IllustrationWHILE TRAVELING A LOW SPEED BOTH AIRBAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT AN IMPACT TO VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*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 VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE SRS CONTROL UNIT, THE 1995 MODEL VEHICLE WAS RECALLED, (96V-217) CONSUMER DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY HIS VEHICLES YEAR WAS NOT RECALLED. NLM *YH
SRS LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING. TOOK TO DEALER THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, RESET THE SYSTEM. WHILE STILL AT DEALER START THE CAR, AND THE SRS LIGHT STAYS ON. THEY TELL ME IT'S A POSSIBLE CABLE REEL PROBLEM, WHEN THEY TAKE A LOOK AT IT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WRONG. THEY RESET THE SYSTEM, AND MADE MULTIPLE TEST DRIVES WITHO…
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SRS LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING. TOOK TO DEALER THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, RESET THE SYSTEM. WHILE STILL AT DEALER START THE CAR, AND THE SRS LIGHT STAYS ON. THEY TELL ME IT'S A POSSIBLE CABLE REEL PROBLEM, WHEN THEY TAKE A LOOK AT IT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WRONG. THEY RESET THE SYSTEM, AND MADE MULTIPLE TEST DRIVES WITHOUT THE LIGHT COMING ON. NEXT TIME I START THE CAR THE LIGHT COMES ON. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS WRONG, BUT I CAN PAY TO HAVE THE AIRBAG REPLACED, AND THE INTERNAL COMPUTER OF THE CAR REPLACED. I HAVE YET TO TAKE IT BACK SINCE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG.*AK
AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINS ILLUMINATED, INDICATING A MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM, CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
MY DASHBOARD LIGHT SHOWING A PROBLEM WITH THE AIRBAG SYSTEM WENT ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSIS. THEY CHARGED ME $55.20. FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND TOLD ME THAT THE AIR BAG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE HAD INCREASED PRESSURE AND THE SYSTEM SHUT DOWN. NEITHER AIRBAG WOULD DEPLOY IF I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT. THE CHARGE TO FIX I…
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MY DASHBOARD LIGHT SHOWING A PROBLEM WITH THE AIRBAG SYSTEM WENT ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSIS. THEY CHARGED ME $55.20. FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND TOLD ME THAT THE AIR BAG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE HAD INCREASED PRESSURE AND THE SYSTEM SHUT DOWN. NEITHER AIRBAG WOULD DEPLOY IF I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT. THE CHARGE TO FIX IT WAS $1200 AND IT WAS NOT STILL UNDER WARRANTEE. I SPOKE WITH THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE REP IN CHICAGO AND HE OFFRED ME $300 TOWARD THE REPAIR AND I THEN SPOKE TO THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER WHO UPED THE OFFER TO HALF - $600. EVERYONE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE SYSTEM IS A STATIC SYSTEM AND THERE HAS BEEN NO WEAR AND TEAR ON THE SYSTEM. ALL INVOLVED SAY THEY HAVE NOT SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFORE, BUT THEY WILL NOT FIX IT UNDER WARRANTEE. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME IT WAS BECAUSE AIRBAGS ARE NOT A MANDATED SAFETY ITEM. THIS CAR HAS NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT. THE AIR BAGS HAVE NEVER DEPLOYED. THERE IS NO REASON FOR THE SYSTEM TO STOP WORKING, BUT IT DID. ONE OTHER NOTE IS THAT THE MILEAGE READING ON THIS CAR IS 47147, HOWEVER, THE TRUE MILEAGE IS APPROXIMATELY 62,000. THE SPEEDOMETER WITH THE ODOMETER HAD TO BE REPLACED AT 16,000 MILES BECAUSE IT MALFUNCTIONED.*AK
AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON, NOT TO DEALER YET.*AK
CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN 40 MPH FRONTAL COLLISION IN WHICH DRIVER'S AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
AIR BAG SENSOR LIGHT(SRS) REMAINS ON. THERE IS NO APPARENT REASON FOR THIS DEFECT. *AK
ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THE SRS LIGHT REMAINED ON AFTER STARTING ENGINE, MECHANICS RESET THE SYSTEM WHICH TURNED THE LIGHT OFF, SEVERAL WEEKS LATER LIGHT CAME BACK ON, AIR BAG SENSOR MAY BE DEFECTIVE AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED AT OWNER EXPENSE. CJ
ON 1/4/01 I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT THAT TOTALLED MY 1996 HONDA ACCORD. THE OTHER VEHICLE RAN A RED LIGHT AND I HIT HIM BROADSIDE GOING ABOUT 30 M.P.H. THE WHOLE FRONT END CRUNCHED LIKE A CAN AND MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I NEED TO KNOW WHY THEY DI NOT DEPLOY. WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IT WAS ONE OF THE SAFETY FEATURES I THOUG…
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ON 1/4/01 I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT THAT TOTALLED MY 1996 HONDA ACCORD. THE OTHER VEHICLE RAN A RED LIGHT AND I HIT HIM BROADSIDE GOING ABOUT 30 M.P.H. THE WHOLE FRONT END CRUNCHED LIKE A CAN AND MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I NEED TO KNOW WHY THEY DI NOT DEPLOY. WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IT WAS ONE OF THE SAFETY FEATURES I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE. MY INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE LOWER DUE TO THIS SAFETY FEATURE, BUT WHAT GOOD ARE THEY IF THEY DO NOT WORK, I FEEL I WAS LEAD INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY ASSISTANCE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE.*AK
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.