USED VEHICLE RESEARCH

2021 Honda Accord

Is This A Good Car? organizes available NHTSA-derived research for the 2021 Honda Accord. This page includes owner complaint records, safety recall campaigns, manufacturer communications, defect investigations, and information about the completeness of the available evidence.

DATA CONFIDENCE: Moderate

Owner complaints

217NHTSA records

Recall campaigns

4Year, make and model lookup

Manufacturer communications

0Matched NHTSA records

Investigations

1Matched NHTSA records

EVIDENCE AVAILABILITY — NOT VEHICLE RELIABILITY

DATA CONFIDENCE

Moderate

Data Confidence measures how much usable evidence CarIQ has for this vehicle. It does not measure how reliable the vehicle is.

Why this rating?
Owner complaint data
Available
Manufacturer communications
Available
Recall data
Available
Investigation data
Available
Production denominator
Unavailable
Complaint component completeness
100%
Mileage completeness
0%
Incident-date completeness
100%

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYTICS

DATA INSIGHTS

Derived from official NHTSA source records. These statistics are descriptive and are not a reliability score.

Complaint records analyzed
217
NHTSA complaints
Most reported component
Forward Collision Avoidance
27% of categorized complaint records
Top-three component concentration
62%
Records mentioning at least one top-three component
Median reported incident mileage
Not available from current source
0 valid mileage observations
Recall campaigns
4
NHTSA recalls
Most recent recall report
May 21, 2026
NHTSA recalls
Manufacturer communications
0
NHTSA manufacturer communications
Most documented component
Not available
NHTSA manufacturer communications
Top-three communication concentration
Not available
Share of categorized manufacturer communications

SOURCE COMPLETENESS

DATA QUALITY

Complaint records analyzed
217
Component classification available
100%
Incident date available
100%
Mileage available
0%
Structured outcome fields available
100%

Completeness describes fields present in the retrieved complaint records. It is not a data-quality grade or a vehicle assessment.

Learn about CarIQ methodology

PRODUCTION-ADJUSTED DESCRIPTIVE METRIC

NORMALIZED COMPLAINT CONTEXT

Production-normalized complaint data is not currently available for this vehicle.

This metric compares the number of NHTSA owner complaint records retrieved by CarIQ with NHTSA-reported production volume for the corresponding vehicle population.

It is not a vehicle failure rate. Complaint reporting behavior, vehicle age, time on the road, production definitions, and other factors can affect the result.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Early Warning Reporting, Light Vehicle Production Data. Read the methodology.

OFFICIAL NHTSA OWNER COMPLAINT DATA

OWNER-REPORTED COMPLAINTS

TOTAL COMPLAINTS217

COMPONENT CATEGORIES

Forward Collision Avoidance58 complaints
27%of categorized complaint records
Electrical System54 complaints
25%of categorized complaint records
Unknown or Other51 complaints
24%of categorized complaint records
Engine30 complaints
14%of categorized complaint records
Service Brakes27 complaints
12%of categorized complaint records
Air Bags14 complaints
6%of categorized complaint records
Lane Departure14 complaints
6%of categorized complaint records
Fuel/propulsion System12 complaints
6%of categorized complaint records
Power Train11 complaints
5%of categorized complaint records
Steering8 complaints
4%of categorized complaint records
Vehicle Speed Control7 complaints
3%of categorized complaint records
Seat Belts6 complaints
3%of categorized complaint records
Fuel System3 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Seats3 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Structure3 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Suspension3 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Visibility/wiper3 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Air2 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Gasoline2 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Visibility2 complaints
1%of categorized complaint records
Back Over Prevention1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records
Diesel1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records
Engine and Engine Cooling1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records
Equipment1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records
Exterior Lighting1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records
Traction Control System1 complaint
0%of categorized complaint records

A complaint may list more than one component and therefore contribute to multiple categories. Percentages show the share of categorized complaint records that mention each component—not the percentage of vehicles affected. Category percentages may overlap.

INCIDENT REPORTS BY YEAR

1969
1
2020
1
2021
20
2022
28
2023
30
2024
31
2025
64
2026
42

Grouped from complaint records with a valid incident date.

RECENT OWNER COMPLAINTS

Vehicle Speed Control · Unknown or Other · Fuel/propulsion System

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11752286
Read complaint narrative

My car stalled stopped and takes a While to turn on , all lights turned on .. coded came back and showed it was fuel pressure regulator / fuel pump. I believe it is part of the recalls put in place for other Honda accord lx as well since I’m having same problem

Engine

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11752456
Read complaint narrative

I own a 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid. Shortly after purchasing the vehicle as a used vehicle in 2023, I began experiencing intermittent air conditioning performance. The A/C would gradually lose cooling capacity over time until it was no longer able to cool the cabin effectively. To temporarily restore operation, I added refrigerant approximately twice per year, believing the system had developed a minor leak. As the condition worsened, I brought the vehicle to an authorized Honda dealership for diagnosis. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with a leaking A/C condenser and a leaking heat exchanger pipe and recommended replacement of both components. Honda declined goodwill assistance because the vehicle is outside the original warranty period. I later learned that Honda previously issued an extended warranty for A/C condenser failures on 2018–2020 Accord models due to a known condenser defect. My vehicle exhibits the same symptoms of gradual refrigerant loss and declining cooling performance, despite being a 2021 model year. In researching this issue, I found multiple reports from other 2021 Accord and 2021 Accord Hybrid owners describing similar A/C condenser failures and refrigerant leaks. I am submitting this complaint because I believe there may be a broader pattern affecting 2021 Accord vehicles that warrants review. I am requesting that NHTSA document this complaint and evaluate whether similar failures are occurring in 2021 Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid vehicles.

Electrical System

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11752534
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My center screen has a ghost touch; I have brought it to my dealer since the day I bought it I have been having screen and CarPlay issues. never fixed always told its fake phone cable, even though my phone can be disconnected and the screen still goes crazy, either way I left it alone because I can't keep going to the dealer, today while I was backing up this ghost touch keep changing my camera angle and caused the screen to freeze completely, I would suggest looking into this as I found many people online with the same issue,

Electrical System · Unknown or Other

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11750216
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The infotainment touchscreen in my 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid intermittently registers inputs that I am not making. The screen experiences repeated “ghost touches,” accompanied by random beeping and clicking sounds. During these episodes, the system changes GPS screens or navigation directions, changes music or audio settings, turns the audio on or off, closes applications, and opens other applications without any input from the driver. During these "ghost" episodes, the touch capability seems to also be intermittent preventing from leaving the current screen or app that the "ghost" clicks on. This problem occurs while the vehicle is being driven and creates a serious distraction. The unexpected sounds, screen changes, and navigation changes draw the driver’s attention away from the road and may require the driver to attempt to stop or correct the malfunctioning system. This increases the risk of a collision and could result in serious injury or death. I contacted a Honda dealership regarding the issue. The dealership indicated that it was aware of this behavior and had received similar reports from multiple other vehicle owners. The malfunction is intermittent, but it has occurred repeatedly. There were no warning lamps or dashboard warning messages before the touchscreen began malfunctioning. The vehicle and infotainment system are available for inspection upon request. I also have video evidence showing an example of the touchscreen malfunctioning and producing inputs without being touched. See Google Drive link to Movie: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Engine

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11749905
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First of all started with small coolant missing, later on I started noticing power loss and finally white smoke out the exhaust. Blown Head Gasket. Honda need to own up on defect engine design the ford did awhile back. Those slits between the cylinder was a big mistake. I myself is doing the repair. 2021 Honda Accord Sport 2.0 with mods and tuned

Visibility/wiper

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11750153
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My 2021 Honda Accord Sport has had a problem that started about 30k miles which I told them about 3 times. The sun visors do not stay up. they hang down and you have to move them out of the way. I tried to get the dealer to replace them, but they said I was past the warranty, and I was going to be changed about 400.00 per visor. I kept messing with them and finally it got a little better. But did not last. I told them again, but I could not, and would not spend over 800.00 for sun visors. Id do without them before paying 800.00! Used to they were simple made and no problems. But now they have mechanisms inside that have parts that wear out. Because Honda would not replace them, and Bell Honda would not either, I will not buy another care from Bell Honda. As when I bout my 2014 Nissan in [XXX], then moved to [XXX] I took my car to Nissan on Bell, and for the first time ever, before the Honda did it, a sun visor stopped functioning right in my Altima, but because I took my car there for services, the dealership replaced it for me. Now today, searching for new visors, I found that many people are having problems with the Honda visors, and saying it is a safety issues, and one person said their dealer replaced theirs 2 times. With all the complaints you'd think Honda would have to change the way they are made. But seems they don't care. In-fact, before my car had 40k miles, one of my motor mounts went out, and something else before that. Thankfully my motor warranty was still good. But these expansive, poorly made sun visors really should be recalled as it is a safety issue. Please do something to make that happen. Thank you! This is reoccurring from 2023-2026. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Engine · Fuel/propulsion System

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11749412
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I am submitting this complaint regarding my 2021 Honda Accord because of a serious safety issue involving the turbocharger and fuel injector system. While driving on the highway, my vehicle experienced a failure related to the turbocharger and fuel injector system, which caused multiple warning sensors to activate and resulted in the vehicle suddenly losing power and becoming unable to continue driving. This unexpected failure forced my car to stop in the middle of the highway, placing me and other motorists at significant risk of a serious accident or fatality. A vehicle should not suddenly become inoperable while traveling at highway speeds due to a mechanical defect. This creates an extremely dangerous situation, especially in heavy traffic where other drivers may not have sufficient time to react. After researching this issue, I discovered that numerous other owners of 2021 Honda Accords have reported similar failures involving the fuel injectors and turbocharger. Given the number of reported incidents and the serious safety risks associated with these failures, I believe this represents a potential defect that warrants investigation. I respectfully request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigate this issue and require Honda to issue a safety recall if appropriate. No driver should have to experience a sudden loss of power that leaves them stranded in moving traffic due to an apparent vehicle defect.

Electrical System · Unknown or Other · Service Brakes

Owner-submitted NHTSA complaint · ODI 11748937
Read complaint narrative

Had to repleace the electrical parking brake sensor. Now all my lights on the dash board are lighted up and have to go get a diagnostic test done

NHTSA complaints are reports submitted by vehicle owners and other consumers. Complaint counts do not represent the percentage of vehicles affected and do not by themselves establish that a safety defect exists.

A higher complaint count can partly reflect how many vehicles were sold, vehicle age, and other factors. CarIQ does not yet normalize complaint counts by vehicles sold.

Data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This site is not endorsed by NHTSA.

OFFICIAL NHTSA MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION DATA

MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATIONS

TOTAL COMMUNICATIONS0

No NHTSA manufacturer communication records were returned for this year, make, and model.

Manufacturer communications include service bulletins and other technical information submitted by manufacturers to NHTSA. The existence or number of communications does not establish how often a condition occurs or whether an individual vehicle will experience it.

Some manufacturers may issue more detailed service documentation than others, so communication counts should not be used alone to compare vehicle reliability.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration manufacturer communications

NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

NHTSA DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS

TOTAL INVESTIGATION RECORDS1
Open investigations
1
Closed investigations
0
Applicability match
range

Engineering Analysis

Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking

EA24002
Status
open
Component
Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking · Forward Collision Avoidance · Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Camera · Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Radar · Forward Collision Avoidance:software
Opened
Apr 15, 2024
Closed
Not available
Read NHTSA summary

On February 21, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE22003) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, in model year 2017-2019 Honda CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles. The reports allege that activation of the AEB system occurs while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that they were aware of a total of X,XXX reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and alleges that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the CMBS and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that they were informed that this is considered normal CMBS operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 1,294 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of CMBS in 2017-2022 Honda CR-V and 2018-2022 Honda Accord vehicles. A total of 31 complaints alleged a crash and 50 alleged an injury. The Total column in the Failure Report Summary removes duplicate reports and shows the total number of reports with unique VINs from all Manufacturer, ODI, and EWR data sources. In some cases, there were multiple reports associated with a particular vehicle in which recurring failures were alleged. In total, there were X,XXX reports, 93 injury incidents and 47 crashes involving vehicles with unique VINs that may relate to the alleged defect. PE22-003 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations. The scope has been expanded to include assessment of model year 2020-2022 Honda CR-V and Accord vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

NHTSA investigations evaluate potential motor-vehicle safety defects. The existence of an investigation does not by itself establish that a safety defect exists, and the absence of an investigation does not establish that a vehicle is problem-free.

Open and closed describe NHTSA's process status, not a CarIQ reliability judgment.

View official NHTSA investigation data ↗

DESCRIPTIVE SOURCE OVERLAP

CROSS-SOURCE VEHICLE DATA

CarIQ compares categories appearing across independent NHTSA datasets. Overlap can help identify areas with more available documentation, but it does not establish defect frequency or prove that an individual vehicle will experience a problem.

ComponentOwner complaintsManufacturer communicationsRecall campaignsNHTSA investigationsOfficial sources containing records
Forward Collision Avoidance580012 of 4
Electrical System540001 of 4
Unknown or Other510001 of 4
Engine300001 of 4
Service Brakes270001 of 4
Air Bags140001 of 4
Lane Departure140001 of 4
Fuel/propulsion System120001 of 4
Power Train110001 of 4
Steering80001 of 4

Displayed first by the number of source categories containing the component, then by owner complaint count, then alphabetically. This is a presentation rule, not a vehicle ranking. Complaint reports, manufacturer communications, recalls, and investigations describe different events and are never added into a combined total.

complaint
Available
communication
Available
recall
Available
investigation
Available
production
Unavailable

OFFICIAL NHTSA SAFETY RECALL DATA

SAFETY RECALLS

4 recall campaigns found

01AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGERCampaign 26V332000May 21, 2026

Summary

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Safety Consequence

Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.

02AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGERCampaign 24V064000February 1, 2024

Summary

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

Safety Consequence

An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

Additional Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

03FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPCampaign 23V858000December 18, 2023

Summary

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Safety Consequence

Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Additional Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

04SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:RETRACTORCampaign 21V900000November 18, 2021

Summary

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V, Ridgeline, 2022 Insight and CR-V Hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Safety Consequence

An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

Additional Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

Recall results shown here are based on year, make, and model. A specific vehicle may or may not be affected. Check the vehicle's VIN with NHTSA to confirm open recalls before purchasing. Data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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