20th May 2003, 16:06

Hello, original poster here.

There were definitely a couple problems (such as the door sills) I could have caught when the car was delivered, and I probably should have inspected better. First problem is that I shouldn't have had to, and second is that most of them cropped up in the weeks after I purchased the car and were not evident at delivery, making an inspection moot. To update: I'm a fairly tender driver and the car now has a badly warped front brake rotor, 6k current miles and a month out of the last shop visit.

I've had nothing but good luck with Hondas in the past. Although this is the first Honda I've actually owned, I've driven quite a few for extended periods as company cars and such, and my impression of them was always a sheet metal version of an M1A2 Abrams. Rock solid. From my experience most automakers could not hold a candle to Honda and Toyota in initial quality and long term reliability, which is why this car was such an unpleasant surprise. Like I mentioned, this not-so-rave review is the result of not just my own, but two other 2003 Accords, top of the line EX V6 coupe and basic LX sedan, both of which I drove for around two weeks while mine was in the shop.

I would like to make a salient point for clarification. If the dealership/automaker wishes to maintain their quality-based sales numbers, it is incumbent on the dealer/automaker, not the buyer, to make sure that the initial quality is there. Initial quality is a function of there *being no problems* on the average car that rolls off the lot, not the buyer locating them and having them fixed. Manufacturers can play it any way they like of course, but in the end if they would like to keep their reputation it's up to them to convince the buyer that they're getting a quality product by delivering it trouble-free. Only a dealer would attempt to tell you differently after you've already made the purchase.

6th Jun 2003, 23:47

I am a father of two teenage boys and decided to purchase a 2003 Accord EX-V6 as a graduation gift for both of my sons to share. To date, this car has 12,000 trouble free miles on it. And let me tell you... my sons being teenagers don't treat this car "nice" as they tend to rev the engine a lot. Also I overhere them every once in awhile state things like "you should have seen how I smoked that car" etc. I agree with the 3rd poster on here that stated that it is the responsibility of the BUYER to make sure that the initial quality is there. The manufactors main goal is to produce, produce, produce. And the buyers main goal should be to inspect, inspect, inspect. Honda's stock market value has been above average since they moved from producing just engines to cars, but please don't blind yourself by thinking that they "should" deliver me a trouble free car in order for the company to keep its reputation high. The fact is that the vast majority of Honda autos are extremely reliable. Me and my entire family would love to buy American made auto's, but since we have seen and experienced over and over again their lack of reliability we have and will always purchase anything, but American autos even if its double the price tag. Thanks for reading.

15th Jun 2003, 10:12

Well, "two sons" aside, it's simple logic. People that have a good experience will probably agree that it's the buyer. People who has a bad experience will probably agree that it's the seller. It's which side of the fence you're on and we happen to be on the opposite side of the fence. The more cars like mine they make the more people will agree with me, and therefore their reputation will suffer.

If you make cars with problems, over time you will not maintain your reputation. That's basic business, and a pretty hard argument to refute.

I don't think Honda is making bad cars, but from what I've seen I do think they're slipping from their standards a little.

1st Jul 2003, 07:34

I purchased a 2003 Accord LX V6 in October of 2002. It has close to 15,000 miles on it and I have had nothing but problems with it. I had always heard that Honda was about the best car you could buy for the money. Here are some examples of problems I have had. These are just a few because I could never remember everything it has been in the shop for.

* The car has been "pulling to the right" since I bought it, on every trip to the dealership I ask them to fix this problem, they always say it is fixed then when I get the car back it is still pulling to the right. When I took it in a couple of weeks ago they said it was out of align and fixed it. Then they proceeded to tell me this was only covered under warranty until 9,000 miles and since I was over that I was going to have to pay close to $50 to have this resolved. Needless to say I refused to pay it.

* There is a popping noise coming from around the passenger side front tire every time you are stopped and begin going again. Sometimes it is louder than others, but is almost always present. Still haven't resolved this problem.

* One day after work I got into the car to go home. When the car went from 1st to 2nd gear the car jumped. It would not go to 3rd gear. The check engine light came on, the traction control light came on, the light that shows you are in drive on the instrument panel began flashing. I managed to get the car home where I called the dealership and they towed it in. Then they said they couldn't get the car to do it after keeping it for several days. It has since done this again. This time for only about 5 minutes.

* Yesterday my air conditioning quit working. Since I live in South Georgia this is a major problem. After switching the car off and back on it began working again.

Who knows what kind of shape this car will be in by the time the warranty runs out. This is very disappointing when you have always wanted a Honda and when you finally get one this happens. I knew I should have bought that Altima!