HONDA ACCORD vs SUBARU WRX

The HONDA ACCORD (1979–2025, 47 model years) carries 30,820 NHTSA consumer complaints and 250 safety recalls, while the SUBARU WRX (2002–2025, 23 model years) carries 1,207 complaints and 106 recalls. Severity indicators for the pair split as follows: 2,731 vs 78 crashes, 305 vs 18 fires, and 75 vs 1 reported fatalities.

Raw complaint counts favor whichever nameplate has fewer vehicles on the road, so the cleaner lens is components: which specific part families concentrate each model's filings? For the HONDA ACCORD, the leading complaint category is air bags (3062 filings), followed by electrical system and engine. For the SUBARU WRX, it is fuel system, gasoline:delivery:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings (161), ahead of power train and fuel system, gasoline. When the two vehicles cluster around the same component, the problem is likely a shared supplier or a shared federal standard under stress; when they diverge, each nameplate has its own defect signature independent of the other.

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gives the HONDA ACCORD an average 5/5 crash-test rating versus 2.7/5 for the SUBARU WRX, aggregated across all model years with published scores. Use the side-by-side table below as your scorecard, but do not treat it as a verdict. Recall counts tell you how many defects the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy; complaint counts tell you what owners are still flagging today; and safety ratings tell you how the vehicle performs in standardized barrier tests, three different lenses on the same underlying question. The "also compare" links at the bottom of this page let you triangulate against neighboring nameplates in each model's competitive set.