91 complaints reported

1996 Honda Accord Air Bags

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
91
Crashes
20
Fires
0
Injuries
11

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Apr 2023

The contact owns a 1996 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the SRS air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the SRS unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,100.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2020
Dec 2018

AIR BAG DOESN'T WORK SRS RED LIGHT IS ON ON DASHBOARD

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 1917
Sep 2018 Crash Injury

1996 HONDA ACCORD EX-L. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO AIRBAGS IN VEHICLE DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER ACCIDENT. *AS *JS

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2008
Aug 2018 Crash Injury

TAKATA RECALL. I WAS IN A ACCIDENT ON SYCAMORE STREET IN BATON ROUGE LOUISIANA ON 1/3/18 AND A PIECE OF METAL SHARD PUNCTURED MY LEG AND FRACTURE MY TIBIA. I WAS TREATED FOR CONTUSIONS OF CHEST WALL ALSO AT OCHSNER ON O'NEAL LANE . I'M CURRENTLY ON BEDREST AND HAVE TO REMAIN OF MY LEG AND CAN'T RETURN TO WORK UNTIL I HAVE A FOLLOW-UP ON 1/9/18. I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND TO THIS MATTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE , THANK YOU AND HAVE A BLESSED DAY

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2018
Oct 2017

TAKATA RECALL NOTICE WAS SENT TO ME ON 10/31/2017. I KEY IN MY VIN AND IT MEETS THE AIRBAG RECALL OR REPLACE REQUIREMENT. I THEN FOLLOWING THE ONLINE INSTRUCTION AND CALL A LOCAL HONDA AUTHRIZED DEALER. THEY ANSWERED MY CALL AND CHECK THE VIN TO SEE IF MY 1996 HONDA 2 DOOR HATCHBACK ACCORD MEETS THE AIRBAG REPLACEMENT. THEY TOLD ME THAT MY VEHICLE DOES NOT MEET THE AIRBAG REPLACE/RECALL SERVICE. I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT TO BRING THE ATTENTION TO THE NHTSA REGARDING THIS SAFETY ISSUE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2017
Nov 2016

TAKATA RECALL 1996 HONDA ACCORD LX VIN # [XXX] MY VEHICLE IS A 1996 HONDA ACCORD LX AND IS NOT AMONG THOSE RECALLED. IT DOES HAVE A TAKATA AIRBAG: PASSENGER SIDE. TAKATA PART #06780-SV1-A82ZB. I BELIEVE THE CAR MAY ALSO HAVE A TAKATA AIRBAG ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT INFO CONCLUSIVELY. I HAVE READ THE EXPERT REPORT ABOUT THE CAUSE(S) OF THE TAKATA AIRBAG MALFUNCTIONS. HTTP://WPDOWN1.COM/DOC/PDF/DOWNLOAD/WWW__SAFERCAR__GOV--RS--TAKATA--PDFS--EXPERT_REPORT-HRBLOMQUIST.PDF IT IS EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING TO BE UNABLE TO DETERMINE WHY MY VEHICLE IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. NHTSA REPRESENTATIVES (888-327-4236) HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION. NEITHER HAS HONDA. HONDA'S MAIN CUSTOMER SERVICE # 800-999-1009 REPRESENTATIVES LOOKED UP MY VIN # AND FOUND NOTHING THERE ABOUT AIRBAG MANUFACTURER. THEY CLAIM NO TAKATA AIRBAGS WERE INSTALLED BY HONDA PRIOR TO YEAR 2000. OTHER HONDA DEALER REPRESENTATIVELY RECORDS DEMONSTRATE OTHERWISE AND PROVIDED THE PART # FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG (LISTED ABOVE). (ALSO VARIOUS WEB PAGES INDICATE THAT HONDA BEGAN USING TAKATA AIRBAGS IN THE EARLY 1990'S.) MY VEHICLE IS IN TOP CONDITION, HAS FEWER THAN 50,000 MILES, NEW PAINT, NEW OTHER THINGS SO I AM RELUCTANT TO STOP DRIVING IT - AT LEAST UNTIL I CAN DETERMINE 1. WHETHER MY VEHICLE HAS ONE OR TWO TAKATA AIRBAGS. (HONDA REPS ARE CONTRADICTORY AND CONFUSED ABOUT THIS.) 2. WHY MY VEHICLE (WITH AT LEAST ONE TAKATA AIRBAG) IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. 3. WHAT MY OPTIONS ARE. (I WOULD HOPE THAT SINCE 1996 VEHICLES ARE APPARENTLY NOT REQUIRED BY LAW TO HAVE AIRBAGS, ONE OPTION AVAILABLE TO ME WOULD BE TO JUST HAVE THE AIRBAGS REMOVED.) IF YOU COULD ANSWER ANY OR ALL OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS, PARTICULARLY QUESTIONS 1 AND 2 - OR DIRECT ME TO SOMEONE WHO CAN, I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 1997
Jun 2016

AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON, WON'T GO OFF. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE APRIL 2016. LIGHT COMES ON WHEN CAR IS STARTED, AND STAYS ON WHILE DRIVING TILL CAR IS TURNED OFF. I READ THIS IS AN ONGOING THING. WHY ISN'T THERE A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM? THE COST TO HAVE THIS FIXED IS HALF THE VALUE OF WHAT THE CAR IS WORTH.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2016
May 2016

TAKATA RECALL. I HAVE A 10 YEAR OLD HONDA ACCORD THAT IS WELL WITHIN THE DANGER ZONE FOR RECALL FOR AIRBAG FAILURE. TODAYS WASHINGTON POST SAYS TAKATA ADMITS THE PROBLEM AND SAYS IT WILL RECALL 40 MILLION AFFECTED VEHICLES. I SHOULD BE HIGH ON THE PRIORITY LIST CAN YOU HELP ME ASSURE THIS?.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2016
Jan 2016

SRS LIGHT IS ON (AIR BAG). JUST NOTICED IT COME ON WHILE DRIVING. TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX, WILL COST HALF WHAT CAR IS WORTH. WHY IS THEIR NO RECALL? SEAMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM. IT'S BEEN LIKE THIS FOR LONG TIME.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2011
Sep 2015

I HAD A 1996 HONDA ACCORD V6 2.7 LITERS WITH SRS LIGHT STAYS ON. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP AND I WAS TOLD THAT THE SRS CONTROL MODULE UNIT HAS A FAILURE AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE UNIT PRICE IS OVER $700 DOLLAR WITHOUT INSTALLATION LABOR. I TALKED TO AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR AND THEY REFUSED TO ASSIST FIXING THIS SAFETY CONCERN. HONDA SUPPOSE TO LOWER THE PRICES FOR PARTS ON OLDER CARS TO MATCH THE CURRENT VALUE OF THE CAR.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2013
Mar 2015

SRS SYSTEM LIGHT ON AFTER CAR IS RUNNING, APPROX. COST TO REPAIR 900.00 .IS THERE A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM , SEEMS THERE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SAME AS MYSELF . *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2014
Nov 2014

THIS IS THE SECOND CONTACT ON THIS CAR. THE SRS LIGHT HAS BEEN SINCE APPROXIMATELY SINCE 01/05/2010. I HAVE NEVER BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT A RECALL.. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2010
Nov 2010

STARTED UP CAR AND THE SRS LIGHT WAS ON. STILL REMAINS ON AFTER RUNNING AND DRIVING N FOR OVER 60 MILES .. CAR HAS NOT HAD ANY ACCIDENTS, HASN'T BEEN DRIVEN MUCH BECAUSE IT IS A SECOND CAR .. UPDATED 01/20/11 *BF

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2010
Sep 2010

IN 1996 V6 HONDA ACCORD, THE SRS LIGHT COME ON AND SEVERAL TRIALS WERE DONE TO ERASE THE FAULT. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE SRS CONTROL MODULE NEED TO BE REPLACED AT $800 COST. DEALER TOLD THAT THE AIRBAG WILL NOT BE DEPLOYED IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENTS. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2010
May 2008

1996 HONDA ACCORD LX. PURCHASED A NEW CIGARETTE PHONE CHARGER, PLUGGED IT INTO THE LIGHTER WHICH BLEW THE FUSE THAT CONTROLS THE LIGHTER AND RADIO. REPLACED FUSE AND VERIFIED POWER WAS RESTORED TO AFOREMENTIONED ELECTRONICS. CONSEQUENTLY, ADDITIONALLY NOTED THAT THE SRS LIGHT WAS NOW ALSO ILLUMINATED. TOOK CAR TO MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED PROBLEM TO BE A FRIED SRS CONTROL UNIT. IN ADDITION WAS TOLD THAT THIS SHOP HAS SEEN MANY OF SAME ERA HONDAS WITH SAME PROBLEM... THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE UNIT NOT BEING GROUNDED, ALLOWING OTHER SIMPLE FUSE FAILURES TO BACK FEED THE UNIT AND DESTROY IT. HONDA DOES NOT HAVE A RECALL ON THERE 1996 AIRBAG SYSTEM; HOWEVER THE 1995 HAD A PROBLEM... THE REPLACEMENT PART IS AN "UPDATED" PART WITH NEW FEATURES TO PREVENT SIMILAR FAILURES OF RE-OCCURRENCE. $750.00 FOR PART AND LABOR TO INSTALL. THIS IS CLEARLY AN MANUFACTURE DEFECT. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2008
Dec 2007

SRS LIGHT COMES ON. EFFORTS TO CORRECT/RESET BY DEALERSHIP AND OTHERS HAS ONLY A TEMPORARY AFFECT. TOLD BY DEALERSHIP THE SRS "CONTROL MODULE" NEEDED REPLACING. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2006
Nov 2007

1-THERE ARE NO MAJOR EVENTS WHICH LEAD UP TO THE FAILURE. 2-THE SRS LIGHT HAS COME ON RANDOMLY 3. NOTHING WAS DONE TO CORRECT THIS FAILURE. I HAVE NOTICED THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SRS LIGHT COMING ON IN HONDA ACCORDS AND MINE IS NO EXCEPTION. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BY HONDA TO MAKE SURE THIS SAFETY FEATURE IS CORRECTED. THAT IS VERY DISAPPOINTING. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2007
Mar 2007 Crash Injury

TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING ON A MAJOR ROAD AT 30 MPH, ANOTHER VEHICLE RAN THROUGH A STOP SIGN AND MADE A LEFT TURN DIRECTLY STRIKING THE CONTACT'S 1996 HONDA CIVIC HEAD ON, AND NEITHER THE DRIVER NOR PASSENGER AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED AND WAS NOT DRIVABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY MAINTENANCE WORK DONE ON THE AIRBAGS . *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2006
Jan 2007

TL* - THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG SRS LIGHT IN THE 1996 HONDA ACCORD WILL NOT TURN OFF. THE CONTACT STATED HE HAS NOT HAD THE VEHICLE DIAGNOSED BECAUSE THEY WILL CHARGE HIM $75. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN A CRASH. THE CONTACT STATED HE HAS NOT HAD ANY REPAIR WORK DONE ON THE AIR BAG. *AK UPDATED 2/22/2007 - *NM

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2006
Sep 2006

I UNDERSTAND THAT ANY PART THAT HAS TO DO WITH CAR SAFETY NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED BY THE DEALER. YET, I CONTACTED BOTH THE DEALER AND AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. INC. BOTH OF THEM REFUSED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THEY EVEN TOLD ME THAT THEIR SUPERVISOR'S NEVER CONTACT OR TALK TO CAR OWNERS. MY AIRBAG LIGHT INDICATOR HAS ILLUMINATED INDICATING A PROBLEM AND A MALFUNCTION IN THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT I MAY HAVE AN ACCIDENT AND I WILL NOT BE PROTECTED BY MY AIRBAG. PLEASE HELP ME RESOLVE THIS MATTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN IN ACCIDENT. YET, I AM ENTERING THE INFORMATION BELOW OTHERWISE IT WILL NOT LET ME CONTINUE. *JB CONSUMER STATES HE WANTS AIR BAGS TO BE FIXED BY THE MANUFACTURER. CONSUMER ALSO STATES DEALERSHIP HAS WARRANTY ON AIRBAGS 3 YEARS OR 36,000 MILES OR WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. 4/23/07 *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2006
Jul 2006

SRS LIGHT CAME ON FOR 1996 HONDA ACCORD V6 EX WITHOUT ANY INCIDENT. DEALER DIAGNOSED AND COULD NOT UNDERSTAND THE ERROR CODE AND SUGGESTED REPLACEMENT OF SRS CONTROL UNIT. NOT CHANGING THE SRS CONTROL UNIT MIGHT CAUSE AIRBAGS NOT INFLATE WHEN REQUIRED. THE COST OF REPAIR IS $800 AND NOT NECESSARY IT WOULD FIX THE ISSUE. I SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND THIS IS VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH ACCORDS. SUCH SAFETY RELATED PROBLEMS SHOULD BE RECALLED BY HONDA.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2004
Mar 2006

SHOULDN'T SAFETY EQUIPMENT BE REPAIRED BY MANUFACTURER AT NO COST TO CONSUMER IF CONSUMER HAS DONE NOTHING TO CAUSE MALFUNCTION? MY SRS LIGHT AND ABS LIGHT IS ON(1996 HONDA ACCORD EX). MY HONDA DEALER WANTS $1000+ TO FIX THE SRS LIGHT AND $1500-$1700 TO REPLACE THE ABS MODULATOR/ACCUMULATOR. I HAD THE CAR FOR 3 WEEKS WHEN THE FIRST PROBLEM LIGHT CAME ON AND NOW I HAVE TWO SAFETY PROBLEMS. CAN YOU HELP ME OUT ON THIS? *JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2005
Feb 2006

SRS LIGHT STAYS ON. IS THEIR RECALL ON THIS?*JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2005
Feb 2006 Crash

ON FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 2006, AT 10:12 AM (PST) THE SANTA MARIA FIRE DEPT. RESPONDED TO A TRAFFIC COLLISION AND AFTER INVESTIGATION, WE FOUND WHAT APPEARED TO BE A PARTIAL DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S AIRBAG. THE STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG COVER SPLIT PARTIALLY OPEN AS DID THE PASSENGER'S, BUT THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. VEHICLE INFORMATION: 1996 HONDA ACCORD 2-DOOR. VIN: 1HGEJ6225TLO36355 OUR INCIDENT REPORT NUMBER 2006-0000786. DIGITAL PHOTOS WERE TAKEN AND ARE ON FILE IF NEEDED. *JB

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2006
Sep 2005

DT: THE CONTACT STATES THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SRS LIGHT STAYING ON. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED DUE TO THE COST OF HAVING A DIAGNOSTIC TEST DONE. *AK THE DEALER SUGGESTED THE CONSUMER WAIT TO SEE IF A RECALL WOULD BE ISSUED. UPDATED 11/29/05. *JB UPDATED 01/04/06.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 HONDA ACCORD, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2003

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 1996 Honda Accord has 91 Air Bags complaints on file. 20 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.