NHTSA Complaint #11642998 — 2018 HONDA ACCORD HYBRID

About two weeks ago, I could have been killed on the New York State Thruway when my 2018 Honda Accord suddenly lost all power. One moment, I was driving normally—then, without warning, my check engine light came on, I had zero ability to accelerate and was forced to pull over as my car rapidly lost speed. II had my vehicle towed to Morehead Honda where they ran diagnostics and told me my car needed nearly $6,000 in repairs due to coolant leaking into the engine, which caused cylinder misfires and valve damage. But here’s the kicker—this same issue has happened to other Honda Accords of the same model year, yet Honda refuses to recognize it as a widespread problem. Morehead Honda admitted to me that they’ve seen this issue before in other 2018-2020 Honda Accords and 2017-2018 CR-Vs. In fact, they said Honda quietly fixed the problem in newer models (2021+)—but they still won’t acknowledge it as a defect in mine. That means my engine failure is not some one-in-a-million fluke—it’s something that has happened to multiple owners of the same model and year. But Honda refuses to take responsibility, leaving me on the hook for an absurdly expensive repair. Many others have had the same or similar issues. Below are some: 2017-2020 Honda Accord owners who have reported coolant leaks, cylinder head cracks, head gasket failures, or related issues: 2018 Accord 2.0T owner blew a head gasket, with a potential cracked engine block. The dealership diagnosed the issue on cylinder #3, with coolant mixing into the engine oil. A 2018 Accord EX-L 2.0T owner experienced a coolant loss leading to a blown head gasket and coolant leaking into cylinders 2 and 3. A 2018 Accord 1.5T owner had dashboard warnings and the car failed to accelerate. The dealership diagnosed a blown head gasket, with coolant leaking into cylinders 3 and 4. A 2020 Honda Accord owner suffered a blown head gasket at 58,000 miles. The dealership confirmed it was the fourth such case they had seen.