"How reliable is the 2002 Honda Accord?"

"Based on 1267 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Honda Accord has a median complaint mileage of 90000 miles. The most common issue is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Honda Accord?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Honda Accord is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 1267 total complaints filed."

2002 Honda Accord: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1267 complaints

1267

Total Complaints

90,000mi

Median Mileage

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Top Issue

165

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

62,000 25th Percentile

90,000 Median Mileage

125,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

336

AIR BAGS

204

POWER TRAIN

131

STRUCTURE:BODY

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SEAT BELTS

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

SUSPENSION

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Severity Assessment

165

Crashes

Fires

142

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"REFLECTION ON WINDSHIELD FROM DASH HAS BEEN TOO GREAT. ALSO, GLARE ALMOST CAUSED CONSUMER TO HIT A PERSON. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER STATED NEVER HAD THAT TYPE OF COMPLAINT BEFORE. CONSUMER ATTACHED PHOTOS. *AK *TT"

"THE IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM HAS SHUTDOWN THE VEHICLE 3 TIMES. THE FIRST TIME WAS IN SEPTEMBER APPROXIMATELY 1 WEEK AFTER PURCHASE. THE SECOND AND THIRD TIMES WERE ON OCTOBER 14. WHILE DRIVING NORTHBOUND ON 95 ON OCT. 14TH THE IMMOBILIZER LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE SHUTDOWN CREATING A VERY HAZARDOU..."

"CONSUMER WAS GOING APPROXIMATELY 60MPH WHEN BATTERY LIGHT FLASHED ON AND OFF. CONSUMER WAS ON A 3-LANE INTERSTATE IN MIDDLE LANE WHEN VHEICLE STALLED. CONSUMER MANAGED TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. CONSUMER GOT HELP TO CHARGE BATTERY, BUT SPARKS STARTED COMING FROM BATTERY AND WAS TOLD NOT..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 336 complaints

25th: 65,000 mi Median: 85,000 mi 75th: 106,000 mi

AIR BAGS 204 complaints

25th: 56,000 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 147,000 mi

POWER TRAIN 131 complaints

25th: 70,000 mi Median: 92,868 mi 75th: 119,907 mi

STRUCTURE:BODY 49 complaints

25th: 91,081 mi Median: 127,521 mi 75th: 170,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 48 complaints

25th: 76,675 mi Median: 108,000 mi 75th: 134,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 229 FL: 97 NY: 75 TX: 69 VA: 60 OH: 57 GA: 55 NJ: 54 NC: 48 MD: 47

Who Files Complaints?

17.8%

Original Owners

82.2%

Second+ Owners

Honda Accord — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	229	170,011	STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR	12
1991	242	159,000	SEAT BELTS	20
1992	249	120,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	47
1993	222	156,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	47
1994	476	122,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	105
1995	673	106,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	94
1996	579	110,000	AIR BAGS	69
1997	546	108,656	AIR BAGS	51
1998	1428	100,500	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	133
1999	1345	110,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	92
2000	1505	95,000	AIR BAGS	138
2001	1157	85,000	AIR BAGS	199
2003	2378	87,975	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	187
2004	1303	89,250	AIR BAGS	127
2005	880	75,000	AIR BAGS	141
2006	541	77,150	AIR BAGS	72
2007	700	67,500	AIR BAGS	128
2008	1850	28,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC	85
2009	855	36,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC	64
2010	700	43,100	AIR BAGS	47
2011	357	44,500	AIR BAGS	45
2012	504	25,284	SEATS	77
2013	1868	42,000	STEERING	110
2014	1415	45,683	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	75
2015	805	41,999	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	51
2016	783	35,200	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	50
2017	734	23,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	59
2018	2638	22,000	ENGINE	66
2019	936	17,000	ENGINE	48
2020	500	11,000	FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING	25
2021	274	38,000	FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING	25
2022	248	5,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	4
2023	117	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	11
2024	155	11,000	STEERING	7
2025	79	6,090	STEERING	9

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28