2013 Honda Accord problems, complaints & recalls

Updated Oct 11, 2026 from NHTSA data · How we count

Owners have filed 595 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Honda Accord, most often about steering. There are 5 recalls for this model year.

Complaints: 595
Recalls: 5
Crashes: 15
Fires: 2
Injuries: 13
Median mileage: 93,000 mi

Key facts

Steering is the most-reported problem area, named in 296 of 595 complaints (50%).
Electrical System (157) and brakes (85) follow.
Half of the complaints that list mileage happened before 93,000 mi.
Owners reported 15 crashes, 2 fires and 13 injuries.
The 2013 Honda Accord has 5 recalls on file.
NHTSA has opened 5 defect investigations covering this vehicle.
It ranks 3rd of 22 Honda Accord model years by our severity-weighted complaint score (1st = worst).
That is 738% more complaints than the 2012 model year (71).

A complaint can mention more than one problem area, so categories add up to more than the total.

Most-reported components

Component (as filed with NHTSA)	Complaints
Steering	294
Electrical system	146
Service brakes	79
Power train	43
Unknown or other	43
Engine	42
Forward collision avoidance: warnings	32
Lane departure: warning	17

When problems happen (mileage)

Mileage at the time of the problem, for 2013 Honda Accord complaints that list mileage.

2013 Honda Accord recalls (5)

Recall 25V422000Jun 19, 202572,256 vehicles
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013 Honda Accord vehicles equipped with a 4-cylinder engine and a continuously-variable transmission. The affected vehicles were originally sold, or ever registered, in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The driveshaft may corrode and break, due to damage from road salt or other contaminants.
Risk: A broken driveshaft can result in a loss of drive power, or a vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is in park without the parking brake applied. Both scenarios can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the driveshaft assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2025. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is OM2. This recall expands previous recall number 20V769.
Recall 23V858000Dec 18, 20232,490,460 vehicles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
Honda (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.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers 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.
Recall 20V769000Dec 10, 2020235,034 vehicles
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Accord vehicles equipped with a 4-cylinder engine and a continuously-variable transmission that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The drive shafts were assembled with a lubricant that may have degraded the drive shafts' protective coating, making it more susceptible to damage from road salt or other contaminants, and potentially cause it to break.
Risk: A broken drive shaft may cause a sudden loss of drive power. The vehicle could also roll away if the parking brake has not been applied before the vehicle has been exited. Either condition can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the drive shafts, replacing both the left and right drive shafts, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 4, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Recall 17V418000Jun 29, 20171,148,550 vehicles
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Honda Accord vehicles. The case for the battery sensor, part of the battery management system, may allow water to get in, potentially causing an electrical short.
Risk: An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sensor, free of charge. Dealers will perform an interim remedy of applying adhesive to the case to prevent water intrusion. The recall began November 8, 2017. Owners may contact American Honda Customer Support Center at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KG0.
Recall 13V297000Jul 8, 20131,659 vehicles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2013 Accord vehicles that are Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) II rated that were manufactured January 15, 2013, through April 5, 2013. The fuel tank neck may be out of specification causing the fuel pump to not properly seal to the fuel tank.
Risk: An insufficent seal may led to a fuel leak which increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, nut and O-ring gasket free of charge. The recall began during August 2013. Honda's recall number is JA9. Owners may contact Honda at 1-310-783-2000.

NHTSA defect investigations

EA21002Opened Sep 17, 2021Open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.C…
EA21001Opened May 6, 2021Closed Aug 25, 2023
Loss of Direction Control
On May 6, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Engineering Analysis (EA21-001) to assess a sudden loss of steering control, in Model Year (MY) 2013-2015 Honda Accord vehicles. Consumers alleged while driving the steering wheel would pull to the left or the right independently. Steering pull may pose a risk of loss of directional control. Honda stated that they believed the inadvertent steering input was caused by a loose magnet located within the electronic power steering (EPS) system. Due to poor formulation of the adhesive, this magnet can become loose and move up to 2 degr…
DP20005Opened Nov 23, 2020Closed May 7, 2021
Loss of Direction Control
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition dated October 19, 2020 requesting an investigation of an alleged defect in the steering system in Model Year (MY) 2013 Honda Accord vehicles. The petitioner alleges that MY2013 Honda accord vehicles are experiencing a sudden loss of steering control as the vehicle veers from its intended path of travel. The petitioner further alleges that this deviation from the intended path of travel occurs without warning or driver input while operating the vehicle under normal driving conditions. The petition itself can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov …
EA19001Opened Apr 19, 2019Closed Sep 19, 2024led to recall 20V024
Electrical overstress
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW. The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mount…
PE14033Opened Nov 4, 2014Closed Oct 6, 2015
Electric Power Steering Failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-033 to investigate 24 complaints alleging loss of power steering while driving in model year (MY) 2013 Honda Accord vehicles equipped with electric power steering (EPS).Analysis of service data for the original 24 complaints and 33 additional complaints received after PE14-033 was opened found that 85 percent of the vehicles with diagnostic trouble codes available to identify the faulty component had a code indicating torque sensor failure (DTC 53).In its response to ODI's information request letter for PE14-033, Honda identified two manufa…

NHTSA 5-Star safety ratings

Version	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover
2013 Honda Accord 2 DR FWD	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★
2013 Honda Accord 4 DR FWD	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★★★

Recent 2013 Honda Accord complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Filed Oct 8, 2026TNBrakesElectrical System
VSA Module failure There appears to be thousands of owners of Honda Accords 2013 that have this component fail. It appears that the country of Thailand was able to get Honda to do a recall on this part in their country. The repair cost is is greater than $4,000 (USD). Please research this issue and force Honda to recall this part.
NHTSA complaint #11769786 · source
Filed Sep 29, 2026VABrakesDriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise Control
I have received a warning on my dashboard "FCW SYSTEM FAILED" at 106,000 miles. It is available for inspection upon request. I am now at 108,000 miles and I am fearful of my safety when driving on the highway and especially during bad, rainy, snowy weather. This puts me and others on the road at high risk. This problem has been confirmed by Hall Honda in Virginia Beach VA. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance reps. Yes, a warning did…
NHTSA complaint #11767674 · source
Filed Sep 21, 2026224,000 miTNElectrical System
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Honda Accord. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was an independent dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 113,000. It was later discovered after checking the Carfax report that the mileage was 224,000.
NHTSA complaint #11765802 · source
Filed Sep 16, 2026NYOther / UnknownSteering
Honda of Nanuet declined to fix the recall issue on my 2013 honda accord sport. a recall in regards to "A corroded drive shaft could break under high torque applications" They did not notify me of the issue until after the expiration date of the time standard for the recall notice. I took the vehicle into the service center to fix the recall. They stated they would not work on the vehicle unless they were authorized to fix a different part that they claimed needed to be…
NHTSA complaint #11764815 · source
Filed Sep 3, 2026100,000 miCTElectrical SystemSteering
The contact's spouse owns a 2013 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the steering wheel turned to the left independently and failed to remain straight. The contact stated that while turning the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with charging system failure and determined that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was…
NHTSA complaint #11761942 · source
Filed Jul 10, 2026AZElectrical SystemEngineSuspension
Diagnostic trouble code 81-20 internal circuit failure. Cleared dtc. Road test vehicle, 81-20 dtc return replace vsa modulator w/brake flush, starter motor intermittently seizing up, front engine mount leaking, both front sway bar end links leaking grease, valve cover gasket leaking. High mileage and no history. Recommend valve adjustment, sparkplugs and valve cover gasket, right engine mount worn, vtc actuator faulty, rattle noise at start up.
NHTSA complaint #11749462 · source
Filed Jul 4, 2026ILElectrical SystemAcceleration & Cruise ControlSteering
Whenever in park or reverse the vehicle suddenly power cycles. The vehicle also power cycles when steering and locks the wheel. This can be fatal if it happens on the public road in the middle of traffic.
NHTSA complaint #11748251 · source
Filed Jul 1, 2026CABrakesElectrical SystemAcceleration & Cruise Control
Honda Accord 9th Gen ABS/VSA Issues - DTC Code 81-20 /32-11. TPMS/ABS/VSA/Brake/Power Steering lights are on. Dealer claim is an ABS module issue and need replacement.
NHTSA complaint #11747825 · source

Compare the 2013 Honda Accord with another vehicle →

Other 2013 Honda models

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology