What 340 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Honda Accord Plug In Hybrid

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle to reset the instrument cluster; however, the warning lights remained illuminated. The contact checked under the hood to check if the battery terminal was loose, but found no issues. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who replaced the 12-Volt battery; however, the warning lights returned. Additionally, the contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light or while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle was vibrating. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact had stopped driving the vehicle. The contact stated that prior to the instrument cluster failure, the low-pressure tire monitor warning light was intermittently illuminated. The tire pressures were checked; however, there was no indication of a tire pressure being low. The contact had also felt the vehicle vibrating, but it was not as noticeable as until recently. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11687572

Emissions system problems see dealer light came on took to autozone reading stated turbocharger but light went off. Later all warning lights came on so took to dealership they advised turbocharger as well. After for weeks no light no longer on. More recently emissions system problems light started coming on and off, but this time it will go days without being on then will turn on or it can be on when I first start driving then later it's no longer on. I also had issue with all lights coming on again went to autozone got brake fluid since it was low and they went off. I feel it maybe issue of faulty sensory due to fact car drives fine and light doesn't stay on consistently. I also see Honda currently has proposed class actions for defected turbochargers so wonder if that issue with my car.

NHTSA ODI 11685321

When I turned my car on after work every warning light on the dashboard was on. A few of the warning messages read: Collision Mitigation Braking System Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control System Problem, Hill Start Assist Problem, Electric Power Steering System Problem. I first took it to Oreilly's to have the diagnostics ran. They told me the ignition coils needed to be replaces. We replaced the ignition coils and the spark plugs. The lights stayed off for about 3-4 days and then the same thing happened again. I took it to the dealership to be checked out and they told me that the head gasket had failed and coolant was leaking into the cylinder and causing the engine to overheat.

NHTSA ODI 11680908

Car has only 73k miles , fails to accelerate unless it’s left to run for an hr . All lights on dash . Replaced spark plugs, coils and battery to no avail and Took to get diagnosed and was told head gasket and quoted 7k to fix. When car does drive it immediately accelerates to 40 on dash which could cause collision leaving me to feel unsafe to drive .

NHTSA ODI 11679363

When the fuel tank was at 1/4 full/empty, the car started stalling on the highway. We were able to go to a gas station and filled the gas tank. The problem was gone. We went to our mechanic but he could not find the problem. A few day's later the gas tank was 1/2 full/empty and the same problem happened. We filled it up and the problem was gone. We went back to our shop and the mechanic did a diag but didn't find any fault codes. He advised to go to the Honda dealer to take a look at it.

NHTSA ODI 11678027

My car displays every single light on the dashboard it’s been happening for about a year. It starts to shake when I turn it on sometimes it does it sometimes it doesn’t but now it’s a reoccurring issue and has been happening for the past six months we’ve brought it to everywhere. The engine is stalling and won’t go over 20 mph. I’m lucky if it gets to 40 . There’s a recall on my car, but my van is not covered underneath it. Looking to see if this can be looked into since so many people I have spoken to says that that’s what they’re experiencing until they got the recall fixed

NHTSA ODI 11677797

Malfunctioning fuel injectors causing misfires stem from a known issue with faulty fuel injectors; a problem widely reported across multiple Honda models equipped with the 1.5-liter turbocharged direct injection engine. Notably, the Honda CR-V (2019–2023), Civic (2019–2022), and Accord (2018–2022) have all been consistently linked to fuel injector failures. The most serious safety concern associated with this defect is the potential for sudden throttle changes, which can trigger the check engine light, cause the engine to lose drive power, hesitate, or even stall—all of which significantly increase the risk of a crash or injury.

NHTSA ODI 11675239

Subject: Request for Recall Due to Persistent Dashboard Warnings and Engine Malfunction Dear [Manufacturer Honda] / NHTSA, I am writing to formally report a serious issue with my vehicle. All of the warning lights on the dashboard remain illuminated and do not turn off. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally becomes undriveable, unable to accelerate beyond 5 miles per hour. I was informed that the problem is related to the engine. I brought the car to a dealership for inspection, but they refused to repair the issue because the vehicle had just passed 40,000 miles. They stated that the warranty no longer covers the repair, despite the severity of the malfunction. After doing research and speaking with other vehicle owners, I have learned that this issue is not unique to my car. It appears to be a widespread problem affecting many vehicles of the same make and model across the United States. Given the safety risks and the number of affected vehicles, I kindly request that you investigate this matter thoroughly and consider issuing a recall. Owners should not be left responsible for costly repairs when the problem is clearly a recurring defect. Thank you for your time and attention.

NHTSA ODI 11674163

The turbo apparently went out without any warning as I was pulling onto the highway from work 5/22/25. I was almost creamed by the cars flying down the road. My vehicle is very well maintained , no issues ever until this. It upsets me rightly to find that this is not only been reported to you all, but there are people who are having to do class action lawsuit to try to get Honda to be held accountable at the very least since they refuse to recall this engine. There are thousands of people out here I have engine installing. Anytime an engine saws there is a danger whether I actually had an accident or made a report or not. And for the manufacturer to know that they have this issue and do nothing about it blows my mind. We can not allow car makers to put engines and cars that have known issues that lead to the lockdown and therefore stalling out of a brand new vehicle. Not everyone knows they need to come here and file a complaint. There are so many more people with this same issue. I don’t have an incident report because by the grace of God I was able to avoid the incident. How many people have to get hurt before we make Honda accept this critical engine damage is their responsibility to fix. That doesn’t even include the thousands of people who have spent their hard earned money to purchase a car. They’re supposed to be number one and safety only to have to deal with the engine installing. Is my hope that you would look further into any investigations you may already have people should not have to file lawsuits to get Honda to fix this. It is dangerous and it is not acceptable. On top of that it’s extremely pricey a big deal to force your customer to foot when they’ve done nothing wrong.

NHTSA ODI 11664596

Subject: Turbocharger Underboost – Safety Concern on 2020 Honda Accord EX-L I am reporting a serious safety issue with the turbocharger system on my 2020 Honda Accord EX-L with the 1.5L turbocharged engine. The vehicle has repeatedly triggered Diagnostic Trouble Code P0299 (Turbocharger Underboost), indicating the turbocharger is failing to generate sufficient boost. As a result, the vehicle suffers from sudden loss of power, especially during acceleration and highway merging. This power loss occurs without warning and severely impacts my ability to drive safely in traffic, increasing the risk of accidents. There are currently no recalls or manufacturer advisories addressing this issue, despite numerous online reports from other Honda owners with the same engine and problem. This suggests a possible design flaw or premature component failure in the turbocharging system. Given the frequency of this issue and its impact on vehicle safety, I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this matter and consider whether a recall or manufacturer service campaign is necessary. Symptoms include: •Sudden engine power loss •Error code P0299 •Inability to accelerate safely •Safety risk during lane changes and merges First occurrence: April 20, 2025 Ongoing issue: Yes Mileage at first occurrence: 111, 000 Crash or injury: No Thank you for your attention to this matter

NHTSA ODI 11658809

Car reached 113,000 miles and started having misfires in cylinders 1&2. After being told it needed new coil packs and spark plugs, and replacing those it is still misfiring. Paid for diagnostic again and was told cylinder 1&2 were wet and most likely it was the head gasket failing.

NHTSA ODI 11655980

•Alleged Defect:
The defect is described as the engines' inability to handle the increased heat and compression of a turbocharger, causing coolant leakage and damage to the engine's head gasket. 




NHTSA ODI 11655368

Mechanic said there was a fault in the hi pressure fuel injectors that’s causing the engine to run rich

NHTSA ODI 11654084

This engine has been so poorly designed it leaks coolant Into the engine system. I am extremely frustrated and disgusted with the dealership and Honda for knowing these engines are defective yet still producing/selling them. We pay hard earned money for something so unreliable it’s actually insane. I don’t want to be nasty about it but someone needs to say something.

NHTSA ODI 11648230

Nothing happened, I just want to know if my engine is a 1.5 or 2.0

NHTSA ODI 11630261

I was headed to work going 40-45mph, as I was going I felt my car shift out and my speed dropped to 25 automatically. My engine light popped up FLASHING. I could not accelerate my car above 25, leaving me late for work, I had to turn my hazard lights on so people could know something was wrong but I could have been hit from behind. My car did not give me any notifications from my car on the issue it could be having like usually, (oil change, tire rotation, spark plugs, etc.) After cranking my car again a few hours later, I noticed a difference in how it is cranking up. Honda dealership is wanting 150 to even look at the car for a possibility of repairs. I need to know exactly why it is happening and why a recall is not open if I have spoken to multiple people and they are having the same issues, all within this year.

NHTSA ODI 11626337

The 1st thing that happened was that all the components of ADAS stopped working in the spring of 2023. All the warning lights turned on in the middle of my commute home from work. It was very intimidating because I thought the car was going to stall in the middle of the highway, so pulled over to the side. I contacted Honda dealership and they were going to charge me to diagnose the problem. So I went to Autozone and it diagnosed my problem as "System too rich (Bank 1)". I went to an independent mechanic and they had the same warning on their machine as Autozone. They tried replacing an oxygen sensor, that did not work in getting rid of the problem with all my warning lights turning on. Again the ADAS component lights turned on and the system did not work. The next thing they did was replace 4 fuel injectors. I have not had any issues with my car since concerning this problem with fuel too rich.

NHTSA ODI 11611917

Rough start then temperature fluctuates. Coolant is disappearing cause a head gasket problem. This has been known for the 2018-2020 yrs Accord.

NHTSA ODI 11608357

Everything malfunctioned lights flickering and glitching all over the dashboard, fuel rail pressure too low, in tank fuel pump has internal failure.

NHTSA ODI 11606089

During medium acceleration the vehicle engine lost power and all the instrument panel warnings went off. Dealership said a blow head gasket. There are many threads online saying that there needs to be something done because the Honda 1.5 turbo motors are blowing head gaskets prematurely under 100k miles. Mine 2020 Accord has 108k and has been driven with care as I’m a middle aged male commuting to and from work with the car. Some sort of investigation needs to be done to show there is either a design flaw or a gasket flaw.

NHTSA ODI 11600120

My car is less than 4 years old and only has 6623 miles. Already its leaking refringent from the condenser and Discharge Hose. Force Honda to fix the problem and reimburse car owners. Invoice cost is $10066.62 + tax

NHTSA ODI 11598414

I am an 81 years old widow and am very afraid to drive my new 2020 Honda Accord. I am regularly experiencing an ongoing intermittent issue where my car stalls for no apparent reason. I've taken it to the Honda garage where I purchased it two times and no one seems to be able to satisfactorily address this concern. The first time I reported it to the shop (4/24/24), the technician didn't even pull it into the garage to investigate it. I assumed they would hook it to some diagnostic device and see if the cars computer would have some record of the fault. Instead, he jumped in, pushed some buttons relating to the lane keeping system (?) and claimed that would fix it, but it did not. I continue to experience the same problems. One example is when I take my car to the car wash, it stalls at the end and starts beeping. No matter what car wash I go to, it's the same awful experience, where they must shut down their equipment and come out to help me get the car restarted so as to get me out of the way and let everyone else out who are now stuck behind me (Very frightening and embarrassing). I've also had the car shut off after hitting some small potholes. It will shut down and requires a few attempts to get it restarted from the middle of the road!again - I then took it back to the Honda garage where I purchased it for a 2nd time (6/3/24) and for some other routine maintenance. This time they told me that maybe it was caused by my Toll-Road EZ-Pass which was mounted to my windshield near the rear view mirror. As you may imagine, I'm beginning to think the reason for the inability to address the issue is either intentional, incompetence, or perhaps I have a lemon..

NHTSA ODI 11593177

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle began to shudder. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The message to see the dealer was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the low-pressure fuel pump and a high-pressure fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed there was no recall coverage on the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

NHTSA ODI 11590512

Bought the car back in 2020 after less than a year electrical problems caused the car to malfunction got it fixed and constantly after that more electrical problems changed the sensors and the car still continued to lose power. While driving on the highway the car completely lost strength and would not let me drive more than 25mph check engine light started blinking as well as all the lights LKAS ACC TPMS and more.

NHTSA ODI 11585358

For some reason the vehicle shift gets stuck in the park position. After continuous tries, it eventually goes into gear. Apparently, there is something wrong with the transmission and should be covered by warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11578392