Honda Civic Years to Avoid · Best Years · Problems · Recalls

Honda Civic warranty extensions

We list three Honda warranty extensions on the Civic model years, and each card says whether it still applies. Eligibility depends on the VIN, so ask a Honda dealer to check the car before you buy it.

• Air conditioning condenser Open

  10 years, unlimited miles

  Years

  2016–2021

  Source

  A19-091

  Honda raised the original 3 years to 10 years with unlimited miles.

• Camshafts and rocker arm assemblies Ended by age

  6 years, unlimited miles

  Years

  2016–2018 with the 1.5L

  Source

  Honda dealer message, Apr 5, 2019

• Occupant position detection unit and sensor Ended by age

  10 years or 150,000 miles

  Years

  2001–2004

  Source

  06-009

Each car’s term runs from its own in-service date.

Sources: Honda warranty extension A19-091 (version 7), June 19, 2024. Honda dealer message on camshafts and rocker arms, April 5, 2019. Honda Service Bulletin 06-009, updated September 12, 2012.

Honda Civic crash tests and investigations

NHTSA gives the Honda Civic an overall 5 of 5 for the 2016–2025 model years, an overall 3 of 5 for the 2011 model year and an overall 4 or 5 of 5 depending on the version for the 2012–2015 model years. The frontal score is 5 for the 2021, 4 for the 2011, 2013–2015 and 2022–2025, and 4 or 5 depending on the version for the 2012 and 2016–2020.

NHTSA started its current 5-star test system with the 2011 model year, so older ratings are not comparable and we do not show them. Separately, NHTSA’s defect office has had 8 probes on Civic model years, and two of them are still open.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA defect investigations

Source: NHTSA safety ratings, read Oct 31, 2026, and the NHTSA defect investigations file of Oct 30, 2026

Honda Civic model years compared

Each score from 1 to 5 compares one Honda Civic model year with the other Honda Civic model years only. It is not a reliability rating, and it says nothing about how the Honda Civic compares with another car. A 5 means that year scores highest among the Honda Civic model years, a 1 means it scores lowest. The 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are too new to judge and carry no score.

Best counts model years from 2011 on, so an older year can score 4 here and still not be listed in the Best years.

How the score is built: each year is compared with the typical Honda Civic year over its first five years on the road, using complaints (40%), serious complaints that report a crash, fire, injury or death (40%), recalls (15%) and open NHTSA probes (5%). A 4 is better than most other years and sits in a Next best tier under the Best years when fewer than five years from 2011 on score 5. A year with a recall that tells owners not to drive it scores 1.

Years under five years old get no score. Source: NHTSA owner complaints, federal file of Aug 25, 2026, and NHTSA recall campaigns, read Oct 31, 2026. The open probes come from the NHTSA defect investigations file of Oct 30, 2026. The counts in the “Model years compared” table are for those first five years. The complaint and recall totals on each year card cover all years on file, so they are larger.

Honda Civic recalls by year

The 2001 Honda Civic leads with 27 recall campaigns, most often for exterior lighting, and the 2002 and 2003 follow with 24 each. Every other year has 0–18, most often for the airbag system (13 of the 22 other years with a recall).

By federal law a carmaker must repair a recalled car for free unless it was first bought more than 15 calendar years before the maker sent the recall notice or NHTSA ordered the recall, whichever came first. Many makers fix older cars anyway, so ask a Honda dealer with your VIN. Your VIN shows which campaigns are still open on a car.

Look up your own car by VIN before anything else on this page.

Source: NHTSA recall campaigns by model year, read Oct 31, 2026

Honda Civic complaints by year

The table lists every Civic model year in NHTSA’s file, 2000–2025, with its complaint count and the system owners named most. The 2006 leads with 1,402 complaints, most about the engine, and the 2007 follows with 1,204, most about the suspension. The verdict for each year uses the same scores as the cards at the top of the page. This table counts every complaint on file for each year, while the Model years compared table scores each year on its first five years only.

One complaint can name more than one problem, so the counts can add up to more than the year’s total. Entries NHTSA marks as unknown or other are left out.