2021 Honda Accord Hybrid

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.

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

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 for this generation of vehicle. They still proceeded to ask nearly $7000 to fix it, saying that even though this is a known issue, there was no recalls on the vehicles so they could not waive or deduct the fees.

NHTSA ID

11721881

Incident

Feb 26, 2026

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 the dashboard came on so I took it to the shop on October 13th and they told me that my head gasket was faulty and my coolant system was faulty. To me a major problem should have not happened within a years time and I had my maintenance done on my car like I should have.

NHTSA ID

11696661

Incident

Oct 10, 2025

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 help with it.

NHTSA ID

11691029

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

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 especially when they temperature outside is above 70 degrees.The only solution from Honda seems to be to pay to replace the screen but it’s not a true fix as it can happen again.

NHTSA ID

11686473

Incident

Sep 8, 2025

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 going in the wrong direction or missing turns. The system has also had its software updated the, factory reset and software reset with no improvement in the situation.

NHTSA ID

11685477

Incident

Aug 14, 2024

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 radomly for at least two years on my vehicle. Honda refuses to acknowledge that this is a problem. It is all over message boards and has been for several years. For example: https://www.driveaccord.net/threads/2021-touring-infotaiment-glitching.568213/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/10thgenaccords/comments/1eh9b7b/screen_ghost_touching_and_more/

NHTSA ID

11682182

Incident

Jul 11, 2023

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

NHTSA ID

11677786

Incident

Mar 3, 2025

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 occurs frequently. The issue is not related to driver error, screen protector use, or moisture. The system has been rebooted and factory reset without improvement. A dealership employee has personally witnessed the issue in person, and I have recorded video proof of it occurring. This behavior is distracting and unsafe, as it pulls the driver’s attention away from the road unexpectedly as the screen flashes, and produces audible beeps. This issue makes it difficult or impossible to control basic vehicle functions like audio, phone calls, or climate. On one occasion, it rapidly switched inputs and opened screens while I was actively driving. Given how many critical systems are integrated into this touchscreen — including vehicle settings, audio, climate, backup camera interface, and navigation — a malfunction like this compromises safe operation of the vehicle whilst the vehicle is in motion. This defect was not disclosed prior to sale and was present within the first few days of ownership. I urge NHTSA to investigate this issue for potential design flaws or hardware failures in Honda’s infotainment systems, particularly in Accord Hybrid models with the Display Audio touchscreen.

NHTSA ID

11672047

Incident

Jul 2, 2025

Service Bulletin - There is a dull creaking, rubbing, popping, or clicking noise coming from the front of the vehicle while turning at low speeds potentially due to the bump stop contacting the top of the front damper body.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2022 Accord FHEVs with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P030X (Cylinder Misfire Detected) stored. Customer may also experience engine running rough condition. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2022 Accord FHEVs & 2020-2022 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P030X (Cylinder Misfire Detected) stored. Customer may also experience engine running rough condition. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2022 Accord FHEVs & 2020-2022 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P030X (Cylinder Misfire Detected) stored. Customer may also experience engine running rough condition. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2022 Accord FHEVs, as well as 2017-2022 CR-V 1.5Ls (no 2.4L), & 2020-2022 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P030X (Cylinder Misfire Detected) stored. Customer may also experience engine running rough condition. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2022 Accord FHEVs, as well as 2017-2022 CR-V 1.5Ls (no 2.4L), & 2020-2022 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P030X (Cylinder Misfire Detected) stored. Customer may also experience engine running rough condition. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.