RPM REVS INTO THE 5 OR 6 ZONE, NEAR REDLINING WHILE ONLY GOING 40 MPH. SOMETIMES THE CAR WILL SHIFT DOWN WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY CAUSING CAR TO JERK DRIVER FORWARD. COULD LEAD TO MAJOR CAR WRECK. THIS CAR MODEL ALREADY HAD A DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION, WHICH WAS FIXED BY HONDA, YET IT SEEMS TO HAVE ANOTHER TRANSMISSION ISSUE NOW.”
“THE VERY FIRST THING I NOTICED WAS APPROXIMATELY 3 MONTHS AGO. WHEN PARKED, THE RPMS WOULD SUDDENLY JUMP TO 2000 WITHOUT PRESSING ON THE GAS, THEN IT WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL. MY MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP CAME ON BRIEFLY ABOUT A MONTH AGO, AND THEN WENT OFF. THE MAINTENANCE REQUIRED LIGHT CAME ON A WEEK AFTER THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP, AND NOW BLINKS EVERYTIME I TURN MY CAR ON. I WAS DRIVING FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES AT A RANGE OF SPEED BETWEEN 0 TO 50MPH. VERY SUDDENLY, THE RPMS SHOT UP TO 6000, AND IT VIOLENTLY JERKED AS THOUGH I WAS SLAMMING ON THE BRAKES. THERE WAS A BURNT RUBBER SMELL RIGHT AFTERWARDS. THE LONGER I DROVE, THE MORE FREQUENTLY IT HAPPENED. IF I DIDN'T HAVE MY SEATBELT ON, MY HEAD WOULD HAVE SMACKED THE STEERING WHEEL. I WAS ALMOST HIT FROM BEHIND SEVERAL TIMES. NOW EVEN WHEN I AM DRIVING FOR A SHORT DISTANCE AND TIME, THE RPMS ARE HIGHER THAN NORMAL, AND THEN THE VIOLENT JERKING BEGINS. *TR”
Showing 6 of 95 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 2, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.