NHTSA complaint: 2003 HONDA ACCORD — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
ON SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2010, I WAS DRIVING MY 2003 HONDA ACCORD (APPROXIMATELY 50,000 MILES) ON THE HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 65 MPH WHEN IT SUDDENLY SLAMMED ITSELF INTO LOW GEAR AND SCREECHED TO A STOP. THE CAR THEN SHIFTED ITSELF BACK INTO DRIVE AND I ATTEMPTED TO GET ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY. IT SLAMMED INTO LOW TWO MORE TIMES BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET ON THE SHOULDER AND PUT THE CAR IN PARK. I PUT ON MY HAZARD LIGHTS AND DROVE DOWN BACK STREETS AT 20 MPH TO GET HOME. THE NEXT DAY, A FRIEND DROVE THE CAR TO THE CAR DEALER (I PURCHASED THE CAR LESS THAN 2 MONTHS AGO) AND THOUGH HE WAS ONLY DRIVING 25 MPH, THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO HIM TWICE. THE CAR HAS BEEN AT THE DEALERSHIP SINCE. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH AND FINDING THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM, I SPOKE WITH THE MECHANIC AT THE DEALERSHIP. HE AGREED THAT THE ONLY SAFE REPAIR WAS TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION WITH A 2005 AS THAT YEAR DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE THIS SAME MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. HOWEVER, I AM BEING REQUIRED TO PAY 50% OF THE LABOR AND PARTS FOR THIS REPAIR. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE DUE TO THE SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME I'VE OWNED THE CAR, NO REVELATION ON THE PART OF THE DEALER REGARDING THIS DEFECT, THAT IT IS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT AND THAT I WAS INJURED DUE TO THE PROBLEM IT CAUSED. *TR
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation