2010 - A Retrospective Look Back At Honda

It is an annual rite of passage, during these waning days before the hope and promise anticipated by the hanging of a new “What Cats Teach Us” calendar yields the truth that this year will be just as crumby as the last, that we take a moment to reflect upon the year that was.

A little less than six months ago, when I posted my first video about the 2003 Honda Accord and its safety hazard of a transmission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had 1120 complaints on file about this model. As of today (December 13, 2010) NHTSA has nearly 1300 complaints on file about the 2003 Honda Accord. Of the 1275 complaints referred to this agency, 459 fall into the "power train: automatic transmission category."

Information from the NHTSA web-site: http://www.safercar.gov reveals that in the 2003 Honda Accord, catastrophic transmission failure occurs quickly and many times at highway speeds. The complaints from NHTSA are mostly similar to each other in that the vast majority of the failures happen suddenly at higher speeds and the car's occupant(s) are often unsafely jolted forward while coming to a near stop in the travel lanes.

This is a serious safety issue. Coming to a near complete stop from 60 or 70 miles per hour, in some reported cases, has resulted in some injuries and will eventually result in someone's death.

In April of 2004, Honda issued a recall on the automatic transmissions of Honda Accords, Odysseys, Pilots and Acura 3.2CL and 3.2TL models. According to Honda's own press release, "this condition may lead to gear breakage and possible locking of the vehicle's transmission, creating a potential safety hazard." The very same potential failures cited in the 2004 recall have become frequent for owners of these vehicles in the years subsequent to the recall and the resulting "transmission lockup", referred to in the recall, that "could result in a crash" has become a reality for many.

Honda was supposed to fix the problem when it issued the 2004 recall, however, it appears the company tried to do the cheapest thing for its bottom line in an attempt to have these vehicles fail after the warranty had expired. By not fixing the problem they are putting lives at risk.

While I, and thousands of other 2003 Honda Accord owners, have personally been affected by the known defects of this vehicle, from this video you will see that safety and design issues are not confined to one model or one model year, but rather are systemic to the Honda brand.

Drive safely this holiday season with so many recalled Hondas on the road you will need to.

Need More Information About This Issue?
NHTSA: http://www.safercar.gov
E-Mail: recall03accord@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Recall-2003-Honda-Accord/128740053827828
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Recall03Accord
Web: http://www.wix.com/Recall03Accord/Recall-The-2003-Accord
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Recall03HondaAccord

1. By: Recall03Accord
2. Categories News & Events
3. Views 21
4. Added :14-Dec-10
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