Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (headlights, tail lights, turn signals, interior lights).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Honda Accord owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2000 Honda Accord. The contact stated that there was film covering the inside of the headlights, causing the lights to fail to illuminate properly. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer who confirmed that it was a known failure. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle had to be taken to a body shop to have the film cleaned off the headlights. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Honda Accord. While driving 45 MPH, the instrument panel lighting failed to illuminate. The contact stated that the failure occurred once or twice a week for the past year. The failure occurred so many times that the interior lighting also failed to illuminate. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 04V256000 (interior lighting) as the cause of the failure. The dealer (joyce koon Honda, 10640 automotive dr., manassas, va 20109) confirmed that the failures were identical; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact would be responsible for the repair cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 197,025.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 25 MPH the vehicle was hit by another vehicle on the driver's side, this caused the contact to hit another vehicle with the front passenger side. The air bags did not deploy, seat belts were in use and no injuries were sustained. The police were on the scene however no report was filed. The interior lights work intermittently. There are several indicator lights that do not work at all, and the lights that do work dim without warning. There is a NHTSA recall # 02v08000, regarding the fontal air bags and a NHTSA recall # 04V256000, regarding the interior lighting. The VIN was not included in the recall.
When car is driven during hot days and you turn the car off, it will not start again tell the car cools off. This happens during the summer months.now that the car is older, it will not start at all during some of the hot days. This include when I start the car for first time that day. Took the car in once years ago and they said they fixed it but I keep having the same problem. They wanted to charge me more money to try to fix it again. Front passage headlights always been foggy. Car also never hugged the road right. Dealership could never find the problem.
My 2000 Honda Accord ex multiplex control unit malfunctioned causing my dash lights to go out and I can't see my dash panel at night ie. Speedometer. This is a safety issue and I am a single mom with 2 young kids and haven't owned the car for even a year and less than 10 years old and less than 100,000 miles and nothing I did caused the multiplex control unit to malfunction and there is a recall on this already for 2000 Honda Accord but American Honda has given my several excuses as well as the salesperson at the dealership called and was told a different answer one was with the plant car came from.one was if it was a v6 then one was having an lx model one was with saying the mileage issue or they would fix it. Basically just a bunch of bs over and over. They need to honor their recall. …
I have a 2000 Honda Accord. The dashboard lights short out due to a systemic defect in the fuse system, wherein the fuse works itself loose and the bulbs short out. This is supposedly a systemic problem with Honda Accord models dating back to at least my year, according to Honda representatives. They tell me that even though, accords were subjected to recall for this very problem, my VIN was "outside the parameters" of the recall. I never received a recall notice for the problem. This is a serious safety defect and creates a dangerous night driving condition. Our vehicle has approximately 135,000 miles on it but the shorting out problem has been evident for over two years. In the past, if I tapped on the dashboard, the lights would come back on. No longer. This systemic defect, of which Honda is well aware, is dangerous. …
Dash board lights went off without any warning signs. The entire instrument panel was invisible in night. It is a safety issue as I could not read any of the instrument panels. The car was taken to Honda dealership for failure analysis and repairs. They found that the multiplex unit on the driver side of the car had failed and needs replacement. Honda has already issued recall for the same component for the same problem for the same model year (2000) car as mine, but since my VIN# was not part of recall, they refused to honor the recall. At this point I had to pay $428.00 to get the car fixed. I would like NHTSA to take this up Honda to get this taken care as part of recall as this has been one of the common problem in this model year. The recall campaign number for this problem in NHTSA database is 04V256000 and Honda recall number is p36.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Honda Accord. He noticed a burning smell, and then all of the interior lights failed. A local mechanic stated that the multiplex control unit for the instrument panel lights needed to replaced. He added that the dimmer control for the instrument panel lights failed because of heat buildup. No repairs were made. He contacted the dealer and the manufacturer in reference to recall number 04V256000 (interior lighting) .he was advised that he was ineligible for a free remedy because his vehicle identification number was excluded from the recall. The current and failure mileages were approximately 138,000. Updated 03/08/10 the entire lighting panel shorted out and made nighttime driving situation very unsafe. The failed components are under recall for 2000 Honda accords. Updated 05/17/10.
Tl* - the contact owns 2000 Honda Accord se. The contact stated that there was safety recall 04V256000 concerning instrument panel that stated the dimmer control for the instrument panel lights could fail due to heat buildup. The contact stated that the instrument lights did not work. She had no warning, they just stopped working. The contact believed that they stopped working due to the heat build up as mentioned in the recall. The contact was told by the dealer that the safety recall did not apply to this vehicle. The contact would like to have the vehicle repaired under the safety recall. Updated 02/27/07.
The SRS light has come on my 2000 Accord. Now it is past the extended warranty of 10 years. I got suckered into paying $100 to Honda for them to diagnose. They came back and said the opds needs to be replaced and the airbag won't deploy because of the SRS light on. They wanted another $300 to replace. I decided not to replace because I am not convinced it won't fail again but now I am driving around knowing my airbags won't deploy. There is an obvious faultiness with the SRS and opds and I can't believe that Honda feel a warranty extension is sufficient. They should be recalling this serious safety problem.
Related recalls
Interior lighting
On certain passenger vehicles, the dimmer control for the instrument panel lights could fail due to heat buildup.
Remedy: Dealers will replace a multiplex control unit for the instrument panel lights. Owner notification began June 16, 2004. Owners should contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Headlight complaints in other Accord years
Frequently asked questions
How common are headlight problems on the 2000 Honda Accord?
NHTSA has 43 complaints about the lights of the 2000 Honda Accord, 4% of the model year's 1,183 complaints. The component named most often is headlights (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Honda Accord headlight problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 04V-256 (interior lighting, Jun 7, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2000 Honda Accord headlight problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 114,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to lights problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.