CSR

Honda · NHTSA safety record

2018 Honda Accord Hybrid

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

114

Complaints

3

Crashes

1

Fires

2

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid have filed 114 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2018 and June 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 23 of them (20%). The typical failure was reported at 7,320 miles, the median across the 56 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints halved year on year: 7 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 26 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this vehicle. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Recalls (4)

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

26V332000 · May 21, 2026

The 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 may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
The risk
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
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.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 98,892 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

23V858000 · December 18, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
The risk
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 2,490,460 vehicles across all model years covered

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

23V158000 · March 9, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2020 CR-V, 2018-2019 Accord and Accord Hybrid, 2018-2020 Odyssey, 2019 Insight, and 2019-2020 Acura RDX vehicles. A manufacturing issue with the front seat belts may cause the seat belt buckle channel to interfere with the release button, preventing the seat belt buckle from latching.
The risk
An unlatched seat belt cannot properly restrain the seat occupant during a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt buckle release buttons or the buckle assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 18, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are NDA, QDB, BDC, MDD, LD9. TDF, FDG, ODH, YDI, ZDE.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 448,613 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

20V771000 · December 10, 2020

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, and 2019-2020 Insight vehicles. A software error may cause intermittent or continuous disruptions in communication between the Body Control Module (BCM) and other components. This may result in malfunctions of various systems such as the windshield wipers and defroster, rearview camera, exterior lights, audible warning of a stopped vehicle, and power window operation. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems" and number 111, "Rear Visibility" as well as FMVSS numbers 104, 108, 114, 118, and 305.
The risk
Various system malfunctions such as inoperative windshield wipers, defroster, rearview camera, or exterior lighting can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the BCM software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 22, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is X95.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 737,233 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (3)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking

EA24002

Still open engineering analysis · opened April 15, 2024

forward collision avoidance

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.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

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.

Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking

PE22003

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened February 21, 2022 · closed April 18, 2024

forward collision avoidance

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.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 114.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 24 21%
ENGINE 23 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 17%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 13 11%
SERVICE BRAKES 13 11%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 12 11%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 10 9%
STEERING 9 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 8%
POWER TRAIN 7 6%
STRUCTURE 6 5%
WHEELS 6 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 27.

2018 2019 2026
2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 injured · 10,000 miles

ON SUNDAY NIGHT (11/10/19) AROUND 5:15 PM, I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE LEFT LANE OF A 2-LANE HIGHWAY AT ~55 MPH. THE CLOSEST VEHICLE WAS NO LESS THAN 5 CAR LENGTHS AHEAD OF ME. RANDOMLY, THE ORANGE "BRAKE" LIGHT CAME ON IN THE DASH AND THE CAR AUTOMATICALLY SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES ALMOST TO A COMPLETE STOP CAUSING MY HEAD TO JOLT FORWARD. LUCKILY THE CAR BEHIND ME WAS ABLE TO STOP AS I STARTED TO ACCELERATE AGAIN. I BELIEVE THERE WAS NOTHING IN FRONT OF ME OR ON THE ROAD THAT SHOULD HAVE CAUSED THIS SAFETY FEATURE TO ENGAGE. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS AND SCARY. I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN FROM MY NECK AND SHOULDERS DOWN TO MY LOWER BACK. THE PAIN HAS BEEN GETTING WORSE THROUGHOUT THE

NHTSA complaint 11279449, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

1 injured

[XXX] Yesterday around 11:15AM CDT I was traveling north at 45 MPH right lane (4 lane road) no other cars around me (neither ahead, to the side or behind) and just before I reached a tree shaded spot on the road the Break Alert light started flashing and the Automatic Emergency Braking System engaged and slammed on the brakes (seemed like it cut the gas or electric power to the engine as my foot was on the accelerator pedal). It jarred my body and later in the evening my neck started to tighten up so I must have incurred whiplash. I looked on line and saw that there has been a class action case filed in 2019 about Honda’s ASBS engaging with no other vehicle around citing several other

NHTSA complaint 11431912, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

fire · crash · towed · 15,500 miles

I WAS SLOWLY PULLING INTO MY GARAGE TO PARK. WHEN I PRESSED ON THE PARKING BREAK, THE CAR REVVED TO FULL SPEED, SLAMMED INTO GARAGE AND WOULD NOT RESPOND TO THE BRAKES, OR ANY ATTEMPT TO TURN OFF THE IGNITION OR TO CONTROL THE CAR, INCLUDING FAILURE OF THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION OR PARKING COLLISION TO FUNCTION, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ALL TURNED ON. WHEN "PARK" WAS DEPRESSED, WITH THE ENGINE STILL REVVING AT A HIGH SPEED, THE CAR FLEW FULL SPEED INTO REVERSE INTO THE DRIVEWAY, SPUN IN A CIRCLE THEN FLEW THROUGH THE DRIVEWAY ELEVATED CONCRETE DIVIDER, THROUGH THE NEIGHBORS FENCE AND WAS STOPPED BY A LARGE BOULDER UNDER THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE WAS

NHTSA complaint 11376459, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 8,000 miles

PARKING AT NURSERY SHOP, CAR WENT OUT OF CONTROL SPEEDING AND RUNNING OVER THE CONCRETE STOPER AND NURSERY FENCE. IT WAS A SUDDEN ACCELERATION AND VEHICLE COULD NOT BE STOPPED. THE CAR WAS MOVING IN SLOW MOTION TO PARK AND HAD A SUDDEN ACCELERATION THAT CAUSED THE ACCIDENT. VERY SCARY. TRIED TO STOP PRESSING THE BRAKES BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT RESPOND. NO INJURIES BUT IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE ANYWHERE.

NHTSA complaint 11219067. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
On 2-252026 my wife and I were driving on highway I-15 in California when the car started to accelerate, decelerate and jerk and the engine light came on. It was very scary because we were on a major highway driving around 60 MPH and cars were behind us when the deceleration happened. We could have been hit by cars traveling behind us or either we could have caused a major accident. We had to get off the highway and have the car towed to Honda for assessment. There was no engine light warning or service warning from Honda prior to this happening, it just randomly happened. The car was repaired at a Honda dealership and they said there was a leaking head gasket on cylinder number 4. When we

NHTSA complaint 11746562, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
While driving on the highway at approximately 65 mph with my child in the vehicle during rush-hour on May 21, 2026, my 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring (105,746 miles) suddenly dropped speed, and began backfiring and stopped responding to the gas pedal. The check engine light flashed and the vehicle ran rough. I activated emergency flashers and drove slowly to the shoulder. Sunnyvale Honda (Sunnyvale, CA) diagnosed coolant intrusion into one of the cylinders and head gasket failure. The vehicle had never overheated and showed no prior warning signs. All maintenance was performed at Honda dealerships per the maintenance minder schedule. The dealership performed a head gasket repair costing

NHTSA complaint 11746305, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding my 2018 Honda Accord [VIN# [XXX] ] concerning what I believe to be a defective cylinder head or head gasket — an issue I have since learned is widely reported within the Honda owner community and is currently the subject of active class action litigation. Beginning at approximately 89,000 miles, my vehicle began experiencing episodes of engine rumbling followed by sudden shutoff. These episodes occurred two to three times before I brought the vehicle to an authorized Honda dealership at approximately 99,000–105,000 miles for diagnosis. At the dealership, I paid for a diagnostic inspection. I was informed that the technicians could not

NHTSA complaint 11740669, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Over the past several years, there have been multiple instances where I or my wife are driving on the highway and the engine light comes on or starts flashing, and I am unable to go faster than 50 miles an hour, and the engine itself feels to be underpowered. We have taken it to the dealership for repair at least five times over the past five years and in each case they have attempted to do a repair and said the issue has been resolved, but the issue continue. At at least one of those visits, they have diagnosed the issue as an engine misfire issue. The issue has intensified from the initial symptoms, (which were as I described, but resolved by turning the car off, waiting 30 seconds to a

NHTSA complaint 11715485, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The car loses power. It starts as a misfire on cylinder 2 (P0302 code) and the engine starts to shutdown (or goes into a safe mode with no power). The result is loss of speed which creates a safety hazard especially on highways. This has happened multiple times and the car has been in the shop 4 times for this issue. We have to pull off the road, turn the car off, sit for a minute and restart the car. It will then run ok. This has happened during acceleration and when just trying to keep speed on an incline. The dealership has not been able to identify an issue. The head gasket was replaced in April 2025 because they thought there was a pin hole that was causing oil to push into the

NHTSA complaint 11693248, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

105,000 miles

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, various warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the Lane Departure, Lane Keep Assist, ACC, and Blind Spot Detection warning lights remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the malfunction or warning lights were a result of the camera being faulty and that the camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.

NHTSA complaint 11686086. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Honda Accord Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 21 2
2024 76 4
2023 139 6
2022 54 1
2021 48 3
2020 39 5 1
2019 92 5
2017 45 2
2015 39 1
2014 24 1

Other 2018 Honda models

Every Honda on this site — 187 vehicles, 362 recall campaigns and 10 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst