2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4 from North America
Summary:
Drive Accord, I'm driving the third one
Faults:
There's a vibration when you accelerate or go uphill from 50-70 MPH, that's why I got it for very cheap. Some say it's the axles, some say it's the clutch (I doubt that), and some say it's the differential bearing. I haven't tried fixing it yet, but it's a common problem with many of these 2.4 power-trains (both manual and automatic) on both Accords and CR-Vs.
Had an oil leak from the VTEC solenoid gasket that stopped by using a bottle of stop leak; this stuff usually never works!
The radio backlight wasn't working when I bought it (VERY common problem). Then the CD changer stopped (less common), then the AUX extension stopped working. New: $170 eBay, $900 dealership.
General Comments:
I had 2 98-02 Accords before and this is my third one, so I'm going to compare the car with them.
Great improvement over older Accords in reliability, space, power, and handling.
The 2.4 with DOHC has only 10 more HP over the older 2.3, but it has smooth torque at all RPM, no VTEC kicks :D
I'm going to compare it to 02-06 Camry and 02-07 Altima as they're the top 3 selling in this category.
The 03-05 tail lights are ugly at first, but you appreciate them with time somehow. The car overall looks nicer than other cars in its category (the Altima comes close). The interior is by far the best looking of them all. It's hard plastic everywhere (bad), but it's very durable and very practical. 8 CUPHOLDERS!
Noticeably bigger interior and much more massive trunk. Bigger slightly than the Camry's and a bit smaller than the Altima's.
Better city and hwy MPG, 26/34 EPA vs 22/29 EPA for the old manual one; better than every single car in the competition at that year.
Quieter and smoother on the highway, but a little harsher in the city than the old one. Camry's of same year are better in ride quality though.
Handles great, much better than the old one. Altima's handle better but ride like crap, and Camry's are obviously a joke when it comes to that.
Reliable everywhere, suspension connections doesn't get loose and clunky like the old one, valve cover gaskets don't leak, auto transmissions don't blow every 50k. The car is almost 200k, with good condition stock everything from clutch to springs and shocks, and even rotors!
Overall, it's a good balance for a younger driver. Better MPG than other cars in the category, same reliability as the most reliable but most boring "Camry", and you can't say that about any older Accord, nice handling-comfort balance.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th April, 2014
26th Feb 2014, 06:08
"At 150,000 miles the catalytic converter needed to be replaced (but that's probably expected for a car with that many miles)"...
Not really, cat converters usually will never need replacing unless the car has been run with no spark on one or more of the cylinders, which will dump unburnt fuel into the cat and ignite inside it, destroying the inside.