2015 Honda Accord

On May 6, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Engineering Analysis (EA21-001) to assess a sudden loss of steering control, in Model Year (MY) 2013-2015 Honda Accord vehicles. Consumers alleged while driving the steering wheel would pull to the left or the right independently. Steering pull may pose a risk of loss of directional control. Honda stated that they believed the inadvertent steering input was caused by a loose magnet located within the electronic power steering (EPS) system. Due to poor formulation of the adhesive, this magnet can become loose and move up to 2 degrees around the steering column. When the magnet moves, the torque sensor generates a signal that results in unwanted steering in either direction. Honda stated the steering force required to maintain directional control with a loose magnet is a maximum of 3-pound feet. The maximum force of the unwanted steering input can be overcome by the driver and is similar to driving on grooved pavement.The Vehicle Research Test Center (VRTC) sent over 4,000 questionnaires to 2013-2015 Honda Accord vehicle owners. Of the 637 responses, 58 consumers experienced unwanted steering. Consumers experiencing unwanted steering did not report difficulties maintaining directional control. There were no crashes or injuries reported to VRTC. Testing done by VRTC was not able to reproduce the allegations. Analysis of all relevant data indicates that the subject condition has a relatively low failure rate. The poor adhesive formulation was addressed by the supplier with three (3) counter measures in the manufacturing process.There has been a declining trend in consumer complaints to NHTSA which indicates possible exhaustion of parts prone to failure. In view of the low rate, declining complaint trend, the nature of failure, and resolution of the adhesive formulation, this Engineering Analysis is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.NHTSA.gov under the following ODI identification numbers: 11538714, 11528538, 11528008, 11522953, 11496557, 11495837, 11494328, 11478680, 11477167, 11476758, 11476263, 11471198, 11470001, 11467026, 11466561, 11466016, 11465626, 11464143, 11463558, 11462759, 11461500, 11460777, 11460191, 11455540, 11454334, 11452198, 11448114, 11447666, 11444888, 11444823, 11444172, 11443324, 11443243, 11443105, 11441374, 11439520, 11438345, 11437261, 11436824, 11436350, 11435994, 11435079, 11434969, 11434545, 11434442, 11434381, 11433824, 11433745, 11433555, 11433368, 11433176, 11431206, 11430465, 11430253, 11430009, 11429253, 11428301, 11427449, 11426841, 11426340, 11425928, 11425261, 11425230, 11423611, 11423245, 11422445, 11422395, 11422351, 11422220, 11422138, 11422069, 11421683, 11421589, 11421540, 11420573, 11419338, 11419270, 11418147, 11418143, 11417768, 11417742, 11417570, 11417437, 11416804, 11416699, 11416401, 11416378, 11416375, 11416155, 11416117, 11416084, 11416051, 11416032, 11416028, 11416024, 11416000, 11415933, 11415915, 11414105, 11406220, 11398736 ,11387075, 11387049, 11375580, 11364698, 11361125, 11351660, 11349961, 11327909, 11327170, 11301957, 11289067, 11282525, 11277659, 11258017, 11256914, 11218752, 11208077, 11196050, 11194358, 11189901, 11165075, 11163481, 11154891

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications.  The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU.  In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment.  FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle.  Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW.  These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes.  An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time.   In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU.  This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners.  Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation.  The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage.  There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation.  The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU.  If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC.  Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC.  All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled.  In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024.  With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

In my 2015 Honda Accord. The ABS, adaptive cruise control, vehicle stability assist, power steering, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, traction control, hill start assist, and brake system dash lights have all been intermittently coming on and off starting right around 150k miles. Now all of the lights have been on for some time now. I spoke to AutoNation Honda and Chapman Honda here in Tucson and both dealerships said it was a known VSA module issue with Honda. One quoted a $3,700 fix while the other estimated the job to be about $3,800. Technicians at AutoNation Honda confirmed that my Accord has the 32-11 ABS Solenoid Valve Malfunction, and the 85-01 VSA Module Malfunction codes that are directly related to the weak solder used by Honda on these modules. It’s unbelievable that this has been a known issue with Honda’s VSA/ABS modules, and nothing can be done because the cars regular brakes can still be used. This issue directly affects almost every safety function this car came with. Everything is disabled. It’s really unfortunate that this known issue can be labeled as normal wear.

NHTSA ID

11755811

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

the paint on the original rims has a problem and causes air leaking

NHTSA ID

11755730

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

First time my 2015 Accord 4dr FWD V6 AT failed to turn, I was coming out of parking area onto busy highway when I suddenly wasn't able to turn steering wheel to right enough to complete the turn and crossed over oncoming traffic lane to opposite shoulder. I parked and tried turning both directions while stationary, and was able to get full range to the left smoothly, but continued to meet complete resistance slightly right of center. There were no warnings whatsoever and the car operated normally prior to this incident. After about 4 minutes of sitting, I restarted car and noticed steering was restored both directions, firmer when moving and very smooth when parked. I took it home and had independent mechanic diagnose and troubleshoot with no answers other than possibly suspension or alignment. I replaced suspension components, got 4-wheel alignment, and steering was firm, responsive, and didn't lock up again for about 200 miles. The next time the steering acted up was when my son was driving back from church and couldn't turn left, again without warning. This time the car kept going straight and he was able to stop before hitting a large metal post. I brought the car home on a trailer. There were no codes, warning lights, sounds, smells, or any other indications of malfunction leading up to this failure. Over the next 2 months, I drove short trips within 8 miles of home on not busy streets and found no specific trend; this steering failure is recurrent, intermittent, and spontaneous, sometimes with stutter in turn. I'm not sure if it's related to known magnet problem or electrical/electronic issue. Obstructs evasive maneuvers. If we were on a mountain (not uncommon if hiking, sightseeing, visiting loved ones, or traveling), this car would have taken my family over the side of steep drop-off or crashed into cliff. Either way, cars don't abruptly transition from horizontal to sharp vertical, and this issue poses severe threat to lives and high probability of injury.

NHTSA ID

11752794

Incident

Mar 16, 2026

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2015 Honda Accord. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 166,907 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 285,636.

NHTSA ID

11751591

Incident

May 19, 2026

Mileage

285,636 mi

The Power Steering Light, Traction Light, ABS Light, and Brake Light all came on and would stay on leading me to check the code which was a 121-11 which seems to be a very common issue with the 9th generation Honda Accord.

NHTSA ID

11751441

Incident

Jul 8, 2026

The abs module failed. It is designed to fail as the wires are super thin. Repair quote was $4,000. The part, I’m sure, is then sent out and fixed cheaply then resold for a premium.

NHTSA ID

11749637

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

Door latch mechanism failed. The door doesnt stay closed, it will fly open if youre not holding onto it. Causes the dash to light up with door ajar and the locks trigger everytime it registers its open and you're moving.

NHTSA ID

11749210

Incident

Jul 7, 2026

The contact owns a 2015 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS warning light and the traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with ABS module and ABS solenoid valve failures. The contact was informed that the ABS control module needed to be replaced or rebuilt. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,350.

NHTSA ID

11746308

Incident

Jun 17, 2026

Mileage

91,350 mi

Service Bulletin - There is a loud buzzing or whining when adjusting the driver's or front passenger's seat forward and backward. The flex cable in the seat adjustment mechanism is not correctly lubricated.

Service Bulletin - There is a loud buzzing or whining when adjusting the driver's or front passenger's seat forward and backward. The flex cable in the seat adjustment mechanism is not correctly lubricated.

Service Bulletin - There is a loud buzzing or whining when adjusting the driver's or front passenger's seat forward and backward. The flex cable in the seat adjustment mechanism is not correctly lubricated.

Service Bulletin - There is a loud buzzing or whining when adjusting the driver's or front passenger's seat forward and backward. The flex cable in the seat adjustment mechanism is not correctly lubricated.

Dealer Message - On August 29, 2019, American Honda launched five revised and one new Warranty Extension paint bulletins. Please review the following summary of requirements within these bulletins and share with the appropriate staff to ensure proper claim submission.

Service Bulletin - When cold-starting the engine and shifting to Reverse, the engine stalls in the first 10 to 14 seconds. There is too much oil clearance between the input and stator shafts, which allows ATF to drain out of the torque converter during extend off periods. During a cold start, when the torque converter is refilled, air gets trapped in the torque converter. This applies the lock up clutch, which stalls the engine.