Buyer Research

2022 Honda Accord — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $19,000–$27,000. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 17 Honda Accord years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

A late tenth-generation Accord with 241 complaints, and the record splits three ways: 38% are the touchscreen going haywire on its own, 25% are the collision-mitigation system braking for nothing, and 13% are the engine — which on this car means 1.5T head gaskets, some under 100k miles. Underneath sit four recalls, including a fuel pump that can stall the engine and a VSA modulator that can let the car creep with brake hold on. Both the 1.5T and the 2.0T are otherwise good engines and the car is genuinely pleasant to drive, so the buy comes down to three checks: all four recalls closed on the VIN, no coolant loss or misfire on a cold start, and a screen that behaves for the whole test drive. A 2.0T sidesteps the head-gasket question entirely.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 241 owner complaints for the 2022 Honda Accord, and 4 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 38% of them are about one thing — electrics and electronics. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

4 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2022 Honda Accord

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

1.5T head gasket failure — coolant loss with no visible leak, misfires, overheatingHigh — wallet impact

Owners of 1.5-litre turbo cars describe the same arc: a cylinder-3 misfire that spark plugs and coils do not cure, then a coolant level that keeps dropping with nothing wet under the car, then an engine-temperature warning on the highway. Dealers confirm the head gasket. Several reports are past 100k miles but not all, and one came at three years old. A 2.0T Accord does not share this. Before buying a 1.5T: check the coolant reservoir is at the line and the coolant is not brown, start it stone cold and listen for a stumble, and ask a Honda dealer whether this VIN carries any extended coverage on the 1.5T head gasket — Honda has extended coverage on some 1.5T engines and we are not certain which VINs qualify.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$5,000 for a head gasket; more if the head is warped

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (32).

Collision Mitigation Braking System brakes hard for nothing — phantom braking at speedHigh — wallet impact

Sixty complaints, two of them crashes: the car slams the brakes on an open road, in a lane change with nothing beside it, on a snowy freeway, at highway speed. A "BRAKE" warning flashes and a chime sounds. Dealers usually find no fault and send the car home. On a lesser share, the whole safety suite drops out at once — adaptive cruise, lane keeping and collision mitigation all flagged unavailable. Test drive on a road with overpasses, parked cars and a lane change or two, and note whether the front camera or radar area has any windshield or bumper damage.

Repair cost: Not yet priced — a safety matter first, a repair bill second

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (60).

Fuel pump can quit and stall the engine while driving (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 23V858 covers a huge run of 2013–2023 Hondas including this Accord: the low-pressure fuel pump impeller can deform, and a pump that stops delivering fuel stalls the engine wherever you happen to be. Dealers replace the pump module free; letters went out in September 2024. Seventeen fuel-system complaints sit in this record, roughly the pattern of a pump that struggles before it dies — long cranks, a hesitation on hot restarts. Run the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup before anything else.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (17); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Infotainment screen ghost-touches — changes stations, opens menus, kills navigation by itselfMedium

The biggest cluster on this car at 92 complaints, and nearly all of it is one thing: the touchscreen registering taps nobody made. It flips between screens, mutes or blasts the radio, wipes settings and fights the navigation, sometimes for the entire drive. Wireless CarPlay dropping the phone is a smaller sub-theme. Out of warranty a replacement display unit is a four-figure dealer job, though some owners get relief from a software update or a firm reset. Let the screen sit on the map for ten minutes of the test drive and watch it.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$200 for a software update or reset; $900–$2,000 for a display unit

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (92).

VSA modulator ball valve can leak — car creeps with brake hold engaged (recall)Medium

Recall 23V430 is specific to the 2022 Accord and a few Honda/Acura siblings: a ball valve inside the vehicle stability assist modulator can leak brake fluid internally, so the car can roll when brake hold is supposed to be holding it, or the pedal can suddenly travel further than expected. The fix is a new modulator, free, and letters went out in July 2023. If the recall shows open, treat it as a must-do before the car is yours; if closed, it is a good sign.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Front passenger seat weight sensors can crack — airbag may deploy wrongly (two recalls)Medium

Two separate campaigns, 24V064 and 26V332, replace the front passenger seat weight sensors because they can crack and misjudge who is sitting there, so the airbag may fire when it should stay off. The second campaign was only announced in 2026, so many cars will still show it open — that is not a mark against the seller, just a free appointment to book. A passenger airbag light that flickers on and off with someone in the seat is the tell.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Coolant reservoir below the line on a 1.5T, or brown coolant
✗Cold-start stumble or a misfire code — especially cylinder 3
✗Screen that changes on its own during the test drive
✗Any of the four recalls still open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✗Collision-mitigation or adaptive-cruise warnings on the dash

Good Signs

✓All four recalls shown complete on the VIN lookup, including the 2026 seat sensor campaign
✓2.0T engine — the head-gasket reports are all 1.5T cars
✓Coolant level at the mark and clean after a cold start and a 20-minute drive
✓Infotainment software updated by a dealer, with the invoice
✓Oil changes on the Maintenance Minder schedule, documented