Faults:

At 32,000, the engine began sputtering and stalled while backing out of a driveway. Replaced a sensor, and haven't had the problem again.

At 45,000, replaced front pads and added slotted and cross drilled rotors. Haven't done a brake job since then.

At 47,000, the ABS light came on, dealer fixed the issue under warranty.

At 97,000, I replaced the fuse for my navigation system, and had the dealer reset it free of charge.

At 115,000, was pulled over for a blown headlight, upgraded to an HID conversion kit, and I HIGHLY suggest getting them for your Accord!

General Comments:

I absolutely LOVE my Accord Hybrid. Honestly, the only issues I have had with it are fairly standard. The sensor issue scared me a bit, I hadn't had the car very long, and it began acting up at low speeds. Tested my local Honda dealership, and found that not only were they honest and fast, they actually took care of the issue the first time!

Other than scheduled maintenance and my HID headlight conversion, I have put no money into this car. What makes me one happy Accord owner is that I drive about 22,000 miles per year, and I have never seen my average MPG go below 36!

The leather in this car is smooth and soft like it belongs in a BMW (as a previous owner of a BMW, I can tell you that at times if the H symbol wasn't so huge on the steering wheel, I WOULD feel like I was in a Beemer!). The heated seats package is nice for the Minnesota winters I am driving through, although I wish they offered a cooled seats feature for the summer.

The brake pedal felt a little spongy at first, and took some getting used to, but after changing the brakes on the vehicle to the aftermarket ones, I haven't had to do the frequent brake jobs that plague other Honda owners, and the brake pedal responds predictably and quickly. Although the ABS system in this car is a little too touchy, and there are times where I wish I could disengage this feature completely.

The navigation system in this car is quite possibly the easiest system I have ever used! It has never let me down, and even steers me around detours as if it knows what it's doing! I do keep up with the Honda updates on it though, as I had a GPS in my old car, and when I didn't update it, it had a tendency to get me lost...

One thing I absolutely HATED about this car were the terrible tires that came on it. The stock Micheline tires are absolute crap, and I don't care how they market them with that pudgy balloon man. I put a set of Pirelli tires on my car, and since then (other than my Blizzaks for winter) I hear NO tire noise intruding into the cabin at all. It's like I'm driving on a pillow, not a road.

The controls and interior are well thought out, although I must say it's almost predictable to the point of being boring. I like the fact that everything is "where it should be" for utter convenience, but as a younger driver, I also would have liked a little more modern edge to a car this technically advanced.

The suspension is very soft, which makes for a very nice ride for the most part, but it can be rather numbing on longer drives. I'm not actually saying that I want to feel every bump in the road, but a little more tautness in the suspension would give it better road holding, grip, and a little more edge. And I know it's a Hybrid, but seriously, it has 255 horse power, I sometimes like to feel it :-)

The sound system in this car leaves a little to be desired. While most other mid-size vehicles of the mid 2000's were putting in stock Bose, Pioneer, and Infinity sound systems, Honda uses the standard and for the most part BORING Honda Sound. I upgraded all of the speakers to Pioneer after the first week of owning the car; there was a tinny quality, and the low and high end bass was awful! It had great midrange punch, but so did my old Hyundai haha. With the new speakers and a sub that I had professionally installed into the trunk, the system sounds AMAZING! I'm not one of those cars that you can hear for blocks both coming and going, but I do really enjoy listening to the full range of my music.

I am so pleased with my decision to buy this car! It has never really let me down, the dealer service has been phenomenal, and for very little money, I had upgraded all of the issues that I did have with it, and made this baby into a car that I will more than likely keep until the wheels fall off! I didn't buy this car because I'm eco-friendly, I bought this car because it looks stylish, gets great fuel economy, and it's got a lot of WOW-factor in a great price range for a mid-size Hybrid vehicle!

I recommend this car to anyone, and if they ever reintroduce a Honda Accord Hybrid in the future, I will be on the waiting list to get one!

General Comments:

We have a 2005 Accord EX-L, and I feel the need to mention that this car has saved my son's life.

Two nights ago, my son who is 18 and a freshman in college, was returning home at 4:00 am in the morning when he fell asleep at the wheel and overran a crosswalk signal, and then hit a guardrail and stone wall. The car itself was completely demolished, and there wasn't one part of the body left undamaged. Yet the cabin remained intact, and my son came out without a scratch.

The entire front end of the car was torn off, and the driver's side front wheel left dangling by a thread where the car struck the guardrail. The front, rear and moon roof windows were all broken, and the metal on the entire length of the passenger side ripped and torn where it hit the stone wall. To see the car and the extent of damage, it's hard to believe that anyone could walk away from it.

It's been 48 hours now, and I feel I'm still in a state of shock. It's hard to believe this has happened, and while sitting at my computer reflecting on the accident, I did a little research, and found that the 2005 Accord has a Five Star rating in frontal crashes. This means there is less than 10% chance of serious injury to either the driver or passenger in a frontal collision at 35 mph. (http://www.carsdirect.com/2005/honda/accord/safety)

Since then, I've felt very thankful for buying our Honda, and in Honda engineering in general.

I believe I shall forever recommend Honda, and will buy more of them in the future.

A grateful father.