1998 Honda Civic problems & reliability
435 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Honda Civic, alongside 3 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.
44 complaints report injuries (55 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 Honda Civic vehicles were involved in 91 fatal crashes with 86 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 96 | 22% |
| Electrical System | 88 | 20% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 53 | 12% |
| Power Train | 49 | 11% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 29 | 7% |
| Structure | 26 | 6% |
| Visibility | 23 | 5% |
| Tires | 18 | 4% |
| Unknown OR Other | 16 | 4% |
| Equipment | 10 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 98,351 miles (middle 50% between 59,214 and 153,750 miles), based on 110 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“1998 honda civic. Consumer writes in regard to 20v-026. The consumer stated he is still awaiting parts for the recall.”
Air Bags · filed Jan 23, 2023
“The contact’s daughter owns a 1998 Honda Civic equipped with Continental tires, Tire Line: General Altimax RT43, Tire Size: 185/65/R14, DOT Number: 6Y6LWBLJ1221. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver’s side front tire had a blowout. The contact stated that the tread…”
Tires · filed Jul 29, 2022
“Tl* the contact owned a 1998 honda civic coupe. The contact stated while driving at 55 mph, when she crashed into a truck. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained a fractured collarbone, left knee and right shoulder was bruised. The contact did seek medical attention for her collarbone. A police report was…”
Air Bags · filed Dec 18, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- CONDENSER FAN MOTOR INOPERATIVE
Investigation SQ98012 · opened Jun 30, 1998 · closed Nov 2, 1998
Technical service bulletins
140 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Honda Civic. The 10 most recent:
"service bulletin - for vehicles with sci compressed natural gas (cng) fuel tanks, honda is no longer replacing the fuel tank and solenoid valve altogether. If you replace the fuel tank solenoid valve, you must now…
A13-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 10, 2017
Service bulletin - due to the floor design, a mispositioned floor mat could prevent the accelerator pedal from returning to the idle position. In this case, the vehicle may continue accelerating even though the driver…
A99034 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 21, 2016
Service news article - planning on using a leak check dye to help find a leak? Here s the current list of vehicles that you shouldn t use dye on.
A15070B - 7-2-15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2015
"service bulletin - for vehicles with sci compressed natural gas (cng) fuel tanks, honda is no longer replacing the fuel tank and solenoid valve altogether. If you replace the fuel tank solenoid valve, you must now…
A13-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 24, 2015
"dealer message - this is to inform you that honda service bulletin 06-015, natural gas fuel tank and fuel line inspection, has been revised to include instructions for ordering the cng fuel tank inspection labels…
DLR MSG - HONDA · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 16, 2015
"dealer message - this is to inform you that honda service bulletin 06-015, natural gas fuel tank and fuel line inspection, has been revised to include instructions for ordering the cng fuel tank inspection labels…
DLR MSG - HONDA · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 2, 2015
"service bulletin - the fuel tank in all honda natural gas vehicles must be inspected for deterioration or damage every 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. This is a requirement of honda and the federal…
A06-015 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 7, 2015
Honda: troubleshooting of diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) p1456 and p1457. Dealers are to run evap function test to find if there is a leak so the vehicle can be repaired. *kb
SB-99-075 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2013
Honda: the fuel tank and solenoid valve are no longer being replaced together and if fuel tank solenoid valve is replaced, then reinstall original fuel tank. Models 1998-11 civic gx, 2012-13 civic. *pe updated…
SB-13-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 29, 2013
Honda: fuel tank assembly warranty information. *rm
SB-01-005 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 10, 2011
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 1998 Honda Civic has 3 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 1998 Honda Civic?
- · 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 98,351 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.