2003 Honda Accord at 87,561 miles
You did not give a mileage, so this uses 87,561 — the median reported failure mileage for this model year, which is a rough stand-in for “a typical example of this car”. Put your real reading in the box below for an answer about your car.
At 87,561 miles on this car
At 87,561 miles on a 2003 Honda Accord, 48 of the failure modes other owners have reported already have their median report at or below your reading, and 15 more fall inside the window where they are usually reported. The heaviest of the ones already due is other body or interior problem.
Already past the median 48
Half of all reports of these failures came in at or below where your car is now.
- Other body or interior problem 49k
- Other electrical problem 65k
- Premature brake pad or rotor wear 12k
- Other brake problem 12k
- Wiper or washer failure 78k
- Other steering problem 83k
- Other lighting problem 72k
- Seat belt or retractor failure 63k
- ABS module or sensor failure 2k
- Other visibility problem 58k
- Air conditioning failure 52k
- Other suspension problem 13k
36 more.
You are in the window 15
Your reading falls inside the middle half of reports for these.
- Other speed control problem 92k
- Complete transmission failure 95k
- Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault 95k
- Airbag failed to deploy in a crash 95k
- Transmission slipping 96k
- Transmission will not engage a gear 97k
- Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure 98k
- Other powertrain problem 100k
- Other engine problem 102k
- Torque converter failure 102k
- Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure 103k
- Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure 110k
3 more.
Typically later 12
Reported further down the road than where you are.
- Other fuel system problem 91k
- Paint peeling or clear coat failure 92k
- Engine bay fire 98k
- Oil leak 106k
- Airbag inflator rupture 110k
- Steering column or shaft failure 118k
- Other driver assistance problem 121k
- Fuel injector failure 124k
- Excessive oil consumption 144k
- Power steering pump or fluid leak 147k
- Dual-clutch or clutch-pack failure 154k
- Thermostat failure 183k
Timing unknown 6
Reported, but too few owners gave an odometer reading to place them.
- Infotainment screen failure 2×
- Alignment fault and uneven tire wear 2×
- Lifter, cam or cylinder-deactivation failure 1×
- CVT failure 1×
- CV axle or driveshaft failure 1×
- Window regulator or power window failure 1×
Why the list is generic until you type a number
Every figure below is a comparison against your odometer, so with no reading given the page has to pick one: 87,561 miles, roughly what a 2003 car covers at 12,000 miles a year. A reading 30,000 miles either side of that moves failures between the columns, which is the difference between a useful list and a generic one.
Already inside the reported range
48 failure modes on the 2003 Honda Accord have a median reported mileage at or below 87,561: other body or interior problem (median 50,000 miles, 102 reports), other electrical problem (median 65,000 miles, 97 reports), premature brake pad or rotor wear (median 12,500 miles, 75 reports), other brake problem (median 12,500 miles, 65 reports), wiper or washer failure (median 77,500 miles, 50 reports) and other steering problem (median 82,500 miles, 49 reports).
Half the owners who reported each of these had done so by that mileage, which means half had not. A failure being "due" here is a statement about other people's cars, and the useful response is an inspection rather than a pre-emptive repair.
The window you are in now
15 further modes are reported in a band that includes 87,561 miles: other speed control problem (48k to 130,000 miles), complete transmission failure (78k to 117,000 miles), airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault (67k to 120,000 miles), airbag failed to deploy in a crash (37k to 130,000 miles), transmission slipping (87k to 112,500 miles) and transmission will not engage a gear (71k to 120,000 miles). These are the ones to watch on this car over the next few thousand miles.
A window here is the 25th to 75th percentile of reported mileages, so it holds the middle half of the reports and excludes the tails on both sides.
Still ahead of you
12 further modes sit above your reading, the nearest being other fuel system problem at a median of 90,000 miles. On a car you intend to keep, these are the ones that decide whether it is worth keeping.
What this list is not
It is a reading of what owners of other 2003 Honda Accords reported, and at what odometer reading they reported it. It is not a maintenance schedule, not a diagnosis, and not a prediction about this car: two identical cars with different service histories are not the same car.
Complaints are filed voluntarily, mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers, and a failure mode with few reports has a wide window even when the median looks precise. Modes with fewer than 8 dated reports are shown without percentiles for that reason.
Where 87,561 miles falls on the curve
The three columns above sort the failure modes one by one. This is the same evidence in aggregate: every dated report on this model year, stacked up in the order the odometer readings arrived. The dashed line marked you is where your car sits. How much of the line is to the left of that mark is how much of this model year's reported trouble is, on the evidence, already behind you.
About 44% of the dated reports on this model year had already been filed by 87,561 miles. That is the share of the problems that show up in this record, not of the problems this car will have. A further 40 reports came in above the top of the scale, which is why the line stops short of the top.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the mileages called out above
A steep early climb means a car whose reports cluster young, which is the pattern of a defect rather than of wear. A line that only gets going past six figures is the opposite. Neither shape says anything about the specific car in your driveway, and a curve built from a few dozen readings can be moved by one owner with a talkative afternoon.
Full report for the 2003 Honda Accord Compare with another car
Questions this page answers
What should I expect at 87,561 miles on a 2003 Honda Accord?
48 of the failure modes owners have reported on the 2003 Honda Accord have a median report at or below 87,561 miles, and 15 more fall inside the mileage window where they are usually reported. That is a watch list drawn from other owners, not a prediction about this car.
How to use the three columns. The left column is the list to hand a mechanic before you buy, and to check the service history for if you already own the car. The middle column is what to budget for this year. The right column is not a reprieve — it is a reminder that a used car has a bill schedule, and this is roughly where it falls. All of it is drawn from 2,384 owner complaints about this exact model year, not from a maintenance manual. How the percentiles are computed.
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed