Are Hondas Reliable? Honda Reliability by Model
Honda reliability varies significantly by model year. Among the 6 Honda models analyzed, the Ridgeline has the fewest flagged years at 7, while the Civic has the most at 7. The sharpest single-year spike belongs to the Civic, whose worst year logged up to 8.3× its own median complaint rate. Because complaint totals are not adjusted for vehicle sales, this analysis identifies strong and weak years within each model — it does not rank Honda models against one another.
Analysis by CarWhere Research · Updated August 28, 2026 · Source: NHTSA owner complaints & recall campaigns · Data as of July 2026 · How we rate model years · Download the dataset (CSV)
44,822 NHTSA complaints
model years flagged on federal data
every model carries at least one
Honda problem areas by service-bulletin volume
The vehicle systems drawing the most federal service-bulletin (TSB) filings across the 6 Honda models we analyze — a volume signal of where the manufacturer issues the most fix guidance. These are TSB counts by NHTSA component category, not owner-complaint counts.
Honda reliability by model
| Model | Complaints | Years to avoid | Best years | Worst year vs. its avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda Accord | 10,777 | 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2020 | 2011 | 5.3× |
| Honda Cr-V | 12,518 | 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024 | — | 6× |
| Honda Civic | 8,005 | 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 | 2013 | 8.3× |
| Honda Odyssey | 5,306 | 2008, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2025 | 2017 | 5.4× |
| Honda Pilot | 6,539 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025 | 2008, 2014 and 2015 | 6.5× |
| Honda Ridgeline | 1,677 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 | 3.1× |
Counts are raw federal filings (NHTSA owner complaints), not adjusted for sales volume. A model year is flagged when its severity-weighted complaint rate is among the highest within that model's own history — never a comparison against other brands. Follow any model for its full year-by-year verdict. Full methodology.
Where Honda owners report the most trouble
Honda Civic: 7 model years flagged to avoid (2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023) — the worst logged up to 8.3× the model's own median severity-weighted complaint rate. See the year-by-year verdict →
Honda Pilot: 7 model years flagged to avoid (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025) — the worst logged up to 6.5× the model's own median severity-weighted complaint rate. See the year-by-year verdict →
Honda Cr-V: 7 model years flagged to avoid (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024) — the worst logged up to 6× the model's own median severity-weighted complaint rate. See the year-by-year verdict →
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FAQ
Are Hondas reliable?
Honda reliability varies sharply by model year, not by badge. Among the 6 most-documented Honda models, 6 carry at least one model year we flag to avoid on NHTSA complaint and recall data — the Ridgeline has the fewest flagged years (7) and the Civic the most (7). These are raw federal complaint counts, not adjusted for how many vehicles Honda sold, so they can't be read as a single cross-brand reliability score — use the per-model, per-year verdicts below.
Which Honda model years should I avoid?
The Honda models carrying the most flagged years are the Civic (7 flagged years: 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023); the Pilot (7 flagged years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025); the Cr-V (7 flagged years: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024). A flag means that model year's severity-weighted complaint rate is among the highest within that model's own history — it is not a comparison against other models or brands. See each model's page for the full year-by-year verdict.
Which Honda models have the fewest flagged years?
Among Honda models with enough federal complaint history to rate, the Ridgeline carries the fewest flagged years (7). That is not a cross-model reliability ranking — complaint counts are not sales-adjusted — and a thin record is never counted as a clean one: model years with too little data rate "insufficient" instead.
How do I check a specific Honda before buying?
Start with the free Honda window sticker lookup at carwhere.com/window-sticker/honda to confirm the exact trim and factory options, then run the $9.99 CarWhere Full VIN Report for that VIN — it includes the recall, complaint, and service-bulletin record for the exact model year plus a market price check from verified buyers. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Sources & data notes
All figures are drawn from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Office of Defects Investigation — the public NHTSA owner-complaints data and safety recall campaigns — across the 6 most-documented Honda models and every model year on record for each. Retrieved July 2026. Counts are raw federal filings and are not adjusted for the number of vehicles sold or registered, so they cannot be read as a single cross-brand reliability ranking; each model year's verdict compares it only against the rest of that model's own history. Full scoring at the methodology page.
Suggested citation
CarWhere Research. "Honda Reliability by Model & Year: NHTSA Complaint and Recall Analysis." Based on 44,822 NHTSA owner complaints across 6 Honda models, model years 2008–2025. Updated August 28, 2026. https://www.carwhere.com/research/reliability/honda
This dataset is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to CarWhere Research and a link to this page.
Download the dataset (CSV) — per-model complaint totals, flagged years and verdict counts for every brand we cover (version 2026-08-28).