Honda Accord vs Ford Explorer

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure Honda Accord Ford Explorer
Complaints on file 32,167 43,316
Model years covered 1979–2026 1977–2026
Worst model year 2008 1998
Best model year 1993 2008
Crashes reported 2,784 2,358
Fires reported 316 987
Injuries reported 1,818 1,950
Deaths reported 59 182
Most complained-about part Electrical System Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm 15.5% 12.6%

Honda Accord by year

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 4,171 13.0%
Airbags 4,119 12.8%
Engine & Cooling 3,431 10.7%
Brakes 2,949 9.2%
Other & Unspecified 1,762 5.5%
Steering 1,653 5.1%

Ford Explorer by year

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Body & Structure 5,325 12.3%
Engine & Cooling 4,200 9.7%
Tires 4,187 9.7%
Steering 4,178 9.6%
Other & Unspecified 3,122 7.2%
Electrical System 2,309 5.3%
Brakes 2,223 5.1%