Brakes
Antilock system (ABS), parking brake, master cylinder, calipers, rotors, pulsation or vibration, squeaking, brake failure or wear.
What Owners Say
"The ABS light is constantly on and it is obvious that the ABS system is not working. However, the breaks work in the regular way."
Joseph E., NY (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"The ABS/TCS module failed and will not communicate with the vehicle's PCM"
Anonymous, PA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Due to rotor and pad wear I was having a slight problem"
Herman K., IL (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"ABS warning light comes on periodically but can't determine the cause due to computer not retaining cause information"
Robert M., MD (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"ABS modulator was leaking according to the dealer"
Darrell N., CA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"ABS light came on because sensor from one wheel was no longer working, resulted in some brake issues as well"
R A., MI (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"ABS warning indicator light comes on intermittently. Not diagnosed yet as it just happened"
Anonymous, MA (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"left rear sensor failed, had to be replaced"
Anonymous, AL (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"The sensor light came on and the problem was fixed quickly and didn't cost too much money"
SUSn M., VA (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"told by dealer in Florida that it may be a faulty error alert"
Keld A., NH (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"One back caliper got stuck and wore the rotor out. It started and I got it fixed immediately."
Anonymous, VA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Ceased rear brake Caliper."
Shannon A., ON (2003 Honda Accord 3.0-L V6)"Right rear caliper held pads against rotor causing premature pad wear. Disassembled and lube inside of piston are of caliper."
Richard M., AB (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Rear calipers froze"
Douglas D., VA (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Right rear caliper got stuck and wore down the rotor."
Anonymous, VA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Caliper froze up on back break. Caused the rotor to need replacement. The other serious problem was a broken axel on the front tire!"
Anne K., NJ (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Rear calipers have been an issue (same as my 2003 Honda Odyssey). Design can lead to premature wear of the pads (they can wear crooked). Outside pad get very little wear, while the inside pads (against the caliper piston) wear out (this is despite proper installation and lubrication of the pad/caliper slides). Same with front pads"
Anonymous, PA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Frozen caliper passenger side rear wheel"
Frank C., VA (2003 Honda Accord 3.0-L V6)"rusted up and had to be replaced"
Anonymous, SC (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Claiper locked and required replacement - parts were $600 with total repair cost at $1100 - sounder fishy"
Anonymous, CT (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"oem calipers rusted and seized, requiring replacement"
David R., MD (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Caliper froze, causing excess brake wear, and had to be replaced"
Anonymous, PA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Caliper "fell off""
Anonymous, MI (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Since I have the car I have continually had to replace the brakes, calipers, rotors etc. This has been the biggest problem? Otherwise I have had no major problems. Once the power steering hose broke. The car has served me well. I first leased it"
Anonymous, ON (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Switch inside the master cylinder quit operating, causing the brake light and traction control system light to illuminate."
Anonymous, VA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Cost over $500 to replace entire master cylinder due to a faulty brake fluid sensor causing brake warning light on dash. Level sensor was not a replaceable part by itself. Cylinder was working fine"
Choi W., IL (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Some sort of sensor failed...same for climate control system...sensor"
G N., TX (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"sometimes doesn't have power assist until driven a minute or two"
Steve D., CO (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"master cylinder failed had to be replaced. dealer put on faulty unit and had to be replaced again"
Yianni E., GA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Bad brake electrical switch indicator. Had to replace master cylinder to get new switch. Master Cylinder was OK"
Bernard B., CA (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"warning light indicating problem came on and master cylinder was replaced"
Sherry H., OR (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"brake level sensor went bad then master cylinder went bad when pedal just went to the floor when applied on"
Anonymous, CA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Brake light sensor not working, have to change master cylinder"
Anonymous, ON (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Brakes wear out quickly"
Anonymous, (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"The front brakes ended up with significant wear, which I noticed because metallic noises/rattles were starting to come from the front of the car, mainly the left front wheel. It happened in early/mid January and went on about a week or so, until I took the car in to get the brakes fixed."
Anonymous, (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Rear brake pads needed to be replaced."
Roy S., MD (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"FRONT BRAKE PADS REPLACED"
Virginia B., NJ (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"front brake pad replacement at 144000 miles - first time replaced. excellent service life from oem pads"
John H., VA (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Brake linings and rotors repair and/or replace, expensive"
Anonymous, FL (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Replace brake pads"
Anonymous, CA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Car had worn brakes and didn't pass inspection. New brakes were installed"
Anonymous, MA (2003 Honda Accord 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Worn brake pads"
Louis L., MD (2003 Honda Accord 3.0-L V6)"Great car!! 13 years and going with some body rust unfortunately in Vermont"
Anonymous, VT (2003 Honda Accord LX)"At a regular interval, it being 3-4 years since the last brake work, the pads wear down. This time, the wear was more significant than we could tell by the sound until the calipers were stuck"
Jonathan B., MD (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"the calipers of the rear brakes had to be replaced"
Anonymous, ON (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Excellent running car with a good dependable maintainers at garage I always use. Had twop ractory recalls - the air bags and wiper motor covers. It is a very dependable car and the reason I keep it is for this reason-why change when it is working"
Eugene R., CA (2003 Honda Accord DX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"grinding noises"
Anonymous, MI (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Brakes had started to feel mushy. No stopping power"
Bruce B., BC (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"The front bake pads were replaced due to wear"
Anonymous, OK (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"replace rotors and discs all 4 wheels"
Jim B., MA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"The brakes wear out too frequently"
Patrick M., MA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Replace worn parts rotors and pads"
Jim K., MA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"The cable under the car had rusted away (due to poor design or material choice in manufacturing), and the cost to repair was so high, it was left now to be non-operable (since I never used)"
Charles S., WI (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"The right parking brake cable is jammed so that the parking brake was always engaged on that side. The parking brake on the right side would not release. Possibly this is due to rust. I had the cable from the parking brake on the right side disconnected. I assume that if I set the parking brake only the left one will engage"
Joseph E., NY (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Parking brake slipping"
Louis L., MD (2003 Honda Accord 3.0-L V6)"Brakes are vulnerable to winter weather, if car is not garaged."
Anonymous, (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Caused by sticking calipers"
Douglas D., VA (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Brakes warp too soon"
Anonymous, AB (2003 Honda Accord DX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Front and Rear brakes both needed new rotors, calipers and pads"
William R., RI (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Front and rear brakes had to be replaced within 2 years"
Anonymous, VA (2003 Honda Accord DX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Over 1,000 to fix"
Anonymous, MI (2003 Honda Accord DX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Pads wore out. Had previous brake job in 2009 and did no drive many miles"
Anonymous, MI (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"I have been told repeatedly by "pros" that I drive, brake and stop/start unusually smoothly, so I don't think the brake issues are because of what I do. Although back country roads require more slowing and stopping of a sudden nature than other driv"
Anonymous, VT (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"I have needed to replace the break pads etc very frequently"
Anonymous, WA (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Already made mention about the brakes. I was ready to call Honda and complain about the brakes"
Anonymous, ON (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Rotors seem to wear much too quickly"
Anonymous, ON (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"It happens too frequently"
Patrick M., MA (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"The front right brake was faulty, apparently due to a bad hose. It caused the steering wheel to pulse/shake badly, created bad odor, and resulted in smoke coming from the break. It started about a week ago and I experienced it with every drive, though it gradually got worse until I decided to stop driving and had the car towed to the shop. It was resolved today within one day."
Anonymous, (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"The brakes pulsate terribly when applied, and it feels like a warped disk. The dealer insists that they have done the best they can in repairing it. We plan to get rid of the car because of this."
Anonymous, AL (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"The calipers seem to fail within a year or two of replacement. The pads freeze into the calipers. I have found that removing one or both shims seems to help solve the problem of the freezing pads, however, until Honda uses less corrosive material in the caliper & pistons, the pistons will continue to freeze. I have found that lifting the piston o-ring seal with a very small regular screwdriver and squirting some wd-40 around the piston yearly helps prevent the piston from freezing."
Teresa P., ME (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Ever since I bought the car I had to service the rotors to eliminate/control steering vibration when going on slight downhills at 50+ mph, especially if tapping breaks."
Anonymous, NY (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"I wore the rear brake pads down until they severely scored the rear rotors. For some reason the finger that is supposed to make noise when the pads are thin did NOT make any noise."
Anonymous, MD (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Brakes made noise after last installing pads. The mechanic told me the new brakes fine and to ignore the noise. Because of the continuing noise, I failed to notice when the pads did wear out, and I had to replace a couple of rotors"
John R., ID (2003 Honda Accord LX 3.0-L V6)"Had Honda changing the oil in this car every month. They were keeping tabs on the pad wear and somehow misssd it, so rotors had to be changed as well"
Anonymous, OH (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Rotors had to be replaced due to wear"
Herman K., IL (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"Front rotors warped and caused pulsation when braking. Replaced rotors and pads myself"
Paul M., OK (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Rotor on right front wheel dragging. $400 cost to repair"
Anonymous, VA (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"replaced front and rear rotors"
Anonymous, OH (2003 Honda Accord 3.0-L V6)"The front and rear rotors had unusual wear causing a vibration when braking. The rotors were repaired and performed normally"
Bob D., CA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"3rd set of rotors. Under warranty the dealer said it was the pads and they were replaced. Didn't fix problem and dealer was adamant rotors were good. Independent shop inspected &replaced rotors - problem fixed. But rotors are too thin &warp easily"
Anonymous, NC (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"all needed replacement"
Anonymous, MI (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Rotors seem to be disposable on the Accord. Can't grind them, just have replace them"
Jeff L., NE (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"have replaced the rotors 3 times"
Anonymous, BC (2003 Honda Accord DX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Have had consistent rotor seizure"
Anonymous, ON (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"brakes have been problematic since purchased new. too touchy (grab quickly and hard) have had a squeak in right front brake that nobody has been able to fix"
Anonymous, AL (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"It seems the brakes have to be adjusted often. Squeaks even right after they are changed!"
Anonymous, KY (2003 Honda Accord DX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"squeaking when in reverse after sitting. squeaking when driving on driver side and when turn to left. unresolved"
Yianni E., GA (2003 Honda Accord EX 3.0-L V6)"The squeaking was fixed after replacing the brake pads"
Anonymous, OK (2003 Honda Accord LX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)"Brakes squeal when applied"
Anonymous, GA (2003 Honda Accord 2.4-L 4 Cyl)
"Some sensor intermittently disables ABS."
Jean B., QC (2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4-L 4 Cyl)