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The 2021 Honda Civic is supposed to follow many generations of customer loyalty to impress drivers. After all, the automaker claims it will make “driving fun.” If “fun” consists of spending a lot of time waiting for repairs, then the Honda is a winner. This car seems to struggle with its electrical system, powertrain and suspension.
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2021 Honda Civic
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Electrical System | |
| Steering | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Lane Departure: Lane Keep: Steering Assist | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Suspension | |
| Seat Belts |
Problems with the Electrical System
No one wants to deal with glitches to the electrical system of a vehicle, but that’s exactly what 2021 Honda Civic owners are facing.
One NHTSA complaint states, “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 a 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?”
So far, Honda has only been willing to discuss one issue with the 2021 Honda Civic, and it has to do with the electrical system. Service Bulletin #AATS210301 talks about how the newer iPhones don’t work with the wireless charging device that customers are paying for. At this time, Honda doesn’t have a fix but tells customers, “we are aware of these concerns and are currently looking into it.” One can only imagine how long this fix might take to figure out.
Problems with the Powertrain
Back in the day, the Civic was known as a car that was fun to drive, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the newest transmission technology.
Here’s one Edmunds review discussing the trouble. “Having a CVT in a hot hatch / sport hatch really takes away from the driver experience. This little turbocharged engine has a lot of potential for fun to be had (probably fully realized with the 6MT), but most of that potential boost and turbo noise is lost on the CVT which conceals it behind a veil of continuously varying gear ratios and deflates any hopes of cool engine noises during a spirited drive. For example, you take off and the tachometer will just hover at, say, 3000 RPMs while the gears adjust so that you continue accelerating. And yes there are simulated gears with the paddle shifters, but I haven’t found this to be an improvement on the automatic shifting function.”
So far, nothing has been said from the Honda camp about the failure to include a functioning transmission with the sporty model. Customers are left in the dark with no understanding about what happened to the adventure they were used to behind the wheel of a Civic. While this was once a favorite model among car drivers, the tides seem to be changing rapidly.
Problems with the Suspension
It appears that Honda failed on the suspension as well. Without a smooth ride, there’s no reason to drive this vehicle.
One final Edmunds review states, “I test drove several trim levels (LX Sedan, Sport Hatch, and EX Hatch) on average roads, each with different wheel sizes but all with the same suspension parts to my understanding. The smaller wheel sizes absorbed a little more of the road vibration, but overall I was surprised by how rough the ride was with all three, even the LX with 16-inch wheels. This is exactly what I was trying to get away from with my previous car as I drive 60 miles per day. The new Civic is almost as bad as my previous car in terms of ride comfort while not nearly as fun!”
For a car that supposedly makes “driving fun,” there’s a lot to hate about this model. In fact, many drivers are dreading getting behind the wheel, causing them to question their loyalty to the Honda brand at this point. Maybe it’s time to jump ship and go for a make/model that actually puts some thrill into the driving experience. At this point, a bicycle might even be better suited.
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Complaint Data
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Mar 21, 2023 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Steering wheel tries to stick in place randomly. Does not happen daily but has happened multiple times. The only way to make it stop is to stop driving the car for a few hours. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | Mar 16, 2023 |
| State | TN |
| Description | Seatbelt does not latch properly. Reported to dealership at last oil change appointment. |
| Category | Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Steering |
| Date | Mar 13, 2023 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The vehicle has brakes with out cause. Two times I was on the street no cars in sight and the car just brakes without notice or cause. Then it happened again yesterday on the freeway. It was raining no cars close and it just brakes again in the middle of the freeway. |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Mar 05, 2023 |
| State | OH |
| Description | My car has about 24k miles on it and at about 20-22k I started to notice something wrong with the steering. I was on an off ramp at about 45 mph and encountered a steering overcorrection that I didn't feel I caused on my own without another factor related to the vehicle being present. Since then I have been paying more attention to it and have the following to report. So far I only experience it when the vehicle is hot or warmed up and it feels like the steering wheel is sticking and then when you finally get it to break free you end up with a steering overcorrection or like a swerve that you didn't intend to cause due to your normal human driving inputs. There is definitely something going on here, my car did not do this for the first 20k miles and now it's essentially every time I drive it long enough to get warmed up. I hope that nhtsa is able to help us out here. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure: Warning |
| Date | Jan 16, 2023 |
| State | DE |
| Description | The front windshield camera that utilizes honda sense safety tech keeps misreading certain traffic signals and inadvertently activates the phantom braking. Sometimes it blinks ultimate times to even cause the vehicle to apply it's emergency brakes despite no objects present on or near the intersection(s) of major traffic light routes and or construction sites with very bright lighting. Luckily no other motorists were behind me. The lane departure warning feature would also mistake the vehicle for moving over the designated lane when driving down or uphill or in some interstate highways even though the vehicle is maintaining centered lane control. I have consulted my nearest honda dealership on the matter and was told the manufacturer would have issue a recall for the honda safety sense since they do not have the hardware nor software to resolve the matter in a timely fashion. Not sure if other 10th generation honda civic owners are experiencing the anomaly but it's a monthly occurrence. |
| Category | Visibility:rearview Mirrors/devices:interior |
| Date | Dec 06, 2022 |
| State | NC |
| Description | The contact owns a 2021 honda civic. The contact stated while driving 5 mph and approaching a stop sign, the rear-view mirror casing detached from the vehicle without warning or impact. The contact detected an abnormally loud explosion. The contact stated that she taped the casing back together. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed her that the failure was due to the rear-view mirror being struck. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case and spoke with the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 15,071. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Nov 28, 2022 |
| State | TX |
| Description | The coating on the wiring harness is soy based and rodents chew the wires causing multiple electronic failures. Power steering failed, adaptive cruise control failed, automatic emergency braking failed, lane keeping assistance failed. Vehicle is extremely unsafe! |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings, Service Brakes, Steering |
| Date | Oct 17, 2022 |
| State | AZ |
| Description | Rodents chewed thru the main computer cable while car was parked in our car port. When I went to start car it started but immediatley the warning lights on dash began flashing that the road assist features, brakes and steering were not operating. Called road side assistance for a tow to arrowhead honda were they replaced main computer cable and reprogrammed computer. This is the second time this has happened. I think the manufacture should change the exterior coating on the cable should be changed to a material that rodents are not attracted to. |
| Category | Electrical System, Service Brakes, Steering |
| Date | Sep 23, 2022 |
| State | AZ |
| Description | While accelerating on a multi-lane freeway, the dashboard speed suddenly indicated 0 mph and flashed warnings for power steering, emergency braking, suspension, and many other systems. Steering became almost impossible to control, with no resistance felt through the wheel, and small movements of the wheel resulting in unpredictable jerky movements of the vehicle. It was almost impossible to control the vehicle while exiting the freeway and coming to a stop. Obd scanner pulled only one code: u0416(68) invalid data received - vehicle dynamics control module |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings |
| Date | Sep 18, 2022 |
| State | VA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Jul 17, 2022 |
| State | MS |
| Description | 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 |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings |
| Date | Jul 06, 2022 |
| State | MS |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Suspension |
| Date | Jul 05, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | Rear suspension making cluncking noise over bumps off brakes at any speed |
| Category | Electrical System, Steering:electric Power Assist System |
| Date | Jun 30, 2022 |
| State | MT |
| Description | 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 0. 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure: Lane Keep: Steering Assist |
| Date | Jun 10, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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 |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure: Lane Keep: Steering Assist |
| Date | Jun 09, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | May 31, 2022 |
| State | WI |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | May 28, 2022 |
| State | KY |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | May 11, 2022 |
| State | PA |
| Description | 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 |
| Category | Electrical System, Engine, Service Brakes |
| Date | Apr 23, 2022 |
| State | MD |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Apr 09, 2022 |
| State | AZ |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Feb 28, 2022 |
| State | NC |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Feb 25, 2022 |
| State | FL |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Feb 03, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Service Brakes, Suspension, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Nov 13, 2021 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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 5. 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. |
| Category | Electrical System, Power Train, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 05, 2021 |
| State | TX |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera, Electrical System:adas:blindspot:warning:chime |
| Date | Jun 21, 2021 |
| State | AL |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Jun 05, 2021 |
| State | MA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Electrical System, Exterior Lighting |
| Date | Mar 10, 2021 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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