What 217 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Honda Accord Plug In Hybrid

--Automatic braking: When I first purchased car in 2021, the automatic emergency braking engaged abruptly 3 times within the first 3000 miles of driving the car. I was unable to get a resolution through dealer, local Honda service centers or Honda corp. I turn off the feature each time I start my car, but I'm told by Honda service that there is no way to disable feature to prevent safety hazard. --Lane Keeping Assistance: Since purchasing car in 2021, my lane keeping assistance does not work properly and pretty often will actually try to pull the car out of lane both on local roads and more often on the interstate. I have the feature disabled for safety.

NHTSA ODI 11578837

While driving on an open road with no cars around, the emergency braking suddenly engaged causing the car to come to an almost complete stop by itself.

NHTSA ODI 11576135

At speed limit cruising down I66. I was all alone. No birds in area at all. Open road. I was in middle lanes. Car attempted to come to a complete stop by itself. “Phantom Braking”? All my friends with Honda’s and Acura’s mentioned similar issues. If anyone was behind me, I could have caused a pile up or even worse. It’s happened a few times. Took to Capitol Heights Honda and Landmark Honda. They ran diagnostics. Explained to me there were no error codes. I explained to them, if system has a fault, it thinks it’s operating properly. So, no errors would appear! I have experience and education in computer programming (College), mechanical and electronic (US Army) and over 30 electromechanical troubleshooting, repair and maintenance and other IT experience. SME After they haven’t been able to do anything about it, I turn off all safely systems. I drive a lot. So, I’m also a very good driver. Have almost 65k miles on my vehicle. Date of incident below was when I forgot to turn off sensor. But it happened a few times before and I brought to Honda after first two times. I even had to rent a car at my expense.

NHTSA ODI 11562475

Front passenger side seat belt does not lock into place. Nothing is obstructing it, we were told it is not covered under the vehicles warranty and have to pay out of pocket to get it fixed. Isn’t this a safety hazard?

NHTSA ODI 11559672

My family and I were driving home to LA from NM. I had been using the cruise and steer assist earlier in the drive but had it off after going through a metro area interstate. There was no vehicles within the cars front camera system when while driving 75 mph( that was the sped limit in TX), the cars braking system engaged with a hard break, no “brake” light flash of rapid break pumps as it would do if something was within the camera range. I was able to get in slow lane and within 30 secs it did it again. I was able to drive another hour with no issue but stayed under 65mph. We are 7 hours away from home and will be getting it to the dealership. This could have caused a major wreck.

NHTSA ODI 11556806

A vehicle in front of me made a quick slow down. The automatic braking engaged, the driver behind me did not react in time and struck the back of my car. Resulting in totaling of the vehicle. The automatic braking would not stop engaging, if it would have dis-engaged I could of pulled forward a few feet and the driver behind me would of missed me.

NHTSA ODI 11550519

Brakes failed and steering took over the car uncontrollably and went in all different directions hitting whatever it came across and ending up stopping after hitting the last thing

NHTSA ODI 11539109

While driving, infotainment system starts jumping to different modes causing me to get distracted while driving. I ended up recording a few clips of it in the mist of running into the curb. Honda initially stated that it was odd because there are no complaints a year ago. Yesterday however, I talked to Honda because the problem is occurring more. They stated that there are numerous complaints. In order for them to fix it, they have to be able to duplicate the issue

NHTSA ODI 11535198

Honda accord breaks unexpectedly for no reason. It’s an automatic break or slow down without us pressing the break. The car has an automatic emergency break system and it seems to break when nothing is I front of us. Happens many times and dealer can’t figure out what is wrong. They tell us car is running well.

NHTSA ODI 11527601

I was driving home in the rain and felt the car automatically braking when there was no car or object in front of me. The car was also slow to accelerate because the brakes were automatically applied. 5 miles later numerous warnings appeared on the dash and the following error messages came through my Hondalink app: Electric Parking Brake Problem, CMBS Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, and RDM Problem. Several times during this drive home the brakes automatically applied without any intervention from me or roadway object. I almost got rear-ended once when a car behind me had to slam on its brake when my car automatically braked without me doing anything. This is a very dangerous condition that should be looked further into as multiple drivers have reported brakes being applied without driver intervention or an apparent road hazard. How many complaints will it take before a recall is issued so other Honda drivers do not need to be put at risk?

NHTSA ODI 11526779

I was driving on the freeway going 65mph when the automatic safety brake system slowed my car down abruptly for no reason at all. Luckily there wasn’t any other vehicles anywhere near me or it would have caused an accident. This wasn’t the only time the safety system activated without reason either. It also happened two other times in similar situations.

NHTSA ODI 11526149

Check engine light came on regarding power train system. The very next day it went away.

NHTSA ODI 11525178

Vehicle safety concern, door lock actuator FAILS to lock or unlock. Hardware affected: Electrical Door Lock Actuator Vehicle has a recorded mileage of 30,000 miles when incident occurred. Description of issue, unable to lock/unlock using the key fob, unable to lock/unlock using the door switch, walkaway function inoperable, no audible beep when locking/unlocking, remote start inoperable, unable to open the door using the inner/outer door handle. Safety concerns for owners of this vehicle. - Driver and occupant safety is at increased risk with unknown integrity of the door lock actuator and its ability to securely lock the vehicle door(s). - Owners and insurers of this vehicle are at increased risk for vehicle theft due to the vehicle door(s) lock being inoperable, and vehicle failing to indicate that a door lock has failed to actuate. - Potential risk of children passenger(s) inadvertently opening vehicle doors while vehicle is in motion do to the door lock failing to actuate. Reported problems associated with this vehicle issue. - Lock/unlock inoperable with the key fob - Lock/unlock inoperable with door switch (driver/passenger) - Walkaway auto door lock function inoperable - No audible beep when locking/unlocking - Outer door handle inoperable Vehicle that is associated with this incident has not been inspected by original dealer where vehicle originated from. The vehicle associated with this incident provides NO FAULT or indication to driver displays that a door lock has failed to actuate.

NHTSA ODI 11522580

The collision mitigation brake system continues to come off, and today it made my car spin, and I almost crash into the media.

NHTSA ODI 11522745

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated. The contact veered off the roadway. The contact then stated that she carefully drove the vehicle to her residence. Additionally, the contact added that on a separate occasion while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle inadvertently jerked without the brake pedal depressed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.

NHTSA ODI 11520679

Hello, i want to report an issue with my honda accord 2.0t 2021. When i drive in rainy or snowy day all lights come up on dashboard and probably 70% of the futures gets disabled. Things that gets disabled: Back up camera, line assistant, trunk doesn’t open, A/C doesn’t work, windshield wipers spray doesn’t work, high beam doesn’t work, horn gets stuck and beeps and the only way to shut off is to stop and disconnect the battery, otherwise it beeps non stop. I record a video and here is the link. Thank you https://youtu.be/ABoYlunVNVo

NHTSA ODI 11518791

We were traveling on California Interstate 5 North. About 5 miles south of Junction 152 the car started malfunctioning. Suddenly there was acceleration beyond my control. I pushed the brake as hard as I could. It felt like the car was going to explode. Somehow miraculously the car landed on the shoulder of the freeway. It missed hitting any other cars or trucks. This was a rental car from Avis. I, my wife and another passenger came very close to death. For several minutes we were just shivering. We decided to slowly get back on the freeway with the hazard lights on. We didn’t was to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. At speeds of under 50 mph we eventually reached our destination. The next morning we again put the hazard lights on and took the car to Avis where we explained what happened. The agent gave us a replacement vehicle and said that they would put the malfunctioning vehicle out of circulation. Speaking to others we found out that Honda vehicles have had runaway acceleration.

NHTSA ODI 11518280

On four occasions I was required to slam in my brakes to avoid hitting a car in front of me on major highways in Virginia. When engaging the brakes the antilock brakes did not engage, the idle system (such as when you come to a red light and brake cuts the engine idle) kicked in and I lost the ability to steer. I had to release the brake for the idle to re-engage then hit the brake again. I finally was able to stop but left approximately 6 feet of skid marks on the highway. I have reported this to my dealership for them to say brakes are performing as designed and they did nothing. My car has been at the dealership for 2 weeks and I’m driving a loaner. Rear brakes have high pitch noise when backing up but dealership said they can’t recreate it therefore will do nothing. I had one service manager say he did recreate the noise and was fighting to get rear brakes replaced but then called back to say “I misspoke and Honda did not hear the noise so not replacing rear brakes. All phone messages are recorded on my cell phone. I have filed a complaint with Honda Corporate and also called local law enforcement to see where liability falls if my brakes fail again and I hit someone (faulty equipment charge). Was informed by police to have all service orders in the car to confirm I did all I could to get my brakes fixed. So three trips to dealership, almost 4 accidents, and car has approximately 24k miles on it. No idea if this is a sensor problem or several interactions between all the different systems but this is a major problem. Your engine shouldn’t cut off and cause steering problems when you brake the car and are still moving forward. No one can give me options with this car other then trade it in and get something else. This is not acceptable. Someone could be seriously injured. I don’t want to be that driver.

NHTSA ODI 11517988

1.Driving on a straight road at about 45-50 MPH sudden abrupt braking for no reason . 2. Good thing I was wearing a seat belt , it was a very forceful brake action that pushed me forcefully forward, I was struck from behind by another vehicle. Visial minor damage to the rear bumper cover. 3. No it happened today 4-5-23 I plan on calling the dealer tomorrow. 4. The BRAKE message appeared at the exact time of the incident.

NHTSA ODI 11515726

Hello, the car has this issue since i got it nrand new. Every time i drive in the rain or while its snowing, all lights on the dash board comes up and at least 50% of the options gets disabled. Like back up camera, windshield vipers, horn beeps non stop until you disconnect the battery and more. I see there is lots of people reporting same issue but honda dont want to help me with this issue. Went to homda dealer and they said $169 for diagnostics, then called and said its gonna be 2 hours which is $338 and even then saying they are not sure if it will take them 2hrs or 10 and i had no choice to tell them to stop and pay only $169. Please see the video for details Honda case# 13733111 https://youtu.be/ABoYlunVNVo

NHTSA ODI 11515495

The electrical emergency brake locked up without warning as I was coming off the highway by the way of off ramp. Almost put the car in the guard rails! Brake has locked up twice now

NHTSA ODI 11512710

I was driving my 21 Honda Accord 1.5T on the highway and all of a sudden vehicle lost the power and Honda sensing / Emission warning lights came on. It almost cause a major accident and I was lucky enough to exit the freeway without incident. I drove to the Honda dealer and they found out one of the wire harnesses was chewed by a rodent which causes the whole issue. I did some research and found out that Honda was using less expensive Soybean base wire harnesses (instead of Petroleum base wire harnesses) to save the planet earth. This Soybean wires are easy target for rodents. This less expensive Soybean wire harness cost about $3000-3500 to replace and it's NOT fair to the consumer. Honda must re-call this Soybean wire harness before causing some major accident, especially on the freeway ( imaging your car losing power while driving 65-70 mph)

NHTSA ODI 11507883

The infotainment system is both unresponsive and self operational. It operates on its own as if it's being pressed (ghost touching) while simultaneously not responding to my touch. Impossible to safely use navigation as screen will pan or switch functions entirely. Same goes for using phone via Bluetooth. I cannot answer or hang up. Radio randomly turns on, changes stations etc. It's a complete mess. All of which is very distracting and adversely affects my ability to focus and safely control the vehicle. Honda insists that it is all software related - doubtful - so they refuse to change it out. They claim a software update is being worked on. Car has now been out for over two years and still no update. So 2 years with no update for a single software issue, yet they were able to design and build an entire new '23 model with multiple new software components in less than a year. Obviously little attention is being given to this, if at all. Please step in. I have some videos available.

NHTSA ODI 11507732

Automatic emergency breaking system has benn activated in about 6 different ocassions while driving in the highway for no reason. No vehicles or obstacles in front of the car but car suddenly applied brakes stopping the car very suddenly while driving 70-75 miles per hour.

NHTSA ODI 11506660

in the last 10 days, we there's been 4 incidents where the vehicle suddenly brakes when travelling on high speeds on the freeway out of nowhere. We were almost involved in a serious car accident yesterday where a vehicle behind us narrowly got out of the way. Took vehicle to honda dealership service and they claim they cant find any issues with braking system or sensors and they are not aware of any braking issues with this model. When i told them that i found online that theres an investigation opened last year about this issue in other accords, they had no idea what i was talking about and asked them to google it and they refuse. They refuse to fix the issue and suggest to just keep driving the vehicle since theres nothing for them to fix.

NHTSA ODI 11506095