Problems · by component

2020 Honda Accord electrical system problems

55 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2020 Honda Accord cite electrical system, 15% of all 368 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.

Complaints
55
15% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
5
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the electrical system

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Unknown cause - Heavy Traffic I get all warning lights (idiot) come on. No performance loss but every advisory and caution is illuminated. Tested battery 550amps and regulator was putting out 14 volts so all seemed fine. Check battery terminals and connections, all good. After two days lights go away and everything works fine. When lights and advisory are on, no cruise control, TMPS, lane departure, assisted steering, and anything else in the caution light display doesn't work. Good thing all other aspects of the car work fine. Unable to determine the issue with Why this happens. Seen on line others have had this same issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 28, 2026Electrical systemODI 11774149
“The contact owns a 2020 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to three independent mechanics, where the failure was confirmed, and the battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the battery was replaced four times within three and a half years. The contact stated that the warning lights turned off temporarily upon replacing the battery. The contact stated that the failure was a common issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 26, 2026Electrical systemODI 11773718
“The Supplemental Restraint System Problem message along with the airbag light comes and goes on my dash randomly. Anytime I am able to take it to get scanned, it doesn’t show up. Then when I’m driving down the road it will randomly appear. It also appears sometimes when I first start the vehicle. My car has 66,200 miles on it and it first happened at 59,771 miles. The vehicle has never been roughly treated or heavy objects placed in the seats. I believe it is something electrical that is faulty because of failing Honda parts. My car shows there are no recalls for this, but other Accords do have a recall for this issue.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 10, 2026Electrical system, Air bagsODI 11770278
“I was reversing my 2020 Honda accord and the power steering light came on. The power steering and steering wheel was hard. The steering then locked up. I couldn’t move the car. This could have been dangerous of another vehicle was coming. After shifting it back to drive, it went away. Now I am concerned the car may do this problem on the road.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 5, 2026Steering, Electrical systemODI 11769001
“I’m taking my car to the body shop over five occasions and have to take it back one due for it being a computer chip, which was replaced, but the lights on my dash all of them comes on after the second start up. Cruise control doesn’t work brake code doesn’t work all the lights for staring brakes says to check everything.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 24, 2026Electrical system, Forward collision avoidanceCrash reportedODI 11758978
“1) The infotainment system/8-inch LCD touch screen that controls the system settings is exhibiting ghost/phantom touches and is faulty since July 7th 2026. I tried to self-diagnose it but could not fix it. Yes, the vehicle is available for inspection provided I get a loaner car to drive that day. 2) These random touches are constant and are very distracting and when a driver is distracted, it could lead to accidents and more catastrophically, death of one or multiple people due to a crash. I have tried hard to not get distracted but it sure isn't helping. 3) No, it has not been confirmed by a dealer as they want to charge me 200 USD to diagnose an issue for something I have hard evidence on. I have video evidence of it happening when I was driving to ensure this is not a fake report. Multiple people on the internet have reported the same failure mode so this cannot be a one-time or first occurrence. 4) No one has inspected it except me and a few friends as I do not want to pay to diagnose a safety issue on my car. 5) No warning, no messages, no symptoms. Just randomly started to happen on July 7th 2026. This freaked us out as we driving in the night around 11PM…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 30, 2026Electrical system, Unknown or otherODI 11753766

Showing 6 of 55 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Related recalls

1 recall on this component

Electrical system: software

Free remedy

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, and 2019-2020 Insight vehicles. A software error may cause intermittent or continuous disruptions in communication between the Body Control Module (BCM) and other components. This may result in malfunctions of various systems such as the windshield wipers and defroster, rearview camera, exterior lights, audible warning of a stopped vehicle, and power window operation. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems" and number 111, "Rear Visibility" as well as FMVSS numbers 104, 108, 114, 118, and 305.

Electrical systemReported Dec 10, 2020NHTSA 20V771000
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Nov 3, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.