Which Honda Accord years should you avoid?

2018, 2013, 2019 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Honda Accord model year measured over an identical 60-month window.

What is the best year for the Honda Accord?

2011 is the best-scoring Honda Accord model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 75.6 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

How many recalls does the Honda Accord have?

34 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Honda Accord model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

Which Honda Accord years to avoid

Across 12 scored model years, the 2018, 2013 and 2019 model years carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates.

Ownership label · Honda Accord Full report

Grade 2010–2021

2018 vs model median 2.5×

Model median3× median

Driver Assist 214

Brakes 191

Electrical 137

Avoid

2013 · 2018

Best

2011 · 2021

What the record shows

Written from this model’s own complaint and recall history.

The 2018 Accord is unusual in this dataset for what leads its complaint list: driver assistance, ahead of brakes and electrical. That combination, on a car whose median odometer reading at complaint is about 11,000 miles — the lowest figure among the highest-volume models here — points at systems that announce themselves immediately rather than wearing out.

2018 was the launch year of the tenth-generation Accord and of Honda Sensing as standard equipment. Owners report the collision mitigation braking system activating with no obstacle present, sometimes hard and at speed, and describe false forward-collision warnings; the brakes category is elevated for the same reason. A separate and well-populated group concerns the infotainment head unit and battery drain, which appears here under electrical.

The rate stays elevated into 2019 and then falls. 2013, the first year of the previous generation, is flagged too — the same first-year-of-a-redesign pattern. 2011 and 2021 record the Accord’s lowest rates in this dataset, and both are late-generation cars.

Reviewed Claude, 10 August 2026, against the model's own record and NHTSA campaign filings

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Severity-weighted complaint volume and grade by model year for the Honda Accord
Year	vs median	Reports	Grade
2010	0.64×	265	C
2011	0.38×	133	B
2012	0.69×	263	C
2013	1.83×	706	F
2014	1.39×	536	C
2015	1.00×	397	C
2016	1.06×	409	C
2017	1.00×	385	C
2018	2.50×	1,117	F
2019	1.21×	471	D
2020	0.73×	304	C
2021	0.60×	254	B
2022 P	0.95×	433	C
2023 P	1.16×	432	C
2024 P	0.81×	335	B
2025 P	0.37×	155	A

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2013 F 706 reports · median 23,000 mi

Steering 146

As I was driving down the highway I veered to the left and the steering wheel started free spinning and the tires were not controlled by the steering wheel any longer. I had no control of the vehicle. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Electrical 122

This car has push button start on and off. The engine can be cut off with car in any gear and it does not have to be in park. I left the car in drive on a hill and went to get out and the car was drifting forward. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Engine 94

2013 honda accord sedan, v6, touring model I stopped at the signal light at route 50 and chain bridge road; when the light changed I pressed the accelerator to leave, but nothing happened - the car was not moving or… owner complaint filed with NHTSA

68 crash · 1 fire · 57 injuries

2018 F 1,117 reports · median 11,075 mi

Driver Assist 214

The contact owns a 2018 honda accord. While driving 30-40 MPH and making a left turn, the lane assist system and lane mitigation warning indicators illuminated. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Brakes 191

Bought vehicle nov 22,2017. The following week when commuting home from work a light came on while using driver assist showing collision mitigation system problem. See your dealer. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Electrical 137

The contact owns a 2018 honda accord. While driving approximately 15 MPH, all the warning indicators illuminated on the dashboard. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

44 crash · 8 fire · 39 injuries

The best year for the Accord

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2011 is the best-scoring Accord model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 75.6 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

Best-scoring model years
Year	vs median	Reports	Grade
2011	0.38×	133	B
2021	0.60×	254	B
2010	0.64×	265	C

Recalls

34 campaigns on record.

Recall campaigns, largest first
Campaign	Component	Model years	Units affected
16V346000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE	2010, 2011	2,719,386
23V858000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP	2013–2023	2,490,460
11V395000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)	2010	1,512,107
18V661000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE	2010–2012	1,355,406
17V418000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY	2013–2016	1,148,550
17V030000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE	2010–2012	977,708
24V064000	AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER	2020–2022	750,114
20V771000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE	2018–2020	737,233
24V763000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP	2023, 2024	720,810
18V042000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE	2010–2012	691,726
21V215000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP	2019, 2020	624,552
23V158000	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY	2018, 2019	448,613

+ 22 further campaigns

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2018 were reported at a median of 11,075 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Honda Accord years should you avoid?: 2018, 2013, 2019 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Honda Accord model year measured over an identical 60-month window.
What is the best year for the Honda Accord?: 2011 is the best-scoring Honda Accord model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 75.6 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Honda Accord have?: 34 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Honda Accord model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2018 Accord

Complaints in window: 1,117
Severity-weighted: 1,442
Model median (weighted): 576
vs model median: 2.50×
Recall campaigns (weighted): 6
Open investigations: 1

Score 19 F