Car Issues Tracker
Vehicle complaints, recalls & safety data — sourced from NHTSA

2016 Honda Civic: Complaints, Recalls, and Known Problems

Owners have filed 1,060 safety complaints about the 2016 Honda Civic with U.S. regulators. Here's what the federal data shows, system by system.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · Retrieved July 14, 2026 · Counts change as new reports are filed

1,060
Complaints
5
Recalls
5★
Overall crash rating

Complaints for this vehicle report 36 crashes, 4 fires, 16 injuries. No deaths have been reported.

Key findings
  1. Steering leads the complaint list, cited in 428 of 1,060 complaints, followed by Other / unspecified.

What owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA name the vehicle system involved. For the 2016 Honda Civic, steering issues stand far above everything else.

Complaints by vehicle system
System mentions in 1,060 complaints · a complaint can cite more than one system
Steering
428
Other / unspecified
263
Electrical
117
Brakes & stability
111
Engine & cooling
98
Visibility & lighting
90
Body & structure
51
Power train / transmission
36

"Steering becomes “sticky” when operating at high speeds, especially in the summer months. This makes intended small adjustments into large, jerky movements, creating a huge safety risk. This issue has been recalled for newer Honda Civics, but not older models, and has been an issue for years now. The issue has been brought up to Honda Dealerships, but no solution has been provided. No warning messages appear."

Owner complaint filed June 2026 · Steering · NHTSA ODI 11745223

"Steering wheel is sticking. It’s like the wheels grip and wanders to the left when go straight. If i slightly turn wheel to the right to correct steering it jumps/jerks to the right."

Owner complaint filed June 2026 · Steering · NHTSA ODI 11742518

When complaints were filed

Complaint filings for the 2016 Honda Civic over time:

Complaints filed per year — 2016 Honda Civic
Year the complaint was filed, not the incident year
2
116
63
63
144
141
86
78
108
103
101
55
151617181920212223242526
2026 is a partial year (through July 14, 2026).

How the 2016 compares with other model years

Across the Honda Civic model years we track, the 2006 has the most complaints on file (1,402); the 2016 ranks 3 of 3.

Total complaints by model year — Honda Civic
All complaints on file per model year, as of July 14, 2026
1,402
1,203
2016
1,060
Older model years have had more time on the road to accumulate complaints — compare adjacent years, not endpoints.

Recall history: 5 recalls

5 recalls apply to some or all 2016 Honda Civic vehicles. Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit.

Feb 201616V-074
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic vehicles manufactured September 22, 2015, to February 3, 2016 and equipped with 2.0L engines. The affected vehicles have engines with piston assemblies that may have been manufactured without a piston wrist pin circlip or wi…

Jul 201616V-526
Exterior Lighting

American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2016 Civic 2-Door vehicles manufactured February 23, 2016, through May 20, 2016. The affected vehicles may have a damaged LED side marker light circuit board inside the taillight assembly, making the marker light inoperable. As such, t…

Oct 201616V-725
Parking Brake

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Civic two door and four door 1.5L turbo and 2.0L vehicles. The electric parking brake (EPB) may not engage if it is applied immediately after turning the ignition off.

Dec 202323V-858
Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, F…

May 202626V-332
Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification:Front Passenger

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 …

Does your car have an open recall?

Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit. Look up your 17-character VIN on the official NHTSA site to see open recalls for your specific vehicle. Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov →

Crash-test ratings

NHTSA crash ratings measure how the car protects occupants in a crash — a separate question from the reliability complaints above. A vehicle can be both crashworthy and trouble-prone.

★★★★★
Overall
★★★★☆
Frontal crash
★★★★★
Side crash
★★★★★
Rollover

Frequently asked questions

How many complaints does the 2016 Honda Civic have?

As of July 14, 2026, owners have filed 1,060 complaints about the 2016 Honda Civic with NHTSA. The most-reported system is steering.

How many recalls does the 2016 Honda Civic have?

The 2016 Honda Civic has 5 NHTSA recalls on file. Recall repairs are free at any dealer.

Is the 2016 Honda Civic safe in a crash?

NHTSA gives the 2016 Honda Civic an overall crash rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Crash ratings measure occupant protection in a collision; they do not measure reliability, which is what the complaint data above reflects.

Methodology & source

All figures come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public APIs: the Office of Defects Investigation complaint database, the recalls database, and NCAP safety ratings, retrieved July 14, 2026.

Complaints are self-reported by consumers and are not verified by NHTSA or by this site. A single complaint may cite multiple vehicle systems, so system mentions can sum to more than the complaint total. Complaint volume is influenced by fleet size, media attention, and recall notices, and is not by itself a measure of defect rates.

This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer. Nothing here is repair, purchase, or legal advice. For your specific vehicle, use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and consult a qualified technician.