What breaks most · 1990 to 2026 model years
Honda Accord problems by year
Owners have filed 24,030 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Honda Accord across model years 1990 to 2026. Three years stand out: 2003 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2018 for engine complaints and 2008 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints. The quietest years are 2023, 2024 and 1993.
- Years to check closely: 2003, 2018, 2008
- Fewest complaints: 2023, 2024, 1993
- Complaints on file
- 240301990 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 20031987 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 1948220 fires · 1651 injuries · 46 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 70kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 396Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 192 | 10 | 12 | Seat belts (33) | |
| 212 | 17 | 13 | Seat belts (58) | |
| 206 | 41 | 12 | Air bags (34) | |
| 186 | 40 | 11 | Engine and cooling (35) | |
| 369 | 76 | 13 | Engine and cooling (84) | |
| 543 | 83 | 14 | Air bags (211) | |
| 472 | 52 | 13 | Air bags (109) | |
| 460 | 42 | 15 | Air bags (113) | |
| 1200 | 100 | 19 | Electrical system (308) | |
| 1135 | 77 | 17 | Electrical system (388) | |
| 1183 | 100 | 21 | Air bags (454) | |
| 922 | 143 | 19 | Air bags (407) | |
| 1050 | 129 | 16 | Powertrain and transmission (478) | |
| 1987 | 153 | 24 | Powertrain and transmission (924) | |
| 1016 | 89 | 22 | Powertrain and transmission (347) | |
| 656 | 92 | 24 | Air bags (209) | |
| 430 | 52 | 17 | Air bags (129) | |
| 524 | 88 | 10 | Air bags (160) | |
| 1520 | 62 | 9 | Brakes (hydraulic) (451) | |
| 722 | 47 | 11 | Brakes (hydraulic) (160) | |
| 580 | 37 | 13 | Air bags (134) | |
| 296 | 33 | 9 | Air bags (115) | |
| 373 | 46 | 8 | Seats (64) | |
| 1418 | 67 | 5 | Steering (497) | |
| 977 | 52 | 4 | Electrical system (378) | |
| 601 | 37 | 5 | Electrical system (237) | |
| 599 | 32 | 4 | Electrical system (194) | |
| 534 | 38 | 3 | Electrical system (152) | |
| 1864 | 35 | 6 | Engine (544) | |
| 677 | 24 | 6 | Engine (176) | |
| 355 | 14 | 5 | Forward collision system (100) | |
| 226 | 14 | 4 | Electrical system (59) | |
| 238 | 5 | 4 | Electrical system (91) | |
| 85 | 8 | 5 | Electrical system (22) | |
| 138 | 9 | 3 | Steering (45) | |
| 80 | 4 | 0 | Steering (39) | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | Unknown or other (3) |
What fails on the 2003 Honda Accord
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 47% |
924 | 20 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Air bags | 16% |
318 | 90 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 7% |
143 | 13 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 7% |
142 | 8 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 5% |
95 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 5% |
90 | 6 | Shop steering parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 4% |
81 | 18 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 4% |
73 | 5 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Randomly car will down shift and up shift. Sometime yes when i left off gas. Sometimes when it hits a certain rpm. The rpm will shoot really high and go back to normal. Only occurs while warm.
-
There is a hole in the engine block and it happed while I was driving, people could’ve been hurt on the road because of this mechanical failure. Vehicle has only been inspected by a private mechanic who found the problem. There was no warning of this besides a add air to tire warning.
-
Rear brake pads completely worn out. Front brakes pads still@ 75% good. This is unheard of due to the fact that most of the braking is on the front pads.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Honda Accord years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2003, 2018, 2008 carry the most filings on the Honda Accord. The 2003 alone has 1987 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Honda Accord problem?
On the 2003 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 924 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Honda Accord problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Honda Accord complaints that include mileage is about 70,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.