IllustrationWHILE SITTING AT AN INTERSECTION WAITING FOR THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TO CHANGE ANOTHER VEHICLE HIT CONSUMER'S VEHICLE FROM BEHIND AND DRIVER'S AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. DEALER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. TS. *AK
1996 Honda Accord
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1996 Honda Accord do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 356.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Accord years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 85 of 472 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 109 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 96 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 74 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
52 crash reports3 fire reports21 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
109 reportsTHE SRS LIGHT ILLUMINATED. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A PERSONAL MECHANIC WHO INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THERE WAS A COMPUTER GLITCH WHICH NEEDED TO BE DEALT WITH BY HONDA'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THE GLITCH WAS CORRECTED. THE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN AND CONSUMER WAS INFORMED…
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THE SRS LIGHT ILLUMINATED. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A PERSONAL MECHANIC WHO INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THERE WAS A COMPUTER GLITCH WHICH NEEDED TO BE DEALT WITH BY HONDA'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THE GLITCH WAS CORRECTED. THE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AGAIN AND CONSUMER WAS INFORMED BY A HONDA REP. THAT THEY DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM, THEY ONLY RESET THE COMPUTER. *JG *DT
CONSUMER STATES THAT AIR BAG SYSTEM FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. AIR BAGS HAVE NEVER DEPLOYED. MR
CONSUMER STATES THAT AIR BAG SYSTEM FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. AIR BAG HAS NEVER DEPLOYED. MR
SRS DASH BOARD LIGHT HAD BEEN INTERMITTENLY STAYING ON AFTER ENGINE START UP. TURNING OFF AND ON ENGINE WOULD CAUSE LIGHT TO GO OFF. TWO DAYS AGO, LIGHT STAYED ON AND WILL NOT GO OFF, WHILE INGNITION IS ON. SYSTEM WAS SCANNED AND CODE INDICATES AIR BAG PASSIVE RESTRAINT CONTROLLER HAS FAILED. AIR BAG SYSTEM IS INOPERABLE. THE AI…
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SRS DASH BOARD LIGHT HAD BEEN INTERMITTENLY STAYING ON AFTER ENGINE START UP. TURNING OFF AND ON ENGINE WOULD CAUSE LIGHT TO GO OFF. TWO DAYS AGO, LIGHT STAYED ON AND WILL NOT GO OFF, WHILE INGNITION IS ON. SYSTEM WAS SCANNED AND CODE INDICATES AIR BAG PASSIVE RESTRAINT CONTROLLER HAS FAILED. AIR BAG SYSTEM IS INOPERABLE. THE AIR BAG IN THIS VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN ACTIVATED. THIS APPEARS TO BE A SYSTEM DEFECT SINCE CONTROL UNIT HAS NEVER HAD TO BE ACTUATED. HONDA SHOULD BE ASKED TO COVER THIS ITEM BY RECALLING VEHICLE FOR THIS SAFETY DEFECT. MR
AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINS ON WHILE DRIVING. VEHICLE TAKEN TO A REPAIR SHOP, AND HAD SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEM UNIT REPLACED. MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. *AK THE AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE BATTERY NEEDED REPLACING. THIS VEHICLE WAS NEVER INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. *JG
AIR BAG LIGHT WILL COME ON. AFTER TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALER, DEALER NOTED THAT AIR BAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY.*AK
CONSUMER STATES THE AIRBAG LIGHT STARTED TO BLINK ON AND OFF, THEN IT STAYED ON. TOOK TO DEALER AND STATED THE SRS SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. NLM *TT
CUSTOMER WAS DRIVING ON A ROUGH ROAD APPROXIMATELY 30MPH AND AIR BAG DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON. THE INSURANCE COMPANY WILL COVER THE DAMAGE TO THE CAR BUT NOT THE REPLACEMENT OF THE AIR BAGS. WE'RE WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY RECALLS FOR THE AIRBAGS AND IF THERE IS SOMEONE WE MAY CONTACT TO HELP OUR CUSTOMER?
AIR BAG LIGHT WILL CONTINUOUSLY COME ON AND STAY ON WHILE CONSUMER IS DRIVING. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER NOTED THAT THERE COULD BE A PROBLEM WITH THE AIR BAG. *AK.*TT
Official recalls
198V231000 · Electrical System:wiring:front Underhood
Sep 22, 1998
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SEDAN, COUPE AND WAGON PASSENGER VEHICLES EXCEPT THE DX MODEL AND MODELS WITH V6 ENGINES. THE FACTORY INSTALLED AIR CONDITIONER WIRE HARNESS WAS IMPROPERLY ROUTED ALLOWING SOME WIRES TO RUB AGAINST EACH OTHER, EVENTUALLY CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THE SHORT CIRCUIT CANPOSSIBLY CAUSE THE UNDERHOOD WIREING TO OVERHEAT AND SMOKE, CAUSING A FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. A SHORT CIRCUIT CAN ALSO RESULT IN A BLOWN FUSE OR DEAD BATTERY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLES FOR PROPER ROUTING OF THESE WIRES. ANY HARNESS IMPROPERLY ROUTED WILL BE INSPECTED FOR DAMAGE AND THE ROUTING WILL BE CORRECTED. IF ANY INSULATION IS WORN THROUGH AND THE COPPER WIRES ARE EXPOSED, THE HARNESS WILL BE REPLACED. DEALERS WILL ALSO INSTALL PLASTIC TUBING TO PROTECT THE HARNESS.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.