Honda offers owners “nonstop fun,” stating that the 2025 Civic “is engineered for instantaneous response.” Who would have thought that anything in a well-designed, safe vehicle wouldn’t be instantaneously responsive? Unfortunately, there are owners of the 2025 Civic who are faced with steering, fuel, brake, and forward collision avoidance problems that belie the automaker’s claims of fun and instantaneous response. While Honda identified serious fuel system and steering problems in October 2024, that have led to recalls, it took months before the recall repairs were available, leading to many NHTSA complaints.
The most common complaints about the 2025 Honda Civic to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) relate to steering and fuel-related problems. Apart from recall repairs not being available, complaints highlight various failures and a report of a car suddenly bursting into flame, probably due to a failed fuel pump. There are also forward collision avoidance problems that range from random braking to a lack of acceleration, and reports of malfunctioning brakes.
Other complaints include the airbags, electrical system, engine, lane departure, powertrain, structure, suspension, vehicle speed control, and chest clip, buckle, harness.
As mentioned above, there are also two recalls that affect the Civic.
NHTSA Campaign Number 24V744000 warns that the steering gearbox assembly of 1,693,199 Honda vehicles may have been manufactured incorrectly — and 2022-2025 Civic, Civic Hatchback, Civic Hybrid, and Civic Hatchback Hybrid vehicles are included in the recall. The issue is that the fault can cause excessive internal friction and lead to difficulty steering the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall was issued on October 3, 2024, but the first report on remedies was only made on January 23, 2025, with only 321,687 of the more than 1½ million vehicles remedied. By April 15, 2025, another 865,582 had reportedly been remedied.
NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V763000 warns that high-pressure gasoline fuel pumps in 720,810 Honda vehicles, including 2025 Honda Civic and Civic Hybrid, may crack and leak fuel. Unsurprisingly, this increases the risk of fire. The recall was issued on October 14, 2025, but the first report was only made on April 15, 2025, indicating that it took months to have the repair available. In July 2025, this was the only quarterly report on record with the NHTSA, and it shows that only 405,420 vehicles had been remedied.
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control
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Lane Departure: Warning
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Fuel System Alerts
As of July 2025, 42% of the complaints issued to the NHTSA since October 2024 relate to the gasoline fuel system and the fuel/propulsion system, with 40% of these also reporting steering issues.
The most alarming complaint is from an owner in Texas who tells how little more than six weeks after purchasing a new 2025 Honda Civic, it burst into flames while driving on the highway during rush hour traffic. He managed to pull into the center of the highway and exit “while flames were engulfing the passenger seat.” The fire department responded and put out the fire, but the car was a total loss. The insurance representative who inspected the car suspected failure of the high-pressure fuel pump. However, the car VIN is not reported in the recall, which warns of fire risk.
Of these complaints, 70% report the recall repair not being available. A complaint issued by a New Jersey owner in March 2025, states that he had scheduled an appointment with a dealer for the recall repair (no date specified). On March 20, while driving, the message, “Warning – Range in Fuel” was displayed. However, there were approximately three quarts of fuel in the vehicle, and he wasn’t sure whether the message indicated a failure or the remaining fuel mileage range.
Fuel Tank Capacity
Chances are this is an indication of another fuel-related fault owners are complaining about. One complaint refers to the issue as “false advertising” by Honda that claims the “fuel tank capacity is 12.4 gallons. However, today when I went to fill up my new car for the first time after 346 miles, which I thought was quite strange since I should be getting over 400 miles if this was a 12.4-gallon tank, I only was able to put in 8.374 gallons after the fuel light came on. Why is this? If the car is rated to have a 12.4-gallon tank, then I should be able to put in closer to 12.4 gallons. Probably around 11 gallons because of the reserve.
“What I think happened is that someone screwed up and put the 12.4-gallon fuel tank capacity from the non-hybrid version of this vehicle instead of the hybrid one, which for the sedan is 10.6 gallons. Knowing this, I would never have purchased the vehicle. This is false advertising!” Furthermore, he maintains it is a safety issue because people will assume they have more fuel in the tank than they do.
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Sticky Steering
A quarter of the complaints issued to the NHTSA since October 2024 relate to steering, a component that has been problematic with Honda vehicles for years. It is the same problem that plagued the 2024 model, but not the sticky steering issue experienced by 2023 owners. Most, but not all, state that the recall repair was not available.
An owner from Georgia tells how their son was attempting to make a left turn while traveling about 20 mph when the “steering wheel suddenly became difficult to move then immediately released. The vehicle went up on a nearby curve causing the vehicle to side-swipe a nearby object.” Luckily the young man wasn’t injured, especially because the airbags didn’t deploy, which increased the risk of injury.
Brake Malfunctions
There are varied problems that have been reported to the NHTSA about the 2025 Honda Civic brakes. These range from error messages about the braking system to spontaneous braking that caused a Civic to crash.
A Californian owner describes brake failure that caused him to crash. “I was stopped at a stoplight and the car ahead of me moved up slightly so I took my foot off the brake. I did not accelerate by pressing the gas pedal and I was going approximately 1-2 mph.” When the car in front of him slammed on brakes, he tried to depress my brake, and the brake alert signal inside the car started flashing. “But it was a delayed reaction and the airbags in the steering wheel and below my feet by my legs deployed as I braked. There was no damage to the other car and a bumper gap occurred on my car — and the airbags deployed and seatbelts locked in my vehicle. I barely touched the other car.” He maintains that the airbag malfunctioned by deploying at no real impact, and it cut his hand.
An owner from New York experienced a brake malfunction warning while pulling out of his driveway. It stated it was unsafe to continue driving and to stop as soon as possible. “The brakes were soft and I could feel and hear a grinding noise when I stepped on the brake. I returned the car to the driveway.” He had the vehicle towed to the dealer, and three days later received a repair invoice stating, “Electric brake control internal circuit malfunction…brake hold simulator not pluging…replaced simulator set (part#:01469-T61-A02).”
Forward Collision-Avoidance System Concerns
Complaints that relate to forward collision avoidance range from continued error messages to random braking and a lack of acceleration. Owners may be forgiven for wondering what they might face in the future.
An owner from Colorado describes having to accelerate rapidly to avoid a crash. “However, the car refused to accelerate, and “low-speed braking control” flashed on the dashboard. Thankfully, whatever triggered that soon stopped, and I was able to continue forward just before a collision. I don’t know what caused “low-speed braking control” to stop the vehicle in the middle of a busy street.” He then attempted to disable “low-speed braking control” on this vehicle, but the vehicle doesn’t allow me to disable it. I expect that the vehicle will someday cause a collision because it will once again decide that it needs to apply “low-speed, braking control“ when that would put me in danger.”
An owner from Wisconsin had a totally different experience. “When traveling with cruise control enabled, the vehicle randomly slams on the brakes by itself even when there is no vehicle present in front. This has happened multiple times on the highway and interstate. It has almost gotten me rear-ended from a vehicle (was) driving behind me. This is extremely dangerous. I made the dealership aware of the issue and they refused to address it.”
So If Your 2025 Civic a Lemon?
If your 2025 Honda Civic has recurring issues or has been in the shop for 30 days or more, it may qualify as a lemon. Every year, automakers like American Honda Motor Co. buy back, replace, or provide cash settlements for vehicles with persistent defects.
The good news is that under the law, the manufacturer is responsible for covering legal fees in lemon law cases. That means you can pursue a claim with a qualified lemon lawyer without having to pay out of pocket.
Lemberg Law has helped countless vehicle owners secure fair settlements from major manufacturers. To find out if your 2025 Honda Civic qualifies, call our Helpline or fill out our online contact form for a free case evaluation. We’ll review your situation and explain your next steps, all at no cost to you.
About the Author:
Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
