Hi, I was nearly ready to get an '03 Accord EXL, 4 cylinder automatic, ~95km, when I started reading all the scary issues people have with transmissions on that year Accord, on carcomplaints.com. (While that site simply shows the raw number of complaints, it is also significant that suddenly the '04 model has 1/5 the number of issues).

However I note those are almost all with the V6 version. So my question is: does anyone know if it's been determined that the 4 cylinder version doesn't have the issue? I've seen another mention or two of this very question, but no definitive answer; I thought maybe some Accord experts here might know.

If not, I'm thinking it might just be safer to skip those and go up to 06/07 models...

Thanks!

 

From what I have seen on here, the 98-02 had really premature failures in the transmissions. I thought the 03+ accord didn't have those problems.

You could talk to a service adviser at the dealership and ask them if the 03+ accord 4-cylinders had AT problems.

 

I haven't seen many posts about AT problems on 2003-2007 models. Not zero, but few. All models have some problems, but the 1998-2002 had much more than earlier models.

I have a 2007 w/ IL4 and about 80K miles. No problems so far and shifts fine.

Too early to tell for certain, but this generation looks to be a good one.

good luck

 

In my opinion, you could get an 07 I4, and have transmission problems. It's the luck of the draw. I have the infamous 03 V6 automatic, and my transmission is still going strong at 90k miles. I change out 3 quarts of fluid every 15k miles, just to make sure the fluid stays clean. If you abuse it, any of them will fail. If you take care of it, it will take care of you.

 

03 up doesn't have that many issues like 98-02. They totally redesigned the transmission. However they're not trouble free, as i already built a few of them including v6 03 up. I bought my 02 EXV6 when it was brand new, it gave it to my sister 2 yrs ago with 140k on it, i never even change tranny fluid and it still shift like the day i bought it but the car never been redline as i just drive it normal. My sister said it still drive fine for her now with over 150k which is not bad i don't think for the 6th gen Accord which has many problems with transmission.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I guess you never really know. This is what I read, btw:
2003 Honda Accord Transmission Failure | CarComplaints.com