2021 Honda Civic

Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues

Steering is the leading concern among 145 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 23rd highest complaint count among 26 Civic model years with reports.

Complaints by model year
  1. 145

Of the 2021 reports, 5 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 2 people were injured.

Primary concernSteering65 reports · 45% of complaints
Owner complaints145Filed with NHTSA
Recall relationship4 safety recallsNHTSA campaign records

What owners report most often

  1. Steering65
  2. Forward collision avoidance33
  3. Electrical system18
  4. Service brakes18
  5. Other or unspecified12
  6. Lane departure11
  7. Air bags9
  8. Vehicle speed control6

Recalls and investigations

  1. 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

  2. Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerFeb 1, 2024

    Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

    An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

    Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

    Campaign 24V064000 on NHTSA.gov

  3. 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

  4. Service brakes, hydraulic, foundation components, master cylinderJun 29, 2023

    Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.

    Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.

    Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.

    Campaign 23V458000 on NHTSA.gov

Representative owner complaints: forward collision avoidance

33 reports, newest first. Show all

  1. Forward collision avoidance, Jul 6, 2022

    I experienced a false positive forward collision alert warning and subsequent, brief automatic emergency braking during two (2) episodes. Fortunately, my safety nor any surrounding motorists' safety was not at risk. The problem was not reproduced or confirmed by the dealer though my car ADAS was inspected by them. Of the five episodes, I only recorded the last three episodes which did not include an automatic emergency braking component. The episodes only feature the collision warning alert. They are as follow: 02/21/2022, 1930; 02/22/2022, 0805; and 04/01/2022, 0810.

  2. Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Jun 10, 2022

    Was merging onto the crossover lane and it senses the water barrels by the wall as you go slightly left in the lane it doesn’t seem to understand that and pulls you toward the wall and hits the auto brakes almost causing an accident. This was in the 10 freeway by morongo and it has happened multiple times. I have taken those assist programs off as it’s almost killed me

  3. Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Jun 9, 2022

    I’ve had multiply times where my dash with start indicating I need to break while I’m driving an will break for me while on the freeway or street with traffic. For the lane departure my car will just start turning out of a lane there was two incidents where I almost hit the wall divider on the Freeway from my car almost turning me into it.

  4. Forward collision avoidance, May 31, 2022

    Automatic Emergency braking has gone off twice in 1 month on it's own. No car in front of me and the brakes went off and the "BRAKE" light went off on the dashboard. Yes, my safety was put at risk. I am not seeing any recalls for this Honda but I have read that this is an ongoing problem.

  5. Forward collision avoidance, May 28, 2022

    Driving home from work. Cruise set at 73mph. I had just passed another car and was about 600 yrd in front of them on the PKWY, when the car just started breaking and ding, I get multiple warnings on the dash as I'm trying to get out of the way of other vehicles. the car drove normal the next 5 miles under my control but the dash is still lit with a Collision Mitigation system problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Road Departure Mitigations system problem, Drive Carefully systems initializing problem, Brakes system light. I'll note that there was not bad weather, there was no rain or snow. it was 80F. There was no impact, accident, etc.

  6. Forward collision avoidance, Apr 9, 2022

    Car will randomly hit the brakes when adaptive cruise control is on. It will hit the brakes even though it doesn’t detect anyone in front, it will slow down a good 10-15mph before speeding back up.

  7. Forward collision avoidance, Feb 28, 2022

    I was driving at 55 mph on a clear day with no vehicles or other obstacles in front of my car when the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) activated and stopped the car suddenly.

  8. Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Feb 25, 2022

    MANY times I've pressed the gas after a full stop and had the engine roar in response while the car only moved forward a few feet rather than at full speed. My life is in danger if I'm trying to make a turn across traffic when I have a space to do so and I CAN'T make the turn SAFELY because the car has "stalled" by not moving forward quickly after I let go of the brakes. It's a brand new car, and I took it to Honda. They said they couldn't replicate the incident. Since it happens sporadically, I have no idea what causes it but I DO know that it's VERY dangerous. Another issue happens when I'm driving in cruise control. Another car is in a turning lane, and my car will slow down abruptly. The car is in the NEXT lane, not in my lane, so having my car suddenly slow down is very dangerous as I can get rear ended. Again, this is dangerous.