2020 Honda Civic: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2020 Honda Civic are still climbing years after launch. The last three full years account for 126 of the 217 filings on record, which usually means a defect that surfaces with mileage rather than a factory fault.

217
Complaints
5
Recalls
15
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
11
Injuries
71.0
Severity index

Severity index 71.0 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 71.0p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2020 Honda Civic sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 103 2020 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2020 Honda Civic ranks 38 of 103 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 63% of its model-year peers. See the full 2020 ranking.

What actually fails

Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 35 complaints (16.1%)35 16%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 34 complaints (15.7%)34 16%Power TrainPower Train: 31 complaints (14.3%)31 14%Air BagsAir Bags: 29 complaints (13.4%)29 13%SteeringSteering: 27 complaints (12.4%)27 12%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 24 complaints (11.1%)24 11%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 23 complaints (10.6%)23 11%Service BrakesService Brakes: 14 complaints (6.5%)14 6%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
UNKNOWN OR OTHER3516.1%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM3415.7%
POWER TRAIN3114.3%
AIR BAGS2913.4%
STEERING2712.4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM2411.1%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE2310.6%
SERVICE BRAKES146.5%

Complaints filed per year

024482019: 12020: 132021: 292022: 282023: 302024: 482025: 482026: 20 (partial year)192021222324482526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20191
202013
202129
202228
202330
202448
202548
2026 (year to date)20
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 1.8x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V21500025/03/2021FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport
23V45800029/06/2023SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDERHonda (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 dur
23V85800018/12/2023FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPHonda (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 H
24V06400001/02/2024AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGERHonda (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
26V33200021/05/2026AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGERHonda (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-
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.