2003 Honda Civic problems
Owners have filed 619 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Honda Civic. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. Next are transmission (13%) and electrical system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 619 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 127 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 109 and 13
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 463 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 | 79 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 46 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 41 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 63 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 44 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 44 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 49 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 42 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 25 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 18 |
| 200k+ miles | 12 |
What the data shows
Of the 463 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 106,000 miles (89 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 127 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 109 injuries reported; 13 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 91% 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 2003 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 37 model years of the Honda Civic with enough data (267 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 11 safety recall campaigns.
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.
2003 honda civic. Consumer writes in regard to defective seat belt buckle due to corrosion. The consumer stated the selt belt buckle failed latch after a roll-over crash. The sole occupant (driver) was ejected from the vehicle. The crash was fatal.
1- 2003 honda civic 4 door,17000 miles, unexplained spinning, crash, and subsequent fire burned car to a crisp. Driver pulled from car suffering shock and inhalation of fumes.
Takata recall previous complaint in feb. 2018, and no action taken, complaint # 11079970, air bag recall, resulting in no action taken from honda, head-on accident occurred, and air-bags should've deployed, but didn't. Injuries incurred. Honda has refused any partaking on matter. I was at a complete stop, in the turning lane, car appeared out of nowhere, and I hit her head-on to the drivers side front bumper, light, tire. This was a no-fault accident on the police report.
On 3 occasions over past 3 years we have had key/ lock/ ignition switch problems. Result: 1. Inability to start engine; 2. Unable to unlock driver side door; 3. Unable to open trunk. Latest repair on 3-28-06 consisted of replacing trunk lock tumbler and driver side door lock tumbler. Repair advisor verbally stated trunk lock tumblers were badly worn; door lock tumblers needed lubrication. We consider consequences of failure could be serious given circumstances at time of failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda civic hybrid. The contact stated the vehicle was exhibiting transmission failures. The dealer was unable to duplicate or locate any failures within the transmission and advised the contact the vehicle was operable. The vehicle continued exhibiting signs of transmission slippage and was taken back to the dealer. The dealer advised the clutch was defective and causing the failure of the transmission. The clutch was replaced. The failure recurred within two years.