I'll just say what most here likely assume everyone knows: I love my accord.
There. It's out there, right at the top. I've even gone so far as to bold it.
That said, here is my list of gripes:
1) Headlights - they look awesome, but the stock bulbs throw terribly low levels of light and are wholly inadequate. I replaced my bulbs with Sylvania Xtravisions, and it's made a huge difference. I don't know if it is a design issue or if the stock bulbs are just cheap-o garbage, though I suspect it's a bit of both.
2) Window rattles - Honda has known about customer complaints over window rattles for years and has done nothing to correct the issue at the factory. They knew about it, at the latest, in 2004 and most gen 7 owners complain about it. They should have recognized the issue immediately and fixed it prior to releasing the 05's, or the 06's, or the 07's. But they didn't. Stupid. I grease my windows up four times a year to keep them from squeaking, but this feels like something I shouldn't ever have to do. I had a 1981 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham. Not a single window ever rattled in well over 100k miles.
3) Stereo/HVAC controls - They look cool. They work well. Why design the car so replacing the stereo requires major surgery and relocating the head unit? Lame. At the very least, they should have designed it so aftermarket companies COULD design a DIN that allowed for replacement without relocating the head unit. I know, many car makers are doing this. Still, Honda is not like many car makers and this simple design attention could have further proven that out. For the first 10 years of my driving life, I have always replaced the factory unit with a higher powered, better unit (Sony, Pioneer, etc) almost immediately after purchasing the car. I would LOVE to be able to do that in my Honda, but I don't want to lose space in the cubby below the controls, nor do I want to render the stock head unit to Clock duty.
4) Sound deadening - I like hearing my car make good car noises, I don't like hearing road noise, wind noise, tire boom, and other cars huge tires while driving. I've lived with it this long and am not sure if I'll be replacing the car in a year and a half or keeping it yet, so I don't want to invest money and time into putting after market sound deadening in the door panels, wheel wells, trunk, etc. I took a ride in a buddies Camry (boring and YUCK) and damn that car is quiet. Of course, I rented a Mustang on vacation a while back and was amazed at how much quieter my car was, but still. That was a convertible.
5) Availability of after market exhaust for the 4 cylinder sedan - WTF? Is it because after market exhaust manufacturers don't think we'd want the car to sound throatier or is it because Honda discourages them? I know I can go have a custom exhaust made. I know it may even be cheaper than buying a complete unit from an after market manufacturer. I don't want to go to an exhaust shop and have them tinker with three or four different ideas before I pick which sound I like best. They make exhausts for the V6 models and the I4 coupe, why not the sedan? This gripe is probably not a Honda issue, so it's a very minor gripe.
6) Paint durability - touch my car wrong and I get a scratch. The paint is just thin man. My front and rear bumpers look terrible and I have so many little scratches on the hood, doors, and body panels. My skills with touch up paint are terrible. I'm going to have the car professionally touched up and buffed out next spring in an effort to restore some of what I consider the best color on the car - eternal blue pearl.
7) Mouse fur interior - the cloth is very grippy. So grippy, in fact, that whenever my dog goes for a ride, his fur gets stuck in the fabric and no amount of vacuuming can get it out. Also, when I got the car I was a smoker. A piece of still burning ash hit the seat and it immediately left a mark on the driver's seat that can't be removed or fixed. The lit ash was on the seat for less than a second. I wish they made the fabric somehow more resistant. My fault. Not sure if I'll ever correct the problem though because as far as I can tell, the only fix is to replace the seat.
8) The stock tires blow - I suffered with the stock tires until 40,000 miles. When it came time to change them, I looked at every available replacement and weighed price and customer reviews. I went with General Altimax HP's and I have to say - whoa, what an improvement. No more hydroplaning, better performance in light snow, quieter, better ride, etc. Also, far cheaper. My Altimax's are far superior to the stockers in every way.
I disagree with the gripes about steering feel. My car handles very well and the feedback is perfect. Sure, the effort level is light. But I always can tell what is going on at the contact patches. The car is very responsive and feels light on its feet. Again, switching from the rented Mustang back to my blue baby was a revelation. It's no Porsche, but having driven Malibu's, Focus's, Camry's, Mustangs, Cobalt's, and VW's, only VW's come close to the steering feel of my Accord.
Still, overall, I love my Accord. I completely understand why Car and Driver consistently have put it on the 10 best list 25 times in 29 years. Arguably the best choice in terms of value, reliability, resale value, performance, and flexibility. This being the first Honda I've ever owned, I've been seriously impressed. My buddy purchased a Subaru Impreza a few years back and even he admits that my car is superior in every way but one - his comes standard with all wheel drive. My Accord has been essentially problem free for going on 6 years now, with the only issue coming from a bad battery that was replaced under warranty in under an hour. Compared to my last car, a 1998 VW GTI, that's nothing. Within 2 weeks of taking home the GTI, I had replaced two components to the windshield washer mechanism. Within a year, I had replaced a window regulator. Within 3 years of owning the GTI, I had replaced three window regulators (the car only had two windows that rolled up and down) and two transmissions. When I sold the car, I counted 4 transmissions, five window regulators, three wiring harnesses, two windshield washing components, the body side molding for the whole car, and a factory stereo system had all been replaced in 7 years. My Accord? One bad battery. Awesome car.
.. I upgraded from an RSX-S so I may have just been spoiled. Havn't had many chances to take the Accord to its limits to see how she feels!
