2020 Honda Civic Problems And Complaints

2020 Honda Civic sedan User Complaints and Problems

While the Honda Civic has had its fair share of user complaints registered in its name, one needs to understand the sheer sales volume that the Civic garners each year. With large units produced every year, there are bound to be certain quality control issues associated with it. Here is a list of most of the issues that the owners have experienced. 

Mechanical problems:

• Many owners have reported issues with the clutch of this car slipping while driving. This happens even when the mileage is low and seems to be an issue with the transmission system. Multiple owners have reported complete clutch failure and it is the most common one among Honda Civic transmission problems.
• Many owners have reported that the tires are getting worn out too quickly and this could be an indication of an alignment problem.
• There are a few incidents of cars rolling down slopes and hitting objects while parked on the driveway with the emergency brake engaged. This is the electric parking brake problem Honda Civics are notorious for having.
• One owner had reported some buzzing and grinding sounds coming from the powertrain of the vehicle but the dealer was not able to replicate the issue.
• Some owners have experienced an oil dilution issue in which the fuel mixes with the oil. Although this is associated with the fuel pump recall, many owners have not received notifications from the brand.
• One owner stated that the steering failed completely while driving. The vehicle jerked suddenly to one side and the steering was very stiff. It ended up having a crash and flipping.

Electrical system problems:

• Many owners have stated that the navigation system in the car has a lot of problems. The infotainment system fails intermittently, the backup camera image stops showing, and so on. It is one of the known Honda Civic common problems.
• One owner alleges that the vehicle is easy to break into due to a feature that allows the windows to be rolled down using something as simple as a screwdriver.

Exterior problems:

• There are a few complaints about the vehicle's lights going off at night and the dealerships are not able to reproduce the issue to solve it.
• There have been complaints about the rear glass or the sunroof shattering even without any impact directly affecting them. This produces a frightening situation for many owners. Many owners have complained about the quality of the windshield glass as well which seems to be dented with small rock chips.

Safety problems:

• A few owners have reported that the forward collision avoidance system is engaged without any car in front. This can cause a rear-end collision. It also fails to speed back up at the nominal rate of acceleration. It is one of the only Honda Civic brake system problems.
• There have been some complaints about the airbags not deploying during accidents and on the other hand, there has also been a complaint about a passenger airbag exploding. The same has applied to many accidents in which the car was even declared totaled.
• Tire blowouts are a common incident in this car and many owners have gotten into accidents purely due to the problems with the tire. The seam of the tire seems to separate from the tread in the tires being fitted from the factory.
• The lane departure warning has also faced criticism in this car for sounding warnings when there are no vehicles in the blind spot. Sometimes, the intervention is so harsh that the vehicle steers straight into the danger.

2020 Honda Civic sedan Recalls

While the user complaints might be limited to just a handful of units, if the issues plague a large number of units, the NHTSA calls out for the manufacturer to conduct a recall to get the issues fixed. Honda has been prompt in fixing these issues and the 2020 Civic has been recalled just once in its two years of existence. 

S. No.	Date	NHTSA Campaign Number	Issues Noticed	Additional Remarks	Remedy
1	March 25, 2021	21V215000	Fuel pump may fail	A fuel pump failure can cause a stall while driving and the risk of a crash will be increased	Dealers will replace the fuel pump free of charge

Should you buy the 2020 Honda Civic sedan?

The 2020 Honda Civic sedan is one of the best modern cars on sale right now. While some of its active safety features have caused trouble to the owners as well as electronic parking brake issues this year, it has mostly been quite a headache-free experience for owners. It is quite cheap on the pocket but has a set of known problems that Honda has not addressed through recalls yet. We believe in the segment, it is still very much relevant and a good buy for people looking for a good family car.