Honda owners have filed 77,453 complaints with NHTSA across 56 models. On average the car was 5.36 years old when the problem happened, and 38.2% of reports fall inside the first three years — while the factory warranty was still running.
What breaks on Honda
The systems Honda owners report most, and how often each failure ended in a crash.
| System | Complaints | Share of Honda | Ended in a crash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 11.6% | 20.2% | |
| Power Train | 9.6% | 2.1% | |
| Electrical System | 7.8% | 1.4% | |
| Engine | 6.2% | 0.6% | |
| Steering | 5.8% | 3.4% | |
| Unknown Or Other | 5.5% | 2% | |
| Structure | 3.7% | 2.1% | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 2.5% | 1.3% |
When Honda problems show up
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Average age at failure | 5.36 years | How old the car was when the problem happened |
| Reported inside 3 years | 38.2% | Share of complaints filed while the factory warranty was likely still running |
| Complaints describing a crash | 5,000 | Of 77,453 total |
| Complaints describing a fire | 798 | Of 77,453 total |
A low average age does not automatically mean a fragile car: a brand with a young fleet on the road will always skew early. Read it next to the share reported inside three years.
Which Honda models draw the most complaints
Volume follows sales, so a bestseller will always top this list. The columns worth reading are age at failure and how many reports ended in a crash.
| Model | Complaints | Share of Honda | Avg age at failure | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCORD | 26.1% | 6.0 yrs | 1,590 | |
| CR-V | 18.7% | 4.9 yrs | 738 | |
| Civic | 17.3% | 5.3 yrs | 1,393 | |
| ODYSSEY | 13.9% | 5.7 yrs | 388 | |
| PILOT | 10.7% | 5.4 yrs | 305 | |
| RIDGELINE | 2.6% | 4.5 yrs | 58 | |
| FIT | 2.6% | 5.3 yrs | 135 | |
| HR-V | 2.3% | 2.5 yrs | 89 | |
| PASSPORT | 1.8% | 4.6 yrs | 103 | |
| ELEMENT | 1.3% | 6.9 yrs | 71 | |
| PROLOGUE | 1% | 1.0 yrs | 10 | |
| INSIGHT | 0.6% | 4.3 yrs | 38 | |
| PRELUDE | 0.4% | 7.5 yrs | 23 | |
| CROSSTOUR | 0.2% | 5.6 yrs | 5 | |
| S2000 | 0.1% | 4.8 yrs | 12 |
Honda complaints by model year
A bad generation shows up here as a block of years, not as a single spike. Recent years look quiet simply because those cars are young and still under warranty.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 43 | 6 | |
| 2024 | 46 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 35 | 6 | |
| 2022 | 67 | 9 | |
| 2021 | 64 | 6 | |
| 2020 | 76 | 13 | |
| 2019 | 151 | 19 | |
| 2018 | 142 | 15 | |
| 2017 | 120 | 29 | |
| 2016 | 149 | 23 | |
| 2015 | 131 | 17 | |
| 2014 | 127 | 20 | |
| 2013 | 147 | 24 | |
| 2012 | 144 | 21 | |
| 2011 | 127 | 17 | |
| 2010 | 152 | 23 | |
| 2009 | 143 | 24 | |
| 2008 | 223 | 33 | |
| 2007 | 225 | 54 | |
| 2006 | 209 | 70 | |
| 2005 | 245 | 53 | |
| 2004 | 217 | 73 | |
| 2003 | 354 | 65 | |
| 2002 | 277 | 43 |
What Honda owners report
Grouped by the system owners named. Open any row for the full reports, in their own words — one per model so the same fault does not repeat.
Air Bags 8,963 Read
I was in a motor vehicle accident, and when the airbags deployed. A woman, who leaned into the passenger side of my vehicle to see if I was hurt, said she could smell something burning and saw the sleeve of sweatshirt jacket on fire. Had she not checked on me, the sleeve of my sweatshirt may have burned all the way up my arm. As I only have use of the arm that caught fire The vehicle is at a body shop, waiting for insurance issues to be worked out. I’d never had an opportunity/reason for the airbags to ever be looked at
The contact's daughter owned a 2010 Honda Accord. According to an accident report given to the contact by her local highway patrol office, her daughter was driving at 45 MPH when the vehicle veered off the road and hit a tree. The impact of the vehicle hitting the tree caused the vehicle to catch fire. Based on the accident report, the airbags did not deploy upon impact. The report stated that every bone in her daughter's body was broken; she died as a result of the accident. The report stated that the vehicle burned to it's core and that a specialist had to be called to the scene to identify the vehicle. The contact initially reported her daughter missing and was informed 7 days later about her daughter's accident. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it was destroyed. The contact called an unknown Honda dealer and they stated that they had never heard of such a failure with that model vehicle; the dealer referred her to the NHTSA for assistance. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown
The car was inspected about 2 weeks prior to the accident. Airbags never deployed nor indicated and the car was smashed in. Electrical problem as I should have seen an indicator and airbags never deploy (wearing seat Belt, neck injury, shoulder and back and bilateral knee injuries)and I am as per dr. Order on medical leave as a result of this auto incident
Power Train 7,398 Read
Ltr fm (tx) re his wife new honda which was totaled in a near fatal accident, the transmission locked up, honda won't assist them or release the title, car was paid for. *ts the vehicle crashed into a guardrail when the transmission locked up and caught on fire
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while the engine was idling and with the gear shifter in the park position, the contact reached into the vehicle from the front driver's door, and suddenly the vehicle began to slowly roll backwards. The contact was pushed to the ground, causing the front driver's side wheel to roll over the contact's right leg. The vehicle continued to roll backwards before making a U-turn and then rolling forward down the inclined street and increasing speed. To avoid having the vehicle roll down hill into a crowded street with pedestrians, the front passenger inside the vehicle turned the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of another parked vehicle. During the incident, the contact suffered an injured right leg and was transported to the hospital. A police report was taken at the scene, and the vehicle was towed away. The both air bags had deployed, and the vehicle was destroyed. The contact indicated that during the incident, the emergency brake was not activated. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 20,000
The contact owns a 2024 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while attempting to park while the vehicle was in drive (D), she collided with bushes, and while she depressed the accelerator pedal, the gears inadvertently changed from drive (D) to reverse (R), causing the vehicle to reverse at a high speed. The brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle did not slow down as intended. The vehicle continued to accelerate in reverse, crossed a roadway, went down a slight incline, and the rear of the vehicle collided with a tree, stopping the vehicle. The contact did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop, where the physical damage would be assessed and repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000
Electrical System 6,059 Read
The contact owned a 2016 honda cr-v. While driving 15 mph and making a left turn, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that a spark was observed near the floorboard on the passenger side and a fire ignited. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was awaiting a call back. The failure mileage was approximately 1,200
Dt: the consumer's vehicle was struck by another vehicle while approaching a red light at 10 mph. The vehicle was struck on the left front passenger's side by the headlights and tire area. This was a minor accident. The consumer exchanged license and insurance information and got back into the vehicle. The consumer was planning to drive away. While on the cell phone a pedestrian waved alerting the consumer that the car was on fire. The left front headlight area had black smoke coming from where it had been previously struck. The smoke later turned into flames. The fire department came and put out the fire. The vehicle was towed to the dealership from where it was purchased. No explanation as to why this fire began. The fire department, the police department, the insurance company, and dealer could not offer an explanation at this time. An insurance investigator, fire inspector, and a representative from american honda came to inspect the vehicle. No report was issued, but the consumer wished to file a compliant. No corrections or repairs were done. No final determinations will be made until after inspections. The consumer was injured as a result of the accident but not the fire
When driving my odyssey, normally in the 30-50 mph range, all or most of the dashboard indicator and warning lights will flash intermittently for a brief second or two. The numerous (25 + ) times this has happened is frightening because one thinks the van has stalled. There seems to be no pattern or connection such as playing/not playing radio, a/c, amount of gas, etc. . . I will say 75-85% of the occurences happen on the road leading to our subdivision (usually 30-50 mph driving). Also, I'm sure there have been instances I have missed it because it can happen so quickly; one actually has to be looking at the panel. Honda says to drive the van since it is not stalling and there appears to be no inherent danger. Honda's policy is they cannot do anything until they replicate the problem. Interesting! What are they going to do when it happens --- there's no time to take a picture. I've considered running a video camera, but it's so unpredictable when it will happen. There seems to be about a dozen different instances of this happening (according to honda), but they cannot replicate the problem. Guess what? The replication is not likely going to happen unless a service manager or technician takes temporary ownership of one of these vehicles for a month or two. Sometimes the flashing occurs once every month or two, maybe several times in one day or a week. Just because the service technicians cannot duplicate the problem, does that mean some of us are hallucinating?
Engine 4,787 Read
The contact owned a 2010 honda fit. While driving approximately 55 mph the driver crashed into a pole and proceeded to crash into a tree located behind the pole. The vehicle rolled over and exploded into flames. The engine detached from the vehicle. The fire and police department reported to the scene and filed a report. The driver sustained burns to sixty percent of his body and a fractured right arm. The driver was transported to the hospital by ambulance. The vehicle was towed to an auto shop for inspection by the insurance company. The vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the fire was undetermined. The approximate failure mileage was 23,000
While driving at night, the 2016 Pilot, it started making a loud rattling noise then just died in the middle of the road and failed to start. There were no service or check engine lights on at the time of failure or at any point prior to the failure. We were stranded in the middle of the road at risk of getting hit by other cars. The electronic transmission would not go into neutral and we had no way of even pushing the car to the safety of shoulder. We had to tow the vehicle. The tow driver also had a very difficult time of getting the car into neutral, necessary to tow it. Having the vehicle towed to a local mechanic, they reported it being very difficult to start and when it did, it had a sever engine skip with a loud rattling noise which is indicative of a connecting rod/bearing failure. The car has 140000 miles at time of failure. We had ALL required maintenance performed as they were scheduled. Approximately 95% was performed by Honda dealers. In fact we had a Honda dealer perform an oil change and inspection a week before the engine failure. We have had some local shops perform several required oil changes and the timing belt / plug service. We have all receipts. We contacted Honda dealership who quoted $18,225 for an engine replacement. We contacted Honda Customer Support who refused to offer any assistance, goodwill or other forms of reimbursement
The contact was driving , experienced tire pressure and check engine light illuminated. White Smoke was seen underneath the vehicle and then it turned black. Then fire was seen coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the vehicle , and smoke and fire was seen underneath the vehicle. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was consumed by the fire. The vehicle was towed to a tow and recovery lot. No injuries were sustained. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was
Steering 4,506 Read
I was driving in the outer lane on a city street when my car suddenly turned and hit the curb, sending the car down a hill. The brakes didn’t work either and I hit two trees headon. All airbags deployed. An electrical fire started under the hood. Two men came and shut off the power. The car was towed and declared a total loss. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The only person that I know of that inspected the car was the claims adjuster. There was no warning that anything was wrong. If anyone had been in the path of the car, I would have been unable to stop or turn
The contact ownED a 2017 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 30 MPH, there was an abnormal clicking sound, and the steering wheel locked up, causing her to lose control and crash into an electrical pole. No warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (Steering). The yearly inspection was completed two weeks prior with no indication of an issue. The driver sustained a scratch on her leg, and medical attention was provided at the emergency room. All the air bags deployed. There was no reported fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an auto repair center. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 69,600
The contact's brother owned a 2024 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while her brother was driving at approximately 54 MPH as he turned the steering wheel to the left to follow the road, the steering wheel locked up and stayed turned to the left. The contact stated that her brother crashed into the highway barrier. The contact stated that her brother had a passenger in the back seat. The contact stated that the air bags deployed, the contact stated that her brother was concussed and was taken to the hospital by ambulance along with the passenger. The contact stated that the police were on scene and wrote a report, however he was not given the report number and was not sure if the police were state troopers. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact had researched online that the vehicle had an open recall NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V744000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 29,000
Unknown Or Other 4,240 Read
Hi. So last year 2022 I was driving and the hood came up causing me to stop in the middle of the road. Honestly I cannot remember if I hit something but then the car caught on fire soon after! I received a recall notice maybe a year later and when I called in about it to the Honda dealership, No one knows what I was referring to and dismissed me. My safely was at risk because myself and my 1 year old son was in the car! The car completely locked and we almost didn’t make it out. No my car was not inspected I did not have full coverage at the time. I had to sell it to a junk yard and been without a car since. If when I called originally this would have been taken care of!!
Gear: When going through an sutomated car wash on a conveyor belt car was put in neutral and hands were off the steering wheel as instructed. About 3/4 wasy through the car wash, even though the car was still in Neutral the car started to reverse : the rear camera did not go on and there was no warning beep about a vehicle behind us and it was bumping into the front of that higher vehicle that stopped the reverse. They had no damage but our rear tailgate to the right of the license plate had peeling paint and an outward bump. We talked to the car wash owner about a possibility of a faulty conveyor belt but he denied this and showed video evidence (due to our wheels moving) that the car was in reverse, blaming us for shifting gears, which we did not do. The estimated repair for the damage we received from a trusted auto body shop is 1089.00 due to the painting and what they say is a misalignment of the tailgate. Our dealer , McGrath Honda, stated there had been no recalls of car going in different direction of the gear it is in. Had this happened on a highway ours and others safety coulf have been at risk. Upon request vehicle component and system is available for inspection
I was in a single vehicle car accident on Monday May 4th 2026 right at 6am central standard time. My 2019 honda odyssey has been totaled out by Insurance. Primarily all of the damages were on the front driver side, the air bags on both the steering wheel and under the steering wheel deployed but the side curtain airbag didn't not, and honda link also wasn't able to connect to emergency services once a crash was detected. The side curtain air bag not deploying has been pointed out and brought to my attention by almost every single person who has seen my vehicle since the accident. During the accident I swerved to avoid an animal that was running across the road and I over corrected and loss control and in a complete panic it has been assumed by everyone including myself that I accidently pressed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake
Structure 2,868 Read
The assembly of the 2013 Honda civic ex was missing the rear bumper impact absorber. The component was not noticed until a collision removed the rear bumper from the car, exposing the interior of the assembly. The omission of the impact absorber in the bumper assembly from the manufacturer directly puts my safety at risk because this part is designed to absorb energy in a collision, and without the part I am more likely to be in a more serious accident. This problem was first noticed by the service shop who had confirmed that the part was missing from the assembly, and that it was a safety feature of the vehicle. The component had only been inspected by the independent service shop. There was no indication of the missing component before the accident
On October 9, 2022, I filed a complaint with NHTSA regarding this vehicle due to excessive and extreme rear frame corrosion. On May 6, 2023, my son was driving this vehicle and was involved in an incident while the vehicle was in motion. The rear subframe separated from the vehicle on the driver side. My son lost control of the vehicle. Fortunately, my son was able to avoid a direct collision with oncoming traffic. On May 15, 2023, the vehicle was towed to Victory Honda in Monroe, Michigan. The vehicle was inspected, and we were assigned a case number (#13814983). We were promised a loaner vehicle (which has never been made available). As a result, my son had to resign his position at work because he lost his mode of transportation. I have called American Honda on a weekly basis requesting an update. I've been told our case is almost completed. We have been waiting for more than 4 months for the buyback as promised. We were told we would be getting $7,900 for the CR-V, plus out of pocket costs paid for a rental car on two occasions and payment for recent mechanical improvements. Honda USA has failed to resolve this manner in a reasonable and timely manner. 100+ days is not timely. We have lost income due to the loss of use of this vehicle. We have not been provided the loaner vehicle as promised. Please escalate our complaint. This is the second time this matter is being reported to the NHTSA. Please note, this is more serious now since my son was driving the vehicle when the
Rear sub frame allowed for rear suspension arms to be bolted to. One of the locations where those arms have ways to be attached to is no longer safe to do so because of corrosion and rust. I noticed there was a recent safety concern for a generation of Honda CRV having a similar, or indeed the same complaint
Engine And Engine Cooling 1,925 Read
1- 2003 honda civic 4 door,17000 miles, unexplained spinning, crash, and subsequent fire burned car to a crisp. Driver pulled from car suffering shock and inhalation of fumes
The contact owned a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. The contact stated that after parking on the side of the road and with the engine idling, a burning odor was present coming from the vehicle. Moments later smoke and flames were seen coming from the engine compartment which caused the hood to blow open. The fire department was immediately called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the incident, the vehicle and personal property inside the vehicle were destroyed. A police report and fire report were taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed to an undisclosed location. The cause of the fire was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the incident. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 90,000
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately at 65 mph the brother who was in a second vehicle ahead could see flames present in the front grill of the vehicle. White smoke began to enter the cabin of the vehicle and the contact pulled over, parked and exited the vehicle. Smoke and flames were present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed away. A fire and police report was taken at the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 100,000
Unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA. Percentages are shares of all 77,453 Honda complaints.
Honda against the rest
| Measure | Where Honda sits | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| By complaint volume | #4 | 29 brands with 3,000+ complaints |
| By age at failure (later is better) | #22 | 29 brands |
| Complaints ending in a crash | 6.5% | across all 77,453 reports |
Ranking by volume says more about how many cars a brand sells than about how they hold up. Age at failure is the fairer of the two.
Compare Honda with the rest
Honda problems by model
18 Honda models have owner complaints on file. Pick one for its worst years, failing systems and what owners actually wrote. Another 38 Honda models have no complaints on record at all.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
How reliable is Honda?
Owners have filed 77,453 complaints across 56 Honda models. On its own that number reflects how many Honda cars are on the road — compare the average age at failure (5.36 years) instead.
What breaks most often on a Honda?
The most reported system is Air Bags with 8,963 complaints.
Do Honda problems show up under warranty?
38.2% of Honda complaints describe something that happened in the first three years, while the factory warranty was likely still running.
Which Honda model has the most complaints?
See the model list above — each card shows its complaint count, and the model page breaks it down by year and by system.