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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

What owners actually said

230 reports
Mileage unknown · Apr 20, 2023
Service Brakes

On four occasions I was required to slam in my brakes to avoid hitting a car in front of me on major highways in Virginia. When engaging the brakes the antilock brakes did not engage, the idle system (such as when you come to a red light and brake cuts the engine idle) kicked in and I lost the ability to steer. I had to release …

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On four occasions I was required to slam in my brakes to avoid hitting a car in front of me on major highways in Virginia. When engaging the brakes the antilock brakes did not engage, the idle system (such as when you come to a red light and brake cuts the engine idle) kicked in and I lost the ability to steer. I had to release the brake for the idle to re-engage then hit the brake again. I finally was able to stop but left approximately 6 feet of skid marks on the highway. I have reported this to my dealership for them to say brakes are performing as designed and they did nothing. My car has been at the dealership for 2 weeks and I’m driving a loaner. Rear brakes have high pitch noise when backing up but dealership said they can’t recreate it therefore will do nothing. I had one service manager say he did recreate the noise and was fighting to get rear brakes replaced but then called back to say “I misspoke and Honda did not hear the noise so not replacing rear brakes. All phone messages are recorded on my cell phone. I have filed a complaint with Honda Corporate and also called local law enforcement to see where liability falls if my brakes fail again and I hit someone (faulty equipment charge). Was informed by police to have all service orders in the car to confirm I did all I could to get my brakes fixed. So three trips to dealership, almost 4 accidents, and car has approximately 24k miles on it. No idea if this is a sensor problem or several interactions between all the different systems but this is a major problem. Your engine shouldn’t cut off and cause steering problems when you brake the car and are still moving forward. No one can give me options with this car other then trade it in and get something else. This is not acceptable. Someone could be seriously injured. I don’t want to be that driver.

NHTSA ODI #11517988

Mileage unknown · Apr 6, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceCrash

1.Driving on a straight road at about 45-50 MPH sudden abrupt braking for no reason . 2. Good thing I was wearing a seat belt , it was a very forceful brake action that pushed me forcefully forward, I was struck from behind by another vehicle. Visial minor damage to the rear bumper cover. 3. No it happened today 4-5-23 I pla…

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1.Driving on a straight road at about 45-50 MPH sudden abrupt braking for no reason . 2. Good thing I was wearing a seat belt , it was a very forceful brake action that pushed me forcefully forward, I was struck from behind by another vehicle. Visial minor damage to the rear bumper cover. 3. No it happened today 4-5-23 I plan on calling the dealer tomorrow. 4. The BRAKE message appeared at the exact time of the incident.

NHTSA ODI #11515726

Mileage unknown · Apr 4, 2023
Electrical SystemService BrakesVisibility/wiper

Hello, the car has this issue since i got it nrand new. Every time i drive in the rain or while its snowing, all lights on the dash board comes up and at least 50% of the options gets disabled. Like back up camera, windshield vipers, horn beeps non stop until you disconnect the battery and more. I see there is lots of people rep…

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Hello, the car has this issue since i got it nrand new. Every time i drive in the rain or while its snowing, all lights on the dash board comes up and at least 50% of the options gets disabled. Like back up camera, windshield vipers, horn beeps non stop until you disconnect the battery and more. I see there is lots of people reporting same issue but honda dont want to help me with this issue. Went to homda dealer and they said $169 for diagnostics, then called and said its gonna be 2 hours which is $338 and even then saying they are not sure if it will take them 2hrs or 10 and i had no choice to tell them to stop and pay only $169. Please see the video for details Honda case# 13733111 https://youtu.be/ABoYlunVNVo

NHTSA ODI #11515495

Mileage unknown · Mar 19, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

The electrical emergency brake locked up without warning as I was coming off the highway by the way of off ramp. Almost put the car in the guard rails! Brake has locked up twice now

NHTSA ODI #11512710

Mileage unknown · Feb 17, 2023
Electrical SystemForward Collision Avoidance

I was driving my 21 Honda Accord 1.5T on the highway and all of a sudden vehicle lost the power and Honda sensing / Emission warning lights came on. It almost cause a major accident and I was lucky enough to exit the freeway without incident. I drove to the Honda dealer and they found out one of the wire harnesses was chewed b…

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I was driving my 21 Honda Accord 1.5T on the highway and all of a sudden vehicle lost the power and Honda sensing / Emission warning lights came on. It almost cause a major accident and I was lucky enough to exit the freeway without incident. I drove to the Honda dealer and they found out one of the wire harnesses was chewed by a rodent which causes the whole issue. I did some research and found out that Honda was using less expensive Soybean base wire harnesses (instead of Petroleum base wire harnesses) to save the planet earth. This Soybean wires are easy target for rodents. This less expensive Soybean wire harness cost about $3000-3500 to replace and it's NOT fair to the consumer. Honda must re-call this Soybean wire harness before causing some major accident, especially on the freeway ( imaging your car losing power while driving 65-70 mph)

NHTSA ODI #11507883

Mileage unknown · Feb 16, 2023
Unknown Or Other

The infotainment system is both unresponsive and self operational. It operates on its own as if it's being pressed (ghost touching) while simultaneously not responding to my touch. Impossible to safely use navigation as screen will pan or switch functions entirely. Same goes for using phone via Bluetooth. I cannot answer or hang…

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The infotainment system is both unresponsive and self operational. It operates on its own as if it's being pressed (ghost touching) while simultaneously not responding to my touch. Impossible to safely use navigation as screen will pan or switch functions entirely. Same goes for using phone via Bluetooth. I cannot answer or hang up. Radio randomly turns on, changes stations etc. It's a complete mess. All of which is very distracting and adversely affects my ability to focus and safely control the vehicle. Honda insists that it is all software related - doubtful - so they refuse to change it out. They claim a software update is being worked on. Car has now been out for over two years and still no update. So 2 years with no update for a single software issue, yet they were able to design and build an entire new '23 model with multiple new software components in less than a year. Obviously little attention is being given to this, if at all. Please step in. I have some videos available.

NHTSA ODI #11507732

Mileage unknown · Feb 10, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

Automatic emergency breaking system has benn activated in about 6 different ocassions while driving in the highway for no reason. No vehicles or obstacles in front of the car but car suddenly applied brakes stopping the car very suddenly while driving 70-75 miles per hour.

NHTSA ODI #11506660

Mileage unknown · Feb 7, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

in the last 10 days, we there's been 4 incidents where the vehicle suddenly brakes when travelling on high speeds on the freeway out of nowhere. We were almost involved in a serious car accident yesterday where a vehicle behind us narrowly got out of the way. Took vehicle to honda dealership service and they claim they cant find…

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in the last 10 days, we there's been 4 incidents where the vehicle suddenly brakes when travelling on high speeds on the freeway out of nowhere. We were almost involved in a serious car accident yesterday where a vehicle behind us narrowly got out of the way. Took vehicle to honda dealership service and they claim they cant find any issues with braking system or sensors and they are not aware of any braking issues with this model. When i told them that i found online that theres an investigation opened last year about this issue in other accords, they had no idea what i was talking about and asked them to google it and they refuse. They refuse to fix the issue and suggest to just keep driving the vehicle since theres nothing for them to fix.

NHTSA ODI #11506095

Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

This car has randomly slammed on the breaks too many times to count and has been reported far too many times. Today while in the left lane on 95 southbound this car randomly slammed on the breaks so violently the speed was reduced 20 mph with seconds. This is incredibly dangerous, HOW LONG WILL YOU ALL THIS

NHTSA ODI #11505069

Mileage unknown · Sep 6, 2022
Forward Collision Avoidance

Vehicle tends to turn on brake warning light when there is nothing in the way. Driving with no obstacle in the way and the brake warning sign will display on dashboard. I’ve driven it on the highway with no cars and it will signal me to brake for no reason. I’m afraid the brakes might apply which could cause a serious accident.

NHTSA ODI #11483068

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