2016 Honda Civic Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Civic years
- Far more complaints than other years 3rd of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 5 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 5 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 1,081 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Honda Civic. That ranks 3rd out of 32 Civic model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is steering (445 complaints, 41%), typically at around 39,000 miles. Complaints mention 36 crashes, 4 fires, 16 injuries. There are 5 safety recalls covering this model year.
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- 1,081owner complaints
- 5safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 36complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2016 Honda Civic problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering problems | 445 | 41% | 39,000 | “steering rack” (13%) | $4,150 |
| Unknown or Other | 253 | 23% | 34,500 | — | — |
| Electrical System problems | 119 | 11% | 26,575 | “parking brake” (8%) | — |
| Engine problems | 95 | 9% | 26,754 | “hot air” (7%) | $2,200 |
| Service Brakes problems | 92 | 9% | 22,928 | “parking brake” (28%) | — |
| Structure | 48 | 4% | 12,900 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 47 | 4% | 8,907 | — | — |
| Power Train | 36 | 3% | 35,977 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 30 | 3% | 500 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 28 | 3% | 30,628 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 28 | 3% | 3,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 27 | 2% | 13,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 20 | 2% | 36,978 | — | — |
| Wheels | 19 | 2% | 12,500 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 17 | 2% | 2,838 | — | — |
| Equipment | 15 | 1% | 35,956 | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 8 | 1% | 55,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 8 | 1% | 3,000 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 7 | 1% | 82,500 | — | — |
| Suspension | 6 | 1% | 27,718 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 4 | 0% | 59,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 0% | 9,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 4 | 0% | 64 | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 3 | 0% | 11,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 0% | 91,190 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 2 | 0% | 96,500 | — | — |
| Back Over Prevention | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2016 Honda Civic recalls (5)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification:front passenger
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Parking brake
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.
Risk: If the EPB is not applied, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software to allow the EPB to engage immediately after the ignition is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KC6.
Exterior lighting
Problem: American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Assoc. Equipment."
Risk: If a side marker light does not function, vehicle visibility can be decreased to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect both the taillight assemblies, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 31, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KB8.
Engine and engine cooling:engine
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or with an incorrectly installed piston wrist pin circlip.
Risk: If a circlip is missing or incorrectly installed, the piston wrist pin may not be secure and may drift and damage the engine cylinder causing the engine to seize, and increasing the risk of a crash or a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the piston assemblies and damaged engine components, as necessary, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in the Summer of 2016. Owners were mailed an interim notification beginning March 31, 2016, and will be mailed a second notice when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JX9.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
When driving at highway speeds/long distances, steering occasionally gets stiffer to the point where it will stick and require more force to free. This leads to overcorrections and constant adjustments for the duration of the drive, as well as difficulty staying in a lane. Issue can usually only be…
When the Honda Civic has been driven long enough for the steering to get warm, at highway speeds, the steering wheel will stick in position instead of centering itself. Manual adjustment has to be done to straighten the car.
Mostly during warm weather and driving over 45MPH the steering gets sticky. When attempting to use a little pressure to make a slight correction to keep the care centered in the lane the steering "jumps" and over steers requiring to re-correct to stay centered in the lane. I'm having to keep…
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel jerked, and the steering wheel was sticking. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with…
The check engine light came on the car had no power. The head gasket was blown.
Other Honda Civic years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Civic | 31 | 0 |
| 2025 Civic | 75 | 2 |
| 2024 Civic | 124 | 3 |
| 2023 Civic | 256 | 4 |
| 2022 Civic | 883 | 4 |
| 2021 Civic | 145 | 4 |
| 2020 Civic | 228 | 5 |
| 2019 Civic | 436 | 4 |
| 2018 Civic | 745 | 6 |
| 2017 Civic | 600 | 6 |
| 2016 | 1,081 | 5 |
| 2015 Civic | 380 | 1 |
| 2014 Civic | 293 | 2 |
| 2013 Civic | 319 | 0 |
| 2012 Civic | 456 | 3 |
| 2011 Civic | 169 | 9 |
| 2010 Civic | 397 | 8 |
| 2009 Civic | 395 | 8 |
| 2008 Civic | 916 | 7 |
| 2007 Civic | 1,204 | 9 |
| 2006 Civic | 1,403 | 13 |
| 2005 Civic | 315 | 10 |
| 2004 Civic | 350 | 10 |
| 2003 Civic | 499 | 11 |
| 2002 Civic | 702 | 11 |
| 2001 Civic | 1,079 | 14 |
| 2000 Civic | 287 | 6 |
| 1999 Civic | 338 | 3 |
| 1998 Civic | 435 | 4 |
| 1997 Civic | 373 | 2 |
| 1996 Civic | 305 | 2 |
| 1995 Civic | 199 | 0 |
See all Honda Civic problems by year, every Honda model, or the Honda VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2016 Honda Civic?
Owners most often report steering, unknown or other, electrical system problems. The top one, steering, accounts for 445 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2016 Honda Civic?
Yes, 5 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2016 Honda Civic a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Civic model years, the 2016 has far more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.