Problems · by component
2003 Honda Accord service brakes, hydraulic problems
146 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2003 Honda Accord cite service brakes, hydraulic, 7% of all 2,013 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
146
7% of all complaints
Crashes
13
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
6
Reported by owners
What owners say about the service brakes, hydraulic
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I AM THE FIRST OWNER OF 2003 ACCORD, EX. MY CAR HAS 113,000 MILES ON IT. ITS A WELL MAINTAINED CAR I KEPT FOR YEARS. I MUST SAY THAT THIS CAR IS EXCELLENT, HOWEVER, THERE ARE SIGNS THAT SOME PARTS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING REALLY WELL LATELY. FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS, I NOTICED MY TCS SIGN ON THE DASHBOARD COMES ON AND OFF TOGETHER WITH THE TRIANGLE SIGN IN ORANGE. IT STARTED COMING ON AFTER I TURNED OFF THE IGNITION TO MY FIRST DESTINATION AND AFTER JUST LIKE 10-15 MINUTES AND START MY ENGINE AGAIN, IT WILL COME ON AFTER DRIVING FOR NEXT 5-10 MINUTES. ALSO, JUST TWO WEEKS AGO I NOTICED THAT THE GEAR GETS STUCK ON "PARK" MODE AND I HAVE TO PRESS THE HANDLE BEFORE IT GETS RELEASED. I AM NOT SURE IF THE GEAR HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TCS AND TRIANGLE SHOWING ON THE DASHBOARD. ALSO, I NOTICED MY CAR HAS AN ISSUE WITH BRAKES WHEN DRIVING WHILE RAINING. I HAVE TO STEP ON THE BRAKES A FEW TIMES WHEN ITS SLIPPERY TO BE ABLE TO COME TO A FULL STOP. IT'S SO SCARY THAT I ALMOST HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME A FEW TIMES. I AM LODGING MY COMPLAIN SO THE MANUFACTURER WOULD TAKE A LOOK ON THIS ISSUE AS I FOUND ALL THE COMPLAINTS ON TCS ISSUE ON 2003 HONDA ACCORD EX ONLINE WHEN I…”
“FRONT BRAKE ROTORS CONTINUE TO WARP. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE INTO HONDA 4 TIMES SINCE OWNING THE VEHICLE AND THE ROTORS HAVE BEEN RESURFACED AND NEW BRAKE PADS PUT ON. THE FRONT BRAKE ROTORS HAVE NEVER BEEN REPLACED. THE VIBRATION IS VERY BAD WHEN BRAKING. *TT”
“SINCE JULY 2011 , MY 2003 HONDA ACCORD LX V6 EXPERIENCED SLUGGISH IN THE TRANSMISSION. SOMETIME, SUDDENLY, MY CAR FELT LIKE SOMEONE SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES CAUSING ME TO JERKING FORWARD. IT HAPPENED A FEW MORE TIMES, THEN IN SEPTEMBER 2011, I BROUGHT THE CAR IN THE DEALER FOR THE TRANSMISSION SERVICE. I TOLD THE DEALER SERVICE ADVISOR ABOUT THE SYMPTOM, AFTER THE DEALER FLUSHED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID, THEN TOLD ME THAT THE CAR SOMETIME SLUGGISH, REPLACED THE FLUID WILL FIXED THIS.THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE, MORE NOISE, JERKING WHEN THE CAR AUTOMATICALLY SHIFTING, IN NOVEMBER , THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ENGAGED, AND THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT WERE ILLUMINATED.THE CAR WAS SLOW TO MOVE. BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE DEALER AGAIN ON 11/14/2011, THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE CAR "NEEDS LINEAR SHIFT SOLENOID AND BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH, PARTS HAD TO BE ORDERED, AND THE CAR CAN BE DRIVE !!! I DROVE THE CAR HOME, IT WAS SO BAD THAT I HAD TO LET THE CAR SIT WAITING FOR PARTS. ON 11/29/2011, THE DEALER REPLACED THE LINEAR SHIFT SOLENOID AND THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH, THEN TOLD ME THAT THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. GOT THE CAR HOME, THE NEXT DAY , I ONLY DROVE ABOUT 5 MILES, THE NOISE AND ALL THE…”
“MY 2003 HONDA ACCORD HAS HAD A SHUDDER WHEN BRAKING PRACTICALLY SINCE I'VE OWNED THE CAR-BOUGHT NEW IN FEB. 2002.. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THE BRAKES WOULD STILL WORK AND I COULD DRIVE THE CAR AS LONG AS I WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. I THOUGHT THE HONDA DEALERSHIP IN OMAHA HAD DAMAGED THE BRAKES WHILE FIXING THE ABS SYSTEM DUE TO A RECALL. I NOW SEE IT WAS PROBABLY A DESIGN FLAW--SINCE SO MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THIS MODEL HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING. NOW THE BRAKES NEED REPLACEMENT, AND I WILL ASK FOR NON-HONDA PARTS. I PREVIOUSLY OWNED A 1999 HONDA ACCORD, AND IT WAS WONDERFUL. THIS 2003 IS NOT--IN ADDITION TO THE BRAKE PROBLEM, THE PAINT SCRATCHES EASILY AND THE INTERIOR IS OF VERY CHEAP MATERIALS, THE AC SMELLS BAD WHEN TURNED ON, AND THE CAR HAS HAD ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS--MANY OCCURRING AFTER IT WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER HONDA VEHICLE. *TR”
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED. THE CONTACT WAITED A FEW SECONDS AND RESTARTED; THE VEHICLE PERFORMED NORMALLY AFTER THE RESTART. THE FAILURE OCCURRED FIVE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP WHERE THE TIMING CHAIN AND VALVE COVER WERE REPLACED; HOWEVER THE ABS LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 53,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 62,000.”
“I OWN A 2003 HONDA ACCORD WHICH I'VE OWNED FOR 3 YEARS WITH IN THE LAST 3 YEARS I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY BRAKES ROTORS PADS AND CALIBERS 5 TIMES MY BRAKES OVER HEAT AND SOMETIMES WONT STOP THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUES TO HONDA AND THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING TO FIX IT IM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR CAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF IM EVER GOING TO STOP EVEN AFTER HAVING TO HAD MY BRAKES REPAIRED 5 TIMES AND YET CAR STILL DOES THE SAME THING SOMEONE NEEDS TO RECALL THE BRAKES ON THIS CAR BEFORE SOMEONE DIES. *TR”
Showing 6 of 146 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.