2016 - 2021 Honda Civic problems 

Just wanted to say thanks for all your input into what you see as a Honda mechanic on a day to day basis. Whether buying new or used It really helps the consumer make an informed decision about what future problems there could be. Better yet, possible ways to avoid them. Thanks again and appreciate all your posts!! 👌

Good video thank you! I bought my 2020 Civic sport sedan new with the 2.0 NA K20C2 engine and a 6 speed manual transmission as I felt it would be the most reliable as a daily driver 👍🏻

Thanks again my daughter lives out of state and drives a Honda civic and I pass all this information on to her Thank you. Artie 👍

My 2018 Civic EXT bought new: AC condenser failed at 117k miles (replaced under extended warranty/ for known issue). I noticed the wire covers torn but the exposed wires were undamaged. The most expensive maintenance I’ve had done was replacing the water pump, drive belt, and PCV valve at 120k miles for $1,030. Of course I maintain my Civic with oil/filter changes every 5k miles. I use only Shell Premium fuel for the high detergent to mitigate carbon deposits. I’ve never redlined and I rarely exceed 4k rpm. Other than the AC, I’ve had no issues after nearly five years and 141,900 miles averaging 36.5 mpg (combined). I plan keeping my Civic for at least 300k miles. With my aggressive monthly maintenance, I hope to avoid any major repairs to the engine, turbo, or CVT. BTW…I bought my Civic without any of the Honda Sensing. I know that the electronics are often the first things to fail. One less area for problems if I plan on keeping the Civic for at least ten years.

I have a 2017 EXT with a 6 speed manual. No problems at all. I not only run higher octane than the normal regular but I also run ethanol free too when I can. And to help the oil dilution issue, I shift at higher RPMs than I normally would and run a gear lower in cruise at whatever speed I am at. I even drive at highway speeds in 5th gear rather than 6th. It still gets superb MPG in 5th gear on interstates. And doing so keeps the combustion temps and cylinder head temps hotter overall. This helps to mitigate oil dilution as it burns more of the gas before it can seep down into the oil. Also in the winter I do not warm up my car at all. I start it and drive away after only 10 seconds. This allows the engine to warm up much faster since it's under load. To warm the engine at idle in 20F takes about 20 minutes, To warm up driving at 3000 RPM from the get go on the road, it warms it up in 4 or 5 minutes. Less time for the gas to leak down into the oil because the oil dilution is much worse when the engine is cold by far. You want a warm engine. Also, with todays thin oils, you really don't have to warm up an engine on a cold morning, the oil circulates right away. Only exception for me is when the temp is below 5 F. In that case I warm up for a minute.

Another issue I’ve been seeing is a lot of evap leaks. Mostly on the 16s and 17s. For us in the North they build up rust on the fuel pump lock ring and it will eventually cause a pressure crack in the plastic fuel pump housing. I’ve done about 15 of them so far and it’s about a $600 fix

Convincing me to keep my 2010 civic👍🏽

I'm on my 3rd or 4th fuel door actuator and really the only other issue I've had is the lower window door trim on the driver side cracking and falling apart while the passenger side looks new. I have the 2016 2.0l engine. Pretty good car overall. I also use premium fuel, but i also race it and redline it alot. Knock on wood, its been really good to me and im at about 130k miles

Hope this helps anyone but I have a 2017 civic hatchback 1.5l and I’ve had these problems Broken gas tank actuator, broken trunk struts, AC evaporator went out, transmission axel seal & leaking fluid. I’ve done all my maintenance & change my oil every 5k miles & filter every 10k.

AC condenser went at 59,000k. Honda has made a recall on vehicles and have a 10 year warranty that dealerships don’t tell you about. Search it up there is a document. Apparently the AC condenser is a universal problem amongst all civics

Hey thank you for making this video. We’re thinking about buying out our 21 lease. I always insist on using premium fuel in the car and you’ve confirmed it’s probably worth the little extra expense to do so.

I bought my 1.5T 2020 Sport Hatchback brand new in the summer of 20'. It has 44k miles now and LOTS LOTS LOTS of idle hours as I commute 2 hours each way to University so I spend time in my car for things like eating or naps on long days. Always been putting 87 in the tank. I see no problems with anything except that my coolant seems to be low. Hoping its not a head. Otherwise car has been doing great. I frequently drive 12 hours a day on trips up north or south with zero problems, car even took 4 Chicago speed bumps going 30mph without even a crack in the windshield and I've hit tons and tons of huge potholes without damaging anything except my sanity. Notably I also replace my CVT fluid every 30k since I do 90% heavy Chicago grid traffic driving

Great video, ever seen the dash go crazy with warnings after alternator replacement? Checked everything and won't go away.

I have a 2018 hatchback sport and my AC went out one summer. Did some research and thought it might have been a recall issue like you mentioned. Turned out to be the evaporator and that wasn’t covered under the recall. Had to pay $2000 out of pocket for that one 😢 other than that, I always pump premium for the reason that I don’t want anything else going bad lol

Major ac issues. I had mine at the dealership 4 times to fix mine. Once was a dealer recall, and they replaced the whole thing. Still didnt fix it. Other the no ac for a few years, its a great car.

great information. thank you! Not the golden era Honda. I have a 95 Civic with 210K miles. Took it to dealer for oil change over the weekend and the techs loved the car.

2017 Elantra, bought new. 124.000 miles. 0 repairs 0 issues. Loaded with all the tech. Ac never touched, still blows nice and cold. Everything on the car works like new. Engine runs smooth and quiet. Uses no oil. Only things on the car that have been replaced are tires, and 1 battery. Excellent vehicle. Even the brake pads are original, and still don't need replacement!

My sisters 2016 civic touring had the AC compressor fail at ~45k miles. Luckily she spent $2k on a 7 year warranty because the repair from Honda was almost $2500. The screen would freeze sometimes and needed a hard reboot. Third brake light always rattled with bass and the TMPS light was so sensitive.

I have a 2019 civic 1.5T manual, just 60k miles. Runs like a charm and no problems yet, hope it stays that way. Been running 95 but because of this I am thinking to switch to 98

2020 civic sport 2.0 NA 6 speed manual with 103K. runs like a clock. I was was persistent about not getting one without a turbo or a CVT trans, so glad i opted for the stick and the 2.0 ! FYI: put a new battery in it last week. went out to start the car in the morning and got message (parking brake issue) would not start. turns out if the battery dies it will not have enough juice to release the parking brake, no issues with the brake, replace battery.

Thank you bro for the info. I luv my Civic. Never had a problem

Good stuff, keep them coming this is helpful stuff.

I have a 2016 honda civic coupe ex 1.5T and ALL of these issues are prominent! Really wish I would have seen this video 2 years ago before I got the car and threw so much money down the drain. Payments and repairs. Smh

I am happy with my 2020 Si but did upgrade the clutch.. Great video.

Had the A/C compressor shaft seal fail before 36k and sunroof shattering without cause on at '21 civic. Take a look at complaints with sun/moon roofs spontaneously shattering as well as steering wheel "sticking" or stiff during certain conditions. Honda has been replacing steering racks without addressing the real cause..

I had sooooooooooo many freaking issues with my tenth gen, gas lid made a horrible quacking noise, it had it’s cylinder head replaced at 2,300 miles, went through two batteries, and two check engine lights, dumped it at 40k miles. No regrets getting rid of it. Forgot I also had tpms issues and I had the “reliable” 2 liter

100% of the time since I got my car brand new...Ive been running 93 in her instead of 87.... So hopefully these issues will be rare for me that has to do with the fuel consumption issues.

I started my civic touring 2018 in the morning and all the lights on dash came on. I took it to the honda dealer today and they found a misfire. Now they want me to replace all 4 fuel injectors and it's pretty expensive. I hate having to do that when my car is fairly new with only 66k km on it. I checked on reddit and civicx forums and it's a widespread issue and a lot of people are dealing with this. Im surprised it's not covered under a recall or extended warranty

Bought a 2017 Si brand new. Last summer at 34k the condenser went. Shortly after a rear window motor failed. Then a month ago with 43k every dash light came on. Took to dealer and they said it was a failed head gasket between cylinders 1 and 2. Quoted the job at $7,663. I didnt beat on the car and used nothing but 93 octane. Honda reliability is no more.

I just bought a used 2019 honda civic and I LOVE IT. I just hate the fact that the parking brake is electronic and the android auto isnt wireless... had to buy an adapter

The only weird thing that happened was my Infotainment touchscreen on my 2020 sport basically did a blue screen of death and didn’t work for about 5 minutes. Other than that, it’s a great car. 2.0 runs well!

I put a boomba bov and have a muffler delete and every now and then my car will not build any boost at all and it sounds like an air leak in the bov. However when I run the car again 1-2 hours later it is back to normal. I had a professional mechanic install the bov so I don’t think that is the problem but the bov itself could be.

Squirrel ate through the speed sensor cable on my Civic (2.0L), and it cost $600 to replace the wiring harness. Found out they like to hide in cars during the summer, even if the cars are daily drivers parked at work. Best defense against this? Keep your engine bay clean and spray peppermint essential oil in the engine bay and wheel wells. Not only does it smell great, the critters hate it.

i bought my hatchback used in 2020 and noticed it was blowing warm air took it back got the condersor fixed didn't pay anything since it was under warranty heard these were pricey to fix but so far no other issues with the car at 90k

I have a 2016 Honda Civic 1.5T at 98,000 miles. Runs like 2016. No problems or what’s so ever. I replace parts before it gives me issue. I do my own oil change every 4,000 with Amsoil and Replace spark plug every on 30,000. When I have extra spare money, I replace the sensors even it doesn’t need to. Runs like it just came out the dealer. I’ll be honest it is pretty easy fixing it.

The LX 2.0 Six speed is about as close as you'll get to an old school civic with these things. The route to go if you want absolute reliability

First, love the videos! Keep it going!

Rodent problem was spot on , some how they are attracted to it .

Had a 2018 Hatch Sport- bad oil dilution, wouldn’t get heat in cold weather and rodents damaged exactly where you said. That sucker got returned on a lease at the end.

Sr, i just noticed that my abs module is making a beeping noise with like 15-30secs interval. Only happens if i park the car after using it with engine off. Is that normal? The beeping noise disappears as the car cools down. Not really sure how long it takes. No lights on the dash or anything. Just that beeping after using the car. Btw, the noise is literally coming from the module itself. Can be heard if the hood is opened. Thank you

Great video, right to the point. Enjoyed it.

My parents are looking at getting one right now, upgrading from a same generation Honda City. Unfortunately our market didnt get the 2.0 and instead has the 1.5t for the upper trims and the 1.8 for the lowest trim. I just hope if we do get it none of these problems happen

This video is so helpful! had that same AC problem, and luckily it was fixed under that warranty. But now I have a new problem. Sometimes when I'm in reverse my car will just not move at all. Only happens sometimes but I'm not sure what's causing this. I have a 2018 Honda civic .

Excellent info, thanks for sharing! Subscribed 👍

Honda tech here up in Northern Ont Canada,,, Rear rotors deterioration BAD every year, Trunk release switches in the door, sticking down. Our ratio of Head gaskets at our dealer is 1 Civic since 2016, 20 CRV's in the past two years and maybe 2 Accords in the last couple years. But we do sell a ton of CRV's . And the standard Condenser/compressor seals leaking. Pretty solid car's and Zero 2.0L issues

One of the most annoying problems for this generation of Civics is the accidental remote opening of all windows if you sit on your key fob or press on it the wrong way when it’s in your pocket. You can go to your car in the morning and find all windows down, the interior fully accessible to anyone. There is no way to turn this feature off.

Got my 2018 civic with 20k miles on it, now its at 30k miles, no problems so far. 1.5T CVT

Great video

Im actually looking to buy this generation civic

2016 Civix LX Coupe (2.0l) Code P0456. Determined that the capless fuel fill was leaking.

I overfilled my gas tank the other day when filling up my gas at a gas station. The fuel didn't spill out of my car or anything like that. It's just when i went back inside my car, I smelled fuel inside my cabin. Nevertheless, I drove it and soon enough the smell went away. Did I damaged anything to my car? This incident of overfilling my gas tank only happened once. That's it. The car is a 2019 Honda Civic EX sedan

No serious problems on my 2016 EX-T (1.5 T Engine) with 85k miles on it except for the passenger window. The window goes up all the way and then down half way when you try to close it using auto window. I do want to qualify the comment by saying that I do not drive the vehicle all that hard and in fact I drove almost 60k on the original tires and had to replace them not because of tread wear but age. I also want to note that I used 87 octane fuel (regular and not premium) exclusively.

I have a 2016 Honda civic lx and it wont start unless I press on the gas petal at the same time, runs fine once on though, and battery is only 1 year old any ideas on what it could be by chance. Thanks so much

Bought a 2016 LX right when it came out. The issues are mostly cosmetic thankfully including floor mats so damn cheap they developed holes after 2 yrs (only have 40k now), the wheels are rusting, never had this on previously cars. The rubber seal/strip around the front of hood is loose in a few places (just cheaply made?) and there’s an annoying rattle from the glovebox area - emptied it out it’s not stuff giggling around :( Anyhow great vid thanks!

2016 Honda Civic always have a loud start when first cranking. A lot of vibration due to starting. What could that be?

Ok got it stay away from the turbo 1.5.

Thank you so much for a very informative video. I have a question, my daughter has a 2016 honda civic and i use to hear the turbo but not anymore. Her gas mileage has gone down a little. Is there a fuse on the turbo or maybe a air leak? Thanks in advance for your help.

i have a HONDA CIVIC 2016 and just had the radiator motor fan went out, this car has only one fan in front so it causes two issues no AC and engine heat up

Hey man I just recently bought a Honda civic sport 2021 sport 2.0L vtec with 40k miles I recently bought with the dealership saying the tire sensor needed replacement so they said they fixed it. later on all the warning lights came on ABS hill control brake system collision sensor control a bunch of error codes on the dash I took it to the dealership and they said it was a fuse so I brought it back and a day later all those lights came back I’m not sure what to do

Very interesting and informative, thank you for the video. Do you happen to have a video about the oil dilution issue? Recently purchased a 17 Si and wondering how concerned I should be. 🤔

i never use AC, during winter i drive with my jacket on, during summer i open my windows, i live in a small town i guess i’m still buying one

Had my first issue today. 66,000 miles, 2019 civic coupe 1.5t . Getting ready to pass someone, so obviously I step on it. Immediately the car goes into limp mode, and starts loosing speed. Every dash light on. Bucking and hesitating like crazy. I thought I blew a charge pipe or something like that. I pull over, pop the hood, and notice a fwap ffwap fwap sound coming from the back and side of the engine. I shut it off and inspect the normal items. To my surprise the serpentine belt had chuncks breaking off it. Like strips of belt missing. The sound i was hearing was a piece of belt smacking against one of the sensors wiring harness. I cut that piece off, and limped it to the closet shop which was less than a mile away thank the old gods and the new! Locked up my car, slipped a note and the key into the drop box. I would normally do this job myself, its super easy on the 1.5t. Ive never had a drive belt go before so this was a first for me. Is limp mode normal when something like this happens?

Great video! Do you think the Honda 2015 is more reliable then the 10th gen?

nah ill stick with my 2013 2grfe venza. 110k miles, oil changed every 3.5-4k. Burns no oil at all. The oil looks like new after 4k miles. The 2gr from 2013 was improved and is pretty much bulletproof lol. i feel bad for newer hondas having AC issue, mine blows ice cold on a 100 degree day at idle.

So far I am a little north of 25k. I checked the engine coolant reservoir and it was low. Based on what you have said as symptoms to valve cover failures I am now a bit concerned. I did top it off and will monitor it. I was just assuming that it has been 3 years since i bought the car but now I will just watch out

Point me in the direction where the coolant sensor is by the engine 🥲 long story short I exhausted all possibilities of the gauge on the dashboard staying low when it’s on but not driving. Once I start driving it’ll go up at the normal level and match the heat. I have zero leaks, no engine light on, coolant is in, A/C works, heat works, the air pressure is fine. The only issue is the sensor. So I’m kind of stuck on where it exactly is on my 2018 civic lx.

I have a 2017 1.5 and it had around 65k miles I bought it at around 18k I’ve noticed after having it running for a while it sounds like it pushes itself more or just sounds like louder like it has a hard time when I press the accelerator I thought initially able to because I had the AC on and it was very hot but a/c was off

I just had both low beam headlights fail to light on a 2018 Civic. The high beams are fine, the running lights and tail lights are fine. I pulled out one headlamp and it looked fine; the other one was in there too tight to remove. I cleaned both sockets with CRC (everything looked clean before spraying), and that didn't help. I checked both fuses, and even swapped them with the high beam fuses, and that made no difference. Is the switch a likely cause? I actually found this video by searching for this headlight problem.

Thank you for this!!

I never get replies but. My 17 Si has all the bells and whistles go off in the morning (parking brake, hill assist, etc) and cruise won’t work. Then in the evening leaving work all the codes clear. Im baffled. And my car seems to be losing throttle every now and then for 2-5 secs.

My 1.5T 2017 is chugging/sputtering when trying to get past 2k rpms. Had no problems when i test drove it but now i noticed that it started to do that recently after i had the AC max’d. Not sure whats the issue, the computer told me no issues.

GREAT, THANK YOU!

Have you seen many complaints about steering issues with the 2022 Honda Civic? Seems to be lots of us with issues and Honda not taking it seriously…

I've had my ac condenser replaced 2 times now. 2018 civic sport.

2019 civic si , the rotors got bad after 12 k miles ..they got bend because cold ( Minnesota cold)

I accelerated very fast the other day in very warm weather (for about 50 feet). Then when I parked to go inside the store and came back out the car, it slow started on me. Was barely kicking into start. As if the battery was dead but it was a low start. 4 days later its still slow starting. Honda civic 2020 2.0 engine. Any thoughts? Did I blow something out when I did that 0-60 in 4 seconds acceleration possibly?

2016 2.0 ex here, one of the worst cars I’ve ever owned, wish I could get rid of it but sadly I still owe on it, every light on the dash is currently on, the interior quality is trash, I meticulously change the oil and have changed the transmission fluid intervals, replaced front cv axles and wheels because they were bent and causing a wobble and a acceleration shimmy, have had 2 new belt tensioners installed and have had a grinding rattle noise on acceleration that the dealer finally found to be a stretched timing chain, never ever having a newer Honda again. JUNK.

I live in Ontario, Canada and these common problems don’t occur. I’ve heard very few cases about the AC, but none about the 1.5L Turbo. So I’m wondering if it comes down to assembly location

My car sitting at 80k mile but I noticed very loud ticking noise in the cabin I guess it the high pressure oil pump but it’s suppose to be that loud?

2018 Civic LX 2.0l 6spd manual cold start issue. Starting the car first thing in the morning any temperature, turn the key, starter engages, turns over the engine, engine catches, the rpm initially drops to almost a stall then increases to high idle instead of going to a high idle like normal. Every start after that it functions as normal, only on a cold start does it almost stall. Seems to be getting progressively worst and I'm worried one day it won't start.

2022-23 issues? Looking at a sport touring. I drive 75% highway and always use top teir gasoline from costco, shell, exxon,bp ect. Looking for a nice 30k hatchback with good mpg and good features and the civic seems to hit those needs. I just need a car that can handle 20k miles a year for at least 10 years

My wife bought a 2016 civic new and it's been 1 problem after another since and the dealer has been nothing but shit to deal with. I'll never buy another Honda.

That's crazy, all those problems on a newer car. I rather keep my older Honda

2016 touring, 110,000km, 68,000 miles. Not a single issue. Bought the extended warranty never had to use beside the mice issue. I do regular maintenance, sometimes even sooner than recommended. Always run 91 octane, and I drive the absolute piss out of my car. My 1.5t has seen more shit in it's 110,000km then most do there entire lives lmao. From autocross to the probably over 1000 redline pulls of done haha. I swear driving your car hard here and there keeps it healthy lmao. Maybe I am lucky. I believe the 1.5t likes to be driven hard.

The control arms go out by 70k miles on the 1.5t

My 2017 Honda civic stalls at takeoff. Like at a stop sign or stop light, it’ll hesitate. But when accelerating or highway driving there’s no rpm drop or trouble shifting. Been told it could be transmission or fuel injector. Pls help

My trunk button sticks, driver side door. Also my power window switch for my driver side window is glitchy kinda stutters once or twice before going all the way down

Have 2020 civic EX, 65000km, just having issue when i brake to slow down to stop completely at the light. Headlights get lighter and back like dimming, plus feels like someone push forward before stopping completely like slipping. Had a trans fluid changes at 50k and regular maintenance all done not sure why

I notice a rattling in the engine after I shut off my 2020 Civic Sport. Mainly behind the steering wheel column.

My son just had oil changed, drove 48 miles then motor lost power, all lights on dash on, checked engine oil completely not marking on stick. Engine now smokes white smoke bad, oil tech stated he ran 3-cleaners thur to clean oil, then filled. Any idea what happened. Did he wash the rings out or damage turbo? Thks. 2019 Honda civic 1.5T. 60000 miles on it.

Appreciate the videos man. Any ideas on the reliability of S2000s? Like 04-05 in particular

Mine is a 2018 si and about once a month im experiencing a hard start it takes about 8 seconds just cracking and then starts...weird.

how about toeque streer at high speed not safe for faniy

My wife's 2016 civic is hesitating or bucking during acceleration. I changed out the Mass Flow Controller and air filter already with no difference. Any ideas what could be causing this problem? Thx

my 2016 honda civic radiator fan always at a high speed which makes noise in hot weather. when i speed it goes normal. when i stop it stays normal for about a minute and goes high speed again which is very loud. how can i fix this problem ?

A/c condenser failed twice . Only warranted for ten years . Then what ? Car has 40k original miles. Rodents got me once . A one time tranny sensor that set off a ton of lights

My 2018 Honda civic is not showing a check engine light at all but it’s jerking while accelerating out of no where . Specially if I put my foot on the gas the take it off .

So I’ve noticed my coolant drains faster than normal. It doesn’t overheat but when I check the tank, there’s almost nothing in there. Been to the mech’s and they said it wasn’t an issue but I don’t feel right about it. By way of DIY, what do you suggest I do and what is the head “start” or bolt you talk about and how can I check it please?

@hondamobilemechanic could you please do one of these on the 2012-2015 Civic?

been having an issue recently with my 2017 civic hatch where when i hit 55+ mph the car starts to vibrate. ive had ever tire replaced and balanced within the last year and had diagnostics done on the suspension system and they couldnt find any issues. Saw that theres a possibility it could be the motor or transmission mounts but im stumped.