IllustrationDISTRIBUTO AND RELATED PARTS FAILED. *AK
1993 Honda Civic
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1993 Honda Civic do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 183.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Civic years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 17 of 146 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
40 crash reports4 fire reports23 injury reports
What owners actually said
146 reportsDISTRIBUTOR AND RELATED PARS FAILED. *AK
DISTRIBUTOR AND RELATED PARTS FAILURE. SINCE 2000, I HAVE HAD TO HAVE 3 REPLACEMENTS.THIS IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL FOR CARS IN GENERAL. I WILL REPORT THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT SINCE I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS REPORTING SERVICE TODAY.*AK
THE HEAD GASKET HAD TO BE REPLACED AND THE ENGINE WAS WARPED SO CAR KEPT OVERHEATING AND FINALLY THE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BACK FAILED. NO UNUSUAL STRESS WAS ON SEAT BACK, BUT EITHER JOINT BROKE, OR BAR CONNECTING SEAT BACK TO JOINT BROKE. *JB
A/C UNIT IN 1993 HONDA CIVIC EXPLODED NOT ONCE BUT TWICE ON ORIGINAL AND REPLACEMENT UNIT.*AK
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS LEAKING OIL AND SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR. DEALER ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR TRANSMISSION THREE TIMES, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK
VEHICLE SUFFERED BROKEN TIE ROD CAUSING VEHICLE TO RUN OFF THE ROAD.*MR THE CONSUMER HIT A DITCH. THE FAILURE WAS A BROKEN ROD ON THE RIGHT STEERING AXLE. *PH *JB
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED THERE WAS A STRONG SMELL OF BURNING PLASTIC INSIDE THE VEHICLE. SMOKE WAS COMING FROM THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND THE WIRES MELTED. WIRES UNDER THE DASHBOARD AND WIRES NEAR THE DOOR SPEAKERS WERE WARM TO THE TOUCH.*AK
ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THE TIRES EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION. *AK *PH *JB
Official recalls
194V063000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission
Apr 10, 1994
A RETAINING CLIP THAT CONNECTS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT CABLE TO THE SHIFT LEVER ACTUATING ROD CAN HAVE INSUFFICIENT RETENTION PRESSURE AND MAY EVENTUALLY COME OFF AFTER REPEATED SHIFT LEVER OPERATION. IF THIS HAPPENS, THE POSITION OF THE SHIFT LEVER MAY NOT MATCH THE ACTUAL TRANSMISSION GEAR POSITION.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS COULD RESULT IN UNANTICIPATED VEHICLE MOVEMENT AND ACCIDENT.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL AN IMPROVED RETAINING CLIP.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1PE94055 · Alleged Steering Lockup
Opened Jul 20, 1994 · Closed Dec 30, 1994
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Steering
There is no summary currently available