2020 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.

The car has a blown head gasket at 72k miles the odometer. This seems to be a major problem with 2018-2022 honda accords with the 1.5 turbo engine. it also has a bad fuel pump.

NHTSA ID

11755895

Incident

Apr 2, 2026

I was driving on Route 42 today at around 3:45 and my brake light flashed across my dashboard like I needed to step on my break because there was something in front of me but there was nothing in front of me. This has been going on for over a year now I have reported it multiple times and I'm just trying to see if you guys are going to fix it or inspect it I've cleaned off my radar also to make sure that wasn't the problem and it still does it

NHTSA ID

11754325

Incident

Aug 2, 2026

The car keeps giving me misfires

NHTSA ID

11753856

Incident

Jun 8, 2026

1) The infotainment system/8-inch LCD touch screen that controls the system settings is exhibiting ghost/phantom touches and is faulty since July 7th 2026. I tried to self-diagnose it but could not fix it. Yes, the vehicle is available for inspection provided I get a loaner car to drive that day. 2) These random touches are constant and are very distracting and when a driver is distracted, it could lead to accidents and more catastrophically, death of one or multiple people due to a crash. I have tried hard to not get distracted but it sure isn't helping. 3) No, it has not been confirmed by a dealer as they want to charge me 200 USD to diagnose an issue for something I have hard evidence on. I have video evidence of it happening when I was driving to ensure this is not a fake report. Multiple people on the internet have reported the same failure mode so this cannot be a one-time or first occurrence. 4) No one has inspected it except me and a few friends as I do not want to pay to diagnose a safety issue on my car. 5) No warning, no messages, no symptoms. Just randomly started to happen on July 7th 2026. This freaked us out as we driving in the night around 11PM on a freeway and the sudden distraction jolted us. 6) I have added a video link, but please note that it expires in 2 days.

NHTSA ID

11753766

Incident

Jul 7, 2026

Took my car to Honda they stated my head gaskets and turbo charger was bad .. every shop that i talked to about the problem had stated that they have been getting a alot of my models coming in with the same issue

NHTSA ID

11752736

Incident

Apr 13, 2026

While driving, my vehicle experienced a sudden engine malfunction consistent with a failed head gasket. The engine began misfiring, shaking, and losing power, and the check engine light began flashing. The vehicle became unsafe to operate. The failed component is the engine head gasket, and the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The sudden loss of engine performance created a serious safety concern. I was driving on a public roadway when the engine began misfiring and losing power, making it difficult to safely maintain speed and operate the vehicle. A sudden loss of power while driving increases the risk of being rear-ended or becoming involved in a collision, particularly in traffic, while merging, or at highway speeds. The vehicle was inspected and diagnosed by an authorized Honda dealership, which confirmed the head gasket failure. I also spoke with independent mechanics who were immediately familiar with this type of failure on Honda's 1.5L turbocharged engines. Although Honda diagnosed the problem, my request for goodwill assistance was denied because the vehicle was outside the warranty period. The vehicle has been inspected by Honda and is available for further inspection if requested. It has not been inspected by law enforcement or my insurance company because no accident occurred. As the condition progressed, the engine developed a rough idle and intermittent misfires. Eventually, the check engine light began flashing, and the engine began shaking and losing power while I was driving. These warning signs escalated into a condition that I believe presented a significant safety risk. I am submitting this complaint because an engine that suddenly loses power while being driven poses a serious safety hazard to both the driver and others on the road. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigate whether this represents a recurring safety-related issue affecting Honda vehicles equipped with the 1.5L turbocharged engine.

NHTSA ID

11751444

Incident

Jun 4, 2026

Fuel injector began failing resulting in a loss of engine power.

NHTSA ID

11750972

Incident

Jul 16, 2026

High pressure fuel pump failed at 100,000 miles cause the vehicle to lose power.

NHTSA ID

11750969

Incident

Jul 7, 2024

Service Bulletin - 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).

Service Bulletin - American Honda has identified a condition that may affect Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) operation. Due to software programming issues of the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), unexpected vehicle deceleration may occur.

Dealer Message - Due to software programming issues of the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), unexpected vehicle deceleration may occur.

Dealer Message - Some customers have reported a pop-up message on the audio unit display stating: “Please insert USB drive containing valid software license file and press OK button.” When this message appears, the audio unit becomes unresponsive. The rear-view camera remains functional.

Dealer Message - Some customers have reported a pop-up message on the audio unit display stating: “Please insert USB drive containing valid software license file and press OK button.” When this message appears, the audio unit becomes unresponsive. The rear-view camera remains functional.

Tech Line Summary - Customers who have purchased the Accessory CarPlay /Android Auto upgrade are complaining that a pop-up message appears on the audio unit display stating, “Please insert USB drive containing valid software license file, and press OK button”. When this message is displayed, the audio unit is not responsive to control inputs, however the rear-view camera remains fully functional.