2021 Honda Accord problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking (30) · Service Brakes (23) · Electrical System (22)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Honda Accord model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
27 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2026-05-21 · campaign 26V332000 · 98,892 vehicles
Defect: 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 ma
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2024-02-01 · campaign 24V064000 · 750,114 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2023-12-18 · campaign 23V858000 · 2,490,460 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Seat Belts:rear/Other:retractor 2021-11-18 · campaign 21V900000 · 4,346 vehicles
Defect: 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."
Risk: An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (143)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2026-10-15 · ONL6LA10152026 · Other
owner notification letter - a programming issue within the wireless carplay and android auto software may cause an invalid "license authentication error" message to appear on the display audio screen after approximately 1,500 ignition on/off cycles.
Electrical System 2026-10-01 · AATS31549 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tech line summary article - customers may report that the center display unit changes screens on its own, registers unintended inputs, or operates erratically without user interaction. the condition may be more noticeable when vehicle interior temperatures are elevated.
Engine 2026-09-25 · A26-003 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, and/or misfire. in some cases, dtcs p0300 through p0304 may also be stored (dtcs are not required for repair).
Electrical System 2026-09-16 · AAHS09162026902 · Other
dealer message - on august 21st, 2026, american honda issued a product update for certain 2018-2022 accord and accord hybrid models that received the accessory wireless carplay and android auto upgrade. refer to service bulletin 26-068 for additional information regarding the product update.
Electrical System 2026-08-31 · AATS31549 · Other
tech line summary - customers may report that the center display unit changes screens on its own, registers unintended inputs, or operates erratically without user interaction. the condition may be more noticeable when vehicle interior temperatures are elevated.
Engine 2026-08-26 · AEBM08262026901 · Other
dealer message - under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire, and/or dtcs p0300 through p0304 stored.
Showing the 6 most recent of 143 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-28 · Lane Departure: Warning“i am submitting this complaint regarding an ongoing safety concern with my 2021 honda accord. multiple lights indicate engine system problems which includes, check engine light, car jerks at acceleration, seat sensor recall. i took my vehicle to multiple shops including the honda dealership. however, they were unsuccessful to identify the cause. mu…”
2026-10-18 · Service Brakes“vehicle: 2021 honda accord sport subject: intermittent electrical malfunctions, multiple safety warnings, and loss of acceleration i am reporting ongoing safety concerns involving my 2021 honda accord sport. on multiple occasions, my vehicle has displayed several dashboard warnings, including brake system, electric parking brake, vehicle stabilit…”
2026-10-17 · Vehicle Speed Control“electrical problems that causes damages to the engine and problems with acceleration.…”
2026-10-16 · Unknown Or Other“infotainment system glitching: "ghost touch"; the screen is not registering my touches and randomly selecting/pushing buttons all on its own. took it to honda dealership and they have no answer or fix. this happens from time to time while driving, causing a huge safety concern. extremely distracting to me, the driver. everywhere i go to get answers…”
2026-10-15 · Fuel System, Gasoline · 152,100 mi“the contact owns a 2021 honda accord. the contact stated that while his wife was driving at 65 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. the vehicle hesitated and then accelerated; however, the vehicle then failed to accelerate above 20 mph. several unknown warning lights illuminated. the contact's …”
2026-10-11 · Power Train“i bought my accord in february of 2026 with only 79k miles (now at 93k). 3 days after purchasing all of these warning lights popped up regarding emissions, brake system, power steering, etc. i brought it back in and they said that it needed a new fuel injector on cylinder one (which didn’t fix the issue). i have replaced all 4 spark plugs and kept …”
2026-10-09 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking“was at a stoplight, came to a complete stop once at a complete stop car completely shut all the way off, losing all electricity no hazard lights. you cannot press down on the brakes to restart the car. you could not do anything. car lost 100% of power 5 to 10 minutes later, vehicle shut back on automatically and engine started to run automatically.…”
2026-10-06 · Unknown Or Other“head unit touch screen will occasionally, uncontrollably create multiple phantom touches all over the screen, multiple per second continuously. driver cannot resolve while in motion. driver cannot cannot click away while the issue is occurring as the issue seems to mask real input. very distracting not only visually, but hearing as well. worst case…”
2026-10-05 · Unknown Or Other“vehicle infotaiment screen glitches and therefore is not making user access all car warnings ans switches screen during driving specially if using the navigation feature.…”
2026-10-04 · Unknown Or Other“the infotainment center went bad. it has been replaced... twice and is still bad. the screen jumps from xm radio to compass to clock to settings to fm radio to maps to xm radio to _____. it may do that 30-40 times a minute. and with each change there is a beep. this cannot be turned off. it is verrrry distracting. honda says there is n…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.