NHTSA Complaint #10649862 — 2002 HONDA ACCORD

THIS VEHICLE, LIKE MANY OTHER HONDAS OF THIS ERA, HAS THE 1-2 GEAR SHIFTING ISSUE. IT SHIFTS VERY HARD FROM FIRST TO SECOND AND EVEN DOWNSHIFTING SEEMS TO BE GETTING HARDER. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND AT 200,000 MILES, THE CAR IS TO THE POINT THAT I TRY TO DRIVE IT ONLY IN SECOND UNTIL THE LOWER TWO GEARS ARE NO LONGER NEEDED. WE'VE ALREADY REPLACED A MAINSHAFT ($380), WHICH COULD BE RELATED TO THE INCIDENT (SLAMMING INTO GEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN). THERE IS A 3-4 SECOND LAG CHANGING DIRECTLY INTO SECOND GEAR. THERE IS ALSO A LAG DURING NORMAL OPERATION. IT'S ALMOST AS IF THERE'S A GAP IN BETWEEN 1 AND 2 WHERE THE CAR ALMOST APPEARS TO BE IN NEUTRAL FOR A MOMENT OF TIME. IF TRIGGERED JUST RIGHT, APPLYING EXTRA THROTTLE AFTER THE TRANSMISSION HAS ALREADY STARTED TRYING TO SHIFT (WHICH ISN'T NOTICEABLE AS THE PROCESS INITIATES), THE ENGINE SPEED WILL RISE AS IF IN NEUTRAL AND THEN WILL SLAM INTO GEAR. I ACTUALLY HAD WHEEL SPIN AT ONE POINT. THIS ERRATIC BEHAVIOR COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, AS THE VEHICLE WILL TAKE OFF ON ME. IF ACCELERATING AND THE CAR IS IN 2ND, THE CAR WILL NOT HAVE MUCH POWER, SO THEN I WILL GRADUALLY GIVE IT MORE GAS, ONLY TO HAVE IT DOWNSHIFT AND THEN TAKE OFF (WHEELS CHIRP AND EVERYTHING). IF I LET GO OF THE GAS IT WILL SLAM INTO SECOND AND LURCH A SECOND TIME, WHICH WHEN BRAKING IS VERY ANNOYING AND SEVERELY AFFECTS THE BRAKING DISTANCE. I ACTUALLY ALMOST HIT SOMEBODY THIS PAST WEEK BECAUSE OF A VERY SIMILAR INCIDENT. THIS INCIDENT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BY LOSING CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY IN AN ENVIRONMENT WITH LOW TRACTION (I LIVE IN CHICAGO, WE ONLY HAVE A FEW MONTHS OF OPTIMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS). BESIDES THAT FACT, HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THE ISSUE, AND SHOULD HAVE RECALLED THIS TRANSMISSION YEARS AGO. HONDAS USED TO BE GREAT, BUT THIS IS REALLY HURTING THEIR REPUTATION WITH US. *TR