2021 Honda Accord reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2021 Honda Accord has 231 complaints with NHTSA after 6 years, or 22 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Accord years here — under the median of the other years, which is 49. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Fuel pump, and Retractor.

2018 Honda Accord sedan — Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

231

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (61 of 231), then Forward collision avoidance (61) and Engine (35). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 69,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 14,888 and 98,000 miles. Those filings include 14 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 5 that report an injury.

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Accord has 359 complaints, 35 per year, and the 2022 has 246 complaints, 22 per year. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2022.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2021 Honda Accord. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (4)

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-05-21 · NHTSA campaign 26V332000

Summary 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.

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.

Vehicles affected 98,892

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2024-02-01 · NHTSA campaign 24V064000

Summary 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.

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.

Vehicles affected 750,114

Recall Fuel pump 2023-12-18 · NHTSA campaign 23V858000

Summary 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.

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.

Vehicles affected 2,490,460

Recall seat belts, rear or other, retractor 2021-11-18 · NHTSA campaign 21V900000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V, Ridgeline, 2022 Insight and CR-V Hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Remedy Dealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

Vehicles affected 4,346

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (231 total)

Electrical system

Forward collision avoidance

Engine

Service brakes

Lane departure

Air bags

Fuel and propulsion system

Powertrain

Speed control

Steering

Seat belts

Seats

Structure

Suspension

Visibility and wipers

Air brakes

Engine and engine cooling

Fuel system, gasoline

Visibility

Back-over prevention

Diesel fuel system

Equipment

Exterior lighting

Traction control

Show 16 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Of the 25 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 69,000 miles. The middle half fall between 14,888 and 98,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"Sudden braking; car comes to a complete stop and brakes so Hard. Most likely fault from Collision Mitigation Brakking system"
Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-09-19
"The car's infotainment system constantly glitches out and changes channels,outputs,texts,videos while car is being driven. It's very distracting and dangerous. It will literally do it 100's of times within a short…"
Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-09-15
"COMPONENT: Visibility--Exterior Rearview Mirror, Passenger Side. While driving normally, the passenger-side exterior rearview mirror glass/holder assembly suddenly shattered and completely detached from the mirror…"
Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-15
"Vehicle started flashing all lights on dashboard. I drove it for awhile and then it eventually went off. A few days later same lights came back on a car started misfiring. Was told by Honda that is was the Turbo that's…"
Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure · filed 2026-09-10
"Door lock actuator(s) randomly failing to lock/unlock. Multiple reports on forums for same exact issue. Replace one, another fails shortly after. Issue involves both locking and unlocking, putting safety individuals at…"
Electrical system · filed 2026-09-08

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2021 Honda ACCORD 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars
2021 Honda ACCORD HYBRID 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Accord	1.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	30	38	33 MPG	$1950
Accord hybrid	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	48	48	48 MPG	$1350
Accord hybrid Sport/Touring	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	44	41	43 MPG	$1500
Accord Sport/Touring	1.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (AV-S7)	Front-wheel drive	29	35	32 MPG	$2050
Accord Sport/Touring	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (10-speed)	Front-wheel drive	22	32	26 MPG	$2500

Specs and fitment

10th generation, 2018–2022

Body styles Sedan

Oil 0W-20 , 3.7 qt capacity

Tire size 225/50R17 (LX/EX/EX-L) to 235/40R19 (Sport/Touring)

Known issues for this generation

Certain 2018-2022 Accords with the 1.5L turbocharged engine are affected by a documented head-gasket defect: coolant can seep through grooves in the cylinder head and degrade the gasket, eventually leaking into the cylinders. This causes engine misfires, a rough-running engine, and reduced coolant that can lead to overheating if unaddressed. The defect is the subject of proposed class-action litigation covering 2018-2022 Accord, 2016-2022 Civic, and 2017-2022 CR-V models with this engine family.

Compare

Previous year 2020 Honda Accord Next year 2022 Honda Accord See every Honda Accord model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Honda Accord reliable?

What are common problems with a 2021 Honda Accord?

Is the 2021 Honda Accord more reliable than the years next to it?

Has the 2021 Honda Accord been recalled?

The 2021 Honda Accord has 4 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2021 Honda Accord?

Owners have filed 231 complaints about the 2021 Honda Accord with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Honda Accord get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Honda Accord is 36.4 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2020 Honda Accord?

10th generation (2018-2022).

Does the Honda Accord have head gasket or oil dilution problems?

Certain 2018-2022 Accords with the 1.5L turbo engine have a documented head-gasket coolant leak issue; there is no NHTSA recall, but Honda has issued dealer service communications.