Three problems related to transmission not engage have been reported for the 2013 Honda Accord. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2013 Honda Accord based on all problems reported for the 2013 Accord.
After my 2013 Honda Accord with cvt transmission sits for awhile (1- 2 days) without being moved, the transmission will not engage. It doesn't matter if it is in reverse or neutral. When I press on the gas pedal, the engine revs but the car doesn't do anything. After about 30 seconds, the car will move, but very slowly although the rpms are high. The car is fine after about a minute. My car now has 45,000 miles but it has had the problem since 30,000 miles. I have taken it to the dealership twice, but the service manager said "it is at factory specifications and they can't get it to duplicate the problem. " I also called the Honda hotline, but they could or would not help. They told me I would just have to work with the dealership. My town only has one dealership; so, I guess I'm out of luck. Don't buy a Honda with the cvt transmission.
When car has been sitting for a long period (overnight or during the day while at work) the cvt transmission initially does not engage. The tachometer shows increased engine revs but the car barely moves. After ~ 30 seconds transmission starts to work normally. This happens intermittently (~ 3 - 4 times per month). Dealer could not reproduce problem (not surprising given frequency of occurrence) and claims there is no problem whatsoever. I'm concerned about the reliability of the transmission and whether this problem will manifest itself in a more dangerous situation.
After the vehicle has been parked for a while the transmission will not engage properly. It happens in both reverse and drive. When I put my foot on the accelerator the engine revs really high (4,000 to 5,000 rpm) but the car barely moves at all. The problem goes away after about 20 - 30 seconds even after shifting gears from reverse to drive. The problem seems pretty random (I. E. It doesn't happen all the time), but I have figured out a way to make it happen more frequently. If the car is parked on an angle such as the driver side lower than the passenger side such as in sloped parking lot, or the front higher than the back on an incline like my driveway. I am concerned that there is a defect in the transmission. This is safety related because with the engine at a very high rpm if the transmission finally "kicks in" it would create a dangerous situation - image a car unexpectedly lunging forward or in reverse out of control.