| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2003 Honda Accord repairs by problem area
Engine (24%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (11%)
Brakes and Traction Control (9%)
Suspension and Steering (15%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (34%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (2%)
Other (4%)
Select a problem area
- Engine
- Transmission and Drivetrain
- Brakes and Traction Control
- Suspension and Steering
- Electrical and Air Conditioning
- Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim
- Other
Chart based on 497 repairs.
2003 Honda Accord electrical repair cost distribution
$2500+ (0%)
$1000 - $2499 (4%)
$500 - $999 (9%)
$100 - $499 (44%)
< $100 (42%)
Chart based on 158 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2003 Honda Accord
Engine not specified
| 194000 mi US $150 |
My air wasn't working consistently. |
| 156000 mi US $487 |
Car wouldn't crank. Starter went bad |
| 39060 mi | Radio and climate control lights out |
2003 Honda Accord 4dr Sedan
240-horsepower 3.0L V6 6-speed manual FWD
| 65000 mi US $320 |
Light behind radio died, dealer replaced faulty circuit board |
2003 Honda Accord 4dr Sedan
240-horsepower 3.0L V6 5-speed automatic FWD
| 175000 mi US $300 |
blower motor for heat and air was replaced. |
| 183300 mi US $175 |
something about the blower and air filter |
| 178700 mi US $300 |
had to replace the alternator. |
| 197300 mi | Cruise control stopped working. |
| 203000 mi | I didn't get the air conditioner fixed. I was told it was the compressor and would cost $300. |
| 195000 mi US $700 |
Failed to start. Replaced alternator. |
| 206000 mi US $845 |
HVAC blower replacement |
| 112200 mi US $10 |
Brake Light Switch replacement |
| 94000 mi US $6 |
Faulty brake switch resulting in TCS light coming on and intermittent difficulty shifting out of park. Switch replaced by owner. |
| 109740 mi | Blown out Back Light |
| 207700 mi | Front passenger seat heater didn't work, could not be fixed. Trunk light out - can't find fault. Front headlights still fluctuate from brite to dim. |
| 164000 mi | Windows Master Switch(es)(Board - including Relays) Had to be Replaced. Windows Master Switch (Including Board w/ Relays) was Replaced on this Trip, after this part being ordered by Dealer. |
| 113000 mi US $25 |
Replaced driver's side headlamp. |
| 125000 mi US $180 |
Replaced alternator. Problem began with noise. Replaced with OEM part from internet |
| 282700 mi | Air bag light - defective switch in seat belt latch reporting it was not connected - seat belt latch replaced under seat belt system warranty |
| 30000 mi | The display for the radio and hvac controls went dark. |
| 127000 mi US $115 |
Radio/HVAC screen no longer lights up. Spent many hours trying a couple of fixes found online and swapping head units. |
| 27000 mi US $120 |
Odor problem not resolved, the new filter was contaminated and replaced. Resolved by independant garage. Will trade in when a Plug-in Prius is manufactured. |
| 72000 mi | Rear window defroster fails to work or will not turn off automatically as designed. |
| 73000 mi | Rear window defroster timer needed replacing. The dealer swapped it out and fixed it, although protesting that nothing was wrong despite the fact I demonstrated it not turning itself off. |
| 95100 mi | Rear defroster will not turn off and will drain the battery. Control unit went bad, $4500 repair. Part ordered under extended warranty at no charge and will be replaced a week later. Parts installed so now rear defroster once again works correctly. Rear defroster will not turn off and will drain the battery. Control unit went bad, $4500 repair. Part ordered under extended warranty at no charge and will be replaced a week later. |
| 99000 mi US $67 |
Bulbs blew out due to short. Short was repaired and lights restored. |
| 104000 mi US $200 |
No heat with temperatures below freezing. Self diagnosed that the blower motor was out. Checked fuse, was not issue. Determined the capacitor for the blower motor was out or the blower itself was shot. Dealer diagnosed capacitor and fixed. |
| 107000 mi | GPS stopped talking - just static. I rest the system by pulling the DVD, and then manually used the IBM voice recognition to reset the system. System resumed speaking normally after these corrective actions, static disappeared. |
| 111000 mi | GPS is dead. Would cost minimum $800 to fix, and display is dying as well which would make it much more. AC and radio/cd still work in center stack (basic functionality) so will use the car with some functionality lost. |
| 124000 mi US $20 |
Headlight bulb was stuck after 9 years, 124,000 miles. Tried to change myself and failed. Dealer tried to change and after 20 minutes, was able to. Did not charge additional labor for the repair, just the part cost from the parts department |
| 135000 mi US $850 |
Heads-up display short. |
| 135000 mi | Heads up display failed, and GPS sound is shot. Told that both problems are connected, a new unit would be $3500, perhaps a used would be $2000. |
| 218000 mi US $400 |
Replaced alternator. |
| 246000 mi US $820 |
Leak in suction line to AC compressor. Replaced both AC lines. Condenser, radiator and hoses (due to proximity of condenser that required repair and the fact that radiator had sustained damage). |
| 314000 mi US $1200 |
alternator |
| 134005 mi | SRS indicator light on. Dealer replaced faulty drivers side seat belt buckle under warranty. |
| 87000 mi US $115 |
Air conditioner blower fan quit working. |
| 54000 mi US $600 |
Airbag check light remained on. Dealer first replaced Supplemental Restraint System computer. This did not fix the problem. After a second trip to the dealer the seat belt belt was replaced. This resolved the problem. |
| 83000 mi US $285 |
Radio back-light illumination failed. Deal pulled radio and replaced circuit board with defective component. Repairs took three hours and were successful. |
| 99000 mi US $19 |
RF low beam bulb burned out. Replaced both. |
| 106000 mi | HVAC/audio LCD display failed at 104K miles. (apparently a known problem). |
| 35000 mi | Dealer replaced radio/ac display after LCD display went blank. |
2003 Honda Accord 4dr Sedan
160-horsepower 2.4L I4 5-speed manual FWD
| 87000 mi | backlight on Radio and Clock failed |
| 127000 mi US $1 |
Reverse lights wouldn't turn on when the vehicle is shifted into reverse |
| 131000 mi US $5 |
Driver-side low beam head light burnt out. |
| 148000 mi US $800 |
had the air conditioning coil and clutch replaced |
| 144100 mi US $92 |
Battery fuse was blown. |
| 270000 mi US $495 |
Starter finally went after 268-269k miles. |
| 178000 mi US $150 |
Over the course of a year start-up cranking had slowed down. Main power cable from battery had internal corrosion. Replaced. You actually don't have to remove the intake manifold to do this, but you'll need a ratcheting combination wrench. |
| 187000 mi US $280 |
Engine start had progressively gotten weaker over 2-3 years. Replaced starter with Honda genuine remanufactured starter and startup now sounds like a brand new car. |
| 91000 mi US $170 |
No cooling from air conditioning. Freon recharged. No obvious leak |
| 111000 mi US $15 |
Brake light switch failed, car had no brake lights. Purchased new switch from dealer and replaced myself. |
| 139700 mi US $316 |
Alternator was making loud whining noise and car turned over slow upon starting. Testing confirmed that alternator was failing. Shop replaced alternator. Don't go to the dealer for this, would have been more than twice as much. |
| 118000 mi US $460 |
Window washer pump quit working. Just living with out the washer function, wipers still work fine. |
| 127000 mi US $40 |
Windshield washer pump had failed a long time ago. Purchased a used one from junk yard with the tank attached for $40. Installed myself. Had to remove front tire and the passenger inner fender to gain access. |
| 132000 mi US $15 |
Driver side headlight burned out. Replaced. Be warned replacement on this car is VERY difficult. Battery had to be removed. Make sure you have a 90 degree angle screw driver or a very short phillips head. Took a hour for just one side. |
| 156000 mi US $40 |
Power door lock actuator failed. I replaced it myself. |
| 164000 mi US $41 |
Replaced power lock actuator last August with OEM Honda part. Part failed after 60 days and was replaced under one year warranty. Installed second actuator and is working fine so far. |
| 168000 mi US $165 |
Window motor/regulator failed. Auto glass store installed new part that I purchased. |
| 172000 mi US $100 |
AC blowing warm when idling. Took to have recharged. Shop informed me that radiator cooling fan was not working. I replaced fan. All worked fine until AC compressor coil/clutch failed. Replaced compressor and related parts totaling $650 |
| 172700 mi US $75 |
System worked well for 10 days after replacing compressor etc. System completely stopped working at that point. Problem was a failed blower motor resistor. Was replaced and has worked fine since. |
| 179700 mi US $210 |
Alternator failed. Purchased new and shop installed |
| 189000 mi US $35 |
Driver seat heater switch stopped working. Purchased new switch and installed. Fixed problem. |
| 72000 mi US $200 |
Driver's side door look actuator replaced. |
| 74000 mi US $945 |
A/C compressor locked up and needed to be replaced. Airbag sensor replaced on the drivers seat under extended warranty. |
2003 Honda Accord 4dr Sedan
160-horsepower 2.4L I4 5-speed automatic FWD
| 128820 mi C $150 |
Replaced dead battery. |
| 141000 mi US $131 |
Battery finally died after 7 years. |
| 100000 mi US $65 |
Bad driver side power window motor |
| 102000 mi | Leak in AC system. No longer holds charge |
| 125000 mi | Faulty relay switches |
| 103600 mi US $300 |
Radio unit malfunction, display and audio goes off intermittently. |
| 116900 mi US $60 |
Wire that is attached to window regulator motor snapped. Window slid down, could not roll up. Regulator motor replaced. |
| 150000 mi US $700 |
Replaced front brake pads. Machine turned front rotors. Replaced starter. |
| 36500 mi US $100 |
broken door lock actuator radio light not working. Removed radio to repair motherboard on cd player but light still doesn't work |
| 219800 mi US $400 |
Starter failed |
| 200000 mi US $150 |
Alternator failed. Replaced by owner. Car wouldn't start. Tested the alternator and the starter. Starter was OK, but alternator failed. Replaced the alternator. |
| 158000 mi US $600 |
Condenser broken |
| 150040 mi C $900 |
Replaced the A/C Hoses & Fittings |
| 153140 mi C $50 |
Replaced Left turn signal relay - Honda part 38300-SDB-A03. $50 from dealer. |
| 113000 mi | Airbag warning light related to faulty seatbelt sensor. |
| 55000 mi | Illumination of radio readout failed; apparently a common problem with '03 Accords, for which Honda has extended the warranty. |
| 81000 mi US $20 |
Daughter who now drives the car had trouble with car not shifting out of park; we discovered the problem was the brake light switch connected to the brake pedal, which meant she had no brake lights when the car was being driven. |
| 167400 mi C $12 |
starter would not turn, needed new starter Removed battery to change headlight low beam bulb on driver side. |
| 168020 mi C $120 |
Wiper motor was replaced |
| 172360 mi C $150 |
heard a whining sound, tested alternator voltage and amperage and it was starting to show end of life. Car died in driveway the following week. |
| 78000 mi | Radio display went dark Radio repaired by replacing circuit board. |
| 80000 mi US $465 |
Broken window regulator. |
| 111500 mi US $430 |
replaced fuse block controlling power windows |
| 104000 mi US $108 |
Left headlight out and need to be replaced. Expired inspection sticker on it so car needed to be inspected. Battery was disconnected, which disabled codes, car failed inspection. Car reinspected, but radio code doesn't work. After disconnecting the battery car needed to be reinspected, but the radio still did not work. |
| 110000 mi US $30 |
Car was taken by repair shop to dealer, radio removed, code entered, radio re-installed. |
| 22500 mi US $35 |
brake light switch failure, caused car to be stuck in park. Switch replaced problem solved. |
| 85000 mi US $100 |
replaced bad starter |
| 68000 mi US $1400 |
replaced condenser and clutch on air conditioner. |
| 76800 mi US $200 |
AC not working--needed to be recharged. |
| 91800 mi US $385 |
Had to change out a circuit board behind the radio/AC dash |
| 118000 mi US $137 |
The air conditioning was recharged. It has never been recharged since I bought the car new, and I wanted to make sure that it would keep the car cool for an upcoming trip to Georgia and South Carolina. |
| 216000 mi US $800 |
The air conditioning compressor needed rebuilt, the system needed recharged, and the switch to engage the compressor needed to be replaced. |
| 258000 mi US $692 |
The alternator had to be replaced, along with the serpentine belt. |
| 137000 mi US $485 |
replaced the starter |
| 43000 mi | Loud static on the stereo - cannot be turned off with the volume control until the car is restarted. |
| 64000 mi US $150 |
A/C was cutting in and out. |
| 106640 mi | tsb-- radio audio screen went blank, Over the 160,000 km extent warr. But Dealer covered it |
| 52000 mi US $322 |
Previous repair to drivers power window motor (replaced 2/2011) failed again in 10/2011. We had to pay for labor but replacement motor was covered. |
| 124000 mi | wiper motor replaced under recall. Complete failure of motor caused to to check recall listing for car. |
| 176000 mi US $350 |
replaced compressor, evaporator, accumulator. evacuated/Recharged |
| 192000 mi US $200 |
srs module sent off for repair replace control unit included in radio/cd/climate control |
| 114000 mi US $226 |
Turn signal/flasher relay failed Driver's side power door window one-touch feature malfunctioning. When raising window with one-touch, glass closes then retracts half way. But glass closes when holding switch. $554 to repair. Will live with it for now. Update: went away on own. |
| 118000 mi US $665 |
Radio shut off,then A/C,then instruments stopped working.Engine kept running.Limped home.Car wouldn't start even with hotshot;no electrical activity.Towed to shop.Main fuse battery replaced.Alternator tests OK but..(?)Call if problem recurs Previous issue recurred.Radio shut off, then AC, engine kept running until stopped for gas.Died.Hot shot to start. Limped to dealer. Alternator died; Tests only showed alt."bad" not why.Replaced.Techs perplexed. As of now, so far so good. |
| 132000 mi US $562 |
Starter died. Towed to Pep Boys who claimed to have part in stock. They didn't! Two days in shop. One day with a rental. |
| 136000 mi US $122 |
CHMSL light out. |
| 137500 mi | Radio began shutting off and clock display went blank, then coming back on after 30 seconds or so. Has become more frequent including when CD is playing. According to DriveAccord.net problem is with circuit board and common to early 7th gen Accords. |
| 56000 mi | Power Door Lock and Horn |
| 63000 mi US $1500 |
Air Conditioning compressor died with only 63000 on the clock! |
| 62000 mi US $150 |
Bad fuse for a/c. Once replaced a/c worked fine. |
| 91760 mi C $15 |
Rear brake light/shift release switch needed to be replaced. Performed repair myself, less than an hour. Toughest part is getting the panel clips to release. |
| 87260 mi C $100 |
Dead battery replacement. |
| 115940 mi C $50 |
Attemped AC recharge with canned coolant. Worked for months but stopped after 3-4. AC likely dead. |
2003 Honda Accord 2dr Coupe
240-horsepower 3.0L V6 6-speed manual FWD
| 120300 mi | Audio/ECS display illumination inop. Apparent known design deficiency not covered by extended Honda warranty due to mileage limitation. |
| 142380 mi C $300 |
Alternator was making noise and the diagnosis was the alternator |
| 158100 mi C $120 |
Starter was no longer turning the engine over. |
| 105000 mi US $1200 |
airconditioning |
| 181000 mi US $218 |
courtesy light over the dash that goes on and off when door opened quit working all together. Dome light unit replaced. |
| 197500 mi US $152 |
windshield wiper motor |
| 200000 mi US $384 |
alternator was failing and noisy. |
| 208000 mi US $450 |
replaced air intake boot and fan blower motor resistor |
| 92000 mi | Radio/HVAC failed; replaced under warranty |
| 75640 mi | Repaired broken backlight for center radio/HVAC controls under extended warranty/service bulletin. Known issue. |
| 67000 mi | Wipers stop working periodically and Honda recalled the Sedan but Won't fix the exact same issue on the Coupe. No more Hondas for me and I suggest others stay away as well. |
| 75000 mi | windshield wipers sometimes stop working. The problem was a recall for the 2003 Accord sedan but they will NOT apply the recall to the coupe. Both cars have the exact same wiper mechanisms. |
2003 Honda Accord 2dr Coupe
240-horsepower 3.0L V6 5-speed automatic FWD
| 73000 mi US $65 |
One of the original low-beam headlights burned out. Difficult to get at to replace. Decided to have Pep Boys shop replace both low-beams. |
| 89500 mi US $12 |
headlight |
| 96000 mi US $284 |
Driver's side door lock actuator needed replacement. |
| 110000 mi US $125 |
driver's power window stopped working. Bought original Honda motor/regulator and replaced it. Slow going due to tight working area. |
| 110300 mi US $100 |
Driver's power window switch not functioning all the time, plus made clicking noise while driving down the highway. Replaced with original Honda switch ordered from online dealership. |
| 151500 mi US $320 |
Passenger side door lock actuator had stopped working. Had to unlock passenger door from inside only. |
| 159000 mi US $35 |
The contact switch on the brake pedal had become intermittent. This affected the brake lights, cruise, and ABS. |
| 72000 mi US $300 |
The switch went out on the accord and the regulator. I also have to replace |
| 74000 mi | The AC Compressor was shot. |
| 65000 mi US $450 |
Alternator |
| 190000 mi US $50 |
Windshield wipers will no longer turn on or move at all. Have tried to fix on own but seems to fix on own but seems like a dead motor or something more serious than a fuse. Passenger side window no longer rolls down and driver seat controls work only sporadically. No repair attempted |
2003 Honda Accord 2dr Coupe
160-horsepower 2.4L I4 5-speed manual FWD
| 78740 mi $150 |
Broken heater control valve |
| 117000 mi | Center audio/HVAC screen went blank. Car outside Honda 100K extended warranty for known problem. Dealer replaced audio unit under goodwill warranty consideration. |
| 163000 mi US $100 |
Headlights dim and fluctuating. Dealer diagnosed as faulty underhood fusebox. Part ordered. (This problem is covered by a Honda TSB, I've discovered, but dealer did not offer that information.) Dealer installed new underhood fuse box to repair previously diagnosed problem with dimming headlights. |
| 164000 mi US $1100 |
Battery low power (original battery). Replaced. |
| 181400 mi US $13 |
Headlight replacement--done at dealer because it took me 2 hours to disassemble it myself last time! |
2003 Honda Accord 2dr Coupe
160-horsepower 2.4L I4 5-speed automatic FWD
| 93000 mi US $100 |
Power lock actuators replaced, control button replaced Airbag failure light on due to faulty seatbelt sensor Radio backlight out |
| 97000 mi US $50 |
Dim headlights Radio Backlight out - Soldered Circuit Board |
| 144200 mi US $250 |
Air conditioning cooling less and less |
| 153300 mi US $1400 |
Required turning the ignition key numerous (up to 12) to get the car to start. Very slow start if the temp was under 50 degrees. Both the ignition and starter needed to be replaced. |
| 111000 mi | Power door lock actuator |
| 130000 mi US $2000 |
Door Lock Actuator Trunk lock went bad. Trunk wouldn't open. |
| 141000 mi US $250 |
Door lock actuator |
See TrueDelta's information for all Honda models.
