[ZeroBalance]

So in the Consumer Reports 2023 Auto issue, they have the overall rating for the 2022 Accord as single down arrow. Then in the single categories they have a rating of a single down arrow for the Drive System and also the Fuel System, and a double down arrow for the In-Car Electronics.

They define these categories as follows:

Drive System
Driveshaft or axle, CV joint, differential, transfer case, 4WD/AWD components, driveline vibration, traction control, electronic stability control (ESC) and electrical failure

Fuel System
Sensors (includes O2 or oxygen sensor), emission control device (includes EGR), fuel gauge/sender, fuel injection system, fuel pump, problems filling the tank

In-Car Electronics
Audio system, backup/parking camera, entertainment system, navigation system, communication system, hardware replacement, over-the-air updates and heads-up display

A couple reasons for this post.

1) So to those who own a 2022 Accord, have you experienced any issues in these categories?
2) What are your thoughts about this? It seems to me these issues must have shown up early on because we are barely into 2023, so most of these 2022 cars cannot be that old or have that many miles on them (some sure but exceptions).

In looking at the ratings for the 2021 Accord, it has double up arrows in the first two categories I mentioned above. How do you go from doing so well to doing so badly in one year? You would think this being the fifth year for this gen they would have worked out such kinks and issues and not be introducing them.

As a long time Toyota owner and this being my first Honda, well shucks. Even my brother didn't tell me because he didn't want to be the messenger of bad news.

 

[MisterHooman]

So in the Consumer Reports 2023 Auto issue, they have the overall rating for the 2022 Accord as single down arrow. Then in the single categories they have a rating of a single down arrow for the Drive System and also the Fuel System, and a double down arrow for the In-Car Electronics.

They define these categories as follows:

Drive System
Driveshaft or axle, CV joint, differential, transfer case, 4WD/AWD components, driveline vibration, traction control, electronic stability control (ESC) and electrical failure

Fuel System
Sensors (includes O2 or oxygen sensor), emission control device (includes EGR), fuel gauge/sender, fuel injection system, fuel pump, problems filling the tank

In-Car Electronics
Audio system, backup/parking camera, entertainment system, navigation system, communication system, hardware replacement, over-the-air updates and heads-up display

A couple reasons for this post.

1) So to those who own a 2022 Accord, have you experienced any issues in these categories?
2) What are your thoughts about this? It seems to me these issues must have shown up early on because we are barely into 2023, so most of these 2022 cars cannot be that old or have that many miles on them (some sure but exceptions).

In looking at the ratings for the 2021 Accord, it has double up arrows in the first two categories I mentioned above. How do you go from doing so well to doing so badly in one year? You would think this being the fifth year for this gen they would have worked out such kinks and issues and not be introducing them.

As a long time Toyota owner and this being my first Honda, well shucks. Even my brother didn't tell me because he didn't want to be the messenger of bad news.

Consumer Reports is useless unless it's a paper copy of Consumer Reports. Then it could be used for toilet paper. Seriously, the amount of people who come on here worried that their car is about to explode and link a Consumer Reports article is astounding. You want what failures are occurring on a certain model? The best data comes from sitting at a dealership and watching what rolls into the service department. The car manufacturer has this data, not Consumer Reports.

Don't believe everything you read. Don't believe everything you hear.

Most of the issues of a model lifecycle come in the first year or two. I warn people all the time about buying a first year model. Low and behold, a lot of the posts on here reference a 2018 Accord. All I can tell a 2018 Accord owner now is stop buying first year models. You are a guinea pig. Wait until all the issues are ironed out. The last year or two of a model lifecycle will be the most reliable for that particular model. That's a fact. There's no glaring problems with the 2021 or 2022 Accords.

Consumer Reports is a business after all. And in order for a business to stay in business, they have to do something. In Consumer Reports case, they have to report on something to make money to keep the business alive. Doesn't mean what they say is accurate.

One more thing. Ever since Ford came out with the assembly line way back when, mass production has been a thing. Mass production guarantees only one thing, volume. It doesn't guarantee reliability. There's a certain margin of error built into mass production. You WILL have lemons. You WILL have problems with some cars. That's mass production for you. Luckily, the quality assurance team is supposed to catch the big, glaring issues. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean the person always does their job or something doesn't slip by.

 

[JeffJo]

So in the Consumer Reports 2023 Auto issue, they have the overall rating for the 2022 Accord as single down arrow. Then in the single categories they have a rating of a single down arrow for the Drive System and also the Fuel System, and a double down arrow for the In-Car Electronics.

They define these categories as follows:

Drive System
Driveshaft or axle, CV joint, differential, transfer case, 4WD/AWD components, driveline vibration, traction control, electronic stability control (ESC) and electrical failure

Fuel System
Sensors (includes O2 or oxygen sensor), emission control device (includes EGR), fuel gauge/sender, fuel injection system, fuel pump, problems filling the tank

In-Car Electronics
Audio system, backup/parking camera, entertainment system, navigation system, communication system, hardware replacement, over-the-air updates and heads-up display

A couple reasons for this post.

1) So to those who own a 2022 Accord, have you experienced any issues in these categories?
2) What are your thoughts about this? It seems to me these issues must have shown up early on because we are barely into 2023, so most of these 2022 cars cannot be that old or have that many miles on them (some sure but exceptions).

In looking at the ratings for the 2021 Accord, it has double up arrows in the first two categories I mentioned above. How do you go from doing so well to doing so badly in one year? You would think this being the fifth year for this gen they would have worked out such kinks and issues and not be introducing them.

As a long time Toyota owner and this being my first Honda, well shucks. Even my brother didn't tell me because he didn't want to be the messenger of bad news.

First off, you didn't say that these are reliability ratings. The ratings compare the number pof problems in an area to similar problems in cars of the same model year. They mean "Much Better," "Better," "Average," "Worse," and "Much Worse." I'm going to describe the ratings as +2,+1,0,-1, and -2, to indicate the number and direction of the arrows.

Second, CR gets them from reader surveys. Every subscriber gets an annual survey form, but we have no way to know how many actually return them. I know that I never get a chance to see ours - my wife considers it to be junk mail, and files it in the circular file. But even if you see it, you have to be motivated to fill it out and return it.

And that's a big source of inaccuracy. Suppose you were unlucky, and had a 1 in 100,000 failure to your one-year-old Accord's drive system. You are angry at Honda. So you will definitely fill out that survey, and probably exaggerate any and all issues you have found. But the people who have had no issue may not bother to fill it out.

You can tell that this sort of thing is happening, when the same model's rating varies wildly year-to-year. Note that, while some improvements have been made, the car has been mostly the same for five straight years, from 2018 to 2022. So look at how those ratings:

• Drive System: +2, +2, +1, +2, -1
• Fuel System: +2, +2, 0, +2, -1
• In Car Electronics: 0, 0, +2, +1, -2
  • Note: In 2018 and 2019, there were some software issues in the in-car electronics.They were fixed by updates, and did not exist in 2020+ models. So those zeros may not reflect current reality.

There is something that is definitely fishy about how these 2022 ratings are so much lower. I'm not saying that CR is being dishonest or biased, I'm saying that their methodology is prone to certain, specific inaccuracies. And I see evidence of it here.

On the other hand, suppose you are a diligent user of these ratings. You only buy cars with the highest ratings, and are proud of the fact that you were right. Your five-year-old car has no problems, and you rush to return that form. If you had only what you consider to be minor issues, you might not report them the same way I described above.

My point is that many of CR's survey-based ratings are self-propagating.

 

[ZeroBalance]

@MisterHooman and JeffJo - first, thank you both for your thorough replies and the time you took to carefully consider and respond in addressing ym post/concerns. It is much appreciated.

A friend of mine who has owned Hondas, all but one have been Accords, made some of the same points you have when speaking with him about this yesterday. You have both made some very good points for me to consider and I am doing so. They make good sense.

Im definitely keeping the car. I really like it. I considered this or the Camry but there weren't any Camrys around so I went with this Accord. I really enjoy driving it to the point I look for excuses to take it out (I work from home, so...).

 

[slimm1469]

Consumer Reports crashed when they first tried to review Tesla. The highest rating possible in the ancient methodology CR uses is 100. Tesla got 150. They have no business reviewing jack s__t about cars. Washing machines, maybe.

 

[McSwine]

Consumer Reports crashed when they first tried to review Tesla. The highest rating possible in the ancient methodology CR uses is 100. Tesla got 150. They have no business reviewing jack s__t about cars. Washing machines, maybe.

Not even washing machines. Bought a Whirlpool Duet front-loader on their recommendation...worst POS ever. Sold it after a couple of years and got a Speed Queen (built like a tank).

 

[Samurai1225]

I lost access to my brother-in-law's online CR. I own a 2020 model year Accord and to the best of my recollection I believe they scored that model year as the overall most reliable 5/5 for the 10th gen. I'm at 63,000 miles on the clock and I will say my car has been flawless. So I guess it's possible they got that one right.

 

[WiiMaster]

While CR is generally crap, seeing this doesn't surprise me. Honda has certainly dropped in recent years.

 

[Ccordster]

Agreed with some previous comments, it doesn't make sense that the last model year is worse than previous years, especially with an Accord. And doesn't most of this come from "predicted reliability?"

 

[rockman]

Also....cons. rep. Could deff. Have an agenda....imagine folks who love the 10 gen., They are not so hip to the design, etc. Of the new 2023....so, trash the 2022, that might make the 2023 seem like a new and improved product. I am not sure about my theory, but i know i dislike the changes made to the accord and am not interested in the 2023 at all!!
Interesting to see what cons report has to say about the 11 gen accord.....if my theory correct, they will speak favorably of 2023, they will get rave reviews.......we will see.

 

[RCarlL]

Agreed with some previous comments, it doesn't make sense that the last model year is worse than previous years, especially with an Accord. And doesn't most of this come from "predicted reliability?"

I don't know. My 2019 Accord Sport 2.0t was problem-free. I upgraded to a new 2.0t Touring halfway through 2021 and the 2021 had a bunch of quality problems that surfaced after a few thousand miles. Interior quality seemed lower in the 2021 compared to my 2019- which was ironic since my 2021 was the top-trim Touring model that should have offered a better experience. My 2021 also had horribly noisy brakes that woke the entire neighborhood when I backed out of my driveway in the morning.

Ultimately I got sick of the issues and just traded that 2021 Accord in and got something else.

Similarly, my wife's 2021 Passport has quite a few issues too. Either Honda quality is slipping or perhaps they have had to make significant sacrifices regarding quality control during the pandemic regarding their suppliers or parts.

 

[14v6]

Ultimately I got sick of the issues and just traded that 2021 Accord in and got something else.

Similarly, my wife's 2021 Passport has quite a few issues too. Either Honda quality is slipping or perhaps they have had to make significant sacrifices regarding quality control during the pandemic regarding their suppliers or parts.

What's wrong with the Passport? I have a 20 and am looking to trade it in. They don't hold their value and I had a deer hit but I do have HondaCare on it so I've got some time until I find something else. I had the radio fail early on on a 700 mile trip to Michigan, frustrating.

 

[RCarlL]

What's wrong with the Passport? I have a 20 and am looking to trade it in. They don't hold their value and I had a deer hit but I do have HondaCare on it so I've got some time until I find something else. I had the radio fail early on on a 700 mile trip to Michigan, frustrating.

The infotainment system crashes frequently in my wife's Passport. The bigger issue is what happens when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. When it gets cold, her Passport doesn't like to start. There's nothing wrong with the battery- the problem is that the car doesn't sense that your foot is on the brake pedal. Even when you have your foot firmly on the brake pedal, the car flashes a message when you hit the start button- telling you to put your foot on the brake in order to start the car. It will then cycle through the ignition button sequence... accessory, on (without engine), then off again. Similarly, when it's cold out the car beeps and flashes a warning message when you shift into park- telling you to put your foot on the brake when you shift to into park. Once the car is warmed up- then it's fine. It only happens when the car is cold and it's cold outside. I've taken it to multiple Honda dealers and all of them give me the same line- 'couldn't replicate the problem'. I've even shown them video taken by my cell phone that shows the problem... I've left it at the dealership overnight so that it's cold when their tech starts it. They claim that it doesn't do it for them... and if they can't replicate it- they won't fix it.

We bought it new in September of 2021... and it started doing it as soon as the temps drop... and hasn't stopped since. Generally it takes a few ignition cycles to get it to start. The colder the outside temperature, the more finicky it is.

 

[14v6]

My Ridge

The infotainment system crashes frequently in my wife's Passport. The bigger issue is what happens when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. When it gets cold, her Passport doesn't like to start. There's nothing wrong with the battery- the problem is that the car doesn't sense that your foot is on the brake pedal. Even when you have your foot firmly on the brake pedal, the car flashes a message when you hit the start button- telling you to put your foot on the brake in order to start the car. It will then cycle through the ignition button sequence... accessory, on (without engine), then off again. Similarly, when it's cold out the car beeps and flashes a warning message when you shift into park- telling you to put your foot on the brake when you shift to into park. Once the car is warmed up- then it's fine. It only happens when the car is cold and it's cold outside. I've taken it to multiple Honda dealers and all of them give me the same line- 'couldn't replicate the problem'. I've even shown them video taken by my cell phone that shows the problem... I've left it at the dealership overnight so that it's cold when their tech starts it. They claim that it doesn't do it for them... and if they can't replicate it- they won't fix it.

We bought it new in September of 2021... and it started doing it as soon as the temps drop... and hasn't stopped since. Generally it takes a few ignition cycles to get it to start. The colder the outside temperature, the more finicky it is.

My Ridgeline used to do that periodically. It's a well known problem but dealers won't step up. It's an easy fix. Look at post#260.

Stiff brake pedal prevents starting

The vacuum line to brake booster has a check valve that is supposed to retain the booster vacuum assist when the engine is off. Several owners have reported a leaky valve causing loss of vacuum assist which results in the symptoms you describe. This may also occur if you leave your foot on the...

www.ridgelineownersclub.com

 

[RCarlL]

My Ridge

My Ridgeline used to do that periodically. It's a well known problem but dealers won't step up. It's an easy fix. Look at post#260.

Stiff brake pedal prevents starting

The vacuum line to brake booster has a check valve that is supposed to retain the booster vacuum assist when the engine is off. Several owners have reported a leaky valve causing loss of vacuum assist which results in the symptoms you describe. This may also occur if you leave your foot on the...

www.ridgelineownersclub.com

That's what I thought it was but on my wife's Passport- but on my wife's car- it allows you to push down on the pedal- it's just like the car isn't registering that you are pushing on the pedal. It can be difficult to push when it's cold out- but it does let you push down on it... but even when you can push down on it- it still isn't registering that you are pushing it.

 

[14v6]

That's what I thought it was but on my wife's Passport- but on my wife's car- it allows you to push down on the pedal- it's just like the car isn't registering that you are pushing on the pedal. It can be difficult to push when it's cold out- but it does let you push down on it... but even when you can push down on it- it still isn't registering that you are pushing it.

The fix is a check valve. The dealer won't cover it but out of pocket its an inexpensive repair if you want to go that route.

 

[jmiller417]

My guess it's a quirk in the polling as a result of a small sample or something, since the 2022's results are significantly worse than the 2021's. I doubt it's a ploy to sell magazines or whatever. If it is a real change (which I doubt), it could be supply-chain issues leading to lower-quality parts.

FWIW, CR's weekly car vodcast is a good watch.

 

[ZombyWoof1978]

I have a 2021 Accord 1.5 and it's been up to this point the most reliable car I have ever owned. Every other new car I have owned has had at least one recall or warranty repair. I have had 0 repairs on my Accord. I know I might have to deal with a head gasket in the future. CR knows nothing about cars, I would never use them to determine if I would buy a new car. CR new car reviews are useless since no one knows if a car will be reliable 5 years in the future. Reading forums like this gives a better idea on how good a car will be. Also, talk to automotive techs they know what cars are reliable.

 

[Honda2014]

Personally, I generally do take CR's recommendation into consideration, that's one of the main reasons I started my Accord journey (getting my 2006) along with my dad's recommendation many years ago. Since I got my dad's help and a suggestion list of 3 cars (Accord, Camry, and Civic), things got much easier after that, but I did make the wise decision of going with the Accord.

With that said, I do remember that the CR rated the 2006 highly at around my time of my purchase (2006), but the ratings actually went up further (more green circles with a dot) years down the road. The point I'm making is that, to me, they seemed to be pretty good at predicting reliability, but just use them as a rough guide. In order for their data to be accurate enough to be useful, don't take into account in their most recent year of data, as their prediction (which depends on the data they collect) is only as good as the quality as well as the quantity of the data they received back from actual owners, which might not be so meaningful or complete 1 or 2 years after the model year. The rationale being that most that responded most likely will be those that got lemons, cars with more issues than average and/or super picky with unrealistic expectations. In my case, the car turned out to be one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable car I've ever owned as it had 0 major issues over 6.5 years and almost 100k miles, this includes several other Hondas too (I only buy/lease Hondas). The others were mostly more well-equipped, faster, etc etc, but when it came to reliability, they came close, but none have exceeded my first Honda so far. It's that good, and the reason I keep coming back.

 

[14v6]

CR is a data point to help make an informed decisions but their values are not aligned with mine. For example, I've never seen them recommend the upgraded engine, sure it's not necessary but can put a car into another league. Even when it's good news it's just a data point. Long term reliability doesn't count for that much anymore as I think most brands are more crappy now. Resale value counts for a lot so if you're unhappy with you current ride you can get out with less pain. Years back I always wanted an Accord but could get a Taurus a lot cheaper. When it came time to get rid of the Taurus (it was a great car by the way) it wasn't worth much while an an Accord was worth more than the initial delta at the beginning.