2013 Honda Civic recalls & problems

Safety recalls

Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. A recall listed here may already have been fixed on a particular car: enter its 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see open recalls.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (New Car Assessment Program). Ratings are comparable only between vehicles of similar size and weight, and ratings from 2011 on use tougher tests than earlier years. Photos: NHTSA.

Fuel economy

EPA estimates from fueleconomy.gov for each engine and transmission sold. Annual cost is the EPA's estimate for 15,000 miles a year at its current fuel and electricity price assumptions. Your results will vary.

What owners report

*Median odometer reading when the problem happened, where owners gave one. One complaint can name several problem areas.

Recent owner complaints

• Air bags

  Airbag warning

  Aug 31, 2026
• Unknown or other

  My Honda Civic is experiencing multiple serious system warnings, including Check VSA System, Check Power Steering System, Check Brake System, and Check ABS System. This appears to be a recurring issue reported by Honda Civic owners in different places, and I believe Honda needs to investigate the problem and take responsibility for properly addressing it because these systems directly affect vehicle safety and driver control.

  Aug 21, 2026
• Air bags

  The contact owns a 2013 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was 192,600.

  Jun 1, 2026 · 192,600 miles
• Air bags

  Receiving an error message to check my air bag system. Did show - which shows two error codes B0001-13 and B0002-13. Both of which are related to the driver’s side air bag. Spoke to the local Honda dealership which advised me the this issue isn’t covered under a recall or extended warranty - BUT the same issue is covered for passenger side air bags. This MAKES no sense when it is a KNOWN issue - for Honda to not fix both sides of the air bags. My Honda Civic has around 36,000 miles on it.

  Aug 10, 2026
• Air bags

  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.

  Jul 14, 2026
• Service brakes

  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.

  Jun 17, 2026
• Air bags

  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 to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,000.

  Mar 1, 2026 · 92,000 miles
• Electrical system

  car inverter failure, 2013 civic hybrid inverter recall for said year but refuse to include in recall lemon

  Apr 13, 2026

Owner complaints are submitted to NHTSA by the public and are not verified. Shown as filed (NHTSA removes personal details); long reports are shortened.

NHTSA defect investigations

• Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureOpen

  From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled…

  EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021
• Electrical overstressClosedLed to recall 20V024

  The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications.  The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal,…

  EA19001 · opened Apr 19, 2019 · closed Sep 19, 2024