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Honda · NHTSA safety record

2020 Honda Accord

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

Owners have filed 362 safety complaints about the 2020 Honda Accord with the US government. Of those, 14 describe a crash, 2 mention a fire, 11 people were injured and 1 death is recorded. 5 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 103 complaints, 28% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 12,500 miles, the median across the 84 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2020 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

362 complaints on file

362

Complaints

14

Describe a crash

2

Mention fire

11

People injured

1

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 113 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 69 in the twelve before.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 103 · 28%
ENGINE 72 · 20%
SERVICE BRAKES 56 · 15%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 51 · 14%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 51 · 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 · 12%
AIR BAGS 35 · 10%
STEERING 22 · 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 17 · 5%
POWER TRAIN 16 · 4%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 · 4%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 11 · 3%
0 42 85

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 362.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 105.

112 84 56 28
20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2020 Honda ACCORD, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 4 DR FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 9.3%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

5 on file

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

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

24V064000 · February 1, 2024

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
The risk
An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 750,114 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

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

21V215000 · March 25, 2021

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure 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
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 624,552 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

1 on file

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.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 death · fire · crash · towed

FOLLOWING A COLLISION, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE RESULTING IN OPERATOR DEATH

NHTSA complaint 11389984. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

4 injured · crash · towed

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving at 25 MPH, the front driver's side air bag, the front passenger's side air bag, and the knee air bags were deployed unintendedly. Additionally, there was a significant amount of chemical smoke inside the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal to stop and exit the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled for 30-40 seconds and stopped after hitting a bicycle pole. The contact stated that the front passenger's side seat was occupied by an adult and the rear seats were occupied by an adult and a baby in the car seat

NHTSA complaint 11583035, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 3,000 miles

The contact owned a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the airbags deployed without incident and without warning. Due to the shock of the failure, the contact also stated that she then rear-ended an unknown obstacle on the road. Due to the failure, the contact stated that she was disoriented as a fellow motorist called authorities to the scene. The contact was arrested at the scene of the failure for reckless driving. After the contact’s release from jail, she sought medical treatment for a shattered sternum, a broken right thumb, and a hematoma on her left leg. The vehicle was towed from the scene as it was deemed a total loss. The dealer nor the

NHTSA complaint 11434263, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · crash · 19,654 miles

I [XXX] AM WRITING THIS LETTER ABOUT MY 2020 HONDA ACCORD. VIN NUMBER [XXX]. I LEASED THIS CAR IN JANUARY OF 2019 FROM TAMPA HONDA. MY BROTHER'S NAME IS ON THE LEASE AND HIS NAME IS [XXX]. HE HAS BEEN LEASING CARS FOR ME OVER 5 YEARS, FROM HONDA. ON FEBRUARY 10, 2020, I WAS OUTSIDE CLEANING MY CAR, LIKE I ALWAYS DO FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS WITH THE CAR RUNNING SO I CAN LISTEN TO THE MUSIC. I WAS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE CLEANING THE INSIDE DASH BOARD, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR ROLLED BACKWARDS. I WAS IN A STATE OF SHOCK AND DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO STOP IT. I WAS HALF WAY IN THE CAR, AND HALF WAY OUTSIDE WITH MY FEET ON THE GROUND. THE CAR ROLLED OUT IN THE STREET AND HIT THE CAR PARKED ACROSS

NHTSA complaint 11398952, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The high-pressure and low pressure fuel pump went out on the car and needed to be fixed. There is an open recall on 2020 Honda Accord however my VIN number is not a part of the recall and I think it should be as I have had to fix my low pressure and high high-pressure fuel pump before 100,000 miles.

NHTSA complaint 11766735. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

78,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH and attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped, and the brake pedal was depressed while the vehicle was entering ongoing traffic. There was a burning odor coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly lunged in the opposite direction while driving. The contact expressed concerns that the vehicle was unsafe to drive and that the failure could have caused a chain-reaction crash if the vehicle behind had not stopped. The contact did not feel safe driving the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure via telephone. The failure mileage was

NHTSA complaint 11766444, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

111,309 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. The Brake System, TPMS, Power Steering, and Check Engine warning lights were illuminated. The message “Reduce Speed” was displayed with an audible beeping alert. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 111,309.

NHTSA complaint 11766208. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Hello, I am requesting immediate attention to an issue with my vehicle that I believe is related to a factory defect. The recall service was completed, but the problem was not corrected. The warning lights are still illuminated on the instrument cluster, including ACC and LKAS. Since this issue appears to be related to a factory defect and the vehicle is still under warranty, I am requesting that the vehicle be properly diagnosed and repaired under the factory warranty at no cost to me. I am also concerned about the safety of operating the vehicle while these warning lights remain on. Please document this concern on the repair order and provide me with a clear explanation of the cause and

NHTSA complaint 11765647, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was driving on the freeway at freeway speed with my Mom and daughter in the car and all of a sudden the car decelerated suddenly to almost a stop, sending us all flying forward. I felt like we had to have hit something, but we didn't; it just felt that way because of the sudden, abrupt stop while going freeway speed. Our bodies are sore this morning as a result. Thankfully, no one was directly behind me at the time, and we didn't get rear-ended. This could have definitely caused fatalities. If I were to have been killed, no one would have known it was a vehicle malfunction. They would have thought I braked hard for some unknown reason. Even if I braked hard, it wouldn't have caused such

NHTSA complaint 11765511, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The 2020 Honda accord sport 1.5l has a problem with the turbo and fuel injectors going out. I am only at 113,000 miles and should not have this problem. It had come to my attention that this is a known problem with the 2018-2021 Hondas and should have a recall. My car is whining and loosing power going up hills. Please add a recall for this problem.

NHTSA complaint 11764866. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Honda Accord

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 85 0 —
2024 143 3 —
2023 86 5 —
2022 252 4 —
2021 234 4 —
2019 691 6 —
2018 1,883 6 —
2017 536 3 2
2016 607 4 —
2015 601 5 —
2014 981 4 —
2013 1,422 5 1
2012 373 8 1
2011 296 9 —
2010 580 12 2

Other 2020 Honda models

Pilot 489 Odyssey 474 CR-V 353 Civic 225 Ridgeline 169 Passport 102 HR-V 84 CR-V Hybrid 82

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Honda on this site — 192 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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