The contact owns a 2010 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while stopping at a red light, depressing the service brake pedal caused unintended acceleration instead of stopping the vehicle. Increased pressure on the brake pedal resulted in increased acceleration until the vehicle collided with the rear of a pickup truck. The front end of the vehicle sustained damage, but the vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The contact and the contact's spouse received medical treatment for minor bruises sustained during the crash. A police report was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
Honda Accord sudden acceleration problems
348 of the 24,251 owner complaints about the Honda Accord describe sudden unintended acceleration, most of them for the 2003 model year.
- owner complaints
- 348
- worst model year
- 2003
- typical repair cost reported
- $7,000
- typical mileage
- 45,500
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
No deployment 19Adaptive cruise 19Jerking 18Transmission failure 11Hesitation 8Brake failure 7Won't shift 6Stalling 6
What owners say
I would like to report a potential safety defect involving a Honda Accord Hybrid Sport, model year 2025/2026, which I rented in [XXX]. During a highway drive with my wife and our two children, my right foot slipped behind the plastic side panel of the center console, next to the accelerator pedal. My foot became caught in this area, restricting its normal movement and access to the accelerator pedal. This created a highly dangerous situation and could potentially result in unintended acceleration, an inability to operate the accelerator normally, or a loss of control of the vehicle. Fortunately, no collision or physical damage occurred. I am concerned that the design or positioning of the plastic side panel may create a potential safety risk for other vehicles of the same model or model generation. I am reporting this matter because I believe it should be assessed by the appropriate safety and engineering authorities. Vehicle information: * Make: Honda * Model: Accord Hybrid Sport * Model year: 2025/2026 * Approximate mileage: 1,900 miles * Vehicle type: Rental vehicle * Location of incident: [XXX] * VIN: Currently unavailable; I have requested it from the rental Company * Rental company: Alamo * Rental period: 18 days in XXX I have photographs showing the relevant area of the vehicle. The photographs were taken while the vehicle was stationary, with the engine switched off. They do not show the incident occurring while driving, but they illustrate the area where my foot became trapped. I also contacted Honda directly to report this concern. Honda’s customer service representative repeatedly requested the VIN and stated that further assistance could not proceed without it. I explained that the vehicle was a rental and that I did not currently have the VIN. The concern was not substantively reviewed during INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Problem Summary: While using the vehicle’s Traffic Assist / Adaptive Cruise Control (system that controls acceleration and braking in traffic), the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated toward a vehicle directly ahead as if no lead vehicle was present. This created an imminent rear-end collision risk. The issue occurred twice in the same drive. Incident Details: On 18 dec 2025 at about 5-15MPH/ “stop-and-go traffic”], I was driving with Traffic Assist / Adaptive Cruise Control enabled, which normally manages throttle and braking in traffic. I was following a semi tractor (no trailer attached). The semi was approximately 15–20 feet in front of me. While the system was engaged and operating normally moments before, the vehicle accelerated forward as if the lane was clear, despite the semi being directly ahead. I had to apply the brakes manually to prevent a collision. A short time later in the same traffic situation, the vehicle did it again—it accelerated toward the same type of lead vehicle and I again had to brake to avoid rear-ending it. During the second event, I observed the instrument cluster / driver display showing the lead semi incorrectly identified as a passenger car instead of a truck, and the display showed that “car” accelerating away, which was inaccurate and did not match real conditions. This suggests the system may have misclassified or failed to track the lead vehicle, leading to unintended acceleration.
The contact owns a 2025 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle intermittently stalled. While idling or utilizing cruise control, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to 70 after releasing the brake pedal. While entering the garage with her foot hovering over the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward and crashed through the wall into the TV room. The brake light was flashing. There were no reported injuries, airbag deployments, fire or police report filed. The gas pipe was bent into the wall, but she was able to turn off the gas line. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who reset the computer and replaced the battery. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 6,090.
I was slowing down to pull into a parking spot at my office and suddenly the car accelerated, jumped the concrete barrier and crashed into the brick wall. The car continued to actively crash into the wall, so I put it in reverse and it accelerated backward with such force that it crashed into the rear of the car on the other side of the parking lot and then spun around 180 degrees and crashed into the side of that same car. My car was terrifyingly out of control. There was a woman in another car who had just parked and luckily she remained in her car because if she'd gotten out my car could have hit her. I don't know if this is related, but I regularly used the brake hold function and pressed the button to turn it off as I was parking. My perception is that the car suddenly accelerated when I depressed the brake hold button to turn it off. I have the parking lot security camera footage that clearly shows I was braking when the car suddenly accelerated and went out of control. I had 3 hard collisions and the airbag didn't deploy. Luckily I only had some neck and back pain and wasn't seriously injured. My car and the other car were totaled. I'm incredibly disappointed that Honda didn't call me back in time to be able to inspect the car. The insurance company pressured me to settle and turn over title. I'm very angry that the insurance company says I'm at fault because I need to stay in control of my vehicle at all times, but how could I have done that when the car suddenly went out of control? Now I'm going to have to pay higher insurance rates for something that I couldn't control.
While driving the car at approx 45mph on a busy roadway the vehicle suddenly accelerated heavily I tried applying the breaks but the pedal did not go down and had no affect of slowing the vehicle. I was forced to swerve around several vehicles to avoid a collision then just as suddenly the car returned to normal operation. The duration on the incident was approx 5 to 10 seconds. Very dangerous and very scary.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal from a complete stop, the vehicle lunged forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel injectors and spark plugs had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure recurred approximately 5 years later while accelerating from a complete stop at a stoplight, and the vehicle failed to accelerate at the intended speed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission sensor had failed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred while attempting to leave a parking lot. The contact stated that the failure remained persistent and was recurring more frequently. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, Carson Honda(1435 E 223rd St, Carson, CA 90745), who performed a dual-clutch transmission check, but no failure was found. Additionally, the dealer diagnosed that there was excessive misfiring on cylinder #3 due to a head gasket leak. The dealer determined that the head gasket kit, the spark plugs, and the fuel injectors needed to be replaced, and an oil change needed to be performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had become inoperable. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was unknown.
Vehicle accelerated on its own and propelled the vehicle over a curb and into a building. This occured even though the gear shift was in the Park position. My grandchild and I were thrown forward as vehicle hit the building. Vehicle has not been inspected since incident occurred just yesterday, 11/20/2025. No warnings preceded the incident,
On Tuesday, September 23, I was applying the brakes as I was approaching a stop sign. When I had slowed to about fifteen miles an hour the car suddenly accelerated and the brakes were not enough to stop it so I shifted into neutral and stopped. The engine continued to race in neutral. I shifted into drive and things returned to normal. I then started to move forward and the car suddenly again accelerated rapidly. I shifted into neutral and then into drive and things returned to normal. I then drove home without a further problem.
The contact owns a 2010 Honda Accord. The contact stated that after start-up, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions while attempting to accelerate from being stationary. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while driving forward or while in reversing, and while turning the steering wheel six degrees in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 84,000.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Honda Accord sudden acceleration
Which Honda Accord years have sudden unintended acceleration problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2003 (27 complaints), 2004 (25 complaints) and 1998 (24 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix sudden unintended acceleration on the Honda Accord?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $7,000 (median of 12 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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