2016 Honda Civic
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 1,081 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 4th highest complaint count among 26 Civic model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 36 involved a crash and 4 involved a fire. 16 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMay 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Campaign 26V332000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Parking brakeOct 11, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.
If the EPB is not applied, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.
Campaign 16V725000 on NHTSA.gov
Exterior lightingJul 11, 2016
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."
If a side marker light does not function, vehicle visibility can be decreased to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect both the taillight assemblies, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KB8.
Campaign 16V526000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engineFeb 9, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip.
If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.
Campaign 16V074000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
253 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Jan 7, 2022
While driving on the freeway on 1/6/2022, the sunroof suddenly exploded above my head. It was as if something was dropped from the sky and glass fell down on my head and into the exterior of the car. I was able to maintain control of the vehicle and maintain safety but it was absolutely terrifying. This car is brand new to me as of 12/11/21. Nothing was visibly wrong with the sunroof and I wasn’t driving under an underpass, so nothing could have been thrown at me from above. What is left of the tempered glass sunroof is spiderwebbed and continues to fall into the car and it is not drivable until repair.
Other or unspecified, Oct 14, 2021
It is alleged that the compressor on my 2016 Honda Civic has failed and needs to be replaced. The mileage of my vehicle is under 50k. This resulted in the failure of the air conditioning system in my vehicle. It caused unhospitable conditions for the driver and passengers inside the cabin on hot summer days. Other issues due to lack of cabin cooling most likely result. Currently, Honda is only taking partial responsibility for WIDELY OCCURRING air conditioning issues in the 10th generation Civic. They refuse to acknowledge that the breakdown of the air conditioning system may also include the compressor. Research indicates the freon leaks prematurely in 10th generation Civics because the new air conditioning systems can not withstand the internal pressures of the engineered design. My vehicle is currently with my Honda dealership. Visible symptoms occurred suddenly, but non-visible symptoms were likely occurring long before, without my (the owners) knowledge. I regularly bring my car in for appropriate maintenance and inspection. THERE NEEDS TO BE A NATIONAL RECALL.
Other or unspecified, Jul 30, 2021
AIR CONDITIONER: 2019 I purchased a 2016 Honda Civic Touring with 25,000 miles, when we were given the CarFax it did not state the AC had anything wrong with it or from any personel at Honda. Last thing on our minds being this car had low mileage and year was to check the AC. We didn't need the AC much until summer of 2020 we live in California (Bay Area) it was very hot, AC did not work was blowing hot air, before that we just thought the car wasn't heating enough and we did not keep it on to learn it would never cool off. We did take it in and were told we needed to pay for them to check it and see if it was covered under warranty. I then looked on line to find there was a lawsuit against Honda for the same thing. Then the California fires came, we drove the car with the windows down by force and it was hard with the heat and smoke, but had to do it to get to work and daily things, it was ugly we couldn't even take the kids with us. We also have a child that has a condition where the heat effects him too. Paying into a car with a defect that Honda is well aware of is not ok. It's 2021 car has about 36K miles now, it's summer and we're still suffering from the heat, hot leather seats and we are hoping no major fires.
Other or unspecified, Jul 20, 2021
A/C is not working I own a 2016 Civic now for a little over 3 years and over the years I've noticed that the A/C just doesn't work I have R1234yf refrigerant which isn't cheap or easily accessible. Finally after hearing about somebody who almost bought a 2019 civic that did in fact have a recall on some A/C component I tried reaching out to a Honda dealership nearest to my home. When I was told there are in fact recalls for some vehicles but that mine was not defected. I would need to pay $220$ to run the diagnostic on it as well as recharge the system. I just told them to forget about fixing the A/C and went home and after looking everywhere for my specific refrigerant I found it finally and recharged the system with the help of YouTube obviously I follow somebody who is a ASE certified mechanic and knows what there doing so to my knowledge there where no way of messing anything up. I personally found that the system was literally empty as empty can be, some may say dry even. And after recharging my system the A/C had never worked better. The reason I feel the need to finally reach out for sources on fixing things in my civic is because I have a friend who owns a 2020 civic and just last week they received a letter in the mail informing them that there is in fact a recall for there car effecting leaking A/C fluid and that the effected vehicle years are 2016 - 2020. Please if NHTSA can help me please do.
Other or unspecified, Jul 12, 2021
AC Evaporator failed. The lack of a functioning air conditioner can cause health problems that expose the driver and occupants of a vehicle to risk of injury or death from heat related incidents. Research into 2016-2019 Honda Civics illustrate a systematic failure of the AC system due to manufacturers errors. One of which is only recognized by Honda ,being the AC condensor, due to a class action lawsuit (ref:Honda Service Bulletin 19-091, Aug 09 2019 Warranty extension). The problem was inspected by a Honda dealership.
Other or unspecified, Jul 7, 2021
2016 Civic air conditioner continues to blow hot air. Problem started in spring of 2018. Honda claimed they fixed in in summer of 2020 but it hasn’t worked at all in 2021. Seems to repeat pattern every spring.
Other or unspecified, Jul 5, 2021
Air conditioner compressor gasket broke. Had to replace compressor, clutch, coil and add new freon. Cost of repair was $2,346. Based upon internet postings this is a common defect in 2016 civics. Honda should be compelled to provide an extended warranty covering the costs for repairs.
Other or unspecified, Jun 30, 2021
Honda has installed faulty A/C systems and expect the consumer to pay for repairs on their faulty equipment. A 2016 Honda Civic should not have a bad compressor for a car that is barely used.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Jun 20, 2021
The ac blows hot on drivers side causing the driver to sweat and lose grip of steering wheel. This is a known issue of faulty ac systems in this year of civics.
Other or unspecified, Jun 18, 2021
AC Problems in this generation of the vehicle are rampant. We recently had the condenser in this vehicle changed under an extended warranty via American Honda less than a year ago because the ac was blowing warm. It worked fine until present day where the AC seems to be blowing warm again. The problem this time is the evaporator. The car only has 52K miles. For this many problems in the AC system to break before the car even hits 100K miles is unheard of. Honda should cover the entire AC system and not only the condenser in its warranty as the entire AC system in the car is poorly made. Honda is well aware of these issues which are rampant for 2015-2019 Honda Civics.
Other or unspecified, Jun 15, 2021
ON 10/11/2019 AC STOPPED BLOWING COLD AIR. HAD TO REPAIR OUT OF POCKET. REPLACED CONDENSER AND COMPRESSOR. ON 06/15/2021 AC stopped blowing cold air AGAIN. Just fixed this, ~ 14,000 miles later.
Other or unspecified, May 14, 2021
A/C QUIT BLOWING COLD AIR. TURNED ON FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON AFTER A/C NOT RUNNING DURING WINTER. $2000 TO FIX COMPRESSOR.
Other or unspecified, May 3, 2021
VEHICLE IS LIGHTLY DRIVEN FOR 5 YEARS WITH ONLY 40K MILES. ALL RECOMMENDED SERVICES WERE PERFORMED ON SCHEDULE. SUDDENLY, THE A/C STARTED TO BLOW ONLY HOT AIR AND DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE ANY COOLING CAPACITY. THE SYSTEM IS LIKELY LEAKING REFRIGERANT AS HONDA HAS OFFICIALLY ACCEPTED THAT SOME A/C PARTS ARE IMPROPERLY MANUFACTURED FOR 16' HONDA CIVICS. A RECALL SHOULD BE CREATED FOR ALL 16' HONDA CIVIC A/C SYSTEMS.
Other or unspecified, Apr 30, 2021
A/C BLOWING WARM ON DRIVER SIDE AT ALL TIMES
Other or unspecified, Apr 26, 2021
MY MAIN DISPLAY IS UNUSABLE AFTER DIFFERENT TYPE OF COLORS APPEAR ON THE DISPLAY. I CAN LISTEN TO THE MUSIC BUT MAIN DISPLAY IS NOT RESPONSIVE AND COLORS ON IT GO FROM BLUE LINES TO COMPLETELY BLACK. TRIED RESETING BY REMOVING THE BATTERY, REPLACING THE FUSE BUT NOT LUCK. ONCE IN A WHILE SCREEN WILL START WORKING AGAIN BUT AS SOON AS I TURN OFF THE CAR SCREEN GOES DARK AGAIN WITH LINES IN IT. I AM UNABLE TO USE THE REAR BACK CAMERA, UNABLE TO RESET SERVICE MAINTENANCE MINDERS. IT IS A DISTRACTION.
Other or unspecified, Apr 25, 2021
AIR CONDITIONING IS BLOWING HOT AIR. I THINK IT MIGHT BE A KNOWN ISSUE FOR THIS YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL.
Other or unspecified, Apr 12, 2021
MY CAR AC WONT WORK AND HONDA DEALERS WANT ME TO PAY FOR DIAGNOSIS WHEN THEY KNOW THERE IS AN EXISTING ISSUE WITH THE A/C CONDENSER, COMPRESSOR AND EVAPORATOR.
Other or unspecified, Apr 12, 2021
AIR COMPRESSOR WENT BAD.
Other or unspecified, Mar 18, 2021
I WAS DRIVING ON THE ROAD AND MY WINDSHIELD BECAME FOGGY TO THE POINT I COULDN'T SEE THE ROAD AHEAD OF ME. TRIED TO DEFOG IT, IT DIDN'T WORK BECAUSE OF THE DEFECTIVE AC SYSTEM ON THESE PARTICULAR VEHICLES. ALTHOUGH HAD RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE LETTER ABOUT THIS ISSUE, THE LOCAL DEALER DENIED MY REQUEST TO FIX THE ISSUE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND MUST BE FIXED.
Electrical system, Structure, Other or unspecified, Jan 26, 2021
PAINT PEELING ALONG UPPER EDGE OF ROOF ADJACENT TO REAR WINDOW. CONSOLE DISPLAY FOR BACKUP/RIGHT TURN CAMERA ONLY DISPLAYS COLORED LINES WHILE STATIONARY OR MOVING. MILEAGE 33,340, OCT. 2020
Other or unspecified, Dec 26, 2020
HAD AC CONDENSER REPLACED IN VEHICLE. ONE YEAR LATER AND THE AC IS NOT WORKING AGAIN. TOOK VEHICLE INTO DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE COMPRESSOR. QUOTED $1500 TO FIX. I DECLINED AND CONTACTED CORPORATE. DEALER CALLED AND ASKED ME TO COME BACK IN BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO CHECK IT FURTHER. INSERTED DYE IN AC SYSTEM. TOLD ME THERE WAS NO LEAK, BUT WHEN I ASKED THEM TO CHECK AGAIN THEY STATED THERE WAS A LEAK IN THE EVAPORATOR. SUBMITTED CLAIM TO HONDA AND THEY DENIED MY CLAIM BASED ON THE FACT I HAVE ONLY HAD ONE HONDA, I DON'T GO TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REGULAR SERVICE, AND BECAUSE IT'S NOT UNDER WARRANTY. CONFIRMED THAT NOTHING WAS EVER WRONG WITH COMPRESSOR AND THEY ADMITTED THIS MISTAKE. WANT $2000 TO REPLACE EVAPORATOR.
Other or unspecified, Dec 15, 2020
THE AIR CONDITIONING NO LONGER WORKS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE ONLY BLOWS HOT AIR;THE PASSENGER SIDE BLOW COOL AIR,HONDA HAS KNOWN A/C ISSUES WITH THE CORROSIVE 1234YF REFRIGERANT THAT IMPACTS THE ENTIRE COOLING SYSTEM. SERVICE BULLETIN 19-091 COVERS THE CONDENSER HOWEVER DOES NOT COVER THE COMPRESSOR, CLUTCH OR COIL AND THOSE PARTS ARE A COSTLY FIX.THE AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE 2016 HONDA CIVIC. THE COMPRESSORS ARE KNOWN TO LEAK AND COSTED ME $1687.47 IN A 4 YEARS AUTOMOBILE WITH ONLY 27062 MILES FOR REPLACING THE COMPRESSOR. HONDA HAS IGNORED THE PROBLEM AND THEY SHOULD RECALL OR ISSUE A SERVICE BULLETIN EXTENDING A WARRANTY FOR THOSE DEFECTIVE A/C PARTS.
Other or unspecified, Nov 14, 2020
WHILE DRIVING DOWN A SMOOTH, STRAIGHT ROAD AT ABOUT 50MPH, I HEARD A LOUD SOUND, SIMILAR TO A GUNSHOT. WHEN I LOOKED UP, THE GLASS SUNROOF WAS SHATTERED AND HAD A ROUGHLY 7" X 12" HOLE. ONLY ONE OR TWO SMALL PIECES OF GLASS FELL INTO THE CAR. THE REST BLEW UP AND OUT OF THE CAR. THE FABRIC SUNROOF DOOR WAS OPEN (PUSHED BACK INTO THE CAR SO THAT THE SUN WAS COMING IN THROUGH THE SUNROOF), AND THE GLASS SUNROOF WAS CLOSED (CLOSED SO THAT NO WIND WAS COMING INTO THE CAR). THERE WERE NO CARS AHEAD OF OR BEHIND ME THAT MAY HAVE KICKED UP A ROCK. THERE WERE ALSO NO TREES OR ANYTHING ELSE ABOVE ME FROM WHICH SOMETHING MAY HAVE FALLEN. I DID NOT FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING THAT HAS FALLEN INTO THE CAR AFTER COMING THROUGH THE GLASS, AND THE GLASS WAS BULGED UP AND AWAY FROM THE CAR RATHER THAN DOWN AND INTO IT. IT WAS ABOUT 75 DEGREES AND SUNNY.
Other or unspecified, Nov 7, 2020
THE AIR CONDITIONING NO LONGER WORKS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. THE PASSENGER SIDE BLOW COOL AIR, BUT THE DRIVER SIDE ONLY BLOWS HOT AIR LIKE THE A/C ISN'T ON. THIS CAUSES THE WINDSHIELD TO STEAM WHILE DRIVING DUE TO THE TEMPERATURE VARIANCE, ALONG WITH CREATING AN EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING EXPERIENCE THAT IS HAZARDOUS IN HOT WEATHER.
Other or unspecified, Oct 31, 2020
FREQUENT AC PROBLEMS. AC BLOWS WARM, HONDA HAS REPLACED THE COMPRESSOR TWICE UNDER WARRANTY WITHIN 1 YEAR, BOTH TIMES ISSUES HAVE ONLY BEEN SOLVED TEMPORARY AND EVENTUALLY AC THE WILL BLOW WARM AIR AGAIN. NOW THE AC IS BLOWING WARM AIR AGAIN. THE AC SYSTEM TAKES AROUND 15-20MINS TO START BLOWING COLD AIR, SPECIALLY DURING SUMMER HOT DAYS, WHICH IS NOT NORMAL FOR ANY CAR AC SYSTEM. THIS TIME THE HONDA DEALER SAID THE EVAPORATOR IS LEAKING AND CAR IS NOT OUT OF WARRANTY. DEALER SAID THEY WOULD HAVE TO ORDER THE EVAPORATOR SINCE IT IS BACK ORDERED. FROM WHAT OTHER OWNERS ARE REPORTING ONLINE, THESE CARS APPEAR TO HAVE DEFECTIVE AC PARTS INCLUDING CONDENSERS, COMPRESSORS AND EVAPORATORS IN HONDA CIVICS RANGING FROM 2016-2019.