Two problems related to speed control cable have been reported for the 2003 Honda Civic. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Honda Civic based on all problems reported for the 2003 Civic.
As I was leaving the parking lot of a shopping center, and about to get on the roadway, I came to a complete stop. When the opportunity came to proceed, I stepped on the gas pedal (throttle) and it got stuck to the floor for approximately 10 seconds. I immediately stepped on the brake pedal as hard as I could, to prevent the car from moving forward at a high rate of speed, however the car kept creeping forward. I managed to engage the emergency brake, which seemed to have helped. As an attempt to loosen the throttle, I shifted the shift lever from "drive" to "park," back and forth a couple of times, to no avail. As I was about to attempt to turn the ignition key to the off position, the throttle became unstuck. During the incident, the engine was running at high rpms. I took the car to the dealership and explained to them what I had experienced. The master mechanic took the car for a test-drive and confirmed that the throttle was getting stuck. During the actual inspection, the mechanic(s) found out that the throttle body and cable needed to be replaced. The repair was done and I had not had another such incident since then.
While driving at approximately 10 mph throttle cable broke. Owner was able to coast into a parking lot and call a tow truck to have the vehicle transported to a local dealer. The dealer replaced the throttle cable. Vehicle was under warranty.