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2003 HONDA ACCORD — Complaint #596322

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NHTSA Complaint about SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:DISC:PADS filed September 15, 2006

NHTSA complaint #596322 (ODI reference 10168382) concerns a 2003 HONDA ACCORD and was filed on September 15, 2006. The owner reports the failure occurred on September 9, 2006. The vehicle had 32,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to South Carolina based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as service brakes, air:disc:pads, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.

The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.

Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same HONDA ACCORD cohort independently describe similar service brakes, air:disc:pads failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2003 HONDA ACCORD shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.

Vehicle
2003 HONDA ACCORD
Component
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:DISC:PADS
Crash
Yes
State
South Carolina
Mileage
32,000 mi

Complaint Description

MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING HER 2003 HONDA ACCORD UNDER SUNNY SKIES AND GOOD ROAD CONDITIONS. AS SHE SLOWED AND MADE A SLIGHT RIGHT HAND TURN TO ENTER AN EXIT RAMP OFF OF I-26 OUTSIDE OF CHARLESTON SC, THE BRAKES LOCKED UP PULLING HER TOWARDS THE CONCRETE BARRIER ON HER RIGHT HAND SIDE. SHE INSTICTIVELY PULLED THE CAR BACK TO THE LEFT. AT THIS TIME THE BRAKES RELEASED AND SHE WENT INTO THE LEFT CONCRETE BARRIER. BOTH HER AND A FRIEND WHO WAS RIDING WITH HER WERE NOT SERIOUSLY HURT. THE CAR SUSTAINED APPROXIMATELY $4,900 IN DAMAGES. SHE ESTIMATED THAT SHE WAS GOING 40 MPH AT THE TIME WHEN THE BRAKES LOCKED UP. THE BRAKES HAVE NOT BEEN LOOKED AT IN DETAIL YET. AFTER REPAIRS WE WILL HAVE THEM INSPECTED. LOOKING INTO THE HISTORY OF THE 2003 ACCORD SHOWED ME THAT THIS MODEL HAS A LONG HISTORY OF BRAKE PROBLEMS WITH MANY PEOPLE COMPLAINING. WHEN I DISCUSSED THIS WITH MY LOCAL DEALER, HENDRICK HONDA, THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY THOUGHT THERE WAS NOT A HISTORY OF BAD BRAKES ON THIS CAR.

Complaint Details

NHTSA Complaint ID 596322
ODI Number 10168382
Date Filed September 15, 2006
Failure Date September 9, 2006
VIN 1HGCM72653A

Similar SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:DISC:PADS Complaints for 2003 HONDA ACCORD

Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.