What breaks most · 1990 to 2019 model years
Honda Accord problems by year
Owners have filed 17,216 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Honda Accord across model years 1990 to 2019. Three years stand out: 2003 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2008 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints and 1998 for electrical system complaints. The quietest years are 2017, 1993 and 1990.
- Years to check closely: 2003, 2008, 1998
- Fewest complaints: 2017, 1993, 1990
- Complaints on file
- 172161990 to 2019, all trims
- Worst year
- 20031905 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 1624169 fires · 1355 injuries · 41 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 70kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 375Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 190 | 10 | 12 | Body and structure (32) | |
| 212 | 17 | 13 | Seat belts (58) | |
| 204 | 41 | 12 | Air bags (34) | |
| 186 | 40 | 11 | Engine and cooling (35) | |
| 368 | 76 | 13 | Engine and cooling (84) | |
| 541 | 83 | 14 | Air bags (209) | |
| 467 | 52 | 13 | Air bags (107) | |
| 453 | 41 | 15 | Air bags (113) | |
| 1168 | 94 | 19 | Electrical system (304) | |
| 1091 | 70 | 17 | Electrical system (380) | |
| 1113 | 93 | 21 | Air bags (415) | |
| 868 | 137 | 19 | Air bags (376) | |
| 998 | 120 | 16 | Powertrain and transmission (472) | |
| 1905 | 142 | 24 | Powertrain and transmission (909) | |
| 940 | 83 | 22 | Powertrain and transmission (327) | |
| 601 | 85 | 24 | Air bags (184) | |
| 372 | 44 | 17 | Air bags (104) | |
| 436 | 76 | 10 | Air bags (128) | |
| 1426 | 58 | 9 | Brakes (hydraulic) (451) | |
| 647 | 41 | 11 | Brakes (hydraulic) (159) | |
| 493 | 28 | 13 | Air bags (118) | |
| 240 | 24 | 9 | Air bags (101) | |
| 289 | 35 | 8 | Seats (63) | |
| 765 | 47 | 5 | Electrical system (229) | |
| 434 | 30 | 4 | Electrical system (167) | |
| 238 | 16 | 5 | Electrical system (79) | |
| 247 | 23 | 4 | Exterior lighting (94) | |
| 119 | 11 | 3 | Unknown or other (32) | |
| 201 | 7 | 6 | Brakes (65) | |
| 5 | 0 | 6 | Electrical system (1) |
What fails on the 2003 Honda Accord
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 48% |
909 | 18 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Air bags | 15% |
281 | 84 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 8% |
143 | 13 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 7% |
133 | 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 |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 4% |
78 | 17 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 4% |
74 | 6 | Shop steering parts for the 2003 Honda Accord |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 4% |
71 | 4 | 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.
-
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.
-
The car loses power while driving and operating the car. The ignition completely shuts the car off. The car can restart, but the ignition continues to shut off repeatedly
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 30, 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, 2008, 1998 carry the most filings on the Honda Accord. The 2003 alone has 1905 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 909 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.