2016 Honda Civic problems & reliability
1,080 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda Civic, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 23, 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 components.
13 complaints report injuries (16 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2016 Honda Civic vehicles were involved in 195 fatal crashes with 104 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Steering → | 444 | 41% |
| Unknown / Other | 253 | 23% |
| Electrical System → | 119 | 11% |
| Engine → | 95 | 9% |
| Service Brakes → | 92 | 9% |
| Structure → | 48 | 4% |
| Visibility/wiper → | 47 | 4% |
| Power Train → | 36 | 3% |
| Exterior Lighting → | 30 | 3% |
| Air Bags → | 28 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 28 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 440 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 33,000 miles (middle 50% between 14,375 and 50,113 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“When the Honda Civic has been driven long enough for the steering to get warm, at highway speeds, the steering wheel will stick in position instead of centering itself. Manual adjustment has to be done to straighten the car.”
Steering · filed Sep 10, 2026
“Mostly during warm weather and driving over 45MPH the steering gets sticky. When attempting to use a little pressure to make a slight correction to keep the care centered in the lane the steering "jumps" and over steers requiring to re-correct to stay centered in the lane. I'm having to keep correcting the steering…”
Steering · filed Sep 8, 2026
“The contact owns a 2016 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel jerked, and the steering wheel was sticking. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall associated…”
Steering · filed Sep 2, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
323 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda Civic. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire, and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.
A26-099 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 28, 2026
Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire, and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.
A26-097 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 28, 2026
Dealer Message - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire, and/or DTCs P0300 through P0304 stored.
AEBM08262026901 · Other · issued Aug 26, 2026
Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.
A26-099 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 26, 2026
Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.
A26-097 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 26, 2026
Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.
A26-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 26, 2026
Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.
A26-008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 26, 2026
Service Bulletin - Oil leak at timing chain tensioner inspection cover due to possible insufficient sealant adhesion on inspection cover.
A25-076 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 29, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2020 Accords, 2016-2020 Civics, 2017-2020 CR-Vs, & 2018-2020 Odysseys that have been diagnosed to be in need of the low-pressure fuel…
ATI&08062024906 · Other · issued Aug 7, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2020 Accords, 2016-2020 Civics, 2017-2020 CR-Vs, & 2018-2020 Odysseys that have been diagnosed to be in need of the low-pressure fuel…
ATI&07222024906 · Other · issued Jul 23, 2024
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 2016 Honda Civic 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 2016 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.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 33,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.