Home · 2020 Honda Civic Si · Complaints

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 7 of 9

Oct 25, 2022Steering

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the steering wheel inadvertently seized, causing him to temporarily lose control of the vehicle. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to his residence nearby using his physical strength to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electrical wiring harness had been chewed by rodents, which caused the electrical failure. The contact notified a second unknown dealer for second opinion, and the second dealer advised that the failure could also be a manufacturing defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

NHTSA ODI 11490805

Oct 16, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

Manual transmission slipping when Turbo kicks in and you are unable to accelerate. We are contacting dealer tomorrow as they are closed. No warning lights on Just started happening .

NHTSA ODI 11489450

Aug 17, 2022Equipment Adaptive/mobility

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated that on several occasions when driving at various speeds, he sets the cruise control then it inadvertently engaged without warning. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was not engaging in speed when accelerated. The contact notified an independent mechanic and was informed to have the vehicle diagnosed by a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer nor the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.

NHTSA ODI 11479820

Jul 31, 2022Electrical systemDriver assistance

I was driving getting ready to switch lanes and all of a sudden my car made the beeping noise and slammed on the brakes on its own

NHTSA ODI 11476727

Jul 16, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

2nd incident of clutch failure within a year and both almost caused a serious accident.

NHTSA ODI 11474302

Jun 17, 2022Electrical system

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated that occasionally the windows on the vehicle independently rolled down while the vehicle was turned off. The contact also stated that while driving at various speeds, the trunk opened inadvertently without warning. The dealer had been notified twice about the failure. After the first failure, a dealer employee acknowledged the failure; however, the contact was informed that there was no remedy for the defect. After the second failure, a dealer employee informed her that they had never heard of the failure before. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11469748

Jun 15, 2022Speed controlBrakesDriver assistance

When driving at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control, vehicle will slow down or brake without any object/vehicle ahead. This usually occurs at curves, with no vehicles in current lane. I would then need to immediately step on the acceleration in order to continue highway speeds. This may cause unnecessary stress on the vehicle due to constant issue occurrence. At times, a blinking warning message from the emergency braking system will appear on the dashboard during these conditions. This causes a safety issue because cars in the back will not expect braking/slowing down when there isn't any obstruction from all perspectives. This is dangerous on the highway due to the increased driving speeds of surrounding vehicles. I have not taken it to the dealer due to the vehicle being out of warranty, however it has always had this issue. Vehicle was bought new at dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11469344

May 24, 2022Airbags

The passenger airbag deployed while I was driving at 5mph. Which no crash

NHTSA ODI 11465976

May 9, 2022Airbags1 injury

i have experienced multiple issues with the sensors since I've had this vehicle in December 2020. The sensor issues have caused my vehicle to shut down and slowly stop as I was driving on the freeway. The latest incident caused my airbag to deploy without any reason while I was driving slowly in a residential parking lot. It went off in my face and I suffered from hearing problems. I am fortunate that this incident did not harm anyone as it put others at risk from the airbag unexpectedly blocking my view and distracting me from driving. Although the dealership, Tempe Honda, repaired the other sensor issues, they refuse to repair the airbag issue. They are claiming that I need to have my insurance pay for the repair. I have had two mechanics inspect the vehicle and confirm that this is a defective airbag sensor that caused the airbag to deploy. I have not driven the vehicle since this incident as it is unsafe for me to drive. The vehicle is available for inspection at any time. I have contacted Honda on multiple occasions. They have Case #12968314 is my case number and every time that I call, the representative tells me that a Case Manager will call me but I have not received any calls. I also sent an email to Honda on 02 May 2022 detailing this incident that occurred on 14 April 2022.

NHTSA ODI 11463978

May 3, 2022Electrical systemEngineFuel system

Took vehicle in to repair recall. Was told recall was fixed drove off engine shut off in the middle off the hwy. After several attempts to get the car restarted finally able to drive back to dealership. Was told the new o ring broke. Was told it was fix but the recall is still unresolved and still causing engine shut off issues. No prior issue other than leaving key part off uncer car after routine oil change which caused undercarriage damages. That still unresolved. uncompleted repair and recall.

NHTSA ODI 11463167

Apr 21, 2022Electrical systemLights

Lights go off and on not sure if can drive at night. dealer said that they thought it is the control module but also stated that car could turn shut down at any unknown time. Did not offer a replacement vehicle and was told to just keep driving until part comes in. This problem has been going on sense january . was told today 04/21/2022 that it would now be june

NHTSA ODI 11461612

Apr 18, 2022Brakes

The automatic brake system comes on and brakes when there are no cars in front of me. Then when the automatic brakes come on, it is a delay in speeding back up. So my car has slammed on breaks, with people behind me and would not increase speed. I have almost been rear ended twice because of this feature.

NHTSA ODI 11461119

Apr 7, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

With my car just reached over 19k miles the clutch started slipping when driving on highway, problem continued to become more noticeable overtime. Many drivers with the same car have experienced the same issue with clutch slipping.

NHTSA ODI 11460059

Mar 26, 2022Suspension

First tire rotation the inside of both front tires have been worn down. Got tires rotated and alignment done. Second tire rotation and new tires have the same inside wear on them.

NHTSA ODI 11458449

Mar 26, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

Clutch went out at 25k miles - never stalled this car. Have several manual transmission Hondas no problems except this one. Lost engine power and had to pull over on the highway. manufacturer error causing pre mature burnt clutch. This should not be happening. Honda will not take responsibility

NHTSA ODI 11458452

Mar 2, 2022Driver assistance

The automated emergency braking system activated bringing me to a sudden and complete stop. I was traveling at a lower speed (<20mph) with sufficient space both in front and behind my vehicle which prevented this incident from becoming an accident. This occurred at night. The braking system automatically engaged as I was releasing my foot from the gas pedal to coast. Should this happen at higher speeds or with traffic closer behind me, an accident could have happened. The system has not been inspected as of now and has not been reproduced or occurred a second time. There have not been any warning lights, messages, or other issues with the car since I bought it brand new.

NHTSA ODI 11454873

Feb 25, 2022Driver assistance

On multiple occasions, the collision mitigation braking system has had false-positive detections. There is one section of road where this occurs extremely frequently (maybe 20% of the time I drive through). On this section of road, it will not activate the brakes, it only beeps and displays "BRAKE" on the instrument cluster, but is extremely disconcerting and distracting. On another occasion on a different road, there was clear road ahead of me when the collision mitigation braking system had a false detection, and did activate the brakes and was incredibly close to causing a collision with a car driving behind me. On this same stretch of road, Ive had this occur two other times (out of hundreds I've driven on it), but no one was behind me and would not have caused an accident. In both of these spots, the road is fairly straight and the speed limit is 40 MPH. This hasn't been inspected by a dealer. This hasn't been inspected by Honda, the police, or insurance. There were no prior warnings to this issue occurring.

NHTSA ODI 11454071

Feb 25, 2022Fuel systemTransmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic equipped with a manual transmission. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power and was also shaking. Additionally, the clutch pedal was going to the floorboard. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull off to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to move while depressing the clutch pedal. The contact smelled a burning odor coming from the clutch. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the manual clutch had burned out and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer - Moss Bros. Honda (27990 Eucalyptus Ave, Moreno Valley, CA 92555) where it was diagnosed that the clutch pedal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to a transmission specialist who took the transmission apart and provided the same diagnostic. The contact stated that the clutch pedal was replaced; however, the failure persisted and the transmission continuously independently jumped out of gear while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the transmission specialist where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken back to the first dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle stalled while driving. The vehicle was towed to the first dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact also referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V215000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 4,950.

NHTSA ODI 11454167

Feb 24, 2022Driver assistance

The automatic braking system for my car went off in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway. luckily there was no cars driving around me so i was not hit. It sensed something and dropped my speed from 55 to 20 in a couple seconds throwing me forward. If not for my seatbelt and my arms my face could have hit the steering wheel. This happened multiple times.

NHTSA ODI 11453861

Feb 22, 2022Driver assistance

Warning light appeared on dashboard for obstructed radar sensor. Sensor was not obstructed. This was followed by additional warning lights that safety systems were malfunctioning, ACC, collision warning, automatic emergency braking systems are offline. Reported to local dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11453522

Feb 17, 2022AirbagsCrash

I hit a cow going 55mph on a state highway, and my airbags did not deploy.

NHTSA ODI 11452366

Feb 17, 2022Airbags

I was driving and the passenger air exploded.

NHTSA ODI 11452467

Feb 13, 2022Visibility & wipers

I was driving down the road and all of a sudden I heard a large explosion and pulled back the moonroof visor a little and could see the glass was all spiderwebbed and closed it again, I was about 3 miles from home and had my 80+ mother in the car so I got home before looking at the damage and found a huge blow out of my Moonroof glass. Not sure if it was a stone or something that hit it or if it just blew out spontaneously, was a frightening situation.

NHTSA ODI 11451743

Feb 7, 2022SteeringCrash2 injuries

The contact owned a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact's son was driving the vehicle at 30 mph and while making a right turn, the vehicle failed to turn to cause the driver to crash into a city bus head-on. The air bags on the driver's side and the passenger side did deploy but did not fully inflate. The contact's son and passenger were not taken to the hospital or received medical treatment. The contact's son later went to seek medical attention and was found to have suffered a concussion. The passenger in the front seat hit his head on the windshield and also did seek medical attention. The police were on the scene and filed a report. The vehicle was declared a total loss by the contact's insurance company. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11450791

Jan 27, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the clutch became unresponsive which resulted in the vehicle losing motive power. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and the vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 16,275.

NHTSA ODI 11449142

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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 →