2012 Honda Civic Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 4 safety recalls and 473 owner complaints for the 2012 Honda Civic (including the hybrid). It has 1 open investigation that names this model year.

Recalled components: powertrain, steering, and fuel system. Most-described problem: power steering problems or locked steering (48 complaints, 10%). Most-reported area: air bags (153 complaints, 32%; median mileage when it happened: 32,000).

Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026

Year to avoidBest year

Includes the Civic Hybrid and the Civic Si. EPA's ratings for the natural gas Civic are left out; NHTSA files its recalls and complaints with the other Civics, so they appear here. Excludes the Civic Type R.

4 safety recalls for the 2012 Honda Civic

Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA has opened 2 investigations that name the 2012 Honda Civic; 1 is still open. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.

An engineering analysis is a deeper review, usually opened after a preliminary evaluation. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.

What owners report

Owners have filed 473 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Civic. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

• Power steering problems or locked steering48 · 10%
  Median 68,000 miles at failure, from 37 reports with mileage
• Airbag warning light or airbag fault46 · 10%
  Median 40,000 miles at failure, from 31 reports with mileage
• Airbags did not deploy in a crash24 · 5%
  Median 41,100 miles at failure, from 20 reports with mileage
• Stalling or shutting off16 · 3%
• Hesitation or slow acceleration14 · 3%
• Unintended acceleration or surging13 · 3%
• Loss of power or limp mode11 · 2%
• Check engine light10 · 2%

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

• Air bags153 · 32%
  Median 32,000 miles at failure, from 99 reports with mileage
• Steering74 · 16%
  Median 60,000 miles at failure, from 59 reports with mileage
• Electrical system63 · 13%
  Most named: instrument panel, speedometer/odometer (3) · Median 44,500 miles at failure, from 44 reports with mileage
• Powertrain53 · 11%
  Median 19,500 miles at failure, from 42 reports with mileage
• Brakes41 · 9%
  Median 18,000 miles at failure, from 31 reports with mileage
• Speed control40 · 8%
  Median 8,500 miles at failure, from 34 reports with mileage
• Body structure36 · 8%
  Most named: body (32) · Median 31,800 miles at failure, from 20 reports with mileage
• Unknown or other35 · 7%
  Median 40,500 miles at failure, from 20 reports with mileage

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Honda Civic recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2012 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2022 Civic drew the most (874) and the 2012 drew 148.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

2012 Civic MPG

Questions