Before You Buy Compare

Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima vs Honda Accord / Civic

Two curated safety records, lined up. Bar lengths share one scale, so they read across the gutter. Every recall figure below is a documented public record; NCAP and complaint fields name the live NHTSA source they join from.

Head to head
  • Larger recall Honda Accord / Civic 1.60M vs 42M vehicles
  • Higher confirmed U.S. death toll Honda Accord / Civic - vs 28 deaths
  • Active Do Not Drive order Honda Accord / Civic one vehicle only
  • Recall still ongoing Honda Accord / Civic one vehicle only
Recall - remedy available

Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima

Hyundai / Kia·MY 2011-2019·Sedan
No confirmed deaths Status: closed
Recall campaign
Hyundai / Kia Theta II engines
Component
Engine (Theta II)
Recalled
2015, expanded 2017
Units affected
1.60M 1.6M+ vehicles
U.S. deaths
not asserted - Non-crash engine fires; owners were told to 'park outside.' $210M NHTSA penalties (2020).
Live data slot

Not in the v1 snapshot. Fields below name the free NHTSA source they join from - no vehicle-specific number is guessed here.

NCAP crash rating SafetyRatings API
Frontal Crash – / 5★
Side Crash – / 5★
Rollover Resistance – / 5★
Overall Rating – / 5★
Owner complaints FLAT_CMPL
Volume by component pending
Full recall count FLAT_RCL
All recalls, this make/model/year 1 landmark on file
Active Do Not Drive order

Honda Accord / Civic

Honda / Acura·MY 2001-2003·Sedan
Do Not Drive
28 U.S. deaths Status: ongoing
Recall campaign
Takata airbag inflators
Component
Air bags
Recalled
2014-2020, ongoing
Units affected
42M 42M+ vehicles / 67M inflators
U.S. deaths
28 U.S. deaths (about 35 worldwide) as of 2024; 400+ injured.
Live data slot

Not in the v1 snapshot. Fields below name the free NHTSA source they join from - no vehicle-specific number is guessed here.

NCAP crash rating SafetyRatings API
Frontal Crash – / 5★
Side Crash – / 5★
Rollover Resistance – / 5★
Overall Rating – / 5★
Owner complaints FLAT_CMPL
Volume by component pending
Full recall count FLAT_RCL
All recalls, this make/model/year 1 landmark on file
Both records, in numbers
Field Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima Honda Accord / Civic
Recall campaign Hyundai / Kia Theta II engines Takata airbag inflators
Component Engine (Theta II) Air bags
Model years 2011-2019 2001-2003
Units affected 1.6M+ vehicles 42M+ vehicles / 67M inflators
U.S. deaths - 28
Do Not Drive No Yes
Recalled 2015, expanded 2017 2014-2020, ongoing

⇆ Swap sides · All vehicles

Both cases are documented public records from the v1 curated snapshot; see the Methodology for what is verified versus illustrative. Check any specific VIN free at nhtsa.gov/recalls.