NHTSA Complaints · Active Recalls · California Lemon Law Data
The NHTSA tracks consumer complaints, manufacturer recalls, and safety investigations for every vehicle sold in the United States. These publicly available records are a critical resource for California lemon law cases because they establish patterns of recurring defects.
As of June 2026, the NHTSA has logged 3 complaints against the 2026 Honda Odyssey. Each complaint is filed by a vehicle owner or lessee through the NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline or online portal at SaferCar.gov. You can review all 2026 Honda Odyssey complaints directly on the NHTSA complaint database.
The 2026 Honda Odyssey has generated 3 NHTSA complaints and has 1 active recall. If your 2026 Honda Odyssey has experienced a defect that the dealer has been unable to repair after multiple visits, you may qualify for a full repurchase or replacement under California lemon law. Honda pays all attorney fees when we prevail. You pay nothing.
Advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) defects — including malfunctioning forward collision warnings, lane keep assist failures, and erratic automatic emergency braking — can create dangerous driving conditions. The 2026 Honda Odyssey has 1 NHTSA complaint for this defect type. Owner reports include: “While changing lanes to an off-ramp the Collision Mitigation Braking system suddenly activated along with a collision warning beep even though there were no automobiles nearby to trigger the warning. No cars in front of me and no cars to the right of me in the exit lane. My car immediately braked and tried to steer back into the main roadway, away from the exit lane. The lane departure light did also come on due to me not using a turn signal prior to the lane change, but there was nothing else around to trigger a proximity alert nor to respond to.” (NHTSA Complaint #11715844)
Brake defects affecting safety may qualify for California’s two-repair threshold under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, which applies to defects likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. The 2026 Honda Odyssey has generated 1 NHTSA complaint related to braking, including ABS failures, grinding, reduced stopping power, and warning lights. Owner reports include: “On November 12, I was on the highway in the right lane, there was a car about 4 car lengths ahead of me in my lane and the car in the middle lane was quite a distance ahead. Just as I got in the middle lane, BOOM! the vehicle’s CMBS malfunctioned and slammed on the brakes – no warning, visual or audible, just came to an abrupt stop. Thank goodness no one was behind me or I would have been dead. It was an instant whiplash effect as well And then as I was then merging back into the right lane to exit the highway, it did it again! There were NO cars anywhere near me as I had slowed down due to the trauma from the first braking malfunction and all the cars were quite a distance ahead and thank goodness there were no cars behind me. Then on November 25, the same thing happened again. Driving down the highway, no cars near and BOOM! I am brought to an abrupt stop in the middle of the highway! The CMBS malfunctioned again in the middle of the highway. I took it to the dealer and conveniently there were no codes so they said there was nothing they could do. Someone needs to do something about this! To answer your questions 1) CMBS system is malfunctioning and has been for quite some time on Honda vehicles 2) If there would have been a vehicle behind me, I most likely would have been killed. If my dogs would have been in the van, they would have been injured. It gave me whiplash 3) I took it in and they did nothing until I complained, then they kept it a second day and drove it and said it didn’t do it. But they weren’t even going to do anything until I pushed the issue. This is a known issue with Honda as I found out AFTER it happened to me. 4) the dealer 5) Absolutely NO warnings before it happened” (NHTSA Complaint #11704863)
Brake defects affecting safety may qualify for California’s two-repair threshold under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, which applies to defects likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. The 2026 Honda Odyssey has generated 1 NHTSA complaint related to braking, including ABS failures, grinding, reduced stopping power, and warning lights. Owner reports include: “Observed repeatedly while operating at highway/interstate cruising speed, with adaptive cruise engaged: any changes in road texture – concrete to blacktop, between different types of blacktop or concrete, separation joints, etc – such as when crossing a bridge, crossing state lines, entering open-road toll plazas, etc – results in a sharp lifting of the throttle and at times will also automatically engage the brakes. This results in rapidly and unexpectedly cutting speed by 10-15 mph before automatically resuming set speed 1-2 seconds later. This has resulted in trailing vehicles to think I am brake-checking them or otherwise caused them to abruptly brake or swerve out from behind me. It also can cause driver and occupants in the Odyssey to lurch forward and back unexpectedly – which has had a residual affect of unintended input on the steering wheel, cascading into unintended direction change and amplifying vehicle instability issues already introduced by the sudden speed change. There are multiple other owners of 2018+ Odysseys on the forum [XXX] which have reported similar situations. I have tried to encourage them to register their observations here. I believe this issue poses a significant risk to the operator and occupants, as well as surrounding motorists. Rental/fleet vehicles with drivers who are otherwise unfamiliar with the issue would be at exceptional risk. I have experienced this issue numerous times as I live near & frequent highways and interstates with these types of road conditions nearby. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)” (NHTSA Complaint #11697370)
The following 1 recall has been issued for the 2026 Honda Odyssey by the NHTSA or Honda. If your vehicle is affected, the manufacturer is required to provide a free remedy. Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls.
Component: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY:WHEELCHAIR RESTRAINTS/SECUREMENT:LATCH/ANCHOR:
Defect: See NHTSA database for details.
Risk: An unsecured wheelchair can move during transit, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the retractors, free of charge. Owner notification letters was mailed January 27, 2026. Owners may contact Vantage Mobility customer service at 1-800-488-9082.
California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1790–1795.8) is one of the strongest lemon laws in the United States. It protects buyers and lessees of new and certified pre-owned vehicles that develop substantial defects the manufacturer cannot repair after a reasonable number of attempts.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, a lemon law presumption is triggered when any of the following apply to your 2026 Honda Odyssey:
Once the presumption is triggered, the burden shifts to Honda to prove the vehicle is not a lemon. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1794(d), Honda must pay your attorney’s fees if you prevail — meaning qualified representation costs you nothing out of pocket.
If your 2026 Honda Odyssey qualifies as a lemon under California law, Honda may be legally required to:
Step 1: Document every repair visit. Keep all repair orders, work orders, and dealer invoices. Each visit counts as a repair attempt, even if the dealer says nothing is wrong.
Step 2: Keep returning for repairs. You must give Honda a reasonable opportunity to fix the defect. Visit different authorized Honda dealers if needed and ask for written documentation of each visit.
Step 3: Contact a California lemon law attorney. Once you believe the threshold has been met — 4 attempts for non-safety defects, 2 for safety defects, or 30 days out of service — contact an attorney for a free case evaluation. Under § 1794(d), Honda pays your fees if you win.
Step 4: Send a demand letter. Your attorney will send Honda a formal demand letter. Most California lemon law cases resolve through negotiation without going to trial.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, four or more repair attempts for the same non-safety defect, or two attempts for a safety-related defect, triggers the lemon law presumption. Additionally, 30 or more cumulative days out of service qualifies regardless of the number of repair attempts.
Yes. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1794(d), Honda is required to pay your reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs if you prevail in a lemon law claim. This means qualified lemon law representation is free to you if your case succeeds.
Yes. A recall is not required to file a lemon law claim. The Song-Beverly Act covers any substantial defect that impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle that the manufacturer cannot repair after a reasonable number of attempts. NHTSA complaints support the claim by establishing a pattern, but are not a prerequisite.
California lemon law claims are generally subject to a four-year statute of limitations from the date you discovered or should have discovered the defect. However, you must still be within the manufacturer’s original warranty period when the defect first appears. Contact an attorney promptly to preserve your rights.
If your 2026 Honda Odyssey has a recurring defect, California’s Lemon Law may entitle you to a full refund, replacement vehicle, or cash settlement — at no cost to you.
Our attorneys answer the questions we hear most from California vehicle owners — fully updated for 2026.
Get a free case evaluation. Honda pays our fees if you win — you pay nothing upfront.
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