2023 Honda Accord Tops IIHS Testing of Midsize Car Rear-Seat Safety

  • Accord was the only of seven models tested to achieve GOOD ratings in all rear passenger injury measures
  • Accord also only model to earn GOOD overall rating in updated moderate overlap front testing
  • Accord was previously awarded with IIHS’ TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating

The all-new 2023 Honda Accord outperformed six other midsize sedans in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) updated front moderate overlap testing (GOOD overall rating), including being the only model to achieve GOOD ratings in all rear passenger injury measures. Earlier this year, Accord was also named an IIHS 2023 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award winner, one of seven Honda models to achieve TSP or better.

From IIHS same day press release:
“IIHS launched the updated moderate overlap front test last year after research showed that in newer vehicles the risk of a fatal injury is now higher for belted occupants in the rear than for those in front. This is not because the rear seat has become less safe. Rather, the front seat has become safer because of improved airbags and advanced seat belts that are rarely available in back. Even with these developments, the back seat remains the safest place for young children, who can be injured by an inflating front airbag.

To encourage manufacturers to improve rear-seat protection, the updated test adds a dummy in the back seat behind the driver. The driver dummy is the size of an average adult man. The rear dummy is the size of a small woman or 12-year-old child. IIHS researchers also developed new metrics that focus on the injuries most frequently seen in backseat passengers.

For a vehicle to earn a good rating, there can’t be an excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest or thigh, as recorded by the second-row dummy. The dummy should remain correctly positioned during the crash without submarining. The head should also remain a safe distance from the front seatback and the rest of the vehicle interior, and the shoulder belt should remain on the shoulder, where it is most effective. A pressure sensor on the rear dummy’s torso is used to check the shoulder belt position during the crash.

As in the original test, the structure of the occupant compartment must maintain adequate survival space for the driver, and measurements taken from the driver dummy shouldn’t show an excessive risk of injuries.

The Accord provided stellar protection in the back seat. Measurements taken from the rear dummy showed no heightened risk of injuries, and the rear restraints did a good job controlling the dummy’s motion.”

Honda 2023 IIHS TSP and TSP+ Award Winners:
2023 Honda Accord (TSP+)
2023 Honda Civic Hatchback (TSP) except Type R performance variant
2023 Honda Civic Sedan (TSP)
2023 Honda CR-V (TSP+)
2023 Honda HR-V (TSP+)
2023 Honda Odyssey (TSP+)
2023 Honda Pilot (TSP+)

Honda Commitment to Safety
Based on its vision for a collision-free society, Honda is working to improve safety for everyone sharing the road, an approach Honda calls “Safety for Everyone.” The company operates two of the world’s most sophisticated crash-test facilities in Ohio and Japan, and is responsible for numerous pioneering efforts in the areas of crashworthiness, collision compatibility and pedestrian safety.

Advanced passive safety features include Honda’s proprietary Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure and next-generation passenger front airbag technology, which are designed to provide a high level of collision protection for occupants. Advanced active safety and driver-assistive systems found in Honda Sensing® and AcuraWatch™ technologies, now on more than 6 million vehicles on U.S. roads, are designed to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions while also serving as a technological and perceptual bridge to the more highly automated vehicles of the future.

About Honda
Honda offers a full line of clean, safe, fun and connected vehicles sold through more than 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The award-winning Honda lineup includes the Civic and Accord, along with the HR-V, CR-V, Passport and Pilot sport utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan. Honda’s electrified vehicle lineup includes the Accord hybrid, CR-V hybrid, and, in the future, Civic hybrid. The Honda Prologue SUV, Honda’s first volume battery-electric vehicle, will join the lineup in 2024.  

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for over 40 years and currently operates 18 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2021, more than 95% of all Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, with nearly two-thirds made in America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

More information about Honda is available in the Digital FactBook.

# # #