What 454 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Honda Civic

Power Steering suddenly failed after I stopped for a stop sign. The EPS light was not on prior to stopping but came on after the steering failed. Managed to get to the nearest Honda Dealer and was told they wouldn't touch it. Managed to get to a local repair shop who looked up the issue and reset some code(s). They told me it could happen again at any time. This is an extremely dangerous problem that could cause serious damage or death if it occurred while driving. I can't understand why Honda hasn't figured out a solution and issued a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11598809

ABS Control Module leads fell off. The 2012 Honda Civic has a sealed ABS/VSA control module. This module has leads connected with rigid solid core cables that are known to disconnect and fall off due to natural heat and vibration. This happened with my vehicle. The vehicle lost acceleration, power steering, dash lights, and power breaking on the highway. When I attempted to restart it all of my lights came on: charging system, VSA, ABS, Power Steering, and Power Breaking. For more information see [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11596214

The IMA inverter system keeps malfunctioning without any clear reasons, and the car is in drive mode, which makes the electric motor unresponsive. Additionally, the braking system also malfunctions, leading to a lack of control over the vehicle. I have tried to repair it multiple times, but to no avail. It keeps malfunctioning without any apparent reason.

NHTSA ODI 11595954

Car is stating air bag system check on and off.

NHTSA ODI 11595984

The power steering light will come on and the cars power steering no longer works. I was driving down the road approximately 60 mph and the power steering light came on and I could barely turn the steering wheel. I was able to stop and shut the care off and restart and the power steering worked again. On future drives the power steering intermittently will go out forcing me to stop and shut the car off and restart. I took vehicle to Honda dealer and the dealership and I was informed I needed to replace the EPS control unit, which I did. The vehicle was clear of any problems a a while but the same issue is now happening again. Went back to dealer and they reset code 51-04 and said they could not find any problem. Less than an hour after leaving the dealer, the same problem was there again: loss of power steering. This is so dangerous. I've noticed tons of other people have this same complaint and it should be a recall issue and fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11586543

Owns a 2012 HONDA Civic Hybrid. While driving ~30MPH, the IMA/braking/engine/charging/ABS lights illuminated. The car still driving but the hybrid system fails. Also, when starting the engine it switches to using the starter instead of the EV motor. The 12V battery will not charge and die soon, which increases the risk of a stall on the road, thus leading to a crash. The vehicle was taken to a Honda Dealer which suggests a Model Power Inverter failure. There is a Technical Service Bulletin: 20-030 (Warranty Extension: 2012-15 Civic Hybrid IMA Motor Power Inverter) related to the failing parts, however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The vehicle was not prepared. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11586568

The contact owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while exiting a parking structure, the vehicle failed to accelerate, the steering column started to fail, and the vehicle began to make an abnormal sound coming from the front driver’s side. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed as having a shredded C-axle and transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

NHTSA ODI 11583413

My airbag warning light comes on intermittently. When the light is on, the airbags are non-functional. It comes on at various times while driving, and at various speeds. The official diagnosis is a flaw in the "internal resistance in driver's airbag inflator." This is a well-established problem in this model, and Honda offers extended warranty coverage for the passenger side airbag for this problem. Yet Honda refuses to take any responsibility or action for the drivers side with the same issue. Numerous other manufacturers have issued recalls or other corrective action for the same part.

NHTSA ODI 11573039

We were making a left turn, and a SUV ran the red light across the street and ran through the intersection hitting us broadside at about 45 mph. We were traveling at about. 20-30 mph as we were going to the freeway onramp and had to get to speed. The SUV impact was by the front passenger side tire or just after. The impact was hard enough to bend the subframe to the left. The side air bags did not inflate. We have always had issues with the child safety sensor in the front passenger seat, could that have been the reason? The passenger in the seat was about 105 -110 lbs. and hit the door panel and glass as a result of the air bags no deploying. The hit was bad enough it killed the engine and the frame damage further disabled it.

NHTSA ODI 11569996

Like others, I have had an airbag warning light appear intermittently. Apparently, my VIN is affected by this even though this and Honda's website indicates there are 0 recalls for my car. Dealership informed me that this indeed is a recall issue.

NHTSA ODI 11569051

Airbag system appears

NHTSA ODI 11567525

The exhaust pipe fell off the catalytic converter. Upon some research on the internet, I have found that this is a common issue for this specific car model.

NHTSA ODI 11565503

Light for Air Bag System fault keeps intermittingly coming on. I know it was a problem in the civic until 2011 but I have a 2012 and it may have been an issue or this year as well.

NHTSA ODI 11556938

While driving at about 40 mph the car suddenly started to pull toward the left. I pressed on the brake pedal as I steered to the right to try to bring the car back to my lane but I noticed the brake pedal was already very hard. In a second the car skidded out of control toward the right side of the road and it slammed its left side against some big rocks. The driver's door window broke and the side airbags deployed. The big rocks kept us from going into the water of a lake that the road runs next to. The passengers in the car were myself and my wife and were not injured but it was a very terrifying incident and the consequences could have been a lot worse. The vehicle has been released to Progressive, the Insurance Company.

NHTSA ODI 11556312

The contact owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at approximately 55 mph, his vehicle crashed into a stopped Ford F-150. The driver was sore where x-rays were performed and medical attention was provided. There was no fire. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The air bag warning light illuminated after the impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 196,000.

NHTSA ODI 11550575

Front passenger seat belt pretensioner (Honda part #HP04814-TR3-A00ZA) deployed too late after a minor impact (<10 mph) causing passenger to lurch forward until seat belt engaged. The part is not available for inspection. Passenger's safety was at risk due to not being held firmly in place by the seat belt. Don't know if Honda has confirmed/reproduced this issue. Car was inspected by Honda dealership on 11/28/21. No other impact related damage or parts failure discovered by Honda during inspection. Honda replacement part (Honda part #HP04814-TR3-A00ZA) ordered at that time. Replacement part was backordered and did not arrive until 9/1/23. No warning lamps/messages/other symptoms prior to failure.

NHTSA ODI 11548805

UNKNOWN After inspecting my car and passing, I was still notified about recall information

NHTSA ODI 11547411

I purchased this vehicle 6 months ago from a dealer. In the short time I have had the car, there have been multiple issues presented. Bluetooth has been malfunctioning (connects the disconnects), window regulator has had to be replaced three times now (window kept disconnecting from the track and would cause the window to go down sideways and get stuck), more recently the AC condenser went out (it was reported as the condenser has small pieces of metal inside preventing the freon to get into the system and cool the inside of the vehicle).

NHTSA ODI 11534965

If we don't drive my car for a couple of days, we have to keep charging the battery. We keep buying batteries. For instance, the last battery was bought in 10/2022 and we're in 6/2023 and it's doing it again. This time we know it's not the battery. And before we were told it was the battery.

NHTSA ODI 11527049

https://electricvehicleforums.com/forums/honda-civic-hybrid-12/civic-hybrid-ima-failure-bad-power-inverter-32102/index6.html On this link, there is a form of several other individuals experiencing the same issue that I experienced with this vehicle. Randomly, while driving, ON THE HIGHWAY, all the engine dashboard lights came on at once. The car stopped working. It shut down in the most dangerous environment and it’s a miracle that we didn’t get into a car crash. Taking the car to hybrid auto repair in order have the codes read, there was a readout of P1440, B2993, and B2992. Doing research, I found the link which I included; it appears there is a consistent IGBT malfunction in the motor power inverter which is believed to happen after 100k miles but from different testimonials, can actually happen at any mileage. This electrical issue has been closely related to the air conditioner (which our car had issues with when purchased) with the summer months upon us, I can only imagine how many more of these hybrid vehicles will spontaneously lose power in the middle of traffic.

NHTSA ODI 11525163

When starting from a stopped position, there is a squeal when letting out the clutch. I took it back to the dealership 3x and they couldn't duplicate it. Apparently it is a known issue as there are bulletins on it. It happens almost every time, especially on a slight incline.

NHTSA ODI 11521988

The bluetooth Microphone screeches for the people on the other end of the call. I cannot hear it. It was replaced once under warranty, however my car is no long under warranty and it is doing it again. there are bulletins about this issue, but no recalls as it's not a safety issue. just a money issue.

NHTSA ODI 11521989

The airbag popped for no reason, and Honda was unable to fix it, 8 months in the dealership with no progress.

NHTSA ODI 11521267

Sunroof exploded upwards. Nothing hit the sunroof and there was no existing damage

NHTSA ODI 11519594

There is a "metal" splash guard (approx. 2ft x 2ft) under the engine that is secured by 4 steel bolts/screws and steel U-Clips. If the metal splash guard falls off it could puncture the gas tank, cut gas and brake lines or take someone's head off. This guard is more than just a piece of thin tin. The Bolts/Clips secure the metal guard to the remaining "plastic" splash guard under the rest of the car (metal probably needed for engine heat reasons). I noticed the missing metal plate after a Honda Dealer's oil change. I thought that they might have accidently forgotten to replace it after the oil change, but was told that was not the case (I got the impression that it was not uncommon for these metal splash guards to fall off). The oil filter and drain plug access requires removal of this metal plate during service. My metal plate fell off due to rusted through bolts/screws because 3 of the metal clips stayed in place and were very rusted. The dealer replacement parts were expensive, something like >> bolts-clips $10 x 4 = $40 plus approx $30 for the metal plate $70 total. Honda had to order the metal plate to be delivered later. Once the plate arrived at the Dealership they contacted me and I went to them, where they replaced the plate for free, but to add insult to injury, the Honda technician used two plastic zip ties instead of steel bolts and clips because they didn't have enough of the correct bolts/clips (should be secured by 4 steel bolts/clips). They never bothered to tell me about the zip ties and I only found out a few days later after looking under my car. I found similar bolts/clips at a Home Depot store and, on a return trip to the Honda Dealer, had Honda replace the 2 zip ties and Honda's 2 bolts/clips with 4 new "Stainless Steel" bolts/S.S. washers and 4 new steel U-Clips (I could not find Stainless Steel U-Clips).

NHTSA ODI 11518504