Total Complaints
579 filings
HONDA ACCORD · model year
1996 HONDA ACCORD
579 NHTSA complaints, 69 crash reports for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1996HONDAACCORD carries 579 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 69 crashes, 5 fires, 34 injuries, and 2 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1996 ACCORD is air bags with 59 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine (47) and service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (42). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 11 investigation files overlapping the 1996 ACCORD, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
579
Complaints
69
Crashes
5
Fires
34
Injuries
2
Deaths
Crashes Reported
69 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | 59 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 47 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP | 42 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 41 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 40 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 25 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 23 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 16 |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 15 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | 13 |
| TIRES | 12 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | 11 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION | 10 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR | 10 |
| VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | 10 |
Recent Complaints
20230714UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The instrument panel on my car is not working so I donât know if it has any gas in it or not. I know the gauges work also my windows donât go up or down in my sunroof does not open or close.
20230504AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 1996 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the SRS air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the SRS unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,100.
Mileage: 100,100
20230504AIR BAGS:SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LAMP/LIGHT
The contact owns a 1996 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the SRS air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the SRS unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,100.
Mileage: 100,100
20220714AIR BAGS
SRS My safety and other person in my car in case of accident worries no air bag protection in case of accident.. YES. Diamond Valley Honda code 7-2 need to start with replacing SRS unit, 2 to 3 wks. to repair meanwhile no transportation. Who knows what els entails. NO not that I know of. Itâs in the hands of Diamond Valley Honda Hemet, CA YES warning light yesterday 7/13/2022 coming from my doctor office Wildomar, CA.
20220714ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
SRS My safety and other person in my car in case of accident worries no air bag protection in case of accident.. YES. Diamond Valley Honda code 7-2 need to start with replacing SRS unit, 2 to 3 wks. to repair meanwhile no transportation. Who knows what els entails. NO not that I know of. Itâs in the hands of Diamond Valley Honda Hemet, CA YES warning light yesterday 7/13/2022 coming from my doctor office Wildomar, CA.
20220714SEAT BELTS
SRS My safety and other person in my car in case of accident worries no air bag protection in case of accident.. YES. Diamond Valley Honda code 7-2 need to start with replacing SRS unit, 2 to 3 wks. to repair meanwhile no transportation. Who knows what els entails. NO not that I know of. Itâs in the hands of Diamond Valley Honda Hemet, CA YES warning light yesterday 7/13/2022 coming from my doctor office Wildomar, CA.
20201022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
CAME TO A RED LIGHT THEN TRIED TO DRIVE AND THE WHILE STILL ON WOULD NOT MOVE, IT WAS IF LIKE IN DIDN'T ENGAGE THE GEAR, WHEN I PUT ON GAS THE ONLY THING IT WOULD DO IS THE RPM WOULD GO UP BUT THE SPEEDOMETER WOULDN'T.
Mileage: 230,000
20200929POWER TRAIN
ONE DAY JUST LIKE THAT I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND I CAME TO A RED LIGHT SO AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN MY CAR WAS ON IN DRIVE AND I ACCELERATED AND THE CAR JUST WOULDN'T MOVE. GOT IT TOWED AND I GOT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CODES AND IT WAS P0401 AND P0108 SO I CLEANED THE EGR VALVE AND BOUGHT A NEW MAP SENSOR AND INSTALLED IT. THE CAR HAD A NEW BATTERY, THE TRANSMISSION OIL WAS FULL AND WITH NO VISIBLE BLACK COLOR OR SMELL, THE CAR STARTED BUT WOULD NOT GET INTO GEAR AND JUST WOULDN'T MOVE. CALLED A SPECIALIST MECHANIC AND HE BROUGHT HIS TOOL TO CHECK THE WHOLE COMPUTER PART OF THE CAR WICH IS THE NEXT BEST THING TO TOWING IT TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP, THE RESULT CAME BACK INCONCLUSIVE WITH ALMOST CERTAIN TRANSMISSION FAILURE. AFTER CORONA A LOST OF VEHICLE AND JOB I AM JUDT ABOUT TO SELL IT AS IS CUT MY LOSSES AND MAYBE BUY A BICYCLE FOR NOW. I JUST NEED TO LEAVE ABOUT ONE HOUR BEFORE WORK AND BUY A GOOD AXE BODY SHOWER SPRAY AND ATTACH LIFE ONES AGAIN.
Mileage: 230,000
20181012AIR BAGS
AIR BAG DOESN'T WORK SRS RED LIGHT IS ON ON DASHBOARD
Mileage: 150,000
20181003CrashAIR BAGS
TAKATA INFLATORS & SAFETY BELT FAILED ON IMPACT IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY.
Mileage: 200,000
20181003CrashSEAT BELTS
TAKATA INFLATORS & SAFETY BELT FAILED ON IMPACT IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY.
Mileage: 200,000
20180920CrashAIR BAGS
1996 HONDA ACCORD EX-L. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO AIRBAGS IN VEHICLE DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER ACCIDENT. *AS *JS
20180108CrashAIR BAGS
TAKATA RECALL. I WAS IN A ACCIDENT ON SYCAMORE STREET IN BATON ROUGE LOUISIANA ON 1/3/18 AND A PIECE OF METAL SHARD PUNCTURED MY LEG AND FRACTURE MY TIBIA. I WAS TREATED FOR CONTUSIONS OF CHEST WALL ALSO AT OCHSNER ON O'NEAL LANE . I'M CURRENTLY ON BEDREST AND HAVE TO REMAIN OF MY LEG AND CAN'T RETURN TO WORK UNTIL I HAVE A FOLLOW-UP ON 1/9/18. I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND TO THIS MATTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE , THANK YOU AND HAVE A BLESSED DAY
20171031AIR BAGS
TAKATA RECALL NOTICE WAS SENT TO ME ON 10/31/2017. I KEY IN MY VIN AND IT MEETS THE AIRBAG RECALL OR REPLACE REQUIREMENT. I THEN FOLLOWING THE ONLINE INSTRUCTION AND CALL A LOCAL HONDA AUTHRIZED DEALER. THEY ANSWERED MY CALL AND CHECK THE VIN TO SEE IF MY 1996 HONDA 2 DOOR HATCHBACK ACCORD MEETS THE AIRBAG REPLACEMENT. THEY TOLD ME THAT MY VEHICLE DOES NOT MEET THE AIRBAG REPLACE/RECALL SERVICE. I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT TO BRING THE ATTENTION TO THE NHTSA REGARDING THIS SAFETY ISSUE.
20171010ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE STATIONARY AND DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED LIT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD NOT RECORD THE PROPER SPEED/MILEAGE. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BATTERY WAS DRAINED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND THE BATTERY LIFE OF THE VEHICLE LASTED SIX MONTHS OR LESS. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 185,736.
Mileage: 185,736
20171010ENGINE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 HONDA ACCORD. WHILE STATIONARY AND DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED LIT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD NOT RECORD THE PROPER SPEED/MILEAGE. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BATTERY WAS DRAINED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND THE BATTERY LIFE OF THE VEHICLE LASTED SIX MONTHS OR LESS. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 185,736.
Mileage: 185,736
20161110ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
MY ALTERNATOR IS NOT CHARGING MY BATTERY. MY WIRE HARNESS IS HAVING A FAULTY AND I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT
20161110FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
MY ALTERNATOR IS NOT CHARGING MY BATTERY. MY WIRE HARNESS IS HAVING A FAULTY AND I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT
20161110VISIBILITY/WIPER
MY ALTERNATOR IS NOT CHARGING MY BATTERY. MY WIRE HARNESS IS HAVING A FAULTY AND I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT
20160806AIR BAGS
AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON, WON'T GO OFF. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE APRIL 2016. LIGHT COMES ON WHEN CAR IS STARTED, AND STAYS ON WHILE DRIVING TILL CAR IS TURNED OFF. I READ THIS IS AN ONGOING THING. WHY ISN'T THERE A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM? THE COST TO HAVE THIS FIXED IS HALF THE VALUE OF WHAT THE CAR IS WORTH.
Compare 1996HONDAACCORD to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 2 Open
EA24002Engineering AnalysisOpen
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
PE22003Preliminary EvaluationClosed
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
EA21001Engineering AnalysisClosed
Loss of Direction Control
DP20005Defect PetitionClosed
Loss of Direction Control
PE14033Preliminary EvaluationClosed
Electric Power Steering Failure
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1996 HONDA ACCORD have?▼
The 1996 HONDA ACCORD has 579 NHTSA complaints, 69 crashes, 5 fires, 34 injuries, and 2 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1996 HONDA ACCORD?▼
The most-complained component for the 1996 HONDA ACCORD is AIR BAGS with 59 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE and SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP.
Is the 1996 HONDA ACCORD safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Vehicle Safety Guides
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.