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2021 Honda Accord

HybridGas
Large Cars
5 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
D
Safety Signal
68 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
RecallsNHTSA campaigns4
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA275
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA48 mpg
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2021 Honda Accord is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas large car with 5 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Accord Hybrid, is EPA-rated at 48 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 275 complaints, most often about the forward collision avoidance. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Accord HybridHybridFWD2.0L 4-cyl + 259V Li-Ion484848$1,300
Accord Hybrid Sport/TouringHybridFWD2.0L 4-cyl + 259V Li-Ion444143$1,450
AccordGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo303833$1,900
Accord Sport/TouringGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo293532$1,950
Accord Sport/TouringGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo223226$2,400

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 43364, 43365, 43361, 43362, 43363.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2021 Honda Accord is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (4)

Source: NHTSA recall database
▲high

Air Bags

Refer to Comments
98,892 vehicles
ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.RiskAir bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.FixDealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
NHTSA campaign 26V332000reported May 21, 2026Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Air Bags

XHP, VHQ
750,114 vehicles
ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.RiskAn air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.FixDealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
NHTSA campaign 24V064000reported Feb 1, 2024Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Fuel System, Gasoline

KGC, KGD
2,490,460 vehicles
ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.RiskFuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
NHTSA campaign 23V858000reported Dec 18, 2023Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Seat Belts

ABS, BBT, NBQ, RBR
4,346 vehicles
ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V, Ridgeline, 2022 Insight and CR-V Hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."RiskAn unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.FixDealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
NHTSA campaign 21V900000reported Nov 18, 2021Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

NHTSA defect investigations

Forward Collision Avoidance:Software — Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking open

On February 21, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE22003) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, in model year 2017-2019 Honda CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles.  The reports allege that activation of the AEB system occurs while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that they were aware of a total of X,XXX reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and alleges that some customers possibly had an inadequa

Opened Apr 15, 2024 · action EA24002

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
275complaints filed

16 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 8 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2021: 17 · 2022: 39 · 2023: 29 · 2024: 37 · 2025: 82 · 2026: 71

Most-cited components

Forward Collision Avoidance87
Electrical System68
Unspecified62
Engine45
Service Brakes32
Lane Departure20

What owners describe

“The brakes locked when car is backing. I'm scared the brakes may fail on me. The brakes makes a lot noise when backing from the first year the car was purchased.”Jan 24, 2024 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report
“2021 Accord Hybrid Touring 2.0L with 51k miles. On 10/22/2023 the check engine light started flashing so I pulled over and noticed the engine was running rough so I shut it off. When I restarted it all was fine, no CEL, so I drove it to the dealership. They stated that there are no CEL codes found, so come pick it up. …”Oct 4, 2023 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“My daughter was driving the vehicle on the highway, probably 65 mph. she said that a sheet shaped piece of metal struck the front bumper. It is not clear if this was on the road or fell from the car. It seems to have happened fast. the vehicle sustained no obvious body damage but the frame and bracket holding the milli…”Jun 13, 2023 · Forward Collision Avoidance · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★9%
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★9%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning.

Other Accord model years

A

2026 Honda Accord

1 recalls · 5 complaints

A

2025 Honda Accord

2 recalls · 102 complaints

D

2024 Honda Accord

5 recalls · 216 complaints

F

2023 Honda Accord

8 recalls · 224 complaints

D

2022 Honda Accord

4 recalls · 295 complaints

F

2020 Honda Accord

6 recalls · 395 complaints

F

2019 Honda Accord

6 recalls · 771 complaints

F

2018 Honda Accord

6 recalls · 1,982 complaints

C

2017 Honda Accord

3 recalls · 579 complaints

D

2016 Honda Accord

4 recalls · 600 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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