The transmission on our 2001 Honda Accord was replaced without cost after many visits to the service facility (Honda City Levittown, NY) during which the technicians said there was nothing wrong with the transmission (approx. 80,000 miles on the car). Our 2002 Honda Accord began slipping and bucking so badly in June 2010 after a trip from OH to NY that it almost put us through the windshield. Brought it into the same service facility where they said the transmission was fine and replaced the fluid. They told us that if the transmission was bad that the engine light would go on. The car ran a little better for a while. Now it slips all the time. We took it back today (Feb. 2011) and now they say "Yes the transmission is slipping and is really shot between 2nd and 3rd." Cost for a rebuilt Honda transmission is $3100 and they will graciously take 10% off the price.

I complained to the dealer who told me I should contact Honda directly to see what they will do for me. He offered me a 2011 Accord for a good price but told me that I would be foolish not to purchase an extended warranty for $1,395. He even likened it to purchasing medical insurance. Why should I have to purchase an extended warranty to cover the cost of a know defect? We had 1992, 2001, and 2002 Honda Accords. We just purchased a 2010 Accord this past August because we read that the transmission problems had been solved. Our son is going through the same stalling tactics with his 2002 Accord transmission problems with the same dealership. All of our children have purchased Hondas? What can I do about the transmission cost? How can Honda treat loyal customers this way? Honda's response will determine what brand our next car will be.

Update from Feb 16, 2011: After contacting corporate Honda, I was assigned a case number and a rep contacted me within 24 hours. I explained the problem with the car and our history with Honda. The rep contacted our service manager and then called me back within two more days. The offer was a 50:50 split of the cost fort a rebuilt transmission. This seemed reasonable due to the 80k + miles on the car. The transmission comes with a three year warranty. I was told that we were given the offer because we were loyal Honda customers. When we made an appointment to bring the car in, one of the technicians said that no one pays full price for a new transmission. The technician at Honda City, John, who was in charge of our car during its stay went out of his way to make an additional repair to the battery cables and tray while the car was there - no charge. Honda City went out of its way to be helpful once corporate contacted them. While I am very happy with how this was resolved, I must agree with some of your other readers have said. This is a known defect, and no one should have to go through all this trouble just to get the transmission fixed.

i have had several different makes and models of Asian cars over the years , including various Honda accords and civics. .. and all of them ive run up over 250,000 miles on the odometer before i sell em off and find another with less miles. all of my previous cars were manual transmission though.. this is my first automatic accord. and the problem that I'm experiencing is hard shifting of the transmission between 1st & 2nd , and very hard transmission engagement from a rolling ( 10-30 mph approx.) start. thank goodness im a decent shade tree mechanic, as i cannot afford to have a mechanic fix the problem.. so bottom line IMHO.... if you want a reliable Honda, buy one with a manual transmission. sucks i had to learn this lesson the hard way.. :(

The issue with the 2002 Honda Accord transmission occurred most recently on the 405 freeway while traveling to UCLA. The engine light appeared as well as a blinking gear indicator, along with severe jerking motions. I quickly exited and coasted as much as possible to a nearby gas station.

The malfunction of such a highly defective transmission in traffic could have been fatal, fortunately it was not. Perhaps if there were a fatality or fatalities, Honda would be more proactive in recalling or compensating it's owners as did Toyota in recent time.

Have always loved hondas until now. my 2002 honda accord transmission started failing at 79,000 miles. I had a 98 honda accord that ran over 300,000 miles never had to replace the tranny. Told it will cost about $3,000 to fix. Called and asked for a good will repair and was told there is no warranty on the vehicle or recalls and there was nothing they could do. Started doing research and realized the 02 hondas are known for this problem. Started doing more research and realized Honda's do not represent their past reputation. Sounds like a lot of cars of newer years are having problems too. Shame on you Honda. We should go on CNN and tell the world how bad honda is really getting. I will never own a honda again! Everyone - Hyundai has really stepped up and they offer a 100,000 mile warranty.

Honda dealer told me this is a $3000 transmission replacement "fix" that I need. The car runs fine and I suppose would continue to run with this very annoying issue for years. Seems like 65,000 miles is a little low for a car to need a new transmission. At any rate, I asked my mechanic and he said it's a known issue (even if Honda doesn't admit so) -- I'll be attempting the "good will repair" route next.

THE CATCH here is that to pass the yearly safety inspection, the computer has to be reset and the car has to be driven 30 miles very conservatively as to not trigger the issue. I here the NTSB won't issue a recall. So if I understand correctly, they don't consider something needed to pass a safety inspection a "safety" issue -- makes absolutely no sense. If only there was an official agency monitoring the monitors.

This is my first of two Hondas (2007 S2000), and I may not purchase another. I wish someone would make a good affordable/dependable car again.

I RAN INTO A FRIEND, WHOM ALSO OWNED A 2002 HONDA ACCORD, SHE TOLD ME THAT MOST 2002 HONDA ACCORDS HAVE HAD BAD TRANSMISSIONS. SHE THOUGHT I KNEW ABOUT ALL THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND REPORTS ON 2002 MODELS. SHE THEN STATED THAT SHE HAD PAID SO MUCH MONEY INTO REPAIRS THAT SHE ULTIMATELY BROUGHT A TOYOTA. SO, NOW HERE I AM HIGHLY FRUSTRATED WITH MY TRANSMISSIONS PROBLEMS. I DON'T WANT TO SPEND OVER $2000 IN REPAIRS. I LOVE MY HONDA, I REALLY DIDN'T ANTICIPATE TO HAVE THESE PROBLEMS NOW. NOW THAT I HAVE VISITED THIS SITE, I KNOW I'M NOT ALONE.

After reviewing the comments on this site,I realized I am experiencing the same transmission issue with my 2002 Honda Accord which has approximately 93,000 miles. I bought this car new. Very disappointing considering I have owned Honda's for the past 25 years. I have been holding off buying a new car until the spring but unfortunately I have been experiencing transmission problems and just had this confirmed with my mechanic. He said this is a known issue with the make of car and to either replace the transmission or replace the car. Now that I know this is a known issue and Honda is not going to do any sort of recall, I will be looking at cars other than Honda. I am extremely disappointed.