“Do you top off your gas tank?”
When shopping for a reliable vehicle that’ll last hundreds of thousands of miles with minimum maintenance, two brands are oft-repeated as paragons of long-term reliability: Toyota and Honda. The Japanese automakers are lauded for their respective histories of making dependable vehicles.
One 2021 Honda Accord driver recently had her fearing the worst for her engine. Carmen (@heyimcarmen_) published a clip showing an ominous message on her tachometer. Above the notice was the orange, groan-inducing check engine light symbol that’s been the bane of countless drivers.
Carmen writes in her short clip: “21 Honda Accord 1.5 just got this message today. I’ve seen that these cars have bad reviews especially with head gasket going? Ideas? Thanks.”
The message reads: “Emissions system problem. Power may be reduced. See your dealer.”
In a caption of her video, Carmen wrote that the problem with her vehicle turned out to just be a “bad battery [and] nothing else.” Online discourse indeed points to a battery swap as a fix for this error message on Honda vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a service bulletin from Honda in 2021 that notes that low voltage and failing batteries from 12-volt units will prompt this alert on car dashboards. In an August 2026 bulletin on a similar issue, Honda says that diagnostic codes may be triggered as a result of a bad battery, and protocols to clear these DTCs in the event that they populate on a car’s dash screen.
Recalls have been issued for this problem. Drivers can enter the VIN number of their Hondas to issue a warranty claim on the NHTSA website. Then they can take it to any Honda certified dealer. By law, authorized dealerships must complete recall work for a manufacturer’s defect.
In the comments section of her video, Carmen doesn’t indicate whether or not her vehicle was part of the recall notice. She says that a Honda dealership charged her $240 for the fix, which she doesn’t seem to have minded paying. “Battery is starting to go but not bad dealer wanted 240,” she wrote.
Prior to Carmen updating her post’s caption with the battery fix, other folks gave their two cents on her vehicular woes. One remarked: “Do your oil change at 5k and stop listening to the manufacturer.”
Someone else said that they experienced a blown head gasket on a 2018 before the 100,000 mile mark. The experience had them swear off the brand for good. “My head gaskets blew on my 2018 just months after I paid it off with only 90,000 miles on it. I will never buy another Honda,” they declared.
A different driver said that their error messages disappeared after fixing a different part. “We replaced our fuel injectors and all that went away. I was so happy I even made a small video of my 2019 Honda Accord without the Christmas lights after a year.”
Another person said that warning lights on their Honda sporadically pop up and disappear on their car. So much so, that they seem to have learned to live with the issue. “Mine is 2021 and I had this pop up, then all the lights went on, then it goes back off and back on again,” they wrote.
Others said that head gasket issues won’t cause this error message, but rather “an exhaust leak, loose gas cap or … O2 sensor” could be the culprit.
Motor1 has reached out to Carmen via TikTok direct message for further comment. We’ll update this if she responds.
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– The Motor1.com Team