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A nondescript 2003 Honda Accord Coupe has become the latest car to cross the million mile threshold. What’s more, the car is still moving under the power of its original 3.0-liter V6 engine. Owner Justin Kilmer says that the momentous rollover to one million took place on March 11 in the Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Accord was purchased brand new in 2003 at Pensacola Honda by Kilmer’s wife and served as their faithful daily driver for 12 years. She had good taste, optioning the Satin Silver coupe in EX trim with leather seats and a six-speed manual transmission, the best enthusiasts’ spec available at the time. Kilmer says the car had accumulated “only” 185,000 miles by 2015 when he began driving it for his job as a medical courier. That’s when things kicked into high gear, adding 815,000 miles in just 7.5 years, an average of 109,000 miles annually.
Of course, the Accord has only a six-digit odometer so the magic number was never actually displayed. Instead, in Kilmer’s video it’s shown reaching 999,999. At that point the trip meter, synced to 999.0, takes over. The final mile was counted in the tenths place, with the car reaching the one million when the trip meter rolled over to 0.0.
In the video one can see the check engine light blinking. Kilmer wrote in an Accord enthusiasts’ forum that the J30A4 V6 has been firing on only 5 cylinders for the last 80,000 miles. That’s half a lifetime for many cars, but the Accord trundled along, running a bit rough but none the worse for wear.
Not all parts have lasted as long as the engine. Kilmer says the transmission began grinding in third gear and was replaced at 320,000 miles. Kilmer also replaced the catalytic converter at 500,000 miles. There are some wear items he only replaces with OEM parts, such as the CV joints, ball joints, wheel bearings, engine mounts, clutch cylinders and belts, Kilmer told The Drive in January. Other items, like Powerstop brakes, exhaust, air filter and wheels, are aftermarket. Kilmer also kept up with maintenance and fluid changes religiously, as he wrote in the Drive Accord forums.
There have been other vehicles to cross the million mile mark. Back in 2006 there was a Saab 900 belonging to traveling salesman Peter Gilbert. Farrah Haines clocked a mil in her 2013 Elantra in 2018. Hugh and Tammy went 1.2 million miles in their 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500 HD. Victor Sheppard was given a new truck by Toyota when his Tundra hit seven digits, and Nissan did the same for Brian Murphy when his 2007 Frontier reached the mark. The all-time winner, however, is still Irv Gordon, who drove 3.2 million miles in his 1966 Volvo P1800.
There have even been other Honda Accords to travel a million miles as well: Joe LoCicero of Norway, Maine’s 1990 LX sedan and Rodney K. Beattie of Columbus Ohio’s 1991 LX. However, Kilmer says his is the only known Honda equipped with a V6 to achieve the benchmark.
Kilmer’s family and friends joined him at Smoky Mountain National Park to celebrate the occasion. In the group were three other Honda Accords of varying generations. If you know someone who’s gotten a million miles out of a single car, why would you buy anything else?
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