2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID Electrical System Problems

At approximately [XXX]. Pacific, I was traveling southbound in the fastrak lane of the [XXX] departing from Pleasant Hill, California headed to Pleasanton, California. As I began to accelerate, the engine began to sputter. Immediately, the check engine light flashed on, then the dashboard reported a number of issues ranging from brake failure, TPMS failure, power assisted steering failure, vehicle stability assist failure and a number of other issues that I have never encountered since purchasing the vehicle. The sudden deceleration almost resulted in other cars impacting my car as this occurred during the morning commute. I was able to safely navigate off of the freeway. I was on speakerphone with Honda when this occurred. Had I not acted swiftly, a potential high speed rear end collision was likely to have occurred. I immediately took the car to Concord Honda. The team at Concord Honda performed a diagnosis and advised me that my head gasket was leaking water into the combustion chamber which resulted in the sudden loss of power. I was and continue to be dissatisfied with the handling of this issue by Honda as my car has never been handled by another mechanic. My car has a perfect or near perfect maintenance record and should not have a blown head gasket at 80k miles especially since my car is meticulously maintained and serviced by Concord Honda. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Car has been throwing check engine light codes for different things for the past three years. First, the spark plugs needed to be replaced, then the electric coolant pump. After each repair, the check engine light came back on as soon as 4 days after but as late as a month after. Most recently, while driving on the highway the car check engine light came on and began flashing and the vehicle would not accelerate past 20mph. I took the closest exit and parked the car and had it towed to the closest Honda dealer where they informed me that there is an active recall and they are waiting for a call to see what they can do to help but that there is a head gasket issue as well as a fuel pump code. Previously when the check engine light came on and it took it to get checked I was told there was no code holding in the system.

The 2018 Honda Accord Hybrids suffer from a critical electrical design flaw which has left me stranded in dangerous positions on the roadside multiple times. In a normal gasoline powered vehicle, when the ignition is on, the engine is running and the alternator is generating current to charge the battery and keep it in good health. However, with Honda's Hybrid system, even with the ignition on the engine does not engage and as a result it does not keep the battery at a healthy charge. Honda could easily detect high current draw on the 12v electrical system (like a tire inflator e.g.) and start the gasoline motor when needed, but they have chosen not to do so letting the vehicle's battery drain to a dangerously low level which has other adverse effects on the car's safety systems. LKAS and TPMS systems have reported erroneous messages when this condition occurs. If there were a way to ensure the gasoline motor stayed on for roadside service tasks that would solve this issue, but currently in all modes the engine will shut off after running for a time, allowing the battery to be drained and damaged.

If the car is not driven for about 5 days, it will not start. I told this to the local Honda dealer and he says I am not alone. All modern Accords do this because the computer performs a self-check every 2-3 hours and this drains the battery. If the car is not driven every couple of days this can compound and take the battery level down below the minimum needed to start the vehicle. I have been stuck twice because of this. I have had to buy a portable jump start thing and keep it in my car for when this happens. He said Honda knows about the problem but he has heard of no solution.

AC stopped blowing cold air.

DRIVING SOUTHBOUND ON 101 SOUTH ON SUNNY CLEAR DAY 65 DEGREES WITH ALMOST FULL FUEL TANK AND 2 BATTERY BARS (ALMOST EMPTY) AND CLIMBING UP INCLINE ON 7 DEGREE GRADE AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AND LOST ALL POWER AND CAR COMPLETELY SLOWED DOWN TO A STOP (LUCKILY WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER WITH NO PROBLEM).

Mileage: 66,752

VERY LOUD ROARING NOISE WHEN DRIVING ABOUT 52-54MPH (AND INTERMITTENTLY AT OTHER SPEEDS). THIS NOT ENGINE NOISE, BUT SEEMS TO A GLITCH IN THE AUTOMATIC NOISE CANCELLING SYSTEM THAT CAUSES A FEEDBACK LOOP RESULTING IN AN ALARMING ROARING SOUND THAT CAN CAUSE DRIVER TO PANIC OR OTHERWISE BE DISTRACTED FROM DRIVING SAFELY.

THE 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID'S ACTIVE NOISE CANCELING (ANC) SYSTEM IS FLAWED. THE CAR HOWLS, ROARS AND CAN EVEN PRODUCE A LOUD BOOM AT CERTAIN CONDITIONS (IE. LIGHT ACCELERATION, ENGINE RPMS ~2250, COLDER TEMPS (<50DEGF), STARTING @ 30+MPH BUT WORST IS @ ~52MPH). I TOOK THE CAR INTO MY LOCAL HONDA DEALER WHO CONFIRMED THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, AFTER THEY CHECKED THE INTERNAL CAR MICROPHONES WERE OK (PER A HONDA SERVICE BULLETIN TEST, ...SO HONDA AMERICA KNOWS THERE IS A PROBLEM), THEY STOPPED WORK AND TOLD ME HONDA CORPORATE WON'T LET THEM REPLACE THE ANC, BECAUSE APPARENTLY THE TECHNICIAN'S AUDIO RECORDING OF THE PROBLEM IN MY CAR WASN'T SUFFICIENTLY ADEQUATE. NOTE: I FIND THIS PROBLEM IS REPEATEDLY DISCUSSED ON THE VARIOUS 2018-20 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID FORUMS WITH MANY FRUSTRATED OWNERS. LIKE MANY ON THE FORUMS, I ASKED (AND PAID FOR) THE HONDA TECHNICIAN TO DISCONNECT THE ANC. WHILE THE LOW SPEED ROAD NOISE IS MUCH HIGHER, THE ROAR, HOWLING AND OBNOXIOUS BOOM IS GONE. IT SURE WOULD BE NICE TO GET MY QUIET CAR BACK SOMEDAY. CAN NHSTA HELP? NOTE: IF NEEDED, I CAN UPLOAD THE HONDA DEALER SERVICE DOCUMENTS WRT ABOVE, PLEASE ADVISE, THANKS

Mileage: 35,900

REAR SPEAKERS CONTINUE TO MAKE HORRIBLE SCRATCHY SOUND WHEN DRIVING AND USING AUDIO. SPEAKERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN AND PROBLEM STILL CONTINUES. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, ON A CITY STREET OR A HIGHWAY, TURNING, BRAKING, ETC.

Mileage: 7

I WAS SLOWLY PULLING INTO MY GARAGE TO PARK. WHEN I PRESSED ON THE PARKING BREAK, THE CAR REVVED TO FULL SPEED, SLAMMED INTO GARAGE AND WOULD NOT RESPOND TO THE BRAKES, OR ANY ATTEMPT TO TURN OFF THE IGNITION OR TO CONTROL THE CAR, INCLUDING FAILURE OF THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION OR PARKING COLLISION TO FUNCTION, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ALL TURNED ON. WHEN "PARK" WAS DEPRESSED, WITH THE ENGINE STILL REVVING AT A HIGH SPEED, THE CAR FLEW FULL SPEED INTO REVERSE INTO THE DRIVEWAY, SPUN IN A CIRCLE THEN FLEW THROUGH THE DRIVEWAY ELEVATED CONCRETE DIVIDER, THROUGH THE NEIGHBORS FENCE AND WAS STOPPED BY A LARGE BOULDER UNDER THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE WAS SMOKING AND REVVING AND DID NOT IMMEDIATELY STOP. THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG HAD DEPLOYED AND THE DOOR WAS JAMMED. I CRAWLED OUT OF THE PASSENGER SIDE. THE NEIGHBOR INTO WHOSE YARD THE VEHICLE WENT, WITNESSED THE INCIDENT. ANOTHER NEIGHBOR RUSHED TO THE CAR WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER, DISCONNECTED ELECTRICAL WIRING AND SPRAYED THE ENGINE. THE CAR HAD GONE TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL. IT TOOK THE TOWING SERVICE 2 HOURS TO GET THE CAR OUT OF THE YARD. MY INSURANCE COMPANY DETERMINED THE CAR TO BE A TOTAL LOSS. RECENTLY, THE COLLISION CENTER WHERE THE CAR WAS EVENTUALLY TAKEN, COMPLETED AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAR'S COMPUTER AND DETERMINED THERE HAD BEEN MULTIPLE COMPUTER SYSTEM FAILURES LEADING TO THE CAR BECOMING UNCONTROLLABLE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS NOT SERIOUSLY INJURED. HAD THIS HAPPENED IN A BUSY AREA, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH MORE DISASTROUS RESULT WITH DEATHS. THE POLICE ARRIVED BUT DID NOT FILE A POLICE REPORT AS THE INCIDENT WAS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THERE WAS NO ONE SERIOUSLY INJURED.*DT *TR

Mileage: 15,500

REPEATEDLY AT RANDOM INTERVALS DURING HOT & COLD WEATHER I HEAR LOUD BUZZING VIBRATION SOUND COMING FROM AREA HOUSING HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY!!! OVER THE PAST ONE YEAR. ALWAYS WHILE DRIVING AT 46 TO 52 MPH, NOW IN COLD WEATHER IS STARTING AT 35 MPH . I FEAR OVER HEATING OR FIRE FROM HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY!!! I HAD THE DEALER REPLACE A MIC LOCATED IN THE CABIN AND NOT PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED, 7 DIFFERENT TECHNICIANS AT HONDA HAD HEAR THIS NOISE BUT THEY DON"T KNOW WHAT IT IS. THIS IS BEEN HAPPEN SINCE THE CAR HAD 4200 MILES NOW IS 28000 AND IS GETTING WORST . PLEASE IF YOU HAVING THIS SIMILAR ISSUE TAKE THE TIME TO REPORT IT HERE SO HONDA CAN TAKE IT SERIOUS THIS CAN BE A FIRE HAZARD .

STARTED THE CAR AND WAS IMMEDIATELY RECEIVED 4 MESSAGES: "LKAS: LANE KEEPING ASSIST SYSTEM PROBLEM. SEE YOUR DEALER.". "ROAD DEPARTURE MITIGATION SYSTEM PROBLEM. SEE YOUR DEALER.", "BLIND SPOT INFORMATION SYSTEM PROBLEM. SEE YOUR DEALER.", "AUTO HIGH_BEAM PROBLEM. MANUAL CONTROLS AVAILABLE. SEE YOUR DEALER.". TURN SIGNALS DID NOT WORK. HAZARD LIGHTS DID NOT WORK. TRUNK RELEASE DID NOT WORK. BACKUP CAMERA DID NOT WORK. CAME BACK AFTER 30 MINUTES OR SO AND ALL DISPLAYED FAILURES WERE GONE AND THE TRUNK OPENED. MY DAUGHTER SAID THE BRAKE LIGHTS WERE FUNCTIONING WHEN I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE AND EVEN THOUGH THE BACKUP CAMERA DID NOT TURN ON THE BACK UP SENSORS APPEARED TO BE OPERATING.

Mileage: 6,417

HONDA ACCORD HYBRID 2018: 1. REPEATEDLY AT RANDOM INTERVALS DURING HOT WEATHER I HEAR LOUD BUZZING VIBRATION SOUND COMING FROM AREA HOUSING HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY!!! OVER THE PAST ONE YEAR. ALWAYS WHILE PARKED AFTER DRIVING. I FEAR OVER HEATING OR FIRE FROM HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY!!! HONDA DEALER RESPONSE: WE DON'T HEAR ANY NOISE NOW. WE HAVE NO WAY TO CHECK HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY. 2. OCTOBER 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID RECALLS FOR "HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY" WERE FOR COMPUTER RESET CODES(????) WHATEVER THAT MEANS. 3. NEITHER HONDA NOR NHTSA SHOW ANY CONCERN! HELP! IS THERE ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE WITH A HONDA ACCORD HYBRID WHO HEARS THIS LOUD BUZZING VIBRATION FROM THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY? ANYONE ELSE FEAR FIRES FROM THE HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM ION BATTERY? 4. HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM BATTERY NEVER ACHIEVES FULL CHARGE! NEVER HOLDS MORE THAN 3 BAR SEGMENTS OUT OF 10 FOR CHARGE.

I PURCHASED A NEW 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID ON JUNE 30, 2018 FROM HONDA OF KIRKLAND FOR MY DAUGHTER. ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019, WHEN SHE WAS DRIVING BACK FROM CLASS ON A ROAD AT 35 MPH, THE COLLISION MITIGATION SYSTEM BRAKE WARNING FLASHED THEN BRAKED IMMEDIATELY, STOPPING THE CAR IN TRAFFIC. NO OBSTACLES OR CARS WERE IN FRONT OF HER. FORTUNATELY, THE CARS BEHIND HER WERE FAR ENOUGH AWAY THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO STOP. IN ADDITION, SHE TRIED TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF TRAFFIC BY PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT RESPOND FOR SEVERAL MOMENTS AFTER THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING OCCURRED. SHE ALSO TOLD ME THAT THE BRAKE WARNING HAD BEEN COMING ON OFTEN WHEN NOTHING WAS IN FRONT OF HER. IN ADDITION, THE LANE DEPARTURE FEATURE HAS BEEN MALFUNCTIONING, TRYING TO PULL HER TO THE LEFT LANE INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC WHEN DRIVING ON CURVING ROADS. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY AT THE HONDA DEALERSHIP, BUT THE ONLY THING THEY FOUND WAS "A LITTLE DIRT" ON ONE OF THE SENSORS, STATING THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE HONDA SENSING SYSTEM. I HAVE FOUND CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST HONDA FOR FAULTY COLLISION MITIGATION SYSTEMS ON AT LEAST TWO OF THEIR MODELS (ACCORD & CRV). IN ADDITION, I HAVE FOUND PAGES OF RESULTS FOR THESE PROBLEMS WITH HONDA AND ACURA (HONDA CORPORATION) WHEN SIMPLY TYPING IN "COLLISION MITIGATION SYSTEM PROBLEMS". PLEASE SEE THE LINKS BELOW. *DT CONSUMER REQUESTED TO ADD THE FOLLOWING LINK HTTPS://WWW.CLASSLAWGROUP.COM/HONDA-ACCORD-COLLISION-MITIGATION-SYTEM-CLASS-ACTION-LAWSUIT/ *JB

Mileage: 4,000

SINCE THE VEHICLE REACHED APPROXIMATELY 5000 MILES, I HAD A MASSIVE SAFETY FAILURE OF THE "HONDA SENSE" SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN, HAZARD & TURN SIGNALS INOPERATIVE, POWER LOCKS INOPERATIVE, BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT ON, LOSS OF AUTO HEADLIGHTS AND INFORMATION SCREEN. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALRSHIP AND THEY RETRIEVED TROUBLE CODE WHICH IS A "MYSTERY CODE" THAT HONDA DOES NOT KNOW WHY ITS OCCURING .... RADAR TOLD CAR TO ACCELERATE WHEN VEHICLE WAS NOT IN MOTION U0401-92 ALONG WITH 3 OTHER CODES. DEALERSHIP SHOWED ME PRINTOUT FROM COMPUTER BUT CUSTOMER RECEIPT SAID RESET SYSTEM ONLY AND DID NOT LIST OUT TROUBLE CODES (4 CODES RETRIEVED) VEHICLE NOW STOPS INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, PULLS ITSELF OUT OF THE LANE WHILE DRIVING, AND APPLE CAR PLAY SYSTEM NO LONGER WILL RECOGNIZE IPHONES (TRIED MULTIPLE) AND DEALER HAS VERIFIED ISSUE BUT JUST RESETS. INFOTAINMENT SCREEN LOST POWER AND SET WARNING MESSAGE FOR SAME WHEN DROPPED OFF AGAIN AT DEALERSHIP 2/26/19. DEALER IN FLORIDA ALSO HAD CAR, SAID NOTHING WRONG, COULD NOT DUPLICATE AND VEHICLE NEVER LEFT DEALERSHIP AND CARPLAY DID NOT WORK AFTER THEY CLAIMED IT WAS FINE. ALSO FOUND THAT ENTIRE SYSTEM WAS RESET AND REBOOTED, CAUSING LOSS OF ALL SETTINGS AND STORED INFORMATION/STATIONS....WHY REBOOT IF ITS WORKING? VEHICLE NOW BEING DRIVEN WITH HONDA SENSE SYSTEM OFF DUE TO FEAR OF COLLISION OR ACCIDENT CAUSED BY VEHICLE AND NOT DRIVER. THIS VEHICLE IS NOW UNSAFE TO DRIVE. MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT VEHICLE BRAKING ON ITS OWN, FLASHING "BRAKE" WARNING TO DRIVER WHEN NO CAR IN FRONT ... HAPPENS LOCAL AND HIGHWAY DRIVING NOW INTERMITTENTLY. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN DEALERSHIPS APPROXIMATELY 4-5 TIMES SINCE INITAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE 12/24/19. EMAIL CONTACT AND SEVERAL PHONE CALLS TO HMA ALREADY. ORIGINAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE HAPPENED 12/23/28 AND I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH SINCE. ALSO HAVE SNAPSHOTS

Mileage: 5,000

ON MY WAY BACK TO HOME IN SAN DIEGO CA IN LATE JAN 2019 THE PANEL STARTED SHOWING WARNING SIGNS LIKE BRAKE SYSTEM LIGHT ON, ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL/ROAD DEPARTURE MITIGATION/LANE KEEPING ASSIST SYSTEM (LKAS) LIGHTS ARE ALL ON SAYING FAILURE. THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME FOR MY AROUND 2000 MILES ACCORD HYBRID. THE FIRST TIME IT WAS ABLE TO RESOLVE BY RE-POWER ON THE CAR BUT SECOND TIME IT WAS COMPLETELY FAILED. THEN I WENT BACK TO DEALER THE OTHER DAY AND IT TURNED OUT THE MULTIPURPOSE CAMERA DID NOT WORK PROPERLY UNDER RAIN AND LOW TEMPERATURE (IT WAS JUST TYPICAL SAN DIEGO WINTER) SO THEY REPLACED ONE. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SINCE I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE REPORTED THE SAME ISSUE EVERYWHERE. AFTER THE REPLACEMENT THE AUTO-HIGHBEAM STARTED WORKING AS WELL, BEFORE I DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT WAS NOT WORKING. SAME WARNING SIGN LIKE THIS VIDEO: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=-_NFU2HPNGC

Mileage: 2,100

BOUGHT 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID NEW JULY 2018. INITIAL TANK OF GAS MPG 56! EVER SINCE MPG IN 30S. GAS ENGINE RUNS CAR 90% OF TIME! EV MOTOR RARELY COMES ON! ESSENTIALLY NOT A HYBRID! GAUGE FOR HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY ALWAYS AT (3) OUT OF (10) BARS - NEVER FULLY CHARGES! OWNER'S MANUAL SAYS LOW LITHIUM ION BATTERY CHARGE CAN SHORTEN LIFE OF LITHIUM BATTERIES! HONDA DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WHERE PURCHASED SAYS, "WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE HYBRIDS."!!! HE SAYS "WINTER GAS" LOWERS THE GAS MILEAGE"! I SAID ITS A HYBRID, 'WINTER GAS' DOESN'T AFFECT THE ELECTRIC MOTOR! HONDA DEALER SAYS AGAIN THAT THEY DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HONDA HYBRIDS! 1. IS MY NEW 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID HIGH VOLTAGE LITHIUM BATTERY DEAD OR DYING ALREADY? 2. WHY DOESN'T THE EV MOTOR COME ON? ISN'T IT SUPPOSED TO BE A HYBRID? 3. WHY DOESN'T HONDA INSTRUCT DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENTS ON HOW HYBRIDS WORK? 3. WHY DOESN'T HONDA SUPPORT ITS OWN HYBRID MODELS?

Mileage: 600

NEW 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID MAKES LOW FREQUENCY "BUZZING" NOISE WHILE PARKED IN GARAGE SEVERAL HOURS AFTER 30 MINUTES OR MORE RIDE. BUZZING NOISE NOT HEARD IMMEDIATELY AFTER ENGINE SHUT OFF. NOISE NOT HEARD UNTIL SERENDIPITY ACCESSING GARAGE AT LEAST TWO HOURS AFTER ENGINE SHUT OFF. MULTIPLE OCCASION "BUZZING" SOUND LOCATED IN TRUNK WHERE LITHIUM BATTERIES ARE!

Mileage: 657