2012 Honda Civic problems & reliability
454 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 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.
28 complaints report injuries (41 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2012 Honda Civic vehicles were involved in 253 fatal crashes with 129 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 | 149 | 33% |
| Steering | 74 | 16% |
| Electrical System | 59 | 13% |
| Power Train | 49 | 11% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 38 | 8% |
| Structure | 35 | 8% |
| Service Brakes | 34 | 7% |
| Engine | 32 | 7% |
| Unknown OR Other | 31 | 7% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 17 | 4% |
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 36,250 miles (middle 50% between 16,000 and 76,450 miles), based on 292 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“We were not injured. We fixed the problem before we did get hurt..message came up.. “Check airbag system”. We had t replace our driver’s side airbag at the cost of over $1,500.”
Air Bags · filed Jun 30, 2026
“The contact owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side seat weight sensor failed to operate properly. The contact stated that while the front passenger’s seat was occupied, the air bag enabled warning light was flashing off and on. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign…”
Air Bags · filed Jun 26, 2026
“The contact owns a 2012 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the alarm indicator sounded off intermittently without cause. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who informed the contact that the alarm was a factory-made system and then suggested pressing the key fob twice to stop the alarm from sounding off…”
Electrical System · filed Mar 26, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Electrical overstress
Engineering Analysis EA19001 · opened Apr 19, 2019 · closed Sep 19, 2024 · led to recall 20V024
Technical service bulletins
76 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2012 Honda Civic. The 10 most recent:
Owner Notification Letter - Our records indicate that a EMISSIONS RECALL has not been completed on this vehicle (Vehicle Identification Number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX). Under certain circumstances, your vehicle's powertrain…
ONL6BD06242021 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 24, 2021
Owner Notification Letter - Under certain circumstances, your vehicle's powertrain control module (PCM) may not properly adjust the air-fuel ratio resulting in your vehicle releasing air pollutants which exceed…
ONL6BD10312019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 31, 2019
Dealer Message - Today, September 24, 2019, American Honda is announcing a stop sale and emissions recall for certain 2012 Civic vehicles that may be releasing air pollutants that exceed applicable state and federal…
ABOM09242019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 24, 2019
Service Bulletin - Due to an improper PCM calibration, after starting the engine the PCM cannot properly adjust the air-fuel ratio under certain conditions and the on-board emission-related diagnostic system may not…
A19-106 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 24, 2019
Service Bulletin - Due to an improper PCM calibration, under certain conditions after starting the engine the PCM cannot properly adjust the air-fuel ratio. As a result, vehicle emissions may exceed applicable standards.
A17-023 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 24, 2019
ServiceNews Article - When removing and installing a cable reel, you need to keep both the cable reel and the steering angle sensor in position. If you don't , the VSA indicator may come on along with one or more VSA…
A19050B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 16, 2019
Service Bulletin - This bulletin has been cancelled because the collection is now complete. If you did the collection in this Service Bulletin on or before February 26, 2019 (RO date), use the Warranty Claim Information…
A18-139 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 26, 2019
"Service bulletin - Clearance between the motor pinion and the plate hole causes the plate body to flex, which allows the gear to move up and jump off the motor teeth."
A13-097 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 1, 2019
Dealer message - Today, American Honda is notifying dealers of a voluntary noncompliance recall for a small number of Honda vehicles due to an error on the replacement (service part) underhood emissions labels. American…
ABOM08092018901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2018
Service bulletin - Emission certification labels that were replaced on a small number of vehicles may have been replaced with a label listing incorrect information. The affected emission labels are replacement service…
A18070 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 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 2012 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 2012 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 36,250 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.