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2021 Honda Accord

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Honda Accord do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 356.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 25 of 230 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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 61 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 35 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

14 crash reports1 fire reports5 injury reports

Forward Collision Avoidance complaints

60 reports
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Mileage unknown · Mar 22, 2024
Forward Collision AvoidanceLane Departure

--Automatic braking: When I first purchased car in 2021, the automatic emergency braking engaged abruptly 3 times within the first 3000 miles of driving the car. I was unable to get a resolution through dealer, local Honda service centers or Honda corp. I turn off the feature each time I start my car, but I'm told by Honda servi…

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--Automatic braking: When I first purchased car in 2021, the automatic emergency braking engaged abruptly 3 times within the first 3000 miles of driving the car. I was unable to get a resolution through dealer, local Honda service centers or Honda corp. I turn off the feature each time I start my car, but I'm told by Honda service that there is no way to disable feature to prevent safety hazard. --Lane Keeping Assistance: Since purchasing car in 2021, my lane keeping assistance does not work properly and pretty often will actually try to pull the car out of lane both on local roads and more often on the interstate. I have the feature disabled for safety.

NHTSA ODI #11578837

Mileage unknown · Mar 8, 2024
Forward Collision Avoidance

While driving on an open road with no cars around, the emergency braking suddenly engaged causing the car to come to an almost complete stop by itself.

NHTSA ODI #11576135

Mileage unknown · Dec 28, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

At speed limit cruising down I66. I was all alone. No birds in area at all. Open road. I was in middle lanes. Car attempted to come to a complete stop by itself. “Phantom Braking”? All my friends with Honda’s and Acura’s mentioned similar issues. If anyone was behind me, I could have caused a pile up or even worse. It’s happened…

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At speed limit cruising down I66. I was all alone. No birds in area at all. Open road. I was in middle lanes. Car attempted to come to a complete stop by itself. “Phantom Braking”? All my friends with Honda’s and Acura’s mentioned similar issues. If anyone was behind me, I could have caused a pile up or even worse. It’s happened a few times. Took to Capitol Heights Honda and Landmark Honda. They ran diagnostics. Explained to me there were no error codes. I explained to them, if system has a fault, it thinks it’s operating properly. So, no errors would appear! I have experience and education in computer programming (College), mechanical and electronic (US Army) and over 30 electromechanical troubleshooting, repair and maintenance and other IT experience. SME After they haven’t been able to do anything about it, I turn off all safely systems. I drive a lot. So, I’m also a very good driver. Have almost 65k miles on my vehicle. Date of incident below was when I forgot to turn off sensor. But it happened a few times before and I brought to Honda after first two times. I even had to rent a car at my expense.

NHTSA ODI #11562475

Mileage unknown · Nov 25, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

My family and I were driving home to LA from NM. I had been using the cruise and steer assist earlier in the drive but had it off after going through a metro area interstate. There was no vehicles within the cars front camera system when while driving 75 mph( that was the sped limit in TX), the cars braking system engaged with a…

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My family and I were driving home to LA from NM. I had been using the cruise and steer assist earlier in the drive but had it off after going through a metro area interstate. There was no vehicles within the cars front camera system when while driving 75 mph( that was the sped limit in TX), the cars braking system engaged with a hard break, no “brake” light flash of rapid break pumps as it would do if something was within the camera range. I was able to get in slow lane and within 30 secs it did it again. I was able to drive another hour with no issue but stayed under 65mph. We are 7 hours away from home and will be getting it to the dealership. This could have caused a major wreck.

NHTSA ODI #11556806

Mileage unknown · Oct 17, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceCrashInjury

A vehicle in front of me made a quick slow down. The automatic braking engaged, the driver behind me did not react in time and struck the back of my car. Resulting in totaling of the vehicle. The automatic braking would not stop engaging, if it would have dis-engaged I could of pulled forward a few feet and the driver behind me…

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A vehicle in front of me made a quick slow down. The automatic braking engaged, the driver behind me did not react in time and struck the back of my car. Resulting in totaling of the vehicle. The automatic braking would not stop engaging, if it would have dis-engaged I could of pulled forward a few feet and the driver behind me would of missed me.

NHTSA ODI #11550519

Mileage unknown · Jun 18, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

Honda accord breaks unexpectedly for no reason. It’s an automatic break or slow down without us pressing the break. The car has an automatic emergency break system and it seems to break when nothing is I front of us. Happens many times and dealer can’t figure out what is wrong. They tell us car is running well.

NHTSA ODI #11527601

Mileage unknown · Jun 13, 2023
Electrical SystemForward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

I was driving home in the rain and felt the car automatically braking when there was no car or object in front of me. The car was also slow to accelerate because the brakes were automatically applied. 5 miles later numerous warnings appeared on the dash and the following error messages came through my Hondalink app: Electric …

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I was driving home in the rain and felt the car automatically braking when there was no car or object in front of me. The car was also slow to accelerate because the brakes were automatically applied. 5 miles later numerous warnings appeared on the dash and the following error messages came through my Hondalink app: Electric Parking Brake Problem, CMBS Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, and RDM Problem. Several times during this drive home the brakes automatically applied without any intervention from me or roadway object. I almost got rear-ended once when a car behind me had to slam on its brake when my car automatically braked without me doing anything. This is a very dangerous condition that should be looked further into as multiple drivers have reported brakes being applied without driver intervention or an apparent road hazard. How many complaints will it take before a recall is issued so other Honda drivers do not need to be put at risk?

NHTSA ODI #11526779

Mileage unknown · Jun 9, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

I was driving on the freeway going 65mph when the automatic safety brake system slowed my car down abruptly for no reason at all. Luckily there wasn’t any other vehicles anywhere near me or it would have caused an accident. This wasn’t the only time the safety system activated without reason either. It also happened two other ti…

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I was driving on the freeway going 65mph when the automatic safety brake system slowed my car down abruptly for no reason at all. Luckily there wasn’t any other vehicles anywhere near me or it would have caused an accident. This wasn’t the only time the safety system activated without reason either. It also happened two other times in similar situations.

NHTSA ODI #11526149

Mileage unknown · May 18, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

The collision mitigation brake system continues to come off, and today it made my car spin, and I almost crash into the media.

NHTSA ODI #11522745

17,000 miles · May 5, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceVehicle Speed Control

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated. The contact veered off the roadway. The contact then stated that she carefully drove the vehicle to her residence. Additionally, the contact added that on a separate occasion while the accel…

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The contact owns a 2021 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated. The contact veered off the roadway. The contact then stated that she carefully drove the vehicle to her residence. Additionally, the contact added that on a separate occasion while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle inadvertently jerked without the brake pedal depressed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

NHTSA ODI #11520679

Official recalls

4

26V332000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

May 21, 2026

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.

Consequence & remedy

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.

24V064000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

Feb 1, 2024

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.

Consequence & remedy

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.

23V858000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Dec 18, 2023

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.

Consequence & remedy

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.

21V900000 · Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor

Nov 18, 2021

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."

Consequence & remedy

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.

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

1

EA24002 · Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking

Opened Apr 15, 2024 · No close date supplied

Status: open (inferred from source dates) · Forward Collision Avoidance; Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking; Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Camera; Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Radar; Forward Collision Avoidance:software

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.

Additional source detail variants (5)

Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking

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.

Forward Collision Avoidance

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.

Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Camera

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.

Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Radar

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.

Forward Collision Avoidance:software

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.

Go deeper into Honda Accord problems