2021 Honda Accord Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking (6) · Engine (5) · Service Brakes (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Honda Accord Hybrid model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
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.
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 (44)
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 · A26-006 · 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.
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.
Engine 2026-08-26 · A26-006 · 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, misfire and/or dtcs p0300 thru p0304 stored.
Showing the 6 most recent of 44 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-14 · Electrical System“most recent incidents on friday 08/07 car lost power while driving on freeway unable to accelerate, all engine/warning lights came on was thankfully able to pullover and shut off vehicle. this is not first incident this also happened about 5x in 2025 and had car inspected and serviced by honda dealership each time being told they didn’t know what t…”
2026-03-04 · Unknown Or Other“my vehicle is currently suffering a failed head gasket. i was alerted about this issue from local mechanics and friends way before it actually happened. i took it to services and regular maintenance even more frequently after that. however, it still failed no matter what. i took it to the dealership, they even admitted that this is a known problem …”
2025-10-30 · Engine“i purchased my vehicle in march 25th 2024 a message on my dashboard saying engine is too hot so in august of this year i took it to the shop for a diagnosis test and they told me that the car didn’t run hot when they drove it so again in october 10th i was driving home and my car lost power on the freeway so i pulled over and then all my lights on …”
2025-10-02 · Seats“i received an initial honda recall notice on march 2024 regarding a recall and have been trying to reach out honda dealership to get updates on the parts but they always say its on backorder and they even do not have an option for us to order the parts or place us in que for the next order. would like to bring this to nhtsa attention and get some h…”
2025-09-10 · Unknown Or Other“occasionally the touch screen will have phantom touches and start randomly acting like it was clicked in random parts. this makes it do random things like switch from navigation to radio to calling random numbers. while driving this is especially distracting and poses a safety hazard. the issue is reported many times online and seems to be common e…”
2025-09-06 · Electrical System“the screen randomly freezes or toggles between different screen without user input. it will randomly exit navigaton, end calls, increase volume, etc. this happens irrespective of day or night and whether i am using android auto of the factory navigation. several times it has ended navigaton while driving cause me to have to pull over to avoid goi…”
2025-08-21 · Unknown Or Other“vehicle entertainment system experiences phantom touches that changes or turns off navigation, makes calls, flashes between applications, is unresponsive to touch etc. this is very distracting at best since the screen can be flashing while driving. also it can be dangerous as it can stop navigation while in route. this happens/has happened radoml…”
2025-08-01 · Service Brakes“while i was driving on the freeway, the car brakes hard on its own when there were no cars in front of me. this happened twice. thankfully there were no cars behind me either, otherwise i might have gotten into an accident…”
2025-07-08 · Unknown Or Other“shortly after purchasing this 2021 honda accord hybrid (used, from a dealer), the infotainment touchscreen began to exhibit phantom touch behavior — the screen activates or presses buttons on its own without user input. this causes menus to change, volume to fluctuate, navigation to exit, or apps to open/close while the vehicle is in motion. it occ…”
2025-06-08 · Unknown Or Other“the infotainment system has major issues. we cannot use it bc it is dangerously distracting. if a phone is connected it will randomly make unrequested calls, mute calls over and over again, turn off navigation, falsely reports police or accidents without anyone prompting it to do so and randomly turns on static and loud radios stations. which is st…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.