2009 Honda Civic Hybrid problems & reliability
28 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System → | 10 | 36% |
| Power Train | 6 | 21% |
| Air Bags | 5 | 18% |
| Suspension | 4 | 14% |
| Engine | 3 | 11% |
| Visibility/wiper | 3 | 11% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 7% |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 4% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 4% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 52,000 miles (middle 50% between 22,023 and 76,000 miles), based on 21 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Driver side sun visor is defective. A component inside the visor is broken. The visor will not stay locked in place and drops down which blocks the driver's view of the road. It is especially dangerous when driving at night and in poorly visibility conditions. This is an in motion safety hazard.”
Visibility/wiper · filed May 6, 2018
“Driver side sun visor is defective. A component inside the visor is broken. The visor will not stay locked in place and drops down which blocks the driver's view of the road. It is especially dangerous when driving at night and in poorly visibility conditions. This is an in motion safety hazard.”
Visibility/wiper · filed May 6, 2018
“"takata recall" while dealer has told me air bag was completed, it was sold to me with an open entry or questionable completion. Upon driving the car I found it felt shaky & was told they would fix any problems however now that I have taken it in twice and it has stayed there over a week, and then taken home (without…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Feb 15, 2018
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds
Defect Petition DP22005 · opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
Technical service bulletins
18 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. The 10 most recent:
Service News - The navigation clock and date are incorrect. This is due to a limited GPS receiver Capacity resulting in a rollover of the internal chip memory; the rollover occurred on January 1, 2022, at 12:00AM local…
A21120B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 13, 2023
ServiceNews Article - The clock shows the incorrect time. This issue is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in "rollover" of the internal chip memory; the "rollover" will occur on January 1, 2022 at 12:00AM…
A21120B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 29, 2022
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-016 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service Bulletin - American Honda is conducting an inspection of certain vehicles that have previously had the passenger's airbag inflator replaced as part of the Takata Passsenger's Airbag Inflator recall. If you…
A18-115 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 10, 2019
Service bulletin - American Honda is conducting an inspection of certain vehicles that have previously had the passenger's airbag inflator replaced as part of the Takata Passsenger's Airbag Inflator recall.
A18100B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 13, 2018
Service bulletin - navigation system information.
A05-032 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2016
Tech2tech video - airbag inflator installation tips. Please advise if you would like a copy of the video sent to you on a thumb drive or dvd.
AMV161001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 1, 2016
Tech2tech video - airbag inflator installation tips. Please advise if you would like a copy of the video sent to you on a thumb drive or dvd.
AMV161002 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 30, 2016
"service news article - is the mil on with dtc p0606 (ecm/pcm processor malfunction)? Check for aftermarket spark plugs that include a built-in capacitor; they can cause electrical interference that can set this dtc. If…
A15120C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 4, 2015
Dealer message - Today, January 30, 2014, American Honda is announcing a warranty extension for all 2009-11 Civic Hybrid vehicles for IMA batteries that may prematurely deteriorate, decreasing the capacity of the…
DLR MSG - Warran · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 30, 2015
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 52,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.