2009 Honda Civic problems & reliability
395 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Honda Civic, alongside 8 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.
30 complaints report injuries (39 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2009 Honda Civic vehicles were involved in 194 fatal crashes with 145 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 → | 95 | 24% |
| Structure → | 45 | 11% |
| Unknown OR Other | 36 | 9% |
| Electrical System → | 35 | 9% |
| Suspension → | 31 | 8% |
| Engine → | 27 | 7% |
| Tires → | 25 | 6% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 24 | 6% |
| Power Train → | 23 | 6% |
| Service Brakes → | 21 | 5% |
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 33,035 miles (middle 50% between 15,000 and 68,000 miles), based on 253 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power, and the vehicle to shut off while accelerating. The contact associated the failure with the fuel pump. The dealer was notified of the failure; however, the vehicle was not…”
Fuel System, Gasoline · filed Jun 17, 2026
“The contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the sun visor split over and blocked his driving view. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB Technical Service Bulletin 11-031. The local dealer was contacted, where it was diagnosed that the sun visor needed to be replaced. The contact had…”
Structure · filed Jun 3, 2026
“The contact owns a 2009 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and being inspected, the contact became aware that the driver’s and passenger’s side sun visors were split. No warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The…”
Structure · filed Sep 18, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
65 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 Honda Civic. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
A18-066 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 30, 2026
Service Bulletin - There is a pop or clunk from the front suspension area when driving over bumps. This usually occurs after completing a tight (full lock) turn.
A07-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 27, 2026
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 - There's a gap between the A-pillar trim and the headliner. The tolerances vary between some A-pillar trim and headliners.
A11-064 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 22, 2020
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 - 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…
A18-055 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 8, 2018
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…
A18-052 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 2018
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 has 8 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?
- · 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 33,035 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.