Honda Civic reliability by year
54 recall campaigns and 10,097 owner complaints across 21 model years. Best year to buy: 2013. Year to avoid: 2005.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 11 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 21 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 120, more than the 54 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Civic aggregated across 21 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Honda Civic?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2013 Honda Civic scores 7.2/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2025 range. 319 complaints on file, 0 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Honda Civic year should I avoid?
The 2005 Honda Civic scores 2.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 314 owner complaints with NHTSA, 15 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2005 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Honda Civic should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2017 (avoid — the electrical system — 5 fire-related complaints on the electrical system); 2007 (avoid — the body — 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine); 2006 (avoid — the engine — 17 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine); 2005 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 32 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 42,000–115,002 mi); 2020 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 29 complaints, classified severe); 2016 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 98 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 10,001–44,000 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2014. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Honda Civic are tracked?
21 model years (2005 through 2025) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 54 distinct recall campaigns and 10,097 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 120 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Honda Civic?
steering is the most-reported category — 2,020 complaints across 18 model years. Average shop repair runs about $700.