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What 220 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Honda Civic Si

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (220)Crash / fire / injury (19)Electrical system (34)Transmission & drivetrain (32)Airbags (31)Fuel system (31)Steering (27)Driver assistance (23)Brakes (15)Visibility & wipers (12)Engine (11)Wheels (7)

Newest first · 220 complaints · page 6 of 9

Oct 26, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

The car has a problem where the clutch prematurely wears out and the cars acceleration cuts out. this happens at different RPM ranges and in all gears. it is very unpredictable. Several others have had to repair their drivetrains and honda claims its due to a production issue with the clutch. they have a dealer service bulletin for this issue however Honda needs to recall the part since this problem doesn't come on gradually. it is a sudden loss of a connection in the drivetrain which has caused several issues merging on the highway.

NHTSA ODI 11552083

Oct 23, 2023BrakesCrash

The contact owned a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle was on cruise control, and the vehicle slowed down as if the contact had depressed the brake pedal. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated or warning chime sounded. The contact crashed into a truck and bounced off the side of the truck and the vehicle hit the highway divider at the front end of her vehicle and came to a stop. The contact stated that only one side air bag had been deployed. The contact stated that the police and emergency services arrived but she did not seek medical treatment. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and later declared a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V458000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

NHTSA ODI 11551437

Sep 28, 2023

Safety Concerns, see attached file.

NHTSA ODI 11547219

Sep 20, 2023SteeringFuel systemEngine

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the steering wheel began to independently turn to the right and the left. The contact stated that the “Steering” and "Lane Departure" warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel had become more difficult to turn. The contact stated that the steering failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. Additionally, the contact stated there was an abnormal gasoline and burned engine oil odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact state that she had been noticing the odor for about a month. The contact also stated that the vehicle was overheating and was felt inside the foot wells. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there were no failures found. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,776.

NHTSA ODI 11545621

Sep 5, 2023Steering

When turning the steering wheel, there is a clicking sound and a notchy feeling where the steering wheel seems to become stuck for a split second when making steering adjustments. It is worse when turning to the right but happens when turning left as well. During high speed driving such as the highway or roads above 45 mph, this can cause issues with maintaining the car's direction and leads to overcorrecting when the wheel becomes stuck and then breaks loose causing dangerous swerving into nearby lanes. The vehicle has never been in an accident and has not had any modifications. The problem arose around the 30k mile mark and has gotten progressively worse. The issue has not been inspected by any organization or separate party yet. There are no warning lights of error codes showing, only the sound and the feeling of the sticky steering. Component is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ODI 11542791

Aug 27, 2023

Paint defects

NHTSA ODI 11541069

Aug 10, 2023Visibility & wipers

Sunroof made loud noise and suddenly shattered without any warning while on freeway.

NHTSA ODI 11537741

Aug 1, 2023Steering

The steering wheel sticks at times. Driving straight and in turns. It's a slight stick, but increasingly more noticeable. While driving straight it happens if I don't touch the wheel for a few seconds. Then I'll need to make a minor correction and it's stuck. I have to put some decent pressure on the wheel to make it unstuck, which causes an over-correction. If i steadily make corrections it doesn't stick. Same in a turn. If I am making a slow or wide turn, wheel stays in same position for a second, it doesn't just roll out of the turn easily. I have to force it to come out of the turn. Again once it's unstuck it feels fine. Leaving it in one position for more than a second or two initiates the stuck

NHTSA ODI 11535683

Aug 1, 2023Brakes

The contact owns a 2022 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, and the contact heard an abnormal clicking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 53,049.

NHTSA ODI 11535829

Jul 25, 2023WheelsBrakes

I mainly am reaching out due to my brakes making a very loud creaking noise when breaking. I wanted to see if there were any recalls for brakes on my car so I could have the dealership fix it for free. The car is fairly new and I don’t think the brakes would sound like a old wood bridge creaking when I brake. Please let me know if there are any recalls on this vehicle related tot he issue. Thank you for you time and consideration to this message.

NHTSA ODI 11534299

Jul 25, 2023Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemDriver assistance

Bought my 2020 Honda Civic si at 48 k miles. Noticed mild clutch slip and vibration on the shift knob. Dealership states I don't know how to drive manual transmission. I've driven manual transmission for 18 years. I'm not stupid. Dealership states it's wear and tear and not part of the warranty. My window motor auto feature does not work. Bluetooth connectivity issues. Collision braking system activated with no vehicle in front of me while I was going 40 miles an hour. Could have been rear ended. I'm at 50k miles not a good buy and bad service from the dealership. Mossy Honda lemon grove ca

NHTSA ODI 11534457

Jun 28, 2023Steering

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was drifting to the left. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after a while, the contact started to hear an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that the power steering rack was defective and needed to be replaced; however, the part needed for the repair the vehicle was on backorder. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11529413

Jun 4, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

On March 29, 2023 around 6:30PM on my way home from work, my car stopped me in the middle of I-78. The engine just kept revving when i push the accelerator but won't move forward. I was able to safely pull over to the side. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem noted prior to the failure. The following day (March 30, 2023), I dropped off my car to Planet Honda at 2285 US-22, Union, NJ 07083. Tel #'s: (866)226-2469; (609)236-2393. Then, I was informed that the transmission is broken or cannot be fixed, and a new transmission (Part #: 06200-5DJ-040-RM) were ordered and was told that it is covered by warranty. It's been 67 days now (2 months and 6 days) that Honda Corporate cannot give me the timeframe when will my car be repaired after numerous conversations from calls, and texts. My Case Number Honda Corporate Customer Service gave me is: 13736133.

NHTSA ODI 11525315

May 3, 2023Engine

On 4-23-23 the altenator belt came off of the car when I was driving down the road there was nothing wrong with the belt and the belt was put back on the car and i am concerned with my safety I have a 2020 Honda Civic Sport with 12,600 on the car when the belt came off Now i am afraid to drive my car

NHTSA ODI 11520330

May 1, 2023Electrical systemSpeed controlVisibility & wipers

My infotainment center has repeatedly failed during operation. It is distorted while driving, freezes, stuck on previous screen display. This causes all safety features to be inoperable. I can’t see the camera back up display. I can’t see the map or upcoming exit/next direction. The Honda genius features are impacted by this. My vehicle suddenly thinks I am exiting while I’m driving and randomly slams on breaks with no vehicle or object in front of me, it jerks my wheel even though there is no car or barrier next to me. I have resorted to turn off all of the safety features due to the infotainment center glitches making my vehicle very unsafe to operate. I have been in several near miss single vehicle accidents. Picture added to show screen distortion and no direction listed. Should be displaying navigation and upcoming turn but is frozen and distorted.

NHTSA ODI 11519751

May 1, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

I purchased a brand new 2020 Honda Civic SI in April 2020. Around 24,000 miles, the clutch started slipping. I took the vehicle into a Honda dealership where I purchased the vehicle and was informed the clutch assembly failed and the cost of the repair was $4,400. The dealership told me it was due to abuse of the clutch and clutches are considered wear and tear items so I would be responsible for the entire repair. I have owned 10 manual transmission vehicles prior to this Civic and I have never burned out a clutch--I was able to get more than 125,000 miles from one of my cars before the clutch had to be replaced. There are 15 complaints on this site regarding clutches wearing out on 2020 Honda Civics so could this be a problem on Honda's end. I placed several calls to American Honda customer service and their response is always the same, they don't see a problem with their clutches so they are not going to reimburse me for the repair. After many calls to the dealer, they finally agreed to cover 50% of the repair so ended up paying around $2,300.

NHTSA ODI 11519835

Apr 28, 2023Body & structure

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the weather stripping on the vehicle was previously replaced several times, in addition to the under carriage. The contact also stated that the driver's side door panel was detaching from the door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who used physical force to move the door panel into place. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired free of charge because it was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the dealer needed to send a diagnostic report and estimate for consideration to cover the repair. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11519397

Apr 20, 2023

Yesterday I was driving my 2020 civic when my sunroof exploded spontaneously. I have dash cam(front and rear facing video) showing exactly what happened. No debris hit the car, no bumps were hit, and driving conditions were perfect. I know for a fact that this happened without any reason and I looked into it and there is currently a class action lawsuit with Honda about this problem. There is a problem in the manufacturing process that caused this and should be fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11518106

Apr 5, 2023SuspensionWheels

My car is have problems with wheel blance I don’t know why 1 year I have to took my car for alignment 2 or 3 times. It is something really wrong with the spring and the wheel blance.

NHTSA ODI 11515643

Mar 29, 2023Electrical system

Power windows rolled down on their own

NHTSA ODI 11514507

Mar 28, 2023Electrical system

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated while pressing the key fob to unlock the doors, the doors remained locked. The contact had to manually unlock the doors. The contact attempted to lock the vehicle with the key fob however, the doors failed to lock as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 28,000.

NHTSA ODI 11514239

Mar 10, 2023Engine

Car won’t crank keep saying anti brake system lock

NHTSA ODI 11511265

Feb 26, 2023

Can turn engine off but goes into accessories mode and cannot be turned off. Drains battery. This has happened repeatedly. Only option is to disconnect battery every time after you drive and reconnect before starting. Also, navigation goes blank/black while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11509222

Jan 17, 2023Steering

THE STEERING IS VERY STICKY. IT CATCHES MOSTLY TO THE LEFT AND WILL HOLD ITS POSITION TAKING YOU INTO OTHER LANE UNLESS YOU YANK IT BACK. IT STARTED ONLY AT HIGH SPEEDS NOW IT DOES IT ALL THE TIME. CAR SEEMS TO PULL TO LEFT IF YOU HAVE HAND ON WHEEL BUT GOES STRAIGHT IF YOU LET GO. IT WILL CATCH AND DART SHARPLY IN AND OUT OF LANES WITH THE SLIGHTEST MOVE. NOT ENJOYABLE DRIVING AT ALL.THERES BEEN NO WARNING LIGHTS OF ANY KIND. I GOT CAR AT 45000 MILES AND THIS STARTED AT 50000.DONT KNOW IF ITS RACK OR STEERING MOTOR BUT IT NEEDS TO BE RECALLED.CAUSES EXTREMLY ERATIC DRIVING.SO DAYS ITS ALMOST UNDRIVABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11502282

Nov 5, 2022Electrical system

Hello. I have a 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport. The stock audio system makes a VERY loud crackle and popping sound before completely cutting out, this abrupt malfunction frightens me and hurts my ears. Additionally the malfunction of this audio unit may cause other safety problems because it is connected to the back-up camera which can freeze/reboot randomly when the electrical/software malfunction occurs. I listed the most recent incident date below however this problem has been intermittent since I purchased the car new in 2020. My car is now out of warranty and Honda refuses to address the issue even though it was present before 36,000/3 years. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11492385

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Working with the data? Download all 220 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 18, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2020 Honda Civic Si verdict →