Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Honda Accord owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Rear sub frame allowed for rear suspension arms to be bolted to. One of the locations where those arms have ways to be attached to is no longer safe to do so because of corrosion and rust. I noticed there was a recent safety concern for a generation of Honda CRV having a similar, or indeed the same complaint.
Honda Accord paint completely fades after 10-15 years of owning the car, very embarrassing to drive the car. This did not happen to Ford Mustang and Cadillac Escalade I own that are at same age. I would like this issue be resolved during recall.
I was going back home from work at 5:50 am in the morning in my Honda Accord. I lost control over my car and hit side walk and a mail box on the right side of the road my car toppled on the left side. The driver side window was under my feet as the car toppled and the passenger side door window was on the top of my head as I was standing in the a toppled car. To come out of the car I removed the head rest from the drivers seat and started hitting the window glass to break it with metal part of the head rest. I hit it as hard possible, I brought the head rest down to my knees to gather force, distance and speed so that the window glass can be broken and I can come out. I tried for few minutes but the window glass did not break. I want bring it to the attention of you all that if a window glass cannot be broken with metal in case of emergency in the car. …
Takata recall I was driving down the road when I lost control of my car. This resulted in my air bag being deployed as I came into collision with a guard rail on a city street. Luckily, only the passenger side airbag deployed. This resulted in my windshield being cracked.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Honda Accord. Upon exiting the vehicle, before the passenger exited the front passenger side, smoke appeared within the inner part of the front passenger side door and a fire erupted. The driver and the front passenger were able to extinguish the flames. A fire report was not filed. The dealer was notified. The passenger was burned and had to exit the vehicle through the front passenger side window, which required medical treatment. The failure mileage was not available. Updated 06/29/16
There is excessive rusting on the: wheel wells and in spots throughout the painted surfaces of the car. The rust on the painted surfaces do not seem to originate from any damage to the paints integrity (they start as bubbles that then break, showing bare metal past the primer). I have noticed these since the car's first year of ownership (2003) and new spots appear continuously. Here is a representative picture I found on the web: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/andyxle/media/img_4151.jpg.html.
The paint on this car has drastically began to peel and show chalky white. I thought to speak to the dealership about possible coverage in repainting but sat on the task. However, in the past few months I've been noticing this issue with the paint to be occurring on other accords that appear to share not only make and model but year and color. This is not supposed to be occurring on our cars and this utter humiliation deserves repair.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Honda Accord. The contact experienced failures with the window motors, the front driver and passenger doors, and the rear passenger door. The dealer was notified and the front driver side door was repaired. The other two doors and window motors were not repaired. The failure continued to occur intermittently. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Body paint on the Honda Accord is fading in patches across various areas of the vehicle. I was unsure of the cause of this issue until seeing photos online of other Honda vehicles from that same time period with similar damage. Websites blame the problem on Honda's primer/paint from the period when the cars were manufactured. I believe the carmaker should cover the cost of repairs for the body paint.
Chrome plating of interior door handle peeled back and created a thin sharp edge. When I reached for the handle, to open the door, I cut my middle finger on the raised chrome plating. I suffered a laceration that became infected and ultimately put me in the hospital. I received I.v. Antibiotics for a week and will continue taking oral antibiotics for another week.
Body complaints in other Accord years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2003 Honda Accord?
NHTSA has 73 complaints about the body & structure of the 2003 Honda Accord, 4% of the model year's 1,987 complaints. The component named most often is body (31 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Honda Accord body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2003 Honda Accord, though it has 13 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Honda Accord body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 50,000 miles, and 41% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 1 fire and 10 injuries to body & structure 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.