NHTSA Complaint #10409590 — 2003 HONDA ACCORD

AT APPROXIMATELY 56,000 MILES, WE HAD TO REPLACE THE REAR MAIN OIL SEAL. AT 68,000 MILES, WE HAD TO REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP AND AS OF JUNE 4TH, 2011, WE WERE INFORMED THAT WE NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT 78,000 MILES. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED GOING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH AND PROCEEDED INTO "LIMP MODE" TO 30 MPH. IT PROCEEDED TO THEN RETURN INSTANTLY TO 70 MPH AND WITHIN 30 SECONDS REPEATED THE SAME AND AS WE WERE TRYING NOT TO FLY OFF THE HIGHWAY IT AGAIN REPEATED THIS SAME BEHAVIOR AT WHICH POINT WE PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY, WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY 2 FEET WIDE, AND AS TRAFFIC, WHICH WAS THANKFULLY NOT RIGHT ON OUR TAIL, FLEW BY WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY FOR THE NEXT 20 MILES AT APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES PER HOUR INTO THE NEXT TOWN. AT THIS POINT, THERE WASN'T ANYONE AVAILABLE TO LOOK AT THE VEHICLE SO WE LEFT IT AND RENTED A VEHICLE. OUR HONDA WOULD NOT EVEN GO INTO REVERSE AT THIS POINT. WE THEN TOWED THE HONDA BACK TO OUR HOME TOWN AND DROPPED IT STRAIGHT TO HONDA OF TRI-CITIES. THERE THEY DIAGNOSED THAT THEIR WAS A TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND IT HAD TO BE REPLACED. THEY OFFERED TO PAY HALF OF THE COST ($2000.00) BUT WE FEEL THERE IS A LIFE THREATENING PROBLEM WITH THAT TRANSMISSION AND AFTER SEEING ALL OF THE ADDITIONAL CUSTOMERS OF HONDA'S, THE YEARS BETWEEN 1999 AND 2003, THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME LIFE THREATENING EXPERIENCES, WE ARE APPALLED THAT THE PUBLIC HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF THIS. NOT JUST BY A CHECK ON YOUR TRANSMISSION BUT A COMPLETE RECALL. I AM VERY SURPRISED THAT WE WERE NOT FATALLY INJURED.