1991 Honda Civic problems
Owners have filed 143 complaints with NHTSA about the 1991 Honda Civic. Seat belts is the most reported problem area, at 29% of complaints. Next are electrical system (17%) and body & structure (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 143 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 13 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 130,000 miles 13 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 13 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 130,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 13 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 87% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1991 ranks 36th most-complained-about out of 37 model years of the Honda Civic with enough data (42 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Vehicle pulled out in front of honda. Speed of honda at time was 40 MPH. On impact drivers seat belt worked but then failed, spooling out, causing driver to hit windshield and steering wheel. Injuries included broken jaw, collarbone,neck, both femurs,lower leg and left foot, hand, fingers and nine ribs one of which severed lower left aorta, every organ severely damaged resulting in death.
When struck @ 1:00 o'clock position, drivers shoulder didn't restrain driver, allowing her to strike passenger side windshield. Tt
During an accident, the shoulder strap did not lock in place upon impact which caused the drivers body to go forward. Consumer was injured in accident. *slc
I purchased a 1991 honda civic used from a private owner. Several years later now, the automatic shoulder harness seatbelt has stopped working. I have read several places that honda of america is trying to charge owners for replacement of a system that in my opinion for the safety of car owners, should not fail in the lifetime of the car. And if it does fail I feel that honda should be responsible for replacing or repairing the automatic restraint system on its vehicles.
I own a 1991 honda civic 4-door sedan. I was having my car worked on for something completely unrelated when, all of the sudden, the automatic seatbelt (shoulder harness) on the driver's side stopped functioning. It will no longer run along the track when my driver's side door is opened. I am unsure about the implications of this failure on its ability to provide safety in the event of an accident. I knew of honda's "lifetime warranty" on their seatbelts and took it to a dealership to have it fixed.