140 of the
1,191 complaints filed about the Honda Accord Hybrid
are about the braking system —
12% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2023.
Vehicle drove normally in the morning commute. In the afternoon commute it started normally and as i approached highway speeds the alarms started showing up. the Brake, hill descent system, abs, critical failure. the vehicle started losing speed and could not accelerate. Losing speed at highway speed was alarming and finally all dashboard went red with alert to stop driving and engine heating warming. Speed was in the range of 35-40 mph on a highway rated 70 mph. I had to pull over and tow car to dealership.
NHTSA complaint #11732538 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Component/System: Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) or related software. Vehicle available for inspection. Safety Risk: Vehicle brakes or decelerates unexpectedly during normal driving, risking rear-end collisions. Most recent incident on August 23, 2025, required override by pressing accelerator and shifting to neutral in traffic. Reproduction: Dealer could not replicate issue during May 16, 2025 visit. No diagnostic codes found. Radar and braking systems reported as “operating normally.” A second evaluation occurred after September 5, 2025, with no resolution; issue persists. Inspection: Inspected by Honda dealership twice—on May 16, 2025 (Invoice #488382) and again after September 5, 2025. No third-party inspections. Symptoms: Braking occurs in Sport, Normal, and Econ modes. Happens when accelerating from stop or easing off accelerator. Brake light activates falsely. No warning lamps or messages prior to failure. Issue has occurred 10+ times over the past year. Related Software Issues: Radio failure (resolved via software update). Clock shows incorrect time. Apple CarPlay fails to connect until restart. Navigation compass shows concentric circles.
NHTSA complaint #11690309 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was sitting in my car, and the entire steering and brake system went offline and the car had a bunch of hazard lights on and said to tow to a dealership. I tested the steering, and didn’t feel the wheels turn with the steering wheel, and the brakes went to the floor. When I went to shut off my car, it did the emergency shut-off (press 2xs or hold for 3 seconds). I attempted to restart the car about 4 times that night, and then I let it sit and tried it again 2 more times before having it towed to the dealership. The dealership stated they received the car and everything was suddenly fine and there were no code history, and they could not tell me the issue. Prior to this, the only issue I had was the car braking when no one was in front of me, but no issues with the steering wheel. With the entire brake system and steering system out, it could have caused a serious accident if I was driving at the time, but I was parked.
NHTSA complaint #11688599 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Left a store on a frontage rd, drove about 1/2 mile , car just breaking out of no where, stoped in the middle of the road, the dash stated breaking malfunction see Dealer immidentaly car died, I restatred it , the dash still stated the same , the picture of the car had back lights flashing and the red Break sign was on , Took it to the nearest dealer and when they started it the warning system had erased. They inspected it, told me that they could not find anything wrong. I just leased it 2wks ago and only have driven it 3 times , not even a hundred miles and this happens. There were no warning signs of any kind . If I would have been approaching the freeway I could have been killed.
NHTSA complaint #11686794 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car was in cruise control going 73mph on the freeway. I was passing a semi on the left hand side. When I was parallel to the semi, the car brakes hard and a big "BRAKE" light came on the cluster. There were no cars in front of me and luckily no one behind me. If there was a car behind me there would have been a collision. It was a clear day and again the road was clear. It took me from 70 to about 40 mph until I hit the accelerator to get back to speed. The CMBS is faulty and I will take it in to a dealer asap.
NHTSA complaint #11678709 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While I was driving on the freeway, the car brakes hard on its own when there were no cars in front of me. This happened twice. Thankfully there were no cars behind me either, otherwise I might have gotten into an accident
NHTSA complaint #11677786 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The brake system, it is in the repair shop. I could not stop the car, had I been on the highway I hate to think what could have happened to me or others. No, it has not been reproduced. It is in the repair shop. No, it is in the repair shop. No, there was no warning lights or messages or problems prior to this. I was pulling into a parking space at work in the parking garage and as I pushed down on the brake pedal the brake did not stop the car it made it accelerate at a very high rate, and I ran into the concrete wall
NHTSA complaint #11674903 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Honda is using cheap brake pads/rotors on their cars. I was parked and went in reverse and the brake pads started squealing so loudly, something didn’t seem right. I’ve never heard this sound before and my family hasn’t either who’ve owned many cars before. I took it to the dealership and they were able to reproduce the sound. They said nothing could be done even though the brake pads are too thick. This seems to happen when it’s humid, raining or cold. The dealership didn’t really care but this seems like a hazard. I’ve read on forums and researched online that this is a very common issue and nothing is being done to fix it. A recall should be issue because this can be a road hazard.
NHTSA complaint #11670636 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
when i am driving in an area near my home with road construction- there is a certain area that has a metal plate in the road and when i approach in from the east my car will automatically brake hard. luckily this has not caused an accident but i suspect that it may because it is a busy road.
NHTSA complaint #11668985 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I applied the brakes and pulled up to a light and as soon as my car came to a complete stop all of the lights just started going off. The light turned green and I couldn’t accelerate anymore and almost got rear ended. I tried turning the car off but it didn’t turn off. Instead, it just made a clicking sound and I was able to accelerate and pull into a parking lot and I was able to turn it off and I turned it back on and it the brake system light stayed on. I drove to work and when I got to work I turned it off and turned it back on and the car is fine.
NHTSA complaint #11668465 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lost all power and the warning light came on concerning brake system failure. The car came to a complete stop and would not accellerate, so had to shut down the system and restart in the middle of the road and luckily was able to drive home with only a brake light illuminated. There is definitely something wrong with the electrical braking system
NHTSA complaint #11667294 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Honda Accord Hybrid Touring Edition 2022 [XXX] [XXX] Complete Brake System Failure while pulling in to a Starbucks parking lot in Wayzata, MN. Braking system did not react or stop the car. Automatic braking system did not function either. As a result the car collided into a My Burger wall. No dashboard warning lights. After collision police and ambulance arrived on the scene. Driver was taken to Urgent Care after sustaining soft tissue injuries affecting clavicle, sternum, neck and back. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11666830 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving on the highway yesterday when all of a sudden several errors flashed on my dashboard, and my gas pedal stopped working. When I pulled over, I noticed an error code that read: "Brake System Problem. Brake performance may be reduced". Not only did I lose all acceleration control, but the error codes tell me there are brake issues. After researching online it seems like many others have experienced this issue and some people found the issue was caused by a faulty Ignition Control Module.
NHTSA complaint #11663058 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving on a city street at about 30mph. There was no one in front of me or behind me. Nothing in the road. The orange rectangular brake light came on for no reason, kept flashing and it felt as if the brakes were automatically being pumped, slowing the car down to a compete stop. In addition, I had no control of the steering. It was very dangerous situation which could have resulted in accident or injury.
NHTSA complaint #11662692 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving routine commute of 20 miles at Highway speeds on a clear weekday. The vehicle experienced ALL warning lights on dash and immediately went into limp mode. No power applied to the wheels when pressing the power pedal. Brought vehicle to the side of the road and powered off. Waited 30 secs to a minute and pressed Power and the only remaining error of "Brake System Problem" stayed up on the Driver display. Dropped vehicle off at the dealer, 3 miles from my job, to have them evaluate. After half a day the dealer stated "no problem found", "intermittent error". Now there is a known problem with late Honda vehicles with water intrusion into the tail lights and that in turn causes a short in the Braking system. I have noticed condensation in the tail light (Drivers side) but only a very small amount. Dealer stated they checked both tail lights and found no cracks or condensation. In my opinion my car falls into this category but dealer would not agree to a replacement assembly UNLESS they saw condensation in the tail lamp unit.
NHTSA complaint #11657879 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving on the highway multiple vehicle dash lights began flashing, including brake system, tire pressure, check engine; and the vehicle suddenly and completely lost the ability to accelerate. The car was clearly still on and in drive, but pressing the gas pedal had no effect. After turning off the car and restarting after a few minutes, the brake system alert persists. Car was towed to dealer out of concern for safety. The attached picture is after the vehicle restarted.
NHTSA complaint #11656202 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving 2023 Honda Accord at normal speed on rural road, the vehicle began to brake on it's own and driver could not over-ride this. Alarms for multiple failures showed on the dashboard. Car was stopped and would not move. Car was turned off then restarted. Dashboard alarms went away, only small information light for brake malfunction remained. Driver began to drive and tested brakes, all acted normally. Car was brought to Honda dealership. Dealership investigated and consulted with Honda engineers. They could not find a cause of the error, so nothing was fixed on the vehicle. Honda charged owner $150 to tell them nothing was wrong, even though car had taken control of brakes and stopped itself.
NHTSA complaint #11653906 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving about 30 mph, a brake system malfunction error appeared on the dash. The car lost all acceleration. Cabin heat shut off. Many other errors appeared related to electrical systems. Stopped and restarted the car, only the brake system error remained.
NHTSA complaint #11649860 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The yellow brake System Light illuminates on my dash. . I took my car to the Dealership immediately after the Brake System notification illuminated and the Dealer said they don't know how or why. I have a photo of the illuminated yellow light. My Electronic brake doesn't engage correctly when my car is parked I have video of the Electronic brake operating incorrectly. When i speak to the dealership they state that the Red Brake light did activate incorrectly. My car also slammed the brakes when there was nothing in front of me, causing the seatbelt to pull my neck violently. I was at risk of being rear ended. I've reported this to Honda America multiple times. The last incident caused so much anxiety and panic that I will not drive this car. I do not and will not continue to drive a car with brake issues. Please investigate. My car has been to the dealership nine times in one year and parked since 2/7/25.
NHTSA complaint #11647457 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving approximately 60 mph on a local highway when my the check engine light came on. The dashboard then started flashing warning messages for multiple error messages stating that many features were failing such as power steering, acceleration, brakes, lane assist, stability assist, and more. My car then lost power and decelerated, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the highway. I was unable accelerate or steer my vehicle to the side of the road. No one hit me but this could have easily caused an accident where either myself or others were hurt. I turned the car off and when I restarted it, my dashboard message stated that I had a brake system problem and that I should see my dealer. I was able to drive to the dealer where they ran a diagnostic and could not replicate the problem. They only stated it was a loss of communication in the computer but that "it would probably not happen again." They did nothing to identify what could have caused the loss in communication and said if it happened again, to bring the car back. I plan to take it to a certified mechanic to inspect the vehicle but I feel very unsafe driving a car that may lose power.
NHTSA complaint #11645208 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.