2018 Honda Accord

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.

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 1,081 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of CMBS in the subject vehicles.  A total of 24 complaints alleged a crash and 42 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, 84 injury incidents and 40 crashes involving vehicles with unique VINs that may relate to the alleged defect. PE22003 has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA24002) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations.  Further 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.

Formal Complaint Regarding Repeated Warning Lights and $2,600 Turbocharger Repair Recommendation – 2018 Honda Accord Dear Honda Customer Service / Dealership Management, I am writing to formally express my concern and frustration regarding ongoing issues with my 2018 Honda Accord and the diagnosis and repair recommendation I have received from the dealership. My vehicle has been experiencing an intermittent problem where multiple warning lights and/or error indicators on the dashboard come on at the same time. The problem does not remain consistently active. The warning lights may stay on for several days, then disappear, and later return again. This has happened multiple times. Because the issue is intermittent, I have attempted to have the vehicle properly diagnosed rather than simply replacing parts based on a temporary warning or error code. I have also had a diagnostic scanner connected to the vehicle. At various times, the scanner has not shown an active problem or has not provided a clear explanation that would justify replacing a major and expensive component. Despite the intermittent nature of the problem, I have now been advised that I may need to spend approximately $2,600 to replace the turbocharger due to an underboost condition. I have serious concerns about this recommendation. First, I want to understand exactly how the dealership determined that the turbocharger itself has failed and that replacing the turbocharger will actually resolve the underlying problem. An “underboost” condition or related diagnostic code does not necessarily, by itself, establish that the turbocharger is defective. There can potentially be other causes of an underboost condition, including issues involving boost-control components, hoses, connections, sensors, vacuum or pressure leaks, wiring, electronic controls, or other related components.

NHTSA ID

11766745

Incident

Sep 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving, the vehicle lost automotive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the head gasket was allowing coolant to leak into the cylinders which caused the vehicle to lose automotive power. The contact was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

NHTSA ID

11766520

Incident

Sep 1, 2026

Mileage

150,000 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, several unknown warning lights unexpectedly illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure mileage was approximately 116,242.

NHTSA ID

11766507

Incident

Sep 23, 2026

Mileage

116,242 mi

My car keeps losing power suddenly! Sometimes it has even started to stall while driving. Also the electrical menu has tons of errors and isn't working. There are several recalls on Honda Accords for the fuel pump and the vehicle assistance module but my vin doesn't show up.

NHTSA ID

11766240

Incident

Jul 1, 2026

this is a known issue with honda. the head gasket is blown causing all the warning lights to come up on the dash. my car has not got hot, it goes up to the H but goes right back down to normal setting. i have had my local honda dealer look at my vehicle and that is what they told me was the issue. since my car has a rebuilt title, honda won't cover the cost for the repair. i bought the car last year from an out of state small dealer with a rebuilt title. honda is being sued for this issue, because they know about it and still were making the vehicles. this is no fault of my own and honda should honor the recall and repair my car at no cost to me. as i am now unable to drive the car and i can't afford to have it repaired. i contacted honda of america and filed a claim and also a good-will request, but because of the rebuilt title, i was not eligible for help. every single honda made during these specific years 2018-2021 are having the same issues. not one car should be discriminated against because of a rebuilt title. the re-build has zero impact on the head gasket and the cylinders being too close together, and the turbo causing the head to blow. my car is right at 128,000 miles, and it’s known for the issue to start occurring around 120,000 miles. then come to also find out there’s an ongoing issue with gas leaking into the oil. they denied my request on that too. any help would be greatly appreciated! thank you for your time and consideration! -RF-

NHTSA ID

11765319

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "SRS Fault" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the passenger’s seat occupant detection sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the mechanic retrieved a seat belt fault code. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failures and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V332000 (AIR BAGS) nor 23V158000 (SEAT BELT). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 72,000.

NHTSA ID

11765191

Incident

Jul 1, 2026

Mileage

72,000 mi

I am not sure WHAT component failed. My lights on my dash will not go off. I have done everything I was told to do, ever down to a new Battery. & they will not go off. My car will not go over a certain speed. Before this, there were no problems. No warning lights & it was driving perfectly fine. PLEASE HELP. When I researched this issue, I noticed a million others having the SAME problem. There has to be a recall on these Honda’s. Let alone, just a simple answer as to WHY this is happening.

NHTSA ID

11764632

Incident

Sep 14, 2026

My car starting shutting off on me suddenly while driving. No warning lights. Eventually had it towed to honda. Honda informed me it was the head gasket that blew with only 109,000 miles on the car at the time. My car had the 1.5 turbo engine that is now currently under investigation for this same issue. Ended up having a used motor put in it that cost me $4,000

NHTSA ID

11764530

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

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.

Owner Notification Letter - Honda has developed software updates to the Honda Sensing system to enhance driver experience by modifying the circumstances when the advanced driver assist system (ADAS) decelerates the vehicle or the extent of deceleration. The software covers Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM).

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.

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.

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.

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.