Complaint volume
129 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Honda Civic Complaints
129 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Honda Civic, grouped by component category.
129 Total complaints
5 Crash reports
2 Fire reports
1 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are steering, forward collision avoidance, air bags. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 5 crash reports, 2 fire reports, 1 injury report, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 12 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 37,704 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to steering, forward collision avoidance, air bags?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Honda Civic?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Honda Civic
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Honda Civic complaints?
5 Crash
2 Fire
1 Injury
0 Fatality
3 Towed
1 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Honda Civic complaint categories?
STEERING 46
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 12
AIR BAGS 8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 2
SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2
129 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The front sensor is too sensitive. If there is another car using a turn lane, the Civic will try to brake and will not pass the car. If another car is ahead on a curve, the automatic braking kicks in. This tends to only happen when using cruise control. It is dangerous on the freeway. The sudden braking could cause me to be rearended. I've been lucky, so far, and have only received dirty looks from the drivers that were behind me as they passed. Since it doesn't happen every single time, there seems no way to reproduce it. No one has inspected it for defects. No warning lights, beeps or messages appear before the braking starts. This has been happening since I first bought the car in 2022, but seems to be more frequent now. Probably the reason it was returned... in my opinion. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The front sensor is too sensitive. If there is another car using a turn lane, the Civic will try to brake and will not pass the car. If another car is ahead on a curve, the automatic braking kicks in. This tends to only happen when using cruise control. It is dangerous on the freeway. The sudden braking could cause me to be rearended. I've been lucky, so far, and have only received dirty looks from the drivers that were behind me as they passed. Since it doesn't happen every single time, there seems no way to reproduce it. No one has inspected it for defects. No warning lights, beeps or messages appear before the braking starts. This has been happening since I first bought the car in 2022, but seems to be more frequent now. Probably the reason it was returned... in my opinion. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Driving [XXX] just south of [XXX] ~10 am on a Monday. No large trucks near by, and pretty minimal traffic otherwise. Heard loud thud and shattering. Slightly retracted sunshade and saw shattered glass where my sunroof used to be. Closed sunshade and exited freeway to survey the damage. No injuries, fortunately. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | AIR BAGS | I have contacted Honda Dealer and Customer Service in regards to NHTSA Recall Number 24V-064. Honda is declining to correct the recall due to shortage in supply of parts. Honda is indicating that only vehicle with the airbag sensor light on are being prioritize. This makes me uneasy as I do not know whether or not my vehicle airbag will work properly in case of an incident. There is no waitlist for remedy to be corrected. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, excessive effort was needed to maneuver the vehicle. The failure became persistent and made it extremely difficult for the contact to operate the vehicle. There were no warning lights. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and it was confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 54,000 |
| Apr 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The vehicle has on numerous occasions performed automatic braking when no cars are near the front. This is causing the car to break abruptly and I’m fearful that a vehicle to the rear of me will collide due to the erratic and forceful application of the breaks. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on a city street at about 25 to 30 MPH with no cars or people in front of me and on a clear day, my Civic's Collision Mitigation Braking System flashed "Brakes" on my heads up display and at the same time, it forcefully applied the brakes without me touching the brake pedal. This has happened to me at least twice in six weeks. In both instances, I tried to press on the gas pedal, but it did not let up on the brakes right away. I was nearly rear-ended by other cars both times, putting me and others at risk. I took the car to the dealership, and they told me they couldn't find any issues or codes, nor could they replicate the problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | STEERING | Purchased a brand new 2021 Honda Civic Sedan in June of 2021. When I turn the steering wheel to the left to make a turn or turn the steering wheel to the left going around a curve or just turning into a parking space the steering wheel sticks for a second and then jerks back to the right while making a popping / clicking sound. My car will not stay in a straight path while driving on the road. The Honda service department has claimed to not “duplicate” the problem, but based on my complaints, Honda services stated “it’s probably the steering rack failure ”. A problem of this magnitude should not be occurring on my Civic with only 50,981 miles. This is a serious safety problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | STEERING | While driving up to about 50-60 miles I will begin to experience a sticky sensation in the steering wheel. The best way to explain it is essentially when taking a slight turn to merge into another lane there is resistance and or the feeling that might feel "sticky" like something is preventing it smoothly transitioning. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | STEERING | Steering wheel gets “stuck” and have to jerk steering wheel either left or right to unstick it before it just gets stuck again. Doesn’t matter if I’m turning or going straight, it gets stuck. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | The problem is unintended braking. It is possible for this malfunction would cause the car to be rear ended. Have not taken it to the dealer... yet. There is no warning, the car suddenly starts to brake while in cruise control mode without any other cars being near. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I was notified of a Safety Recall by American Honda regarding the fuel pump module. I contacted to dealership and they are stating they will not have a remedy within a reasonable time period (60 days), rather they will have the parts available for a remedy in the fall of 2024, which is over six months away. Per the recall information provided on this website, they are supposed to have a way to fix this issue within 60 days from the date I contact them, but they won't even offer an inspection to see if the defect exists on my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | STEERING | This vehicle has started to randomly start pulling to the left or right as it's moving at a high rate of speed. It was diagnosed by the dealer to need the steering rack replaced. This is the same issue the 2022-2024 Honda Civic are being recalled for. The dealership stated that they have seen a lot of 2021 model coming in for this same issue so I am concerned it could involve the 2021 models as well. It has become very dangerous to drive. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving down the road sunny, dry roads, no vehicles around, car starts flashing brake and slams on break has happened 3 or 4 times. Also, Diver assist warning lights keep coming on with radar obstructed. Honda please do something about this before someone gets hurt. I am a single mother and loved this car until recently. I don't have the money to pay the dealership to run diagnostics and lie and say they don't know what's wrong because they cant make it happen again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | What is going down the highway and my car almost went into oncoming traffic | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving, the sunroof exploded, sounding like an explosion inside the car. The glass shattered while the inside cover was closed. Therefore, the cover contained the shattered glass. There was no traffic around, therefore no debris was thrown into the vehicle. There was no warning that this was going to occur. The suddenness and loudness is certainly enough to startle the driver enough to cause an accident. The vehicle has yet to be inspected and/or repaired. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | My Important Safety Recall is not showing up on my dealer's system or the following sites: Check for Recalls: Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, Equipment | NHTSA Recall Information for Safety & Defects | Honda Owners Site Honda Campaign Number: AEV, VEW Service Bulletin Number: 23-051, 23-052 Brake Booster Assembly during production. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Car will display BRAKE on the dashboard, and automatically brake without an object in front of vehicle, causing vehicles to have to slam on their brakes to avoid collision. Has happen multiple times. Dealership was unable to replicate the problem as it is very unpredictable and does not have any consistency as to when it happens. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving, the Apple's car play screen went blank. While merging into the left lane, the Automatic Emergency Braking feature engaged. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who reset the battery but was unable to duplicate the failure. Upon leaving the dealer and driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel was tight, and the vehicle continued to drift towards the left. The brakes, adaptive cruise control, and stability control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 18,480. | Crash: No Fire: No | 18,480 |
| May 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving down the highway about 70 mph and it started to rain so little that I had not even needed the wipers yet. Then out of nowhere with absolutely no warning what so ever the breaks locked up and the car began to slide and was completely unresponsive to any solution possible. The steering wheel was locked in place and the break peddle was so far to the floor I was not able to reach it. After colliding with the propane delivery truck which I was unable to see due to passanger side airbags which inflated unnecessarily with no passanger in the vehicle. After finally coming to a stop I was going to try and catch my breath while I gather my thoughts but unfortunately it was not possible due to the unimaginable amount of smoke that came from the driver airbag in the steering wheel. I jumped out not sure if it was on fire and assessed the situation and learned that the smoke was just coming from the steering wheel so I did my best to get it out. Which took bottles of water poured into the office steering wheel to stop the cap smoking. | Crash: Yes Fire: Yes Towed | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving on the highway. If the sunroof visor was open the occupants would have been sprayed with glass. It has the potential to cause injuries or an accident given the right circumstances. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STEERING | I'm experiencing “sticky steering.” I feel momentary increases in steering effort while driving the vehicle at highway speeds. I fear that I may over correct one day and cause an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system alerted and engaged emergency braking on a clear road when there was no obstacle in the vehicle path. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | STEERING | Car is constantly wandering and completely impossible to keep straight at highway speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield of my 2021 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring CVT has prematurely cracked in two places, inhibiting the frontward-facing view (and ultimate safety!) of both the driver's and passenger's sides of the vehicle. Neither crack was due to a chip or normal windshield damage caused from driving. Again, these cracks are NOT driver-induced and are not considered "wear and tear!" Both cracks began at the middle of very top of the windshield, in parallel with the position of the front collision camera nd also near the internal rearview mirror mounting stem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |