Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system alerted and engaged emergency braking on a clear road when there was no obstacle in the vehicle path.
2021 Honda Civic
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2021 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: 15 of 143 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.
- Steering. Review the 63 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Forward Collision Avoidance complaints
33 reportsthe vehicle has brakes with out cause. Two times I was on the street no cars in sight and the car just brakes without notice or cause. Then it happened again yesterday on the freeway. It was raining no cars close and it just brakes again in the middle of the freeway.
The front windshield camera that utilizes Honda Sense safety tech keeps misreading certain traffic signals and inadvertently activates the phantom braking. Sometimes it blinks ultimate times to even cause the vehicle to apply it’s emergency brakes despite no objects present on or near the intersection(s) of major traffic light r…
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The front windshield camera that utilizes Honda Sense safety tech keeps misreading certain traffic signals and inadvertently activates the phantom braking. Sometimes it blinks ultimate times to even cause the vehicle to apply it’s emergency brakes despite no objects present on or near the intersection(s) of major traffic light routes and or construction sites with very bright lighting. Luckily no other motorists were behind me. The Lane Departure warning feature would also mistake the vehicle for moving over the designated lane when driving down or uphill or in some interstate highways even though the vehicle is maintaining centered lane control. I have consulted my nearest Honda dealership on the matter and was told the manufacturer would have issue a recall for the Honda Safety Sense since they do not have the hardware nor software to resolve the matter in a timely fashion. Not sure if other 10th generation Honda Civic owners are experiencing the anomaly but it’s a monthly occurrence.
Rodents chewed thru the main computer cable while car was parked in our car port. When I went to start car it started but immediatley the warning lights on dash began flashing that the road assist features, brakes and steering were not operating.Called road side assistance for a tow to Arrowhead Honda were they replaced main co…
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Rodents chewed thru the main computer cable while car was parked in our car port. When I went to start car it started but immediatley the warning lights on dash began flashing that the road assist features, brakes and steering were not operating.Called road side assistance for a tow to Arrowhead Honda were they replaced main computer cable and reprogrammed computer. This is the second time this has happened. I think the manufacture should change the exterior coating on the cable should be changed to a material that rodents are not attracted to.
Forward collision warning and braking has falsely activated with no vehicles ahead of car. First, "BRAKE" warning flashed for no reason while driving on a three lane road on Virginia Rt 286 and Rt 50 interchange. Second, driving in right lane, vehicle ahead was taking exit and was clear of my path, car flashed BRAKE warning, t…
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Forward collision warning and braking has falsely activated with no vehicles ahead of car. First, "BRAKE" warning flashed for no reason while driving on a three lane road on Virginia Rt 286 and Rt 50 interchange. Second, driving in right lane, vehicle ahead was taking exit and was clear of my path, car flashed BRAKE warning, then started braking. Third, while using Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on highway, a passing car changed lanes into my lane. Due to distance, a car length, and smaller speed difference, emergency brakes activated. However, if a passing car operating at a faster speed (>5 mph est.) the car won't brake. The third problem is annoying as it creates an unsafe situation for people following too close (which they should not). Additionally, my brain is processing the situation faster than the HONDA SENSE can, Honda needs to expand their recall from Accord, CR-V, and Pilot to ALL vehicles with HONDA SENSE.
I experienced a false positive forward collision alert warning and subsequent, brief automatic emergency braking during two (2) episodes. Fortunately, my safety nor any surrounding motorists' safety was not at risk. The problem was not reproduced or confirmed by the dealer though my car ADAS was inspected by them. Of the five ep…
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I experienced a false positive forward collision alert warning and subsequent, brief automatic emergency braking during two (2) episodes. Fortunately, my safety nor any surrounding motorists' safety was not at risk. The problem was not reproduced or confirmed by the dealer though my car ADAS was inspected by them. Of the five episodes, I only recorded the last three episodes which did not include an automatic emergency braking component. The episodes only feature the collision warning alert. They are as follow: 02/21/2022, 1930; 02/22/2022, 0805; and 04/01/2022, 0810.
Was merging onto the crossover lane and it senses the water barrels by the wall as you go slightly left in the lane it doesn’t seem to understand that and pulls you toward the wall and hits the auto brakes almost causing an accident. This was in the 10 freeway by morongo and it has happened multiple times. I have taken those ass…
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Was merging onto the crossover lane and it senses the water barrels by the wall as you go slightly left in the lane it doesn’t seem to understand that and pulls you toward the wall and hits the auto brakes almost causing an accident. This was in the 10 freeway by morongo and it has happened multiple times. I have taken those assist programs off as it’s almost killed me
I’ve had multiply times where my dash with start indicating I need to break while I’m driving an will break for me while on the freeway or street with traffic. For the lane departure my car will just start turning out of a lane there was two incidents where I almost hit the wall divider on the Freeway from my car almost turning …
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I’ve had multiply times where my dash with start indicating I need to break while I’m driving an will break for me while on the freeway or street with traffic. For the lane departure my car will just start turning out of a lane there was two incidents where I almost hit the wall divider on the Freeway from my car almost turning me into it.
Automatic Emergency braking has gone off twice in 1 month on it's own. No car in front of me and the brakes went off and the "BRAKE" light went off on the dashboard. Yes, my safety was put at risk. I am not seeing any recalls for this Honda but I have read that this is an ongoing problem.
Driving home from work. Cruise set at 73mph. I had just passed another car and was about 600 yrd in front of them on the PKWY, when the car just started breaking and ding, I get multiple warnings on the dash as I'm trying to get out of the way of other vehicles. the car drove normal the next 5 miles under my control but the dash…
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Driving home from work. Cruise set at 73mph. I had just passed another car and was about 600 yrd in front of them on the PKWY, when the car just started breaking and ding, I get multiple warnings on the dash as I'm trying to get out of the way of other vehicles. the car drove normal the next 5 miles under my control but the dash is still lit with a Collision Mitigation system problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Road Departure Mitigations system problem, Drive Carefully systems initializing problem, Brakes system light. I'll note that there was not bad weather, there was no rain or snow. it was 80F. There was no impact, accident, etc.
Official recalls
426V332000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
May 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
24V064000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger
Feb 1, 2024
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
23V858000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
Dec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
23V458000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:master Cylinder
Jun 29, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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