2013 Honda Civic problems & reliability
315 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2013 Honda Civic. 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.
24 complaints report injuries (34 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2013 Honda Civic vehicles were involved in 188 fatal crashes with 97 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 | 111 | 35% |
| Electrical System | 39 | 12% |
| Steering | 37 | 12% |
| Service Brakes | 36 | 11% |
| Unknown OR Other | 28 | 9% |
| Structure | 23 | 7% |
| Engine | 22 | 7% |
| Power Train | 22 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 20 | 6% |
| Seats | 16 | 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 33,250 miles (middle 50% between 12,423 and 62,991 miles), based on 167 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Air Bag light is on. Dealer said it it probably just a faulty relay switch and turned it off. It came back on. I'm listing the date as today, but this has been going on for over 5 years, no incident, but why is light on? I do not trust the airbag system.”
Air Bags · filed Jul 14, 2026
“The ABS misfired and locked my brakes without warning during normal driving. This was without pumping the brakes or any engagement of the brake system.”
Service Brakes · filed Jun 23, 2026
“The contact owns a 2013 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the driver’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the air bag inflater needed…”
Air Bags · filed Jun 22, 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
74 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2013 Honda Civic. The 10 most recent:
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 - 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
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…
A18-060 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 15, 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…
A18-059 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 15, 2018
Techline summary article - although similar, the hondalink and hondalink ev apps available for download on the apple apps store and google play are not the same. Furthermore, each app applies to specific models.
ATS170205 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 21, 2017
"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 - navigation system information.
A05-032 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2016
Dealer message - American Honda (AHM) is investigating certain 2013 Civics with a customer complaint of the starter not starting intermittently. To fully understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect…
APaS11082016901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 8, 2016
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
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 2013 Honda Civic in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
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 2013 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 33,250 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.