Transmission Not Engage problems of the 2003 Honda Accord

While traveling over a bridge at 55mph. The transmission suddenly disengaged and the car almost came to a stop with no warning. Very lucky no one hit me.

Automatic transmission disengages from drive line. ( it felt like the transmission had been placed in neutral). It doesn't do it when cold. If engine is turned off and started after 5 minutes car will move. Transmission specialist quoted $2000-$2500 to rebuild trans. He said the trans filter was not accessible from outside the transmission and the clutch pack disintegrates and clogs the filter rendering the transmission unreliable. Transmission fluid had been replaced as per Honda recommendation, now it smells burned and is brown instead of red. Honda quoted $500 trade in value towards another newer car. Honda wants $3000-$4000 to replace with rebuilt unit. Research indicates that this is a not uncommon for this model over many years. How many fatal crashes have occurred due to this problem but were attributed to other causes?.

While merging onto i75 off of square lake rd north of detroit, transmission momentarily failed then engaged with a jolt in a low gear making this normally routine maneuver quite treacherous. Luckily there was no accident or injury. Shortly thereafter transmission underwent complete rebuild at my cost. I have since discovered that this malady is quite common with this model and year at approximately this mileage.

Car down shifted abruptly. Pulled off to side of road. Won't go into reverse. Car goes in drive but reverse will not engage.

I was driving approximatley 45 mph when the rpm's shot up and then immediately dropped and the transmission disengaged and I had no power to the wheels. I had to drive the car very slowly back to my house and I could not get the car up to the speed limit. I have very limited power to the wheels. Very dangerous if I was on driving on the freeway as it felt like the car also dropped into low gear by itself.

Driving on 495 at night with heavy traffic in a construction zone when the transmission failed. Car started coasting and I could not reengage transmission. I managed to coast to a stop between 2 barrels. Transmission worked after shutting car off and restarting. Failed again after several minuted. Problem was diagnosed as a blown transmission at the dealers. Transmission replaced at my cost minus 25% credit from Honda.

2003 Honda Accord ex v6. Current mileage 78,500. Purchased new, single owner/driver. Recently I pulled out onto a roadway and began to accelerate, when the transmission failed to engage when shifting into 3rd gear, en route traffic caught up to me and my abrupt failure to accelerate in with traffic (on a 3 lane congested road with a lot of traffic), could have caused an accident with the cars approaching with my vehicle that was abruptly stranded and non-mobile in the middle of the road. I had several cars which almost rear ended as I was trying to get my car off the road and there was no warning that this failure is going to occur. I believe this to be a serious safety issue and am very concerned. I was able to get the car off the road and called a tow truck to take it to a Honda dealership. When we called around to other mechanics, we were told he was seeing "an epidemic" of transmission problems in this 2003 year / model of Honda. I had to have the entire transmission replaced, total cost around $3,900 to $4,200, of which I paid $1,900 and Honda shared the rest, even though I believe they should have borne the whole cost. I just went over my 7 year warranty by 2 months and only had 78,500 miles on my car.

On numerous occasions the engine's rpms increase but the transmission does not engage. Have taken the vehicle to dealer, each time the tech's are not able to duplicate the problem. On occasions I have come very close to causing an accident on the highway as the vehicle is not able to accelerate to the prevailing speed of the other vehicles. I'm concerned for my and other people's safety.

Transmission failure, difficulty shifting into 3rd gear and higher. Gears do not engage, rpms increase, no acceleration.

Transmission failure - gears would not engage in a 2003 Honda Accord. Gears shifted and revved back up then shot back down. Almost got killed by tractor trailer that was behind me. I was on thornton rd. Which is a two lane major roadway, which is heavily traveled by large trucks for industrial purposes. The area of roadway is very dark. I am a police officer and what I just experienced in my 2003 Honda Accord scared me half to death. I can't even imagine what may have happened to me if I didn't think quickly. Thank god my children were not in the car with me at the time of the incident. Honda needs to seriously address this problem immediately before someone gets killed or badly injured. A teenager with minimal driving skills would have panicked and may not have known what to do. This is very serious situation and someone needs to be held accountable. Honda now has a reputation for their vehicles having severed transmission problems. They continue to overlook the problem as if it is not there. What will it take for them to address this issue now? Toyota should be the example! also, there was no warning to this! no orange or red indicator light that something was in need of being looked at. Something is very wrong here!.

2003 Honda Accord ex v6. Current mileage 62,000. Purchased new, single owner/driver. At approx 60,000 miles began with intermittent shifting failure. It will fail to accelerate when it shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear. It varies in time when it will re-engage and it has left me in a dangerous situation several times and there is no warning for this failure. It has been reported numerous times and seems to be a common problem of this year and model. Recently I pulled out onto a roadway and began to accelerate, when the transmission failed to engage when shifting into 3rd gear, enroute traffic caught up to me and my abrupt failure to accelerate/merge with traffic, caused an accident of several of those vehicles that were approaching with wet road conditions to my vehicle that was abruptly stranded and immobile. I was nearly rear ended and had no warning that this failure is going to occur. I believe this to be a serious safety issue and am very concerned. Please advise.

The car has only 100,000 miles. First the transmission was not engaging when shifting from 2nd to 3th gear, I had the transmission fluid changed to see if this would fix the problem. This did nothing until today 6/23/09 while I was driving on the highway the front wheel locked up as if I would've shifted down to 1st gear. I stopped the car and the check engine light came on the d on shifter started blinking and now all the car does is to go in parking or 2nd gear. It does not take reverse or any other gear therefore the car is uses.

While driving in busy traffic, the transmission on my 2003 Honda Accord started to behave in a very erratic way. First the transmission would not engage causing the engine to rev to about 5000 rpm and then it would suddenly engage causing the car to jump forward causing me to have to apply the brakes immediately. I was very concerned by this action. After brief experimentation I determined that if I applied gradual acceleration and kept the rpm to under 2500, I could get the car to travel without jerking. Its the first time I have ever owned an automobile where I felt concern for my personal safety. After first encountering this problem, I was able to drive the car to the Honda dealership within 2 hours of first observing the problem. I was informed by my Honda dealer that the first stage of my transmission was bad and the transmission would have to be replaced. After doing some initial research on the web I am alarmed at the transmission failure rate for the 2003 Accord. I am even more surprised that your office has done nothing to bring this issue to the attention of other 2003 Accord owners and to hold Honda accountable for what appears to be a quality control/ design issue. . Read more...

Car will not engage into second gear when cold, other times shifting into second is notching. Honda states that car is per their specifications.