3,398 of the 32,025 complaints filed about the Honda Accord are about the engine — 11% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2018.
3,398
Complaints
11%
Share of all complaints
83
Crashes
58
Fires
ENGINE
Car losing power on the interstate and side roads Replaced spark plugs, replaced coil packs replaced fuel injectors after dealers diagnostic testing $2500 for those issues Vehicle still misfiring took in to another dealer head gasket need replacement $5200 quote
NHTSA complaint #11758835 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Issue 1: Faulty Collision Mitigation Braking System & Subsequent Crash Incident Details: In July of 2025, my vehicle’s automatic braking warning lights randomly activated and triggered an unprompted, emergency stop on [XXX]—despite having no vehicles ahead of me. This sudden malfunction directly caused a rear-end collision on the interstate. Documentation: A formal crash report was filed with the Georgia State Patrol. Ongoing Risk: The false automatic braking warnings continue to trigger randomly, creating an extreme safety hazard for myself and surrounding traffic. Issue 2: Premature Turbocharger Failure & Cracked Head Gasket Diagnostic Timeline: Immediately upon picking up the car from a body shop repair, every warning light on the dashboard illuminated erratically. After Ed Voyles Honda in Marietta claimed nothing was wrong, the body shop replaced a potentially loose battery cable. The issue persisted, and Shottenkirk Honda in Cartersville ultimately diagnosed a total turbocharger failure in March 2026. Out-of-Pocket Cost: Honda denied any goodwill coverage despite the widespread, documented failure of these 1.5L engines across 2018–2023 models. I paid $1,700 out of pocket to replace the turbocharger. Escalating Failures: Shortly after the turbo replacement, the head gasket cover cracked—another notorious, widely recognized defect inherent to this specific engine setup. At only seven years old, this vehicle has proven to be unreliable, dangerous, and financially burdensome. The known defects in the 1.5L powertrain warrant a widespread recall. Given my long-standing loyalty and the severe nature of these defects, I request a full reimbursement of the $1,700 turbocharger repair costs and an immediate investigation into the phantom braking issue. I expect a prompt reply outlining how Honda intends to resolve these safety issues. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11758960 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
The head gasket failed in the engine. Coolant leaked into the cylinder head causing the engine to overheat and put the driver at danger to immediate vehicle failure while driving. The problem was confirmed by the dealer. The vehicle has only been inspected by the dealership. There were warning lamps that indicated engine overheating.
NHTSA complaint #11758913 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Turbo has gone out and it's several thousand dollars to get fixed and will eventually affect the overall lifespan and performance of the engine if not repaired in a timely enough fashion. There is no recall for this specific issues even though thousands of Honda Accord owners are dealing with the same failure/repair and there are no offers of goodwill assistance from the dealership or manufacturer. The dealership assured that engine failure is inevitable without a turbo replacement and they can't determine the extent of the damage that's already been done to the engine since the turbo showed signs of failure.
NHTSA complaint #11758761 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Blown head gasket
NHTSA complaint #11758774 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
turbo and the head gasket
NHTSA complaint #11758398 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
A lot of warning sides are on the dash , has been coming on every since the mileage hit 100k
NHTSA complaint #11758414 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Keep getting code p0299
NHTSA complaint #11758404 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
See attached document for complaint
NHTSA complaint #11758434 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
In June of 2026 I was merging onto a busy high way trying to accelerate on while in the middle of the high way my car completely starts decelerating while next to two semis and not being able to do anything as I finally get to the side of the high way I turn my car off and back on all of my lights started coming on and appearing on my dash while this was all happening I start the car again and it is doing the same thing not accelerating and while trying it is jerking this could have killed me or others due to my faulty head gasket Honda wants me to pay $4,000 to replace this head gasket I am a college student with no money and still having to pay my car payment I have a 2018 Honda accord 1.5L turbo engine and still have not been able to drive my care due to this I have a 118,00 miles and it started acting weird before I even hit 100k miles this is not okay this could have harmed others due to these faulty issues I see it is a wide spread concern and something needs to be change and I was also denied the goodwill act due to this I start school next week 45 min away and can’t even go to my class for nursing I’m disappointed in Honda this was supposed to be a long term car
NHTSA complaint #11758125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Engine making noise when start, took to dealer, it was diagnose with head gasket gone. All services done from dealer since purchased and now dealer is saying gasket replacement.
NHTSA complaint #11758097 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
The car suddenly stopped speeding up on the highway, and the check engine light began to flash. There were no warning signs before this occurred. I was driving with my kids when I had to think and move quickly off the highway because there were other cars behind us. The car would only roll because it wouldn’t speed up. Yesterday, on August 17, the car was towed to a Honda dealership, where they ran some tests. They found out that the car has a blown head gasket.
NHTSA complaint #11757654 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
The head gasket is leaking coolant into cylinder #2. The car has misfired and has not been operable. The problem has been confirmed and diagnosed through the dealer. there were no prior warning lights to the issue until the car completely became inoperable from one day to the next.
NHTSA complaint #11757778 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
My car currently has displayed all lights on panel. Went to auto zone to have codes read, shows powertrain-description is code PO299 suggests turbocharger assembly. Safety is put at risk because all of the safety features are now disabled.
NHTSA complaint #11757836 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
All warning lights came on whilst driving. Scheduled a diagnostic at the dealership. Dealership confirmed the head gasket had blown due to the design flaw of the coolant pathway between cylinder #2 and #3. This is a common problem with this engine. Vehicle is out of warranty. Now faced with a big repair bill.
NHTSA complaint #11757292 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Coolant is leaking into my cylinders due to the head gasket design flaw. Engine now needs to be replaced and it’s over $6,000. My car has about 150k miles. About 18 months ago it started misfiring, even while on the highway multiple times with my children. Codes came back saying i needed to replace ignition coils and spark plugs. Did that over and over and over. Turns out this is an on going issue with this specific year and model. I bought this car with 4 miles on it. I’m left without a car. This need to be recalled. I have read over 4,000 stories of others having the same issue.
NHTSA complaint #11757221 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
I was driving on the hwy going about 75 mph which is the posted speed when all of a sudden my car went into limp mode almost causing a 18 wheeler to run over top of my car with me and my child in it no warning or anything and the car would only go about 20 miles per hour after of that and now all the lights are on in the dash only have a 115000 miles on the car at this time very unsafe and gonna cause someone to get killed because of something falling on this car
NHTSA complaint #11757316 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
40,000 miles and 5 years after original in service date - failure of 2021 ACCORD 1.5T headgasket system between cylinder s #1-2. Required full head disassembly, removal, rebuild of head, and replacement of head gasket and associated components. $6000 quote from Honda Corporate as I was 55 DAYS outside of warranty. Absolutely ridiculous for a 5 year old car with low miles.
NHTSA complaint #11757180 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
Emission system
NHTSA complaint #11757216 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ENGINE
2 weeks ago. All of my warnings and lights for my car came on. We undid my battery, charged it and did it again. The lights went away and about 3 days ago they came back on. Now my car is overheating and the system is reading wrong.
NHTSA complaint #11757034 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.