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.
Of the 2021 reports, 5 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 2 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
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
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
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
145 reports, newest first.
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 18, 2022
Forward collision warning and braking has falsely activated with no vehicles ahead of car. First, "BRAKE" warning flashed for no reason while driving on a three lane road on Virginia Rt 286 and Rt 50 interchange. Second, driving in right lane, vehicle ahead was taking exit and was clear of my path, car flashed BRAKE warning, then started braking. Third, while using Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on highway, a passing car changed lanes into my lane. Due to distance, a car length, and smaller speed difference, emergency brakes activated. However, if a passing car operating at a faster speed (>5 mph est.) the car won't brake. The third problem is annoying as it creates an unsafe situation for people following too close (which they should not). Additionally, my brain is processing the situation faster than the HONDA SENSE can, Honda needs to expand their recall from Accord, CR-V, and Pilot to ALL vehicles with HONDA SENSE.
Electrical system, Jul 17, 2022
If your new car needs an expensive repair, which your bumper-to-bumper warranty should cover, the service staff tells you statements such as, "We cannot duplicate your complaint." These statements free them from the need to repair your brand-new car. Then, the dealership staff, Group 1 Automotive (owner), and Honda, USA (in my case), work to talk you into a trade or a costly insurance claim or string you along until your warranty runs out. Or they talk you into buying an additional warranty that only offers you the same type of answer of non-duplication. By the time your warranty runs out, the costly not fixed repair is massive and usually a situation only the manufacturer can repair. You know what that means. Either you decide to pay for a trade-in, or you fall into the trap of only the dealership being able to handle the repair they knew was needed. Either way, because the dealership refused to honor your warranty, you are charged by them possibly thousands to make up for them not being able to duplicate your concerns. Or, as I have learned, repair your vehicle the right way the first time. I read about a woman whose tire light would not go out until she bought a new tire because the dealership sold her the wrong size tire. Or another possible SCAM is to give you unpleasant surprises. After you have your car a while, you learn that your payments are possibly much higher than you expected, or you do not have the vehicle that you thought you bought. One of Group 1 Automotive dealerships took advantage of a Vietnam Veteran with an increase of payments possible contract SCAM after he had eye surgery. The moral to that story, make sure you can read your contract before leaving the dealership because you need to ensure that you signed exactly as you bargained. My signed contract from Honda of Slidell informed me that I had bought 2020 when I bargained for a 2021. It was not until I convinced Honda of Slidell management that I was willing to inform the public of their m
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.
Suspension, Jul 5, 2022
rear suspension making cluncking noise over bumps off brakes at any speed
Electrical system, Steering, Jun 30, 2022
Honda uses a soy-based insulation on the wires in its new cars. We have a brand new, less than 4,000 miles, Honda Civic. I recently went out to start it in the morning and received warning lights on virtually ALL of the systems you list. Why? Apparently rabbits are attracted to the soy-based insulation and will chew it. Honda knows about this problem -- they have had class action lawsuits filed against them already because THOUSANDS of consumers have had their Hondas disabled when rodents chewed the insulation on the wiring harnesses. I had to have the Honda towed into the dealership here in Helena, Montana because it was COMPLETELY DISABLED -- including no power steering. Notably, the service technician told me "it's a common problem -- rodents like the soy insulation." The cost to repair the 18" wire harness was $350.00!! Rather astounding sum to unclip both ends and clip in a new wire harness. But here's the rub. Honda knows about this problem and have already had class action lawsuits filed against the company for the obvious design and manufacturing flaw. If anyone doubted that, all they have to do is ask what Honda does to deal with the problem. The answer: They sell and install "hot chili tape" that they wrap on the wire harness so rodents/rabbits won't chew it. Obviously, they wouldn't need to produce their own chili tape if there wasn't a known -- well known -- problem with their wiring insulation. This is a very real problem for consumers because virtually everywhere on the planet there are rodents and rabbits. So if you park your Honda anywhere, you may wake up to find it no longer works and you will be stranded. This is particularly a problem in rural areas such as Montana, where dealerships can be hundreds of miles away. Honda does not warn consumers of this problem -- although they do laud their "bumper-to-bumper" 30,000 mile warranty. Oddly enough, the wire harness is located between the bumpers...but the warranty does NOT cover this.
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
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.
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.
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.
Vehicle speed control, May 11, 2022, crash
was in reverse backing into parking spot. my foot was on the break; however, the car accelerated rapidly resulting in hitting a post. there were no warnings that registered took it to Honda and reported, they indicated they were not aware of this issue and did not run diagnostics as requested
Electrical system, Service brakes, Engine, Apr 23, 2022
Three issues I been having every since I got my car. 1. Car navigation displays not working properly, screen completely freezes or black-out. 2. Brake warning sign appears randomly in dashboard even if theres no vehicle in front, probably an issue with the car detection sensor camera . 3 Probably the most important. The car shuts down. Oil light and battery light shows in dashboard when this happens, usually when the vehicle is coming to a stop. This is an outgoing issue that is really concerning. I have take the car multiple times to the dealer and the have failed to solve any of this issues, the previously told me it was the turbo but never replace it, then i was told it was the electronic wastegate nothing was done then, now two days ago April 21, 2022 this happen again, haven't take the car to the dealer because I know they aren't going to do anything about it.
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.
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.
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.
Vehicle speed control, Feb 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200.
Suspension, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Nov 13, 2021
2125 miles on this Type R, fresh off the show room floor. At low speed turning into the slight dip in my driveway, the suspension in Sports Mode flexed enough for the driver side tin rotor back plate at the driver front wheel to get caught on the lower control arm. Drove it to Honda, and yes, they confirmed that this had happened, that the thin tin plate had indeed become stuck on the LCA! Screeching like you cannot believe b/c when this happens, the top of the plate is flexed onto the top of the brake rotor and it goes metal to metal. Honda told me they have no idea how this happened but myself, a professional mechanic can clearly see exactly what happened. Honda tried to bill me for this warranty repair to the tune of $475. I told them "NO!" They backed down. Yes, this vehicle is available for inspection any time you want. And yes, I can make the problem happen again just by hitting the dip while making a left-hand turn into my driveway.
Power train, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Oct 5, 2021
My car has multiple electric problems and it has been trying to die on me since I bought the car and they dealership doesn’t want to look at it unless I mention Apple CarPlay.
Back over prevention, Electrical system, Jun 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Civic. The contact stated while making a left turn, they noticed the rearview camera in the center console does not show an image or no notification alert for blind sport warning when making a turn. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer who inspected the vehicle and inform the contact the failure experience on the vehicle is just the way the vehicle was manufactured and could not repair the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximate 400.
Electrical system, Jun 5, 2021
In first month of ownership, all four windows automatically opened after I parked the car and walked away. After some online investigation, I made an appointment with Honda Service Dept. and asked them to disable the remote window open feature. They said it could not be done. Then I found video on You Tube showing a Toyota technician enabling this option; if it can be enabled then it can also be DISABLED I would assume. Why is this disable remote window opening not available for my Honda Civic? The title of the You Tube video is 'Make Your Toyota Key Open Windows'. July 6, 2020. Link: https://youtu.be/bM60vOAuUgQ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM60vOAuUgQ Links don't appear to be working here.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Mar 10, 2021
HEADLIGHTS ARE TOO DIM, WITH POOR VISIBILITY AT NIGHT, EVEN WHEN THE FOG LIGHTS ARE ON. H ROAD NEEDS TO BE ILLUMINATED A LITTLE BIT MORE, OR EVEN HAVE A FURTHER BEAM. THE LED VERSION OF THE CIVIC HAS A EXCELLENT HEADLIGHT PATTERN/BRIGHTNESS. HOWEVER, LX, SPORT AND EX SHARE THE SAME DIM HEADLIGHTS AT NIGHT. THAT IS. A SAFETY ISSUE AND CAN CAUSE A CRASH, OR HIT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ILLUMINATED MORE.