2012 Honda Civic problems
Owners have filed 622 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Honda Civic. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. Next are steering (12%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 622 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 91 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 62 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 29,000 miles 444 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 | 177 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 86 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 48 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 50 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 32 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 17 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 21 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 444 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 29,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 41,000 miles (96 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 91 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 62 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 37 model years of the Honda Civic with enough data (401 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
Tl* the contact called on behalf of her mom who owned a 2012 honda civic. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a chain reaction accident. The contact stated that the the driver and passenger frontal air bags failed to deploy. Additionally, the seat belts for the driver, passenger, and rear seat passenger failed to operate as intended.
Contact owned a 2012 honda civic with 2363 miles at time of incident. Before reaching a downtown intersection in the early evening one day last month, contact was going to turn right southbound towards home nearby. The car suddenly made a loud revving noise and shot straight forward at terrifying speed. Contact stepped on the brake and steered to the right. The car did not stop and seemed to have a mind of its own. Contact could not see where it went but heard it hitting hard at objects until it finally stopped.
Takata recall. I got into a minor accident where I hit someone from the back with no damage to my or their vehicle however my airbag came out.
The seat is far from ergonomic including the headrest. There is minimal to no lumbar support. The headrest is angled causing the occupants head to be forced forward in an unnatural position. This has resulted in pins and needle sensation in both arms and legs and multiple visits to my chiropractor. The pain and discomfort last long after I am out of the car leading to sleepless nights.